So turns out that I accidentally swapped the minis for the Witch King and Mouth of Sauron for all my playthroughs and this review! It just made more sense for the Witch King to be mounted for me, even if it wasn't on a Nazgul. Thanks to the commenters for pointing this inexperienced halfling mistake!
There are people who have made the Simarillion - 1st/2nd Age adaptions out of this game. Yea, the game rules are kinda byzantine in their presentation. Once you get past that , great game. I still think Divine Right is the best fantasy war-game, but it is multiplayer , not 2 player. You would have to be "old-school" to know Divine Right, like playing basic D&D and still having a "Chain mail" rulebook. LOL And today "Chain -mail" is now called "War-Hammer" LOL and D&D is Warcraft
This was the review that got me to buy this game and for that.... thank you! My girlfriend who is a huge LoTR fan and I play almost every week now. Thanks for bringing us into this awesome experience.
hey man that's so awesome! The game really gives so much back to us LotR fans. The big question is: who has a higher win rate, you or the GF? :) -Ashton
Thank you, Shut Up and Sit Down for introducing me to the timeless classic that is War of the Ring, and thank you War of the Ring, by now my favourite game of all time, for introducing me to Shelfside. I just got here, but I'm loving it
I suggest One stop Co-op shop ruclips.net/video/rLq-uXGDTuo/видео.html , for a great one person playthough of this game, et al. Also Dan Thorpe ruclips.net/video/m6hLcLkCXdY/видео.html for many TTS playthroughs. I hope "Shelfside" doesn't mind me linking to other boardgame sites. My motives are not commercial/promotional , only to link board-gamers across the net.
Thanks for the detailed, thematic (love the use of the original voice tracks from the movies) and just overally well-made review. I find it muuuuuch more helpful to understand the feel and the inner workings of this game than any other video I have seen about it. Also I just rewatched the entire trilogy yesterday with my wife and I am hyped once again, like a kid finding the once favorite, long time lost toy behind the wardrobe. This game was always on my radar, but now it just jumped right into my focus, like the ring using Frodo to the always watching Eye of Sauron. Once again I can whisper "I see you" to this box. Thanks again, subscribed!
may you enjoy all of the detailed pieces of Middle Earth duking it out in front of you! Thanks for the awesome praise! Every time I watch any clip from the LotR trilogy, I am like you, transported to a time where Middle Earth becomes 100% real and the westfold has fallen. Cheers! -Ashton
You have managed to top SU&SD's review of the game, I've owned this game for years and played it dozens of times, and you make me just want to play again.
Excellent review! Really easy to follow and great editing! I have watched many reviews for this game, and yours is the first one that made me understand the mechanics completly. 🙂 Keep up the good work!
I am so happy you took a stab at reviewing this game. It has been a love of mine for a long time. I bought the first edition back when I was in high school just because it had a LotR theme. When I actually got around to playing it properly ten years later, I noticed that the second edition had come out. I upgraded and have thoroughly enjoyed each playthrough. I’m sure that I would love the expansions but I might not play it enough to justify the cost especially since I have The Battle of Five Armies as well. If you do go for the expansions, please let me know what you think of them!
Great review! I recently got the game and agree fully that the minis can be hard to tell appart. I painted the bases different colors before my first playthrough and it helps vastly.
Really enjoyed this review! You already sold me on the LCG a few weeks ago and am loving it! Would love to see your thoughts on Journeys In Middle Earth. It’s my favourite game so far! Cheers
awesome that the LCG has been going well for you! Not sure on Journeys of Middle Earth, since we're really swamped with campaign games as is, but I do love me any excuse for more LotR! Maybe one day :) -Ashton
Try venturing into Table Top Simulatior (TTS) or Java versions of this game, you can play online with 1000's of people and 100's of online conversions of other boardgames . I am just getting into TTS. With much of the Covid/Wuhan Flu restrictions going around , there is a big movement towards playing "boardgames " online. You'll find some friends there
Ashton, I'm a little bit late to your video. You are a fantastic reviewer. I was completely immersed in the story you told. Thank you for sharing this wonderful video. I wish you a very Happy New Year and much success in the future. Cheers!
Love this Review, it's my favourite game! Just so you know, the cards you mention at 20:36 can be played before the fellowship reaches the mordor track. The tiles are just set aside for now edit: I don't find the locations to be that much of a problem, after a game or two they become pretty recognizable, but still a bit annoying. My first game took 3.5 hours and my second took 4.5. Also, RTFM has a great how to play video
I think you were one of the commenters on the Heroquest vid that recommended this game too! I pretty much have all the locations referenced on the cards memorized by now, it was definitely really rough for my aunt and I on our first game though. Yep, the cards can be played before the mordor track, great catch! I just simplified what it said for the video :) -Ashton
Good video, love this game. I'd give a 10/10 but your Cons of the game are definitely legit. If those don't particularly bother you though, the game is near perfect mechanic and thematically. 18:46 You have swapped the figures for the Witch King and Mouth of Sauron. The figure on the horse is the Mouth. The guy standing with the sword is the Witch King.
wow that's a great catch! I didn't even second guess myself, just thought that the witch king being mounted was the most logical, even if his mount wasn't Nazgul. Thanks :) -Ashton
Loved all the voice lines I can tell exactly where they're from man I love LOTR so much. I bought this game to play with my brother but he'll visit until August, I can't wait.
yoo awesome! Yeah love LOTR so much, you will keep thinking about the movie when you get to your game! Just make sure you got the rules right bahaha -Ashton
As a long-time gamer (started in 1968) who cut his teeth on rule books with 20+ pages filled with small font text for decades, I find the complaints about the rules hereabouts...humorous. ;^)
I enjoyed this video especially the intro. I been playing this game for 2 years and enjoy it. Best way to play is having lord of the ring soundtrack on. Also thanks to your video on war of the ring I probably wouldn’t have found your channel.
Now, which i need a video on War of the Ring vs Star Wars Rebellion, I need to know which game to drop $100 cdn on, so that it can sit on my shelf unplayed for the next 8 years while I say "maybe this year.... maybe..."
Been playing this game since 2013 and we still find rules and mechanics that we've missed. Tiny and not really game changing, but still there are really small details easy to miss. So many games need to be played to get this game fully. 1v1 usually is the best, but 2v2 is also fun. 1v2 should be avoided, since free people player gets to play alone.
Great review! The best game of all time, though I may be a bit bias. The worst thing about this fantastic game really is just the setup and clean up, and the rare games where you just roll very badly the whole game. If you get familiar with the game enough, games are actually on average 1.5 - 2 hours too!
wow. 1.5 -2 hours!? That's incredible. I have a game actually coming up tomorrow, super excited to see how it goes. I could see myself playing this every month if is 2 hours -Ashton
I wil lgive u a fantastic complement, When we saw the intro and ure moving the figures my friend got goosebumps on her arm because she feelt the epicness :D
i just found your channel a few days ago. i really enjoy your content so far as im finding games through these reviews that i might actually enjoy but never knew of before. This game however ive been eyeballing for a long time but never pulled the trigger as on most sites it goes for almost 100 dollars. I see its on sale now on most of the sites i buy board games from so i thought maybe id pick it up now. I know this video is older but i gotta say im thankful it exists because i helped me decide not to buy it after watching the cons portion. I guess cards referring to certain places on the board wouldnt be so bad once i learn the board layout and where things are but i find that would be a huge pain for my first few games, and what really put me off was the rule book and player aids. Looks like a fun game otherwise but ive bought my fair share of games where the rule book is all over the place and ive rarely played those games that now sit on my shelf collecting dust. wouldnt want to spend 76 bucks on this game just for it to be another mage knight for me sitting on my shelf never getting played more than once. Anywho, thanks for the video. You saved me some money lol
Heyo! glad to help :) You could look at the card game for a more streamlined experience, that DEFINITELY has a better rulebook than this one. The board game just has so much ugly stuff that makes the effort to play gargantuan. Cheers! -Ashton
Everything except the playmat should arrive tomorrow. I found 3 AI bots (2 shadow 1 free people) 1 of which is a browser app for the shadow. Thanks for another great review. As well as likes and dislikes you describe how it feels to play the game. Something many reviewers never get a hold of.
At 19:11 you mention that Mouth of Sauron comes out if Aragorn is in play. I don’t remember reading this in the rules… have I missed something? Overall top review though, and I absolutely loved this game when I tried it!
13:20 cannot change a die with a ring to a will of the west 20:30 only beige eyes are used with special tiles in the hunt box Just a friendly remainder in case someone used this reference as rule when the video is more demonstrative
This might be wrong but you posted a War of the Ring review on my birthday!? And its an awesome review!? SUBSCRIBED. Your videos rock guys. Also, I've owned this game forever and can't get anyone to sit down and play it with me haha FML but I'll never get rid of it because um LOTR
regarding the models, i recommend replacing a majority of them. i ended up painting the companions, the minions, and the Nazgûl and replacing every other mini with wooden cubes/discs/cylinders of various colors appropriate to each faction. i find it plays so much better and setup/teardown time is so much improved. i think it probably makes the game easier to teach but i couldn't say since it was the first thing i did so i've never had to slog through it with all the awful minis. i've also gone beyond that and picked up models for the cities/strongholds and mountains but i like this game that much.
wow I've never even thought about swapping out the minis for other pieces! Would definitely make the game so much faster. What type of models for the cities/strongholds would you recommend? I might pick up some :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside there are some good ones on Etsy but they’re pretty expensive. if you have a friend with a 3D printer, there are some great files. for the wooden components, i just matched the colors of each nation with pieces from meeplesource.
This game is incredible. One of the things I love about it is that every, and I mean every, action can have an affect on who wins the game. One time I separated Gimli and placed him in Lorien. He was pretty much useless for most of the game. But when I was about to lose to a shadow player stronghold victory, I used the “a day and a night” card and some movement actions to take back Helm’s Deep and buy myself enough time to destroy the ring next turn. My most recent game ended on the last stage of the Mordor track when the light player drew a three corruption tile which killed him before he could destroy the ring. This game somehow takes the phrase “it hangs upon the edge of a knife, stray but a little and it will fail” and makes it a reality in a board game. I’ve never played anything like it.
that is awesome! Yeah the rich stories that happen to the named characters is something you don't see in a lot of other games. thanks for sharing! -Ashton
I’d love to have the chance to play this game, but I think the size and scale of the game & rules make it intimidating to most casual players. I recently got the war of the ring card game and I really enjoyed playing it. Very fast setup and takedown time to get the game going, and it was pretty easy to jump in and start playing after learning the rules. Hopefully one day I can play the board game itself!
Awesome video, this game has 6 years in my shelf of shame but going no where! I would love feedback on the expansion content. As to 2 player games, I would love a look at Blitzkrieg (20 min WW2)
Amazing job. I just purchased. Did you ever try the expansions? I wonder if there are better rulebook or player aids on BGG or upgraded components to buy online like Meeplesource?
Can i get clarification at 15:59 . You mentioned an opening hand of four cards. I read through the manual and googled for the answer but the only response i got was your initial hand is only 2 cards, one from each event deck. Can someone chime in with the answer?
oh hey just saw this! I've heard that it is definitely worth it to get the 2nd edition cards, for balance and they cleaned up a lot of the wording! -AShton
@@Shelfside I did yellow for Isengard, Mordor red, Easterlings orange, dwarves brown, elves light green, Gondor dark blue, rohan dark green and North light blue. It went surprisingly faster than I thought and was totally worth it. Good luck!
If Frodo & Sam are left alone to continue their journey towards Mordor (no companions left & gollum as a guide), then how many eyes does the Shadow player put in the hunt box? only one? If Frodo & Sam enter Mordor with NO companions left, (with Gollum as their guide) how many 'eye' dice is the Shadow player allowed to put into his hunt box?
Great review as always! My first play through also took really long but not 10 hours long lol. Though i really like this game it’s a little too fiddley to take out as often as I’d like. I know the this gets compared often Rebellion and while I enjoy the stories LotR more than Star Wars I heavily prefer Rebellion, with its expansion of course, over War of the Ring. Also you have the coolest Aunt in the world by far!
Interesting, I take a different view. Enjoy both games but War of the Ring is my preferred choice. Whilst both are thematic, WotR I find is just more replayable.
@@Orthovandro Absolutely agree War of the Ring is a more replayable game, especially with it's expansions as well, however, out of the 10 or more times I've played it only 3 of those times were with the same person who as matter of fact was a huge lotr fantatic and would constantly quote the films. The other times I've played it with people, who also played Rebellion, also vastly preferred Rebellion.
Thank you! The multiple sessions definitely added onto the playtime, plus my aunt was new to these types of games ahaha. Rebellion has been on my radar, but for the price tag it doesn't seem nearly as replayable as WoTR, and I don't get to play this awesome long game enough as is. Maybe after the pandemic Daniel and I will give it a go! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Haha don't get me wrong. While I agree WotR is a more repayable game based on the content it has, especially if you don't own that many games, I have played Rebellion nearly 30 times and every single one of those plays were different and many a times more enjoyable than the last. Just remember though playing with the expansion is a must due to the changes in combat.
@@Shelfside I highly recommend playing it as a 1 player game first, then teach to someone else and play 2 player and keep expanding the player count as more people get familiar with it. If you jump into playing 3+ new players straight away the experience might be so overwhelming that the first impressions could leave a really bad taste in your mouth as the game will be a big brain drain. It's one of my favourite games, hope you cover it someday!
I bought base markers for the figures. That solves the "crap, is that a Rohan unit or Gondor?" And I hate the give basic dice the game comes with. So I went and bought two sets of 30 dice which look much better. The free people's white and blue rice with red pips which to me represents the three elven rings, Vilya, Nenya and Narya. The shadow dice are red and black with gold pips which to me represent the fire of Mount Doom, the growing shadows from Mordor and the One Ring.
I still have the First edition of this game plus the expansion (which lumped both 2nd edition expansions together back then, minus a couple things) and it's probably the game I played the most since it came out as it's easily the best game in my collection. Even though the first few games are tough, you always wanna start another round because you feel like you could do something slightly different next time! I have played the three player variant a few times as well, where it splits the Shadow faction into Sauron and Saruman + Easterling, and it's fine, but I would rather either play with an even number of players because the lopsided games didn't feel good for either side really. Still a good gamemode, but there's better three player games out there. Also nice to see they made the cards bigger for the 2nd edition as the 1st edition cards are printed so small I had to get glasses just to read them :D
I totally feel you on the always wanting to start another round! The strategy cards have so many uses that whenever I play them, I'm thinking about all the cool other ways I could've used them. And then there's the two factions' decks to account for, with politics! I think I would play this game with 4 players once to just try it and talk about how it went, and then promptly go back to 2p :) -Ashton
I agree with everything. When I first tried to play the game I gave 3 hours and if I had known how arcane the rule book was and how long set up was, I would’ve given more time. Literally took us 90minutes first time to even take the first round. But it’s worth it. Also, my favourite way to play it is SIX players. 3v3 team. One player controls the armies, the other characters and the third factions. Makes the game a lot easier to learn and get into and it’s a lot of fun to have teammates. :)
Oh my goodness how long does that 6 player game take!!!?? The game is definitely really tricky to teach, it took me a similar amount of time to get my first round going. -Ashton
I went in with sheer brute force. I read the rulebook for two nights before bed before playing my actual first game. Then, after my first game, I read the rulebook again. Don't do that- there's probably some type of YT tutorial that would do the trick! And then study the BGG turn by turn guide before your first game. If you have any more questions, I can answer! The game is really worth the learning curve! -Ashton
My favorite game and one of my rare 10/10 ratings. However, indicating it's primarily an area control game is somewhat misleading, as the Free Peoples can win without controlling much area at all.
Readers of the books have distinct advantage mainly because Tolkien spatially connect story to the map so well and the movies don't really do this. The rule book is a beast. Not sure if you will be able to write a better one mainly because there are some weird mechanics in the game that makes it difficult. I have found though that it gets much easier on a second read through. I haven't taught it to someone yet mainly because the pandemic interfered, sigh.
Here is a full playthrough - you would be amazed all the nuance to the rules. But once you get moving, the game goes faster than you would imagine: ruclips.net/video/-Vk0rS2xhD8/видео.html
Thanks, but as someone who doesn't care about LotR (prefer historical settings), this is not really useful. You say the mechanics are still good. But is this then worth playing above all the other card-driven wargames? What makes it stand out?
hey! If you already know about LoTR, and still have no interest in the theme whatsoever, I would probably suggest giving this one a pass. This is mostly because it takes such a long time to learn the game. Some other questions to ask yourself: -Would you be interested in one faction's gameplay centered around moving 2 midgets around a huge map? On that note, the fellowship mechanics are pretty tricky to learn. -Are you ok with hunting for weird sounding middle earth names on a huge board? -Would you be interested in handling VERY strong characters that you wouldn't be thematically interested in? -Are you ok with your first couple of games not being too competitive, because of all of the card nuance? I haven't played many card-driven war-games, so I can't compare too much here. However, do keep in mind that WoTR's action dice do dictate a lot of your actions turn by turn. Let me know if you have any other questions! -Ashton
Great review. I want to share it with that special LotR friend I have a crush on, but ... I wish the title didn't have the words "wet dream". Any chance you could change it?
The problem with rating this game is it is so user dependent. If you are a Tolkien superfan, you HAVE to have this game, 10/10. If you don't know exactly where minas morgul is just when you hear the name, 7/10, great game. If you've only seen the movies but really like them 5/10, maybe play it if someone else buys it. If you've never seen the movies or read the books or maybe only seen the movies a couple of times 2/10, don't go near this game. This is my second favorite game of all time. 10/10 for me.
Ps. I played with all of the expansions so far. 100% necessary. Not because base game is broken, but I just can't imagine playing without them anymore. Even though I'm a shadow main and those confasticating ents keep wrecking me.
heyo! Good points. We like to give overall scores (recommender score in this vid) to ground the game to some type of overall metric that we rate all the reviewed games by. Would agree that Tolkien Superfans definitely need to get a hold of this! -Ashton
@@Shelfside I noted that and really appreciate it. I've never seen a reviewer do something like that but I really like it. "Here is my as-objective-as-possible score and here is my personal opinion." Love it. Great work.
Ps. You seem to really like the game. I cannot stress enough how much the expansions add to the flavor. Though it may be a POK issue again ;) (referencing another comment on another one of your videos)
@@picivyvortac2641 ahaha it may very well be a PoK issue again :) But I got a very close buddy that LOVES WOTR as well, so likely we will pick up some expansion someday, not sure if we'll do a dedicated video though. Cheers! -Ashton
My favorite board game of all time. After playing it twice I bought the $2k collector's edition, if that doesn't tell you how good it is, I don't know what will.
coming from Star Wars Rebellion as of recently... which uses plenty of cards in a similar stressful manner... its a HUGE shame. Actually hurts a fair amount of the immersion in comparison to star wars -Ashton
It is a great game if you can find someone who will play it more than once. If there is any game that needs a digital adaptation so you can play with a really good A.I., then this is the game. It is a great game that is not approachable to casual gamers or people not in love with the theme. I have it and have played exactly twice. My brother will play with me but has so many responsibilities that he never has time for a full game. We joke we will play when we are retired. LOL!
I'm feeling the time constraints problem for sure too. Its a pain to teach, and hard to schedule in general. I for one don't like playing it online because I can't touch all of the cool pieces ahaha. The game does have a magical pull that many LOTR fans will want just have it for the chance that they can get a game going every year or so. So maybe a birthday or holiday tradition for you and your bro? :) -Ashton
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
So turns out that I accidentally swapped the minis for the Witch King and Mouth of Sauron for all my playthroughs and this review! It just made more sense for the Witch King to be mounted for me, even if it wasn't on a Nazgul. Thanks to the commenters for pointing this inexperienced halfling mistake!
Do you mean mounted on a fell beast? The witch king is a nazgul
It's great review, just used it to try to get a friend to play haha thanks
@@matteosoldo that's awesome to hear! enjoy the game :)
@@jacobhoffman5462 they used horses and fell beasts
Unacceptable. Unforgiven.
a Tolkien fan should never be afraid of a wall of text so that instruction manual is thematic.
Lol :)
or an Appendix. lol
Yes
Game is Lord of the Rings, but the rulebook is the Silmarillion.
lol!!! so true
There are people who have made the Simarillion - 1st/2nd Age adaptions out of this game.
Yea, the game rules are kinda byzantine in their presentation. Once you get past that , great game.
I still think Divine Right is the best fantasy war-game, but it is multiplayer , not 2 player.
You would have to be "old-school" to know Divine Right, like playing basic D&D and still having a "Chain mail" rulebook. LOL
And today "Chain -mail" is now called "War-Hammer" LOL and D&D is Warcraft
This was the review that got me to buy this game and for that.... thank you! My girlfriend who is a huge LoTR fan and I play almost every week now. Thanks for bringing us into this awesome experience.
hey man that's so awesome! The game really gives so much back to us LotR fans. The big question is: who has a higher win rate, you or the GF? :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside My girlfriend has actually been destroying me haha, I’ve only won a single time, she’s won I think seven now 😭
@@CitizenRare ahaha, keep going at it! New strategies just come up all the time in this game, its awesome -Ashton
Wow, that's quite a cool girlfriend
Opening a new board game and sorting through all the components is one of my favorite parts.
Thank you, Shut Up and Sit Down for introducing me to the timeless classic that is War of the Ring, and thank you War of the Ring, by now my favourite game of all time, for introducing me to Shelfside. I just got here, but I'm loving it
I suggest One stop Co-op shop ruclips.net/video/rLq-uXGDTuo/видео.html , for a great one person playthough of this game, et al. Also Dan Thorpe ruclips.net/video/m6hLcLkCXdY/видео.html for many TTS playthroughs. I hope "Shelfside" doesn't mind me linking to other boardgame sites. My motives are not commercial/promotional , only to link board-gamers across the net.
Exactly how it happened to me
Thanks for the detailed, thematic (love the use of the original voice tracks from the movies) and just overally well-made review. I find it muuuuuch more helpful to understand the feel and the inner workings of this game than any other video I have seen about it. Also I just rewatched the entire trilogy yesterday with my wife and I am hyped once again, like a kid finding the once favorite, long time lost toy behind the wardrobe. This game was always on my radar, but now it just jumped right into my focus, like the ring using Frodo to the always watching Eye of Sauron. Once again I can whisper "I see you" to this box. Thanks again, subscribed!
may you enjoy all of the detailed pieces of Middle Earth duking it out in front of you! Thanks for the awesome praise! Every time I watch any clip from the LotR trilogy, I am like you, transported to a time where Middle Earth becomes 100% real and the westfold has fallen. Cheers! -Ashton
Probably my most favorite board game of all time. I've played it about 20 times.
You have managed to top SU&SD's review of the game, I've owned this game for years and played it dozens of times, and you make me just want to play again.
awesome man! I need to play this one again! Also heard that there's a card version coming out that I'm super hyped for -Ashton
Excellent review! Really easy to follow and great editing! I have watched many reviews for this game, and yours is the first one that made me understand the mechanics completly. 🙂 Keep up the good work!
This is my favourite game. Just wish any of my friends wanted to play it :(
I know that pain
I've never played it, for this very reason. Need an intrepid game buddy lol.
Please pray for me, I am about to introduce this game to my girlfriend.
@@alannash2778 That would be huge
Yeah...is bad, no one wants because is too long and hard for them...the online way is shit...so u can let it to be full of dust or play solo xd..
I am so happy you took a stab at reviewing this game. It has been a love of mine for a long time. I bought the first edition back when I was in high school just because it had a LotR theme. When I actually got around to playing it properly ten years later, I noticed that the second edition had come out. I upgraded and have thoroughly enjoyed each playthrough. I’m sure that I would love the expansions but I might not play it enough to justify the cost especially since I have The Battle of Five Armies as well. If you do go for the expansions, please let me know what you think of them!
Lords of Middle-Earth is an auto-include in my games.
I've never been lucky enough to own or try this game but I have been watching it for years. It looks like a dream!
Outstanding review. You are becoming one of my favorite channels. Glad I found you guys...
thanks chris! Glad you love the content, more stuff coming soon for ya :) -Ashton
Great review! I recently got the game and agree fully that the minis can be hard to tell appart. I painted the bases different colors before my first playthrough and it helps vastly.
Awesome that you got a chance to try this bad boy out! It just keeps getting better the more you play honestly. For Frodo! -Ashton
Absolutely love the clips from the movies in this review!
One of my favourite games ever
Really enjoyed this review! You already sold me on the LCG a few weeks ago and am loving it! Would love to see your thoughts on Journeys In Middle Earth. It’s my favourite game so far! Cheers
awesome that the LCG has been going well for you! Not sure on Journeys of Middle Earth, since we're really swamped with campaign games as is, but I do love me any excuse for more LotR! Maybe one day :) -Ashton
This game is exactly like D&D. AMazing but need friends :(
You only need 1
Try venturing into Table Top Simulatior (TTS) or Java versions of this game, you can play online with 1000's of people and 100's of online conversions of other boardgames . I am just getting into TTS. With much of the Covid/Wuhan Flu restrictions going around , there is a big movement towards playing "boardgames " online. You'll find some friends there
Ashton, I'm a little bit late to your video. You are a fantastic reviewer. I was completely immersed in the story you told. Thank you for sharing this wonderful video. I wish you a very Happy New Year and much success in the future. Cheers!
wow- that's great feedback!!! Brought a smile to my face. Hope you got to play WOTR over the holidays, and if not, during this new year! -ashton
This game is amazing. I even played it a few times solo just to create my own story of the Lord of the Rings.
Love this Review, it's my favourite game! Just so you know, the cards you mention at 20:36 can be played before the fellowship reaches the mordor track. The tiles are just set aside for now
edit: I don't find the locations to be that much of a problem, after a game or two they become pretty recognizable, but still a bit annoying. My first game took 3.5 hours and my second took 4.5. Also, RTFM has a great how to play video
I think you were one of the commenters on the Heroquest vid that recommended this game too! I pretty much have all the locations referenced on the cards memorized by now, it was definitely really rough for my aunt and I on our first game though.
Yep, the cards can be played before the mordor track, great catch! I just simplified what it said for the video :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside I think I commented on the kickstarter video where the rulebook was shown. Absolutely love the content you guys are making, keep it up!
Good video, love this game. I'd give a 10/10 but your Cons of the game are definitely legit. If those don't particularly bother you though, the game is near perfect mechanic and thematically.
18:46 You have swapped the figures for the Witch King and Mouth of Sauron. The figure on the horse is the Mouth. The guy standing with the sword is the Witch King.
wow that's a great catch! I didn't even second guess myself, just thought that the witch king being mounted was the most logical, even if his mount wasn't Nazgul. Thanks :) -Ashton
Really awesome content as always. Always excited when I see a new one up from you guys. Keep it up!
Thanks for the feedback yo! More content headed everyone's way :D -Ashton
I love your production! Superb quality and excellent editing. Not many bg channels reach this level of quality. Subscribed!
Btw, get the expansions.
This was the first big game I bought when I got into board games like 7 years ago.
This is one of mine first two I got both of the expansion too
I fuckin love when people learn that this game exists. It's such an incredible game.
Loved all the voice lines I can tell exactly where they're from man I love LOTR so much. I bought this game to play with my brother but he'll visit until August, I can't wait.
yoo awesome! Yeah love LOTR so much, you will keep thinking about the movie when you get to your game! Just make sure you got the rules right bahaha -Ashton
@@Shelfside I'm sure I won't get the rules right, but at least we'll be blasting the soundtrack while playing 😂
@@TheShapingSickness ahaha that's more than half the fun! Had much fun drooling over ME with those tunes -Ashton
As a long-time gamer (started in 1968) who cut his teeth on rule books with 20+ pages filled with small font text for decades, I find the complaints about the rules hereabouts...humorous. ;^)
They really aren't too bad and printable rules references make everything hum along quite smoothly.
What do you mean by "cut your teeth"?
@@iRsemple Means I got my first experience at reading (serious) game rules with those large, exception-riddled, complex wargame rules.
Did you listen to the entire Lord of the Rings soundtrack while playing though?
If not you need to call your aunt for another game. This is important
aaagggggh noooo I forgot... well I'll have to call her up and say we have an emergency to take care of -Ashton
@@Shelfside It's going to change you. You won't be the same hobbit you once were.
A must
I enjoyed this video especially the intro. I been playing this game for 2 years and enjoy it. Best way to play is having lord of the ring soundtrack on. Also thanks to your video on war of the ring I probably wouldn’t have found your channel.
samwise gangee is the best character! Lord of the rings soundtrack is truly the way to go. Glad to have you aboard! -Ashton
First video I clicked on after having my interest peaked in this game. Half way through and I'm sold! Great video for a great game!
Really appreciate your thoroughness and your enthusiasm. 🙌🏼
appreciate it! More reviews always coming as well :D -Ashton
Now, which i need a video on War of the Ring vs Star Wars Rebellion, I need to know which game to drop $100 cdn on, so that it can sit on my shelf unplayed for the next 8 years while I say "maybe this year.... maybe..."
That mini at 5:00 looks pretty excited to play.
Been playing this game since 2013 and we still find rules and mechanics that we've missed. Tiny and not really game changing, but still there are really small details easy to miss. So many games need to be played to get this game fully.
1v1 usually is the best, but 2v2 is also fun. 1v2 should be avoided, since free people player gets to play alone.
1v2 is really fun in my experience.
@@iamglyph1369 In all honesty it is really fun no matter how you play it so yeah :D
Great review! The best game of all time, though I may be a bit bias. The worst thing about this fantastic game really is just the setup and clean up, and the rare games where you just roll very badly the whole game. If you get familiar with the game enough, games are actually on average 1.5 - 2 hours too!
wow. 1.5 -2 hours!? That's incredible. I have a game actually coming up tomorrow, super excited to see how it goes. I could see myself playing this every month if is 2 hours -Ashton
Great review. Hoping to pick this up sometime. But always thinking between this Rebellion.
Rebellion review coming out in a month or two :) -Ashton
I wil lgive u a fantastic complement, When we saw the intro and ure moving the figures my friend got goosebumps on her arm because she feelt the epicness :D
i just found your channel a few days ago. i really enjoy your content so far as im finding games through these reviews that i might actually enjoy but never knew of before. This game however ive been eyeballing for a long time but never pulled the trigger as on most sites it goes for almost 100 dollars. I see its on sale now on most of the sites i buy board games from so i thought maybe id pick it up now.
I know this video is older but i gotta say im thankful it exists because i helped me decide not to buy it after watching the cons portion. I guess cards referring to certain places on the board wouldnt be so bad once i learn the board layout and where things are but i find that would be a huge pain for my first few games, and what really put me off was the rule book and player aids. Looks like a fun game otherwise but ive bought my fair share of games where the rule book is all over the place and ive rarely played those games that now sit on my shelf collecting dust. wouldnt want to spend 76 bucks on this game just for it to be another mage knight for me sitting on my shelf never getting played more than once.
Anywho, thanks for the video. You saved me some money lol
Heyo! glad to help :)
You could look at the card game for a more streamlined experience, that DEFINITELY has a better rulebook than this one. The board game just has so much ugly stuff that makes the effort to play gargantuan. Cheers! -Ashton
Everything except the playmat should arrive tomorrow. I found 3 AI bots (2 shadow 1 free people) 1 of which is a browser app for the shadow. Thanks for another great review. As well as likes and dislikes you describe how it feels to play the game. Something many reviewers never get a hold of.
wow! Awesome. Hope your game goes great :) -Ashton
At 19:11 you mention that Mouth of Sauron comes out if Aragorn is in play. I don’t remember reading this in the rules… have I missed something?
Overall top review though, and I absolutely loved this game when I tried it!
A beautifully presented, clear and concise review.
I blame you personally for making me buy it.
awesome and thank you! May you roll many 6's! -Ashton
Great review. It's really whetted my appetite to pluck up the courage and get this game out again sometime soon. Thanks.
I have been Wargaming for over 40 years and this game's Rule Book is one of the best i have come across.
Yeah must say I found it easy to learn from
One of my top 2 board games of all time. Incredibly good adaptation of Tolkien's world for a game!
Which one is the other game? :-)
Which other game is in your top 2?
@@hawk992 it's difficult to make a top, but as for now I'd say Root, Race for the Galaxy, Through the Ages, Twilight Struggle or Troyes could be #2
@@JainaSoloB312I'd have said #1 period. The rest of my top 10 is... Well, the rest
13:20 cannot change a die with a ring to a will of the west
20:30 only beige eyes are used with special tiles in the hunt box
Just a friendly remainder in case someone used this reference as rule when the video is more demonstrative
This intro is so good i come back and watch it once a year haha
dang. Thanks mate! Was super fun making it -Ashton
This might be wrong but you posted a War of the Ring review on my birthday!? And its an awesome review!? SUBSCRIBED. Your videos rock guys. Also, I've owned this game forever and can't get anyone to sit down and play it with me haha FML but I'll never get rid of it because um LOTR
lotr is all the excuse you need- it looks great on the shelf! Happy bleated birthday! -Ashton
regarding the models, i recommend replacing a majority of them. i ended up painting the companions, the minions, and the Nazgûl and replacing every other mini with wooden cubes/discs/cylinders of various colors appropriate to each faction. i find it plays so much better and setup/teardown time is so much improved. i think it probably makes the game easier to teach but i couldn't say since it was the first thing i did so i've never had to slog through it with all the awful minis. i've also gone beyond that and picked up models for the cities/strongholds and mountains but i like this game that much.
wow I've never even thought about swapping out the minis for other pieces! Would definitely make the game so much faster. What type of models for the cities/strongholds would you recommend? I might pick up some :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside there are some good ones on Etsy but they’re pretty expensive. if you have a friend with a 3D printer, there are some great files. for the wooden components, i just matched the colors of each nation with pieces from meeplesource.
I love your reviews!
id love to have this just for a collectors item
This game is incredible. One of the things I love about it is that every, and I mean every, action can have an affect on who wins the game.
One time I separated Gimli and placed him in Lorien. He was pretty much useless for most of the game. But when I was about to lose to a shadow player stronghold victory, I used the “a day and a night” card and some movement actions to take back Helm’s Deep and buy myself enough time to destroy the ring next turn.
My most recent game ended on the last stage of the Mordor track when the light player drew a three corruption tile which killed him before he could destroy the ring.
This game somehow takes the phrase “it hangs upon the edge of a knife, stray but a little and it will fail” and makes it a reality in a board game.
I’ve never played anything like it.
that is awesome! Yeah the rich stories that happen to the named characters is something you don't see in a lot of other games. thanks for sharing! -Ashton
Wow cool!!! Love your video!
Awesome review!! And I'm with ya!
Would love to see/hear your take on Kingdom Death Monster.
Thanks! oh man KDM looks so awesome to play, and Daniel wanted to grab a copy one day. It's on our list! -Ashton
Awesome game! Lookin forward to buying it. Thanks for the review
you will love the game if you love LotR! Rulebook is worth it. Glad that you liked the review! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Do you where I can get this game for a good price? Thanks in advance.
I’d love to have the chance to play this game, but I think the size and scale of the game & rules make it intimidating to most casual players.
I recently got the war of the ring card game and I really enjoyed playing it. Very fast setup and takedown time to get the game going, and it was pretty easy to jump in and start playing after learning the rules.
Hopefully one day I can play the board game itself!
Awesome video, this game has 6 years in my shelf of shame but going no where! I would love feedback on the expansion content. As to 2 player games, I would love a look at Blitzkrieg (20 min WW2)
Looks good...I played the LOTR Risk ...really good game
Masterpiece of a game, just wished I could play it more often. My friends are more into Gloomhaven nowadays and kdm
Which is better? WOTR, Gloomhaven, or KDM? I own all 3 but have never played WOTR.
I think you are using the Mouth of Sauron mini as the Witch King xD
Amazing job. I just purchased. Did you ever try the expansions? I wonder if there are better rulebook or player aids on BGG or upgraded components to buy online like Meeplesource?
11:39 Correction, the final battle was at The Black Gate, which is located in the territory of Morannon.
aah! Thanks for that, I actually did not know that. Cheers! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Cheers mate.
One of the best reviews of War of the Ring! :)
cheers man! Got more WOTR stuff coming out soon :) -Ashton
This game is one of the best games I’ve ever played it’s just so exiting and awesome
Also HUGE LotR fan great vid guys:)
the game definitely does pull through man! LoTR all the wayyyyy -Ashton
@@Shelfside indeed:)
Can i get clarification at 15:59 . You mentioned an opening hand of four cards. I read through the manual and googled for the answer but the only response i got was your initial hand is only 2 cards, one from each event deck. Can someone chime in with the answer?
Your passionate review made me want to get this game on the table again. I have the second edition cards. Do you know what changes they made ?
oh hey just saw this! I've heard that it is definitely worth it to get the 2nd edition cards, for balance and they cleaned up a lot of the wording! -AShton
@@Shelfside Thanks
Excellent video!! 😎👍
hey thank you! More stuff coming for the WOTR card game :D -Ashton
Just got this bad boy and found the BGG example of play to ease into this.
yep! It's super helpful, really had to lean on that to get my first playthroughs running -Ashton
Highly recommend painting the factions bases different colors. It helps immensely.
Will have to do that before my next game! Any recommendations for colors? -Ashton
@@Shelfside I did yellow for Isengard, Mordor red, Easterlings orange, dwarves brown, elves light green, Gondor dark blue, rohan dark green and North light blue. It went surprisingly faster than I thought and was totally worth it. Good luck!
One of my favourate games, since it came out. Had 1st edition for it too.
I just got this game. Cant wait to play
If Frodo & Sam are left alone to continue their journey towards Mordor (no companions left & gollum as a guide), then how many eyes does the Shadow player put in the hunt box? only one?
If Frodo & Sam enter Mordor with NO companions left, (with Gollum as their guide) how many 'eye' dice is the Shadow player allowed to put into his hunt box?
This game is epic, and the best thing is that it gets even better after more gameplay! Whooooe
Great review as always! My first play through also took really long but not 10 hours long lol. Though i really like this game it’s a little too fiddley to take out as often as I’d like. I know the this gets compared often Rebellion and while I enjoy the stories LotR more than Star Wars I heavily prefer Rebellion, with its expansion of course, over War of the Ring. Also you have the coolest Aunt in the world by far!
Interesting, I take a different view. Enjoy both games but War of the Ring is my preferred choice. Whilst both are thematic, WotR I find is just more replayable.
@@Orthovandro Absolutely agree War of the Ring is a more replayable game, especially with it's expansions as well, however, out of the 10 or more times I've played it only 3 of those times were with the same person who as matter of fact was a huge lotr fantatic and would constantly quote the films. The other times I've played it with people, who also played Rebellion, also vastly preferred Rebellion.
Thank you! The multiple sessions definitely added onto the playtime, plus my aunt was new to these types of games ahaha. Rebellion has been on my radar, but for the price tag it doesn't seem nearly as replayable as WoTR, and I don't get to play this awesome long game enough as is. Maybe after the pandemic Daniel and I will give it a go! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Haha don't get me wrong. While I agree WotR is a more repayable game based on the content it has, especially if you don't own that many games, I have played Rebellion nearly 30 times and every single one of those plays were different and many a times more enjoyable than the last. Just remember though playing with the expansion is a must due to the changes in combat.
Awesome video !
Would love to see you guys review Spirit Island! It’s the best 1, 2, 3, and 4 player game I’ve ever played!
it's on the list to review eventually! -Ashton
@@Shelfside so pumped! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the asymmetry of the spirits, especially with what Jagged Earth added!
@@Shelfside I highly recommend playing it as a 1 player game first, then teach to someone else and play 2 player and keep expanding the player count as more people get familiar with it. If you jump into playing 3+ new players straight away the experience might be so overwhelming that the first impressions could leave a really bad taste in your mouth as the game will be a big brain drain. It's one of my favourite games, hope you cover it someday!
I bought base markers for the figures. That solves the "crap, is that a Rohan unit or Gondor?" And I hate the give basic dice the game comes with. So I went and bought two sets of 30 dice which look much better. The free people's white and blue rice with red pips which to me represents the three elven rings, Vilya, Nenya and Narya. The shadow dice are red and black with gold pips which to me represent the fire of Mount Doom, the growing shadows from Mordor and the One Ring.
Fantastic use of relevant memes in the introduction.
Which is better? This game or Hannibal vs Hamilcar ??
I still have the First edition of this game plus the expansion (which lumped both 2nd edition expansions together back then, minus a couple things) and it's probably the game I played the most since it came out as it's easily the best game in my collection. Even though the first few games are tough, you always wanna start another round because you feel like you could do something slightly different next time!
I have played the three player variant a few times as well, where it splits the Shadow faction into Sauron and Saruman + Easterling, and it's fine, but I would rather either play with an even number of players because the lopsided games didn't feel good for either side really. Still a good gamemode, but there's better three player games out there.
Also nice to see they made the cards bigger for the 2nd edition as the 1st edition cards are printed so small I had to get glasses just to read them :D
I totally feel you on the always wanting to start another round! The strategy cards have so many uses that whenever I play them, I'm thinking about all the cool other ways I could've used them. And then there's the two factions' decks to account for, with politics! I think I would play this game with 4 players once to just try it and talk about how it went, and then promptly go back to 2p :) -Ashton
@Shelfside can you do a video on the expansions more in depth?
oof, that will be super rough for me. The card game will certainly get a review though! -Ashton
@@Shelfside why rough?
@@lukeanzilotti9090 kind of a long endeavor ahaha -Ashton
Great review!!!!
I agree with everything. When I first tried to play the game I gave 3 hours and if I had known how arcane the rule book was and how long set up was, I would’ve given more time. Literally took us 90minutes first time to even take the first round. But it’s worth it.
Also, my favourite way to play it is SIX players. 3v3 team. One player controls the armies, the other characters and the third factions. Makes the game a lot easier to learn and get into and it’s a lot of fun to have teammates. :)
Oh my goodness how long does that 6 player game take!!!?? The game is definitely really tricky to teach, it took me a similar amount of time to get my first round going. -Ashton
Hello! Are you going to give us your thoughts on the war of the ring card game? :)
Yep, I'm filming it right now :) -Ashton
What was the best way you found to learn their game. It’s a beast.
I went in with sheer brute force. I read the rulebook for two nights before bed before playing my actual first game. Then, after my first game, I read the rulebook again.
Don't do that- there's probably some type of YT tutorial that would do the trick! And then study the BGG turn by turn guide before your first game. If you have any more questions, I can answer! The game is really worth the learning curve! -Ashton
My favorite game and one of my rare 10/10 ratings. However, indicating it's primarily an area control game is somewhat misleading, as the Free Peoples can win without controlling much area at all.
You will love Lords of Midle Earth. Get that Expa first, no doubt. warriors can me a little too much.
Readers of the books have distinct advantage mainly because Tolkien spatially connect story to the map so well and the movies don't really do this. The rule book is a beast. Not sure if you will be able to write a better one mainly because there are some weird mechanics in the game that makes it difficult. I have found though that it gets much easier on a second read through. I haven't taught it to someone yet mainly because the pandemic interfered, sigh.
Here is a full playthrough - you would be amazed all the nuance to the rules. But once you get moving, the game goes faster than you would imagine:
ruclips.net/video/-Vk0rS2xhD8/видео.html
Thanks, but as someone who doesn't care about LotR (prefer historical settings), this is not really useful. You say the mechanics are still good. But is this then worth playing above all the other card-driven wargames? What makes it stand out?
hey! If you already know about LoTR, and still have no interest in the theme whatsoever, I would probably suggest giving this one a pass. This is mostly because it takes such a long time to learn the game.
Some other questions to ask yourself:
-Would you be interested in one faction's gameplay centered around moving 2 midgets around a huge map? On that note, the fellowship mechanics are pretty tricky to learn.
-Are you ok with hunting for weird sounding middle earth names on a huge board?
-Would you be interested in handling VERY strong characters that you wouldn't be thematically interested in?
-Are you ok with your first couple of games not being too competitive, because of all of the card nuance?
I haven't played many card-driven war-games, so I can't compare too much here. However, do keep in mind that WoTR's action dice do dictate a lot of your actions turn by turn. Let me know if you have any other questions! -Ashton
Ok thanks :) will see!
WHAT AN INTRO!
Great game but I rarely get it to the table because of the set up time and game length.
Great video and game
Great review. I want to share it with that special LotR friend I have a crush on, but ... I wish the title didn't have the words "wet dream". Any chance you could change it?
Just full send m8
Fear not. You pull this bad boy out onto the table and you'll have all the wet you can handle.
I'd love to see War of the Ring vs Star Wars Rebellion - your thoughts on what's the greatest 2 player big IP game haha
Looks like I'll have to do that eventually after the pandemic ends! -Ashton
I will paint the heck out of those minis just for thematic purposes
The problem with rating this game is it is so user dependent. If you are a Tolkien superfan, you HAVE to have this game, 10/10. If you don't know exactly where minas morgul is just when you hear the name, 7/10, great game. If you've only seen the movies but really like them 5/10, maybe play it if someone else buys it. If you've never seen the movies or read the books or maybe only seen the movies a couple of times 2/10, don't go near this game.
This is my second favorite game of all time. 10/10 for me.
Ps. I played with all of the expansions so far. 100% necessary. Not because base game is broken, but I just can't imagine playing without them anymore. Even though I'm a shadow main and those confasticating ents keep wrecking me.
heyo! Good points. We like to give overall scores (recommender score in this vid) to ground the game to some type of overall metric that we rate all the reviewed games by. Would agree that Tolkien Superfans definitely need to get a hold of this! -Ashton
@@Shelfside I noted that and really appreciate it. I've never seen a reviewer do something like that but I really like it. "Here is my as-objective-as-possible score and here is my personal opinion." Love it. Great work.
Ps. You seem to really like the game. I cannot stress enough how much the expansions add to the flavor. Though it may be a POK issue again ;) (referencing another comment on another one of your videos)
@@picivyvortac2641 ahaha it may very well be a PoK issue again :) But I got a very close buddy that LOVES WOTR as well, so likely we will pick up some expansion someday, not sure if we'll do a dedicated video though. Cheers! -Ashton
My favorite board game of all time. After playing it twice I bought the $2k collector's edition, if that doesn't tell you how good it is, I don't know what will.
It’s a damn shame that the cards have no illustrations
coming from Star Wars Rebellion as of recently... which uses plenty of cards in a similar stressful manner... its a HUGE shame. Actually hurts a fair amount of the immersion in comparison to star wars -Ashton
It is a great game if you can find someone who will play it more than once. If there is any game that needs a digital adaptation so you can play with a really good A.I., then this is the game. It is a great game that is not approachable to casual gamers or people not in love with the theme. I have it and have played exactly twice. My brother will play with me but has so many responsibilities that he never has time for a full game. We joke we will play when we are retired. LOL!
I'm feeling the time constraints problem for sure too. Its a pain to teach, and hard to schedule in general. I for one don't like playing it online because I can't touch all of the cool pieces ahaha. The game does have a magical pull that many LOTR fans will want just have it for the chance that they can get a game going every year or so. So maybe a birthday or holiday tradition for you and your bro? :) -Ashton
You might like "Star Wars: Rebellion," which is Star Wars (original trilogy) in a box.
Yes
I really....
...really want this game