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.

Continue reading “TheOneRing.net Boardgame Gift Guide 2010”

Many of us Ringers know the comparisons of The Lord of the Rings to Harry Potter are many. Well, Film.com has compiled a few for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!

Fantasy stories generally lift from the same mythological source bank. Actually, if you want to get super scholarly and esoteric about it, every story (especially the more sword-and-sorcery themed variety) is the same basic “hero’s journey” archetype detailed by Joseph Campbell. But fantasy stories — King Arthur, Lord of the RingsThe Chronicles of NarniaWillowPeter PanConan the Barbarian — build their world out of the same objects. You have magicians, dragons, unicorns, gnomes, and elves popping up to do battle, and they’ve made their way from medieval tapestries and texts to our modern movie screens.

[Read on]

Did you ever want to ask a troublesome Tolkien question? Just who the heck is Tom Bombadil, anyway? Does the Ring think for itself? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

TheOneRing.net’s Reading Room is intended to be a forum for critical analysis and on-topic discussion of Tolkien’s literary works. Reading Room features include ongoing discussions of Tolkien-related books and topics, where volunteers lead ‘formal’ discussions, as well as posts of general interest you can make at any time!

So please feel welcome, don’t be shy (we don’t bite!) and jump right in! The Reading Room is open to all. [Reading Room]

Glen GoodKnight, founder of the Mythopoeic Society, passed away Wednesday night, November 3rd. Glen founded the Mythopoeic Society in 1967 to further the study of the writings of C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams and J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1970, he organized the first of the now famous Mythcon conventions, still going strong today. Glen was active in the Mythopoeic Society for over 30 years and edited 78 issues of the society’s journal, Mythlore.

Thanks to squire for alerting our community to the sad news via the Reading Room discussion board. In squire’s words: ” I have long admired his dedication to his life’s work: to increase the world’s awareness of the importance of modern mythmakers like Tolkien and his fellow Inklings — to break down the walls of the fantasy ghetto. We on this site, and on this board especially, owe a great debt to him, whether we know it or not. I hope others will join me in wishing him an well-earned and honored rest in the home of his longfathers.” We couldn’t have said it any better, squire. Our sincere condolences go out to to Glen’s family and friends.

Announcing the Cruise to Middle-earth: The Sequel, Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Fellowship of the Ring.

TheOneRing.net staffer Garfeimao (aka Cathy) is planning our next Cruise to Middle-earth! Here’s all the details:

New Zealand will always be Middle-earth here at TORn. With that in mind, I am proud to announce a second cruise to Middle-earth. This is your chance to see the enchanting Land of the Long White Cloud and Middle-earth in the same place. Red Carpet Tours will be customizing short day tours for us from several of the ports, as well as a longer, optional post-cruise tour of locations not reachable from the ship.

This cruise will sail on the Celebrity Century from Sydney, Australia on November 30, 2011 and finish in Auckland, New Zealand on December 12, 2011. The bulk of the cruise will be in New Zealand waters, with stops at ports near several Lord of the Rings filming locations. The advantage of a cruise is that it acts as a hotel, a restaurant and transportation so that you need unpack only once during the cruise. It will give everyone in the group time to bond over dinner, to meet up during ‘at sea’ days to watch the films, and to even have a costume party. Exact optional tours are still in development at the moment, so please do contact me for more details.
Continue reading “Return to Middle-earth in 2011!”

New Zealand is not going down without a fight! Join the effort to keep The Hobbit in New Zealand by participating positive rallies throughout the country. A facebook page has been setup for the effort, including dates and times when rallies will be taking part in your town. If you are in New Zealand, join your fellow Kiwis this Labour Day Monday! [Facebook Page] [Rally Event Page to RSVP]

If you do attend, please send in your reports to spymaster@theonering.net. We’d love to hear from you all.