Game Comparison: 'War of the Ring' [2012] versus 'The Battle of Five Armies' [2014]

Game Comparison: 'War of the Ring' [2012] versus 'The Battle of Five Armies' [2014]
Game images courtesy of 'Barks'.
Check out Wargaming with Barks' site here: wargamingwithbarks.blogspot.com/

[@joearnold6881]

“expanded to almost an entire movie in the Hobbit trilogy” That about sums up those three movies.

[@Justegarde]

I think it’s really funny that you’re big complaint about winning War of the Ring was because you did it against all odds on a miracle series of events, just like the books/movies. Sounds like the kind of review Sauron would give to the proceedings ;)

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Haha, Yup, it just didn't feel fair given how bad I played. I've had other games where I played really well, and lost. Those weird endings just don't sit well...

[@JM16714]

@@WiseGuyHistory i really think you should reconsider the nature of the fellowship mechanic. It drives the action in the war brilliantly. Don't want to lose to Frodo? Kill faster ;)

[@juliangrayson9951]

I watched your Napoleonic games comparison and that was great and this is also great as well. Looking forward to more comparisons.

[@Gauravonomics]

Excellent videos, Nathan. You should do more review, comparison, and top ten style videos.

[@pmacgilli]

WotR looks fantastic with the painted figures. Your friend did a hell of a job with them. I'm staring down the barrel of two weeks of quarantine when I get back to Canada and I think I just found a good way to use the time. Thanks again, Nathan.

[@bigmull]

I did consider painting the minis but due to possible "stickyness" issues and the fact that there are so many i went down the route of using coloured rubber base rings to differentiate the FP from the SP,it also makes set up a damn lot faster.I am currently sourcing decent minis to replace the Companions and Minions,so far i have Gollum,Gandalf,Gimli,Saruman,Boromir and Theoden done from various sources.I also got a lot of "enhancements"(cities,strongholds,mountains etc)and they are all now painted up and really make the game pop.

[@lowke]

Great review. Thank you. I’ve been curious about Battle of Five Armies for a while, and it helps to have a comparison to War of the Ring.

[@JM16714]

While I get that you prefer one system and that's legitimate: I just don't agree about the arbitrary nature of the drawing hunt tiles in war of the ring. The shadow player is on a timer in both games. To win the shadow needs to efficiently advance in a way that nets 10 vp. They can't count on catching the fellowship, it would be horrible game design to make it consistent shadow strategy to lock down the fellowship, it needs to be the way it is to force the war. The free people are just trying to slow the tide until the timer runs out on the shadow. They are not supposed to be able to win a military victory, that rule exists to prevent the shadow from being cheesy and leaving everything undefended. Its the beautiful asymmetry of this game, offense for the FP in the fellowship, defense on the war front. Flip that for shadow. You have to weigh the balance. Even in the 1 in 10 edgecase you described, the shadow player didn't lose only because of that chit pull. They made choices that either allowed you to charge up the mountain or they had some key setback, or maybe it was as simple as wasting a chance to move a red blob closer to Rivendell 30 turns ago. That honestly sounds like a great gaming story to me. (Not quite as epic as when I killed 3 French generals in one turn of wilderness war hahaha)

[@TheDiomedef16]

I have WotR and its expansions, I painted them too, makes the game so much more immersive in my opinion. I shall have to look at Battle of Five Armies. A very enjoyable comparison.

[@wishmeheaven]

Have you tried the Battle of Five Armies since you wrote that response 2 years ago? (And if so, what are your thoughts of it..?)

[@paulsaunders6536]

I’m one of the lucky owners of the first collectors edition of The War of Ring where all the figures were painted. Fortunately I snagged a copy directly when first published. It is now, by a significant margin, the most valuable game I own. Painted minis make a world of a difference.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Oh yeah! They look amazing when all laid out over the map!

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Nathan, front and center. Well done.

[@shared_xp]

After SUSD review I was bit disheartened. Thank you for such an unbiased and well articulated reasoning. WOTR = Heavy Strategy and Light Tactics. BOTFA = Heavy tactics light Strategy. I feel like a variant of War of the Rings Combat system, potentially adopting some of the Battle of the Five Armies would balloon the runtime up and make it as fiddly as all get out, but remove some of the randomness. Thanks again.

[@dirkd6908]

I wish they'd make fantasy, sci fi games like this but with counters. Perhaps like Heroes of Normandie..? But hex or area movement maps instead of square grid.

[@bigmull]

I have WoTR and the Expansions and love it.I have looked at The Battle of The 5 Armies,but to be honest it doesnt grab me at all.I dont really like The Hobbit so there could lie the issue.I also have the original SPI version ot the WoTR and i still love to play it,the similarities between the 2 Games is at times striking.

[@e-4airman124]

thank you again nice review

[@alenkadic2870]

I have both games. I only have the first expansion for war of the ring. War of thr ring is very balanced, especially with the expansion. While the battle of five armies is a bit harder to play as a red player.

[@rockandmetaljunkie]

I have a question! Have you ever played The Hunt for the Ring? The result of that game can be brought to the War of the Ring and effect the final outcome. Essentially these two games can be connected if the players choose to do so! Does this game feature a similar mechanic?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Yeah I own that, but haven't played it much, and haven't linked it. I don't think Bo5A can be linked, but could be wrong.

[@rockandmetaljunkie]

@@WiseGuyHistory Thanks!

[@GameZone-vt9ti]

​@@WiseGuyHistory Hi, I also have a question. Have you played The battles of the third age, and if the answer is yes, what do you prefer more "Battles of the armies" or "The battles of the third age"?

[@eriksjogren800]

Great!