The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is produced by Fantasy Flight Games. It is a cooperative game set in the fantasy world of JRR Tolkien 's books. The initial time-frame for the game is the 17 years between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo following him.
Contents. Mechanics Like other games in Fantasy Flight's line, it has deck construction and regularly released expansions similar to a, but without the randomized card distribution. Unlike most card games of this type, it may be played either solitaire or with a group. Although a core set only supports up to 2 players, the game can be played by 3 or 4 with an additional core set. Unusually, players are not opponents but cooperate against an 'encounter deck' which represents the forces of and produces the obstacles that the adventurers have to conquer.
Each player has their own cards: their heroes (up to 3) which start in play, and a deck of at least 50 cards, composed of Allies, Attachments (such as weapons, armor, and other items) and Events. Although the core set comes with pre-constructed decks, deck construction is a major aspect of the game, and many players build their own decks, utilising cards from the various expansions. Community The Lord of the Rings Living Card Game has an active following, with multiple podcasts and blogs dedicated to discussing gameplay, strategy, deck-building and news, as well as providing custom content. Podcasts: Cardboard of the Rings The Grey Company The Mouth of Sauron Blogs: Tales From the Cards Hall of Beorn Master of Lore Dor Cuarthol Expansions There are several types of expansion to this game. Each Deluxe Expansion (and the core set) contain 3 quests and begins a new cycle, which usually share a mechanical or story driven theme.
These releases are supplemented by 6 Adventure Packs for a total of 9 quests per cycle. The Saga Expansions follow the story of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The latter introduced a mode of play called Campaign mode allowing for some degree of permanence between the quests telling the story. Players can earn powerful 'Boon' cards, which can be used in following quests, as well as 'Burden' cards which make future quests more difficult.
The Standalone Scenarios are one-off quests released without any player cards. Fantasy Flight Games usually releases one to coincide with their Gen Con event and their Fellowship (in house) event. They have often been more difficult than a standard quest and allow the designers to experiment with ideas outside the confines of the main game.
Fantasy Flight Games. 20 April 2011.
Retrieved 26 March 2016. Fantasy Flight Games. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
Boardgame Geek. Retrieved 26 March 2016. Fantasy Flight Games.
14 October 2008. Retrieved 27 March 2016. Tales from the Cards. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
Cardboard of the rings. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
Grey Company Podcast. Retrieved 2018-12-27. The Mouth of Sauron Podcast. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
Tales from the Cards. Retrieved 2018-12-27. Hall of Beorn. Retrieved 2018-12-27. Master of Lore.
Retrieved 2018-12-27. Dor Cuarthol. Retrieved 2018-12-27. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
Tarason, Dominic (December 9, 2017). Retrieved December 9, 2017. External links.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is a card-based game released. The game is set during the seventeen year period between Bilbo's 111th birthday, and Frodo's departure from Bag End. The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game was first announced on, and was released on. It is a, which differs from collectible card games in that each expansion is released in fixed packs with no randomness. There are, therefore, no 'rare' or 'common' cards which creates an even playing pool and a system that is easy to collect and fully playable with only the core set and any number of expansions. Sample Player CardThe Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is nearly unique in that it is one of the few cooperative Living Card Games. The players (1-4) work together to defeat the scenario and complete each quest.
While the Core Set comes with pre-constructed decks, players are encouraged to create their own starting with up to three hero characters (who start in play) from the spheres of influence. The player cards are represented through four 'spheres', which relate to various spheres of influence seen in the source material. The four spheres are:. Tactics (combat, direct damage). Leadership (resource management, global effects). Spirit (willpower, cancellation effects).
Lore (card draw effects, encounter deck manipulation) Decks can be constructed using any combination of spheres, but there must be a 'resource match' to play the cards from the various spheres. This is done by using the native sphere of the hero, or by giving the hero a new sphere through 'song' cards and other effects. Player decks are then composed of varying numbers and combinations of player card types: Allies, Attachments, and Events. The minimum deck size is 50 cards with a maximum of 3 copies per card.
Once decks are constructed, the players choose a quest scenario and begin setup according to the quest cards. This is where the encounter deck is constructed and shuffled, representing the difficulties the players will face as they complete their quest. The game is then played in rounds consisting of seven phases, some containing different steps. Sample play area from official site.
Resource Phase - players draw one card and each hero gains one resource. Planning Phase - starting with the first player, each player may play Events, Attachments, or Allies from his hand. Quest Phase - players commit characters to the quest, reveal encounter cards, and resolve. Travel Phase - if there is no active location, players choose a revealed location and travel there. Encounter Phase - players engage enemies from the staging area for combat. Combat Phase - players defend enemy attacks, then attack enemies engaged with them. Refresh Phase - players ready all exhausted characters and increase their threat trackers by one Many cards have different effects that can be triggered throughout a round of play to modify or circumvent these rules.
Part of the enjoyment of the game is coming up with new ways of beating the various scenarios. Once the completion are requirements are met on the last quest phase (either quest progress, defeated enemies, or captured cards) then the players win. If all heroes are discarded or player threat level reaches 50, then the game is over and the players have lost. Expansion Cycles The producers release a monthly new set of 60-card expansions (called Adventure Packs), each related to a specific 'cycle'. The packs contain new players cards for each sphere, as well as a new quest tied to the corresponding deluxe expansion. The earlier cycles follow a loose series of events, but the more recent cycles, Against the Shadow being the first, have been released with a very tight story with printed narratives in each Adventure Pack. The cards from these expansion sets cannot be used without the core product.
Planned and published releases include: Shadows of Mirkwood Cycle (2011). The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - Core Set, followed. The Hunt for Gollum. Conflict at the Carrock. A Journey to Rhosgobel.
The Hills of Emyn Muil. The Dead Marshes. Return to Mirkwood This quest cycle follows the heroes as they pursue the creature through various locales in Middle-earth. It culminates in his capture and transport to, mirroring the actions taken by during his own hunt for Gollum.