Review: War of the Ring with all core expansions

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Apologies, I referred to the Eagles as 'Elves' four times throughout!

[@fredrex2264]

Final expansion should be more about sieges, and like special cardboard mini maps for all fortresses to play those sieges with interesting Mechanic's

[@bibleboardgames]

Thank you for the video! War of the Ring (2nd Edition) is the EPIC game in my collection. I have LORDS and WARRIORS but did not know KINGS was out until recently so this was helpful! It is good to see Ares is still investing in this great version! I will be looking to get KINGS soon. I am hoping one day there will be a Hobbiton expansion which involves the start of the journey from Hobbiton to Rivendale and the Scouring.

[@iscariot666]

Play “Hunt for the Ring” by Ares.

[@bibleboardgames]

​@@iscariot666 I did not realize 'Hunt for the Ring' was made by the same designers as WOTR. You may be right when I am in the mood for an extra game. Thanks!

[@bibleboardgames]

Dreaming for the next expansion... I would love to see a Hobbiton Expansion. I am experimenting with a quick simple home variation with the hobbits in Hobbiton and each space they move toward Rivendale each player gets to place an extra army unit anywhere and they pick up Strider in Bree. Also experimenting with giving Gray Haven Elves the ability to travel by sea several spaces and open up some options for them. But a real expansion could explore a lot: Black riders attacking, connect with Strider at Bree, Heal up with Tom Bombadil but risk damage at Old Tree Willow, Barrow Whights, or Weathertop, Add Glorfindel, Ford of the Bruinen River, while having to move each of the Fellowship from their respective lands to Rivendale in time. Could also add physical hit points for main characters or extend the corruption track so that when they reach Rivendale they might be better or worse off... but keep my option that allows players to add units anywhere so that when the Fellowship is in Rivendale the battle landscape can be a bit different each time.

[@Kili121416]

Have the Base game & the first 2 expansions all painted up and have the 2nd Ed cards. Yet to put it on the table. This may have given me a nudge.

[@v.y.o.]

That was a nice overview! As a Collector's/1st Edition enjoyer the prospect of adding more stuff that also leans more towards the films than the books does not appeal to me - but I do concede that it's well integrated for those who do crave more. What's your usual playtime with the expansions?

[@jnharr]

Fantastic! Very informative and helpful. Thank you! (liked and subbed!) One question ... It seems like if the Shadow player is using hunt tiles on the sovereign board that this would detract from the more important goal of corrupting Frodo. What are your thoughts and experiences regarding this aspect of the Kings expansion?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

@jnharr Yeah they have a choice of what tile to use, so in effect they can weed out weak tiles, or go strong to corrupt the Sovereigns...

[@Dangerous27Dave]

I have all 3 expansions but we tend to play the base game on its own and we haven't yet played the KoME expansion. Does playing all 3 expansions add to the time to play the game? Further, does it move the needle of either side achieving victory towards one of the ways to win; dunk or military (free) and military and corruption (shadow) (so, for example, if corruption tokens are put on the character board, does that mean it will affect the ring dunk since whichever corruption token is placed is no longer in the bag)?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

@Dangerous27Dave Actually our game today with all 3 expansions was our fastest ever! I'd suggest it'd normally add a bit of extra time, but not much.

[@evildrganymede]

Is the Shadow player able to fight effectively against the Dead Men? I'd presume they can only be used a few times too, or there's a time limit to use them before they have to be dismissed?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

@evildrganymede No they can't really respond. They just have to hope the Free People don't have too many of the Dead Men faction cards to use...

[@NigelIncubatorJones]

Plural: dice. Singular: die.

[@rawpotatofella9654]

If only they did another run of anniversary edition for 2024.

[@KaemonAwa96]

It’s here!

[@Sacrilege83]

You asked, now shall receive.

[@Justegarde]

Man, I disagree totally. I think Warriors of Middle Earth needlessly bloats the game. Lords is necessary, IMO, given the subtle ways it smoothes some of the edges in the rules. Kings is not necessary IMO, but I like it from a thematic perspective.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Oh wow, I love Warriors! It really encourages me to rush Strider south, and, since we introduced it, the Companions have played a far more active role in regions like Fangorn, Helms Deep, and the Woodland Realm. It's added that extra 'flavour' that you see in the books, that often didn't reflect in our games.

[@Justegarde]

@@WiseGuyHistory I can see that. I just think the whole “add a figure/remove a figure” for effects and combat is really clunky. Plus all the new unit cards make the game take up even more space on the table. I like the cleanliness and unobtrusiveness of the original cards from the base game for those same effects.

[@iscariot666]

@@WiseGuyHistory I agree. WotR+LoME+WoME+KoME = EPIC!

[@craterous]

WOTR is thematically brilliant. What I dislike is the FP real only focus is to charge asap to destroy the Ring using most companions as corruption fodder. (i.e. It seems 1 dimensional.) So: Do any of these expansions add any ATTRACTIVE nuance to FP strategy?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

The main thing these expansions add is 'more options' for actions. So the Shadow Player can bring more nuanced units/characters to their strategy, which, if not countered by the Free Peoples, will be more effective. So of course, the Free People's player has to respond in kind with their own range of new units/characters. What this does is expand the range of activity in a typical game, and this slows down the rush of the ring t Mordor. Instead of being able to rush the ring, the FP player has to deal with a broader range of 'on-map'/strategic issues. Their strategy remains much the same - get the ring to Mordor ASAP - they are just more limited by having to respond to the on-map situation more. It means that ' a lot more happens' in a typical game with these expansions than a typical game without them.

[@erik060208]

Yes it does. LoME adds the balrog, which allows the shadow player to draw another corruption tile when frodo moves or declares through the space where the barlog is (often moria). It also adds the Chief of the Ringwraiths, helping you play more cards from the character deck. WoME adds the spider faction, giving the shadow player more ways to add corruption. And KoME adds the corruption mechanic for the Kings, making it more attractive for the shadow player to add eyes to the hunt box at the beginning of the turn, since they won't go to waste if the free people doesn't roll movement. And you can remove tiles you don't like from the hunt pool, for instance I like removing tiles without reveal, giving me more chances to reveal the fellowship. And Ugluk also helps with hunting for the fellowship There are a lot more ways to punish the Free people player for just sprinting it to the mountain. Which I agree is often the best way to win as the FP without expansions. But the FP also get more military power in return (Eagles, Ents, Dead men, Elrond, Galadriel, extra keeper die turn 1, sovereigns). Plus with the council of elrond rules in LoME, you can start some of the fellowship in their respective cities (Boromir in Minas Tirith, Gimil in Erebor, etc). Making your fellowship weaker, but your defense stronger. So yes, you have a lot more nuance in FP strategy with the expansions :)

[@kingpietro1279]

warriors of middle earth is the better exansion but the lords and kings is easier to ad and to learn