War of the Ring (board game)

The War of the Ring is the most and most critically-acclaimed board game adaptation based on J. R. R. Tolkien's work and in general ranked as one of the top board games ever made. It is generally ranked at the very top of most lists of games with a strategy and fantasy setting.

The game simulates the entirety of the War of the Ring, set on the whole of Middle-earth and including all factions which were combatants. One player would control all the Free Peoples of Middle-earth as well as the Fellowship of the Ring, while the other would control all Shadow forces. In a Multiplayer version two players would split either side but be locked in an alliance, with victory points in the end determining the winner. On FP side, one player would control Gondor and all of the Elven factions (including the Woodland realm in Mirkwood, Lorien, Rivendel and the Grey Havens), while another would control the kingdom of Rohan, the Dwarves (including the Kingdom under the Mountain and the Dwarf clans in the Blue Mountains) and a jumbled faction of Men encompassing two different territories - one in Rhovanion, encompassing the Kingdom of Dale, Mirkwood rangers and Beornings, and another in Eriador, representing the remnants of the Dunedain (and also controlling Bree and the lands of the Hobbits). On the side of the Shadow, one player would control all the typical Sauron's forces - Mordor, Dol Guldur, Moria and Mount Gundobad, while the other player would play with all of Sauron's allies - Isengard (including Dunland) and the Southrons and Easterlings (including, aside from the Haradrim and Rhun, Umbar and Khand).

The features assymetric play with the two sides having very different goals and means to achieve them. The Free Peoples win if the Ring-bearers managed to get to Mordor and climb up the slopes of Mount Doom, eventually destroying the One Ring. The Shadow wins if it manages to corrupt the Ring-bearers enough and acquire The One Ring. The other route is the Military Victory option, with each player having to capture enough Cities and Stronghold to trigger victory (10 VPs for The Shadow and 4 for the Free Peoples).