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Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth is a strategic two-player card game. The game is designed by Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala, beautifully illustrated by: Vincent Dutrait, and published by Asmodee and Repos Production.
When I started dating my wife over a decade ago, I quickly learned that she’s a massive Lord of the Rings fan. Since then, she’s tried every trick to get me to watch the movies or join her for anything Lord of the Rings related. But I held my ground, figuring it just wasn’t my thing. That was until we ordered Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth. Given our shared love for 7 Wonders and 7 Wonders Duel, this game had us curious, so we decided to give it a shot. I was hesitant, armed with zero background knowledge of LOTR and thinking I’d miss out.
Joke’s on me—I’m now invested. This game is so good that I am going to watch the movies, and I'm contemplating reading the books. Will I let her persuade me into watching the extended edition films? Maybe not. But I’ll admit, this game might have turned me. You don’t need to be fluent in Middle-earth lore to play, but don’t be surprised if, like me, you end up hooked on Lord of the Rings.
Overview: The Ring, the Races, and Conquest
In Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth, you’ll either lead the Fellowship or command Sauron’s forces to battle for dominance across three epic chapters. The chapters intensify as you go, giving each side chances to strategize, adapt, and come out on top. If you play with the Fellowship, you can win the game by either:
Completing the Quest of the Ring: lead Frodo and Sam to the end of the Quest track to destroy the One Ring
Rallying Allies: recruit six different races to your side to forge a united Middle-earth
Dominating the Board: have the Fellowship control all seven regions on the central board
The Sauron has the same three winning conditions:
Capture the Fellowship: reach Frodo and Sam on the Quest track and stop the One Ring’s destruction.
Overpower the Regions: spread Sauron’s influence by controlling all seven regions
Amass Allies and Power: acquire all six races to overwhelm the Fellowship
Components
Inside the box, you’ll find:
A succinct and well written book
One player aid--I wish there were two!
A Quest of the Ring track in four pieces that comes together in a beautiful manner
69 Chapter cards, 23 for each of the three chapters with color blind friendly symbols
15 Units and 7 Fortresses for each side, yellow for the Fellowship and grey for the Sauron
18 Alliance tokens, three per race
7 Landmark tiles
1 central board
30 Coins
The game comes with almost zero plastic! And it comes with an insert that allows for easy storage of the game.
Setup
Place the central board in the middle of the table
Shuffle and stack alliance (race) tokens on top of the central board
Shuffle first chapter cards and assemble them according to the diagram to see which cards go face up and which go face down
Shuffle the seven landmark tiles and place three face up
Determine Roles
Sauron:
receives two coins
gets all grey units and towers
places two grey units on Mordor
The Fellowship:
receives three coins
gets all yellow units and towers
places two yellow units on Arnor
Turn Overview
Sauron goes first at the start of the game. Then, the Fellowship and Sauron take turns. During each turn you may either:
Take a Chapter Card: by picking a face up card from the play area.
You can pay any costs to place it in front of you, or
discard it for one coin during the first chapter, two during the second chapter, and three during the final chapter
Take a Landmark Tile: by selecting one of the three face-up tiles, paying its cost, and placing a fortress in the corresponding region. Each landmark tile provides one time unique bonuses and you can substitute coins for each skill you do not have
Cards, Skills, Chaining and End of Chapter
The Chapter cards come in six colors, each with unique symbols for colorblind accessibility. The card types are:
Skills: depicted in grey and with a diamond shape. These cards provide abilities to help play other cards and tiles
Races: depicted in green and with a triangle shape. These cards allows you to form alliances with the Races of Middle-Earth. Whenever you get two matching symbols or three different race symbols, you get bonuses. Additionally, if you ever secure one of each of the race cards, you immediately win the game
Units: depicted in red and with a x shape. These cards allow you to place units in a region
Quest: depicted in blue and with a rectangle shape. These cards allow you to move your character along the Quest of the Ring. As your character moves, you may get bonuses
The Fellowship’s ultimate goal is to reach Mount Doom to destroy the ring and win the game
Sauron closes in and tries to reach Frodo and Sam to prevent them from destroying the ring and immediately win the game
Maneuvers: depicted in purple and with a star shape. These powerful cards are only available during the final chapter, and they allow you to either move your units, make your opponent lose coins, or remove enemy units.
Coins: depicted in yellow and with a circle shape. The cards supply you with currency
The game progresses through the three chapters. Each chapter with more powerful cards that can allow you to chain symbols, so you can play cards for free.
Chapters conclude once all cards have been claimed. Then shuffle the next chapter cards and set them up according to the diagram found in both the box and rulebook
Pros
Diverse Paths to Victory: Three win conditions keep both players on their toes
High Replay Value: Each game takes new direction depending on chosen strategies
Language Independent: The game has icons which allow for this game to be played with anyone! I really like this feature as I play games in both English and Spanish and some of my friends do not speak both languages
Colorblind Friendliness: The game has symbols to accommodate colorblind needs
Cons
Only one player aid! That does not include all the symbols, so this can be confusing during your first games
Conflict Resolution: Battle outcomes are straightforward but might feel too repetitive for some.
Final Thoughts
Even though I’m not versed in Lord of the Rings (yet), I found the theme in Duel for Middle-earth quite captivating. The artwork is stunning. The game is both strategic and straightforward, offering three distinct winning conditions—conquering regions, advancing on the Quest of the Ring, or forming alliances. This variety keeps the gameplay interesting and ensures that every choice feels significant. I warn you, if you are not a Lord of the Rings fan, you may become one after trying this game!
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