Lord Of The Rings, Living Card Game - What's in it? What's it like?

Look over at the video bar on the right and you will see a link over to the Youtube video I made (Monkeyreado channel) about the contents of the box. There are three. I bought it for under £30, which I thought was pretty reasonable - compared to other similar games out there. What sets this apart (a little) is the fact it's able to be played solo. Not everyone in my house is really that bothered by this kind of stuff. So this is a real selling point for me.

So here's a mini-review to go with it...

Presentation quality is great - as I've come to expect from FFG. The art is quite traditional, but well executed. The card stock for all of the components is durable and sturdy. The box may be a little large given the number of items but I guess it can also store any expansion packs that you might accrue along the way.

Ease of getting in to game one. Excellent I'd say. Probably slightly easier than Warhammer:Invasion to start off with - especially since you can jettison a few rules until you are ready for them. Also, in order to win the game (against the game) you need to complete a set of quest cards. These come in a variety of difficulty levels so that you can choose how hard you want your gaming experience to be. It is a tough game, however you play it though, and probably more difficult to succeed at than Warhammer:Invasion.

Playability/fun? - This is a really engaging gaming experience. Even solo. The game ebbs and flows, the chances of winning are slim and it feels like a real achievement to progress through to the end. The rules are reasonably simple, though I did need to make use of the game guide at the back of the rule book to make sure I did everything in the right sequence. The odds are stacked aginst you -  and the outcomes from using each of four the different deck sorts can be variable. I easily beat an easy quest using the Tactics deck but struggled with the Spirit one. Each deck has it's own strategy so I'll have to work on these. The Tactics deck is basically an attack deck, so that's probably why it was easy to get to grips with early on. Because of the four decks and three quests you start with - there is a lot of replayability for the new player. Add in the multiplayer experience and then the expansion packs....

OVERALL - highly recommended. I played three or four games in the first few days and then a couple more in the first week. I 'won' three out of six. The frustration is (nearly) enjoyable. It is also incredibly tough to complete your quests once you start ramping up the complexity and difficulty levels though - so be warned. But you know what? What's the point of a game that you know that you're going to win at every time? A good 8.5/10.

Posted in: LCG