Welcome to TheOneRing.net’s Boardgame Gift Guide! Boardgames that portray Tolkien’s world have been a part of the hobby…
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Welcome to TheOneRing.net’s Boardgame Gift Guide!Boardgames that portray Tolkien’s world have been a part of the hobby since the 1960s. Ranging from easy family games to hard-core wargames, there is something for everyone. Since the merchandising license for such games can be expensive – and boardgames are not a huge mass market – there are only a few quality companies licensed to produce Tolkien-themed games.
For anyone who is addicted to ‘tower defense’ type games on their iPhone, you will be getting an amazing Christmas present this year. The folks from Glu Mobile are releasing an officially licensed The Lord of the Rings game app for the iPhone titled ‘The Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense’.
The Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense – Relive the major battles from the epic movie trilogy as you take command of Frodo, Aragorn and many other classic characters in a strategic tower defense game.
Gizmodo has posted a video of the gameplay featuring ‘story mode’ with Aragorn and Legolas are battling some ringwraiths and wargs (or at least it looks that way from the video). This is the first time we are seeing the gameplay, and it is expected to be available in December for download. Jump over to Gizmodo to check out the gameplay. Thanks to TORn Staffer Jincey for the heads up! [Gizmodo] [Glu Press Release]
Our friends at Warner Bros Studios are also celebrating Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday today with up to 50% off selected items, and free shipping on orders of $60 or more from their WBshop.com store. This might be a perfect opportunity to nab a Halloween costume, DVD or that Gandalf bobblehead you’ve been putting off buying. Check out their complete Lord of the Rings offerings here. Thanks to stormcrow20 for the alert.
No, no, not the film — it’s a new boardgame by Dr. Reiner Knizia, who designed the recently-republished ‘Lord of the Rings’ cooperative boardgame and many other excellent titles. Fantasy Flight Games has announced this for ‘Winter 2010’. Some time back, Knizia indicated that, like the book, this will be a lighter title than ‘Lord of the Rings’ and playable by younger players and non-gamers. 2-5 players represent dwarves who accompany Bilbo on his journey; the goal is to end the game with the most loot!
With the forthcoming cooperative LotR card game and the new edition of the older Knizia LotR co-op (and a likely new edition of the big-box War of the Ring wargame next year), and now this new product, Fantasy Flight is keeping their Tolkien line very much alive. In any case, this game can keep us occupied on those long Yule nights while waiting for news about a Hobbit movie.
Learn more at the Fantasy Flight Games website. [Click Here]
[disclaimer – I (Ostadan) have nothing to do with FFG, but think they’ve done a fine job in their handling of the Tolkien game license, unlike some other companies I could mention…]
If you are a fan of Lord of the Rings collectibles and fine art, you’ll want to jump over to SideshowCollectibles.com tonight. With the launch of their latest newsletter they have added Funko’s LOTR plush dolls, including Legolas, Gandalf, Frodo and a Moria Orc. Besides being insanely cute, they are also very affordable at only $9.99 a piece. Sideshow has also begun a relationship with renown LOTR artist Ted Nasmith to offer some of his masterpieces. The first two offerings are custom framed versions of ‘The Wrath of the Ents‘ and ‘Eowyn and the Nazgul.’ And if that wasn’t enough LOTR to whet your collecting whistle, they’ve also added the Hobbit themed Taverncraft ‘Smaug the Magnificent‘ mugs which we posted about earlier this week. Oh yea, they’ve also teased a new line of LOTR statues, starting out with everyone’s favorite Ranger!
Fantasy Flight Games’ new boardgame, ‘Middle-earth Quest‘ is now shipping. The FFG web site has a PDF of the rulebook and a QuickTime trailer movie. This looks to be an interesting offering, not as heavy as the FFG ‘War of the Ring’ game, but certainly more complex than the Knizia ‘Lord of the Rings’ co-operative boardgame. [Trailer] [PDF]
The time period is sometime before the main events of LotR, with Sauron extending his power from Mordor; one player portrays Sauron, with up to three opponents portraying heroes who try to hinder his plans. The heroes win or lose against Sauron as a group.
Hopefully, when I have actually played the game, I will report on it more informatively. [Middle-earth Quest]
