REVIEW: War of the Ring (Board Game)

One thing that I always look for in a good board game is a solid theme. For instance, my "gateway game" (the board game that really got me into the hobby in a serious way) was Arkham Horror, which is really not very easy to pick up and play; but the theme is what sucked me in. War of the Ring is the most sophisticated marriage of theme and gameplay mechanics that I have ever seen in a board game, and a major part of why it is one of my highest rated games of all time. Basically, War of the Ring is 'The Lord of the Rings' in a box, and plays out in about 3-5 hours. It is a two-player game (the rules say 2-4 but *pfft*!) with one person taking on the role of 'the shadow' as they try and crush Middle-Earth, enslave everyone, and hopefully recover the One Ring. The other player is the 'free people' and they must try to politically activate nations to war, fend off the tide of Orcs, Uruk-hai and Haradrim, while also sneaking the fellowship into Mordor and cast the ring into Mount Doom.

All this is done over an absolutely gorgeous and mahoosive game board, on which you position and move the different armies, leaders and characters throughout the game. It looks very much like a "risk-type-game" and in some ways it is a long, complex, wargame, but it' also got a lot more going on. For starters you can't just start building units and stomping over each other, chucking dice willy-nilly; you have to first push your chosen nations to war along a political track. For the 'free people' player this usually involves breaking characters off from the fellowship and actively trying to coax sleepy nations to muster troops, or to at least defend themselves. Aside from the political maneuvering there is also the hunt for the ring, as each turn the fellowship is going to be moving in secret across the board towards Mordor and the 'shadow' player is going to be rolling dice, allocating resources and playing cards in order to corrupt and destroy the merry band. Once all the pieces start moving, it becomes a race against time for both sides to achieve victory one way or another (either through military conquest or by destroying/reclaiming the One Ring) and is a very exciting strategic brain burner.

You see, all these actions are governed by special unique dice, which are rolled (sometimes re-rolled) and these dictate the kind of actions that you can take on that turn. Each face on the dice have several different applications, so you never feel like the game is random or out of your control, but it does work as an excellent mechanism to ensure you can never do everything you want in one turn - requiring you to plan ahead and carefully manage your resources. There are also the different leaders and characters from the 'Lord of the Rings' that can be brought into play, each with their own unique effect upon the game and your strategies. Not to mention that there are also several decks of cards and various other bits and bobs that all contribute to the thematic flavour of the game as well a the tactics available to both sides. War of the Ring is an utterly fantastic game, one that takes a long time to play and really tests your strategic brain, but one that everyone should experience at least once if they enjoy JRR Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece.