Pyramid Review
Lord of the Rings: Battlefields Expansion (for the Lord of the Rings Boardgame)
Published by Fantasy Flight Games
Designed by Reiner Knizia
Illustrated by John Howe
Three double-sided color boards, one sheet of double-sided color illustrated tokens (20 trigger tiles, 30 enemies, 5 fellowship members), 27 cards (6 feature cards and 3 Gandalf cards, each in an English, French, and German version), and a 20-page color trilingual rule book; $29.95
After a five-year delay, Fantasy Flight Games has finally released the third (and supposedly final) expansion for Knizia's award-winning Lord of the Rings boardgame. Was it worth the wait?
For those readers unfamiliar with it, Lord of the Rings is a co-operative boardgame in which two to five players take the part of hobbits trying to survive the journey to Mt. Doom to destroy the One Ring. The game itself fights against you in the form of events and die rolls which gradually corrupt your hobbit, strengthen Sauron, or otherwise bring you closer to losing your way. The first expansion, Friends & Foes, added two new scenarios, several cards, and enemies that you had to fight along your way. The second expansion, Sauron, allowed another person to play as the dark lord himself, for those who preferred more competitive play. (Battlefields is compatible with both of these expansions, primarily because it doesn't really interact with the new rules from either.)
This brings us to a question . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: June 1, 2007
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