Board Game Spotlight: War of the Ring 2nd Edition

One Ring to rule them all.... Ah the inevitable megalomania that takes over, well today's spotlight sees us take a stroll down memory lane, all the way back to the third age in fact, as we look at War of the Ring 2nd Edition.

The Game

War of the Ring is a game set within the confines of J.R.R Tolkien's masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, and sees players leading the forces of Shadow or Free Peoples as each attempts to overcome the other. Designed for two players but scale-able into two teams of two, War of the Ring is not your every day territory control game, as everyone knows there is not enough strength in the Free Peoples to combat the growing evil of Mordor.

Whilst the Shadow player(s) objective is to overcome the key settlements of the Free Peoples, the forces of good will be attempting a different route to victory. As the fate of Middle Earth truly rests with the most unlikely of creatures, a Hobbit - Mr. Frodo Baggins being his name.

Setting out from Rivendell, the fellowship of the ring will be trying to move across the map using a hidden movement system, with their ultimate goal being the destruction of the one ring. Containing all your favourites from the wizard Gandalf to Boromir of Gondor, the fellowship is packed full of heroes along with miniatures to represent them. Although the fellowship is your real hope, you may wish to have characters leave in order to bolster the defences of Middle Earth and rally its people.

Of course Sauron's forces are not going to let you just waltz into Mordor! They can also secure a victory by corrupting the ring bearer, and they will do this by sending out their agents into the world. Every time the ring bearer moves their is a chance that they will be found, and the faster they move the more likely this becomes.

With Sauron sending out his Nazgul, which are awesome miniatures, the movement of the ring bearer becomes even more perilous, so it's essential the Free Peoples apply some pressure in order to give the fellowship the opportunity they need to destroy the ring once and for all.

Though if the quest takes too long you run the risk of the world falling into shadow!

The Publisher

Ares Games is an Italian game publisher that was founded in 2011. Their first real success was with the republishing of Wings of War, a WW1 aerial combat game which they renamed as Wings of Glory. Having gained the license for Tolkien's works, they produced War of the Ring which picked up several international awards for best two player strategy game before being republished it its current format.

Ares Games' new titles include Hunt for the Ring, which also uses the Lord of the Rings Franchise, and Divinity Derby, a mythological racing game currently on Kickstarter have also set the gaming world a flutter.

Let the War of the Ring begin!

See darkness reign over middle earth or clutch on to the last hope for the Free Peoples in War of the Ring, now available on our online store.