War of the Ring (1977) cover
1977BGG rank #4,496

War of the Ring (1977)

by Howard Barasch, Richard H. Berg · Encore

Browsing is free. Ask BoardGameBrain about this game when rules coverage is ready.

Players2–3
Time60–210m
ComplexityMedium
Age12+

About the game

What is War of the Ring (1977)?

'War of the Ring'. On a large map of Middle Earth, armies are mustering and heroes are readying to fight the shadow spreading out of Mordor. The game is played on two levels. Both sides (or three if someone wants to play Saruman) have great armies that battle in a typical wargame style while another game is going on at the same time with individual characters around the fate of the One Ring. In the Campaign game Sauron's forces are the more powerful but the free peoples get the edge in the Character game. Highly sought after as a collectors item. It could be purchased with either a paper map or a full mounted map, and was also sold in a three-game set with the folio games Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith and Sauron. That trilogy set is called The Games of Middle Earth.

How it plays

Mechanics

Area Majority / InfluenceDice RollingEventsGrid MovementHexagon GridMovement PointsRatio / Combat Results TableSimulationSudden Death EndingVariable Player Powers

On the shelf

Categories

AdventureFantasyNovel-basedWargame

Questions players ask

Questions to bring to BoardGameBrain

  • How do setup and the first turn work in War of the Ring (1977)?
  • When does scoring happen and what ends the game?
  • How should the table resolve an unusual timing or rules interaction?