Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game

The complete "One Rulebook to Rule them All"

Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, formerly known as The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game (abbreviated LOTR SBG) and The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, based on The Lord of the Rings films and novels. It was initially released in 2001 to tie in with the movie The Fellowship of the Ring. New box sets with updated rules were also released for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Later Games Workshop also began to add content that was featured in the original novels but not in the film adaptations (e.g. Tom Bombadil and Glorfindel) called the Shadow and Flame collection. This was generally supported, but there was mixed reactions when Games Workshop invented characters and wrote histories for lands Tolkien wrote little about, such as Haradwaith.

Games Workshop released a complete new edition of the rules and rulebooks in September 2005, entitled One Rulebook to Rule them All. However, it was subjected to scrutiny because it lacked the rules for the Army of the Dead and Golfimbul.

In December 2012, a new range was released based on the The Hobbit trilogy and the game was rebranded as The Hobbit Strategy Battle Game. In August 2018, the game was again rebranded, now as the Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game, as part of a new edition. A new edition will be released in late-2024 as a tie in with the film release of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Licensing

Games Workshop has the rights to produce a skirmish war-game based on the films and also on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. (The rights to produce a roleplaying game version of the films were sold to another firm, Decipher, Inc.). Though they also have the rights to produce a Battle of the Five Armies game, another company already owned the rights to the one-inch scale normally used by Games Workshop. For this reason, the game was done in 10mm scale for the normal warriors, and "heroic" scale for the named characters.

Games Workshop has not acquired the rights to The Silmarillion, which is currently the exclusive property of the Tolkien Estate. However, they were somehow permitted to use Eorl the Young and Khamul the Easterling (from Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth) in their The Two Towers and A Shadow in the East Supplements. [2]

In the 1980s, Games Workshop also had an unrelated series of Lord of the Rings models. However, these were far below the standard of quality for the current range, and are not permitted for use in LOTR SBG tournaments because of the legal situation in Games Workshop's current license. [3]

The Hobby

Collecting

The promotional "Gimli on Dead Uruk-hai" miniature

Similar to "Warhammer Fantasy" players, players of the Strategy Battle Game commonly collect and paint one army (or more) of their choice and find opponents (with similarly collected armies) to play against. Armies can be built up from through the purchase of boxed sets (usually having 10 or 12 plastic miniatures in each) or "blister packs" (usually containing no more than four finely detailed metal/Citadel Finecast miniatures) to build up a reasonable sized fighting force. Others simply collect the miniatures because they like the way they look. One popular way of collecting was through "Battle Games in Middle Earth" - a DeAgostini magazine which comes with a free miniature (some of which are exclusive to the publication) and painting guide. [4]

As such, there are a wide variety of miniatures in the ever-growing range, including promotional miniatures, such as "Gimli on Dead Uruk-hai" (commemorating the 2005 Summer Campaign). Recently, Games Workshop began to discontinue some of their metal miniatures, so that they could replace them with plastic miniatures. They justified this action by saying that the quality in plastic moulding has improved to a point where they are almost as detailed as metal, and that plastic is cheaper to produce. However, there was much complaint when they inexplicably retired the popular "Boromir Captain of the White Tower" miniature, and it was later brought back into production.

Many players preferred LoTR SBG to Games Workshop's Warhammer because it is less "cartoony", and say that the armies appear more realistic when fully painted. In contrast, some Warhammer players dislike LOTR SBG because they think the miniatures are geared too much towards skirmish and have armies that are not of a large enough scale.

Modelling

Mixing parts from different models is a popular method of conversion (a converted Maeglin miniature [1]).

Since the models are hand-painted and assembled by the player, players are often encouraged to design their own paint schemes as well as using the pre-designed ones displayed in the various books. They are also encouraged to further modify their miniatures using parts from other kits and models (known as "bitz" to players), modeling putty, or other materials. These conversions are often entered into contests at sponsored tournaments and similar gaming events, such as the One Ring Awards.

Terrain is a very important part of play. Though Games Workshop makes terrain kits available, many hobbyists prefer to make their own elaborate and unique set pieces. Common household items like soft drink cans, coffee cups, Styrofoam packing pieces, and pill bottles can be transformed into ruins from the Second Age, woodland terrain, or the rocky wild of Middle-earth with the addition of plasticard, putty, and a bit of patience and skill.

However, due to the licensing agreements between New Line Cinema and Games Workshop, pieces of models for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game are not allowed to be combined with other model lines for official tournaments or conversion awards. The same is true for pieces from other manufacturers.

Current state of play

Overview of Rule-sets

As of September 2005, the rules for The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game are in their fourth edition. The first three editions of the rule-books were released with the Lord of the Rings films, but Games Workshop used White Dwarf and various Supplements as an outlet for characters that were in the book but not the film. The 2005 edition, the "One Rulebook to Rule them All", contains the entire set of rules updated and presented in a single large volume, including those of previous supplements. The three older editions are to be re-released in updated supplements.

In February 2012, Games Workshop released a new set of sourcebooks along with several new miniatures in order to replace some of the older Sourcebooks for the game, they lacked the painting and modeling sections presented in the older books and introduced new units. The Khandish Mercenary list and individual themed lists (Minas Morgul, Cirith, Morranon) were re-worked or removed completely from the books.

In December 2012, the game was rebranded with the release of The Hobbit film trilogy. A new rulebook was released and updates released tying in to each of the three films released. The Hobbit theme performed worse than expected, reaching nowhere near the peak popularity seen during the original Lord of the Rings trilogy release, when the game had been Games Workshop's most valuable property.

In 2015 Forge World, a division of Games Workshop focused on specialist resin miniatures and conversion kits, begam production of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game models and terrain.

After the period of decline from The Hobbit trilogy, Games Workshop announced a revival of the game. This third rebrand, so as to no longer focus on The Hobbit, took place in August 2018 and became known as the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game. The rules were reworked and republished, and all the profiles of all models were revised and collected in two books: Armies of The Lord of the Rings and Armies of The Hobbit, uniting the older and newer ranges of miniatures into the same system. A new starter box set, based on the climactic Battle of Pelennor Fields from The Return of the King, was designed and heavily promoted. This ushered in a new era for the game, with further, scenario-focused supplements following, significantly increased interest in the game, greater coverage of the game by Games Workshop, and cyclical rereleases of out-of-production miniatures. As of 2022, the revived form of the game is healthy and well-supported, though not as popular as the game was prior to 2012. It is small now in comparison to Games Workshop's bestselling game, Warhammer 40,000.

A new edition will be released in late-2024 as a tie in with the film release of The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

Below is a list of all official editions of rulebooks and supplements released:

Publication	Type	Year	Main content
The Fellowship of the Ring	Rulebook	November 2001	The first installment of the films, later re-released as an updated supplement in 2005.
The Two Towers	Rulebook	November 2002	Rules, scenarios, and updated profiles.
The Return of the King	Rulebook	November 2003	Rules, scenarios, and updated profiles.
Shadow and Flame	Supplement	2003	Rules for Dwarves, Tom Bombadil, the Barrow-wights, Glorfindel, and Elladan and Elrohir.
The Siege of Gondor	Supplement	March 2004	Rules for sieges and characters such the Citadel Guard, Beregond, and Gothmog.
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields	Supplement	August 2004	Rules for the Haradrim, Mûmakil, the Knights of Dol Amroth and the Dúnedain.
The Scouring of the Shire	Supplement	March 2005	Rules for smaller battles between the Hobbits and the ruffians of "Sharkey".
The One Rulebook	Rulebook	October 2005	Cumulative rules update for the previous three editions
A Shadow in The East	Supplement	February 2006	Rules for the Khamûl, Eorl, the Easterlings and the Variags of Khand.
Fall of the Necromancer	Supplement	May 2006	Rules for Sauron (the "Necromancer"), the Elves of Mirkwood, and the White Council.
The Ruin of Arnor	Supplement	February 2007	Rules for the armies of the declining northern Númenórean Realm and the rising Angmar.
Khazad-dûm	Supplement	May 2007	Rules for the Dwarves of Erebor and Khazad-dûm, and Dragons. Replaced the Shadow and Flame book.
Gondor in Flames	Supplement	August 2007	Rules for the armies of Elendil, Osgiliath, the fiefdoms of Gondor, and the Dead Men of Dunharrow. Replaced the Siege of Gondor book.
Harad	Supplement	February 2008	Rules for the Corsairs of Umbar and the entirely original Mahûd tribes of Far Harad. Replaced the Battle of the Pelenor Fields book.
Mordor	Supplement	June 2008	Updated rules for Mordor units. The supposed final supplement for the game.
Kingdoms of Men	Supplement	February 2012	Rules for Gondor and its fiefdoms, Arnor, and Rohan, as well as minor updates to the rules.
The Free Peoples	Supplement		Rules for Elves, Dwarves, Ents, Hobbits, the Fellowship of the Ring and the White Council plus minor updates to the rules.
Moria & Angmar	Supplement		Rules for the forces of Moria and Angmar, plus minor updates to the rules.
Mordor	Supplement		Rules for the forces of Mordor, plus minor updates to the rules.
The Fallen Realms	Supplement		Rules for the forces of Isengard, Harad, Umbar, Rhûn and Khand, plus minor updates to the rules.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey	Rulebook	December 2012	Updated rules including new profiles for the forces of good and evil that appeared in the first of "The Hobbit" movies.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug	Supplement	December 2013	Rules, scenarios, and updated profiles.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies	Supplement	December 2014	Rules, scenarios, and updated profiles.
The Hobbit: Motion Picture Trilogy - There and Back Again	Supplement	November 2016	Updated and new rules, scenarios, and profiles, many replacing those contained in the two prior Hobbit supplements.
Middle Earth: Strategy Battle Game	Rulebook	August 2018	Updated the main game system, replacing all prior rulesets. Included within the starter set Battle of Pelennor Fields.
Armies of Lord of the Rings	Supplement		Updates the rules for all armies related to "The Lord of the Rings", discounting armies introduced in "The Hobbit" books
Armies of the Hobbit	Supplement		Updates the rules for all armies introduced in "The Hobbit" books
Gondor at War	Supplement	January 2019	Updates for armies involved in the war in Gondor during the third age.
Scouring of the Shire	Supplement	July 2019	Updates for units involved in the Scouring of the Shire as well as other battles that involved hobbits
War in Rohan	Supplement	December 2019	Updates for armies involved in the war in Rohan during the third age as well as other historical battles involving the Horse Lords
Quest of the Ringbearer	Supplement	October 2020	Updates and scenarios featuring in the journey of the Fellowship and the Ringbearer
Fall of the Necromancer	Supplement	October 2021	Updates for forces involved with the rise and fall of Sauron in Mirkwood
Defence of the North	Supplement	May 2022	Rules and scenarios for the war in the north covering Erebor, Dale, and the woodland realms of the Elves
Rise of Angmar	Supplement	2024	Rules and scenarios for the rise of Angmar, fall of Arnor and activities of the Dúnedain chieftains
Key: Current version of the ruleset required to play Supplements compatible with the existing ruleset

Troop Types

A Last Alliance High Elf miniature

There are two types of troops: Warriors and Heroes. Heroes have characteristics which set them apart from the Warriors they lead, and can be named or unnamed characters: Aragorn, Frodo, Captains, etc. Warriors are the core of the army: Warriors of Harad, Riders of Rohan, Men of Gondor, etc. Each army must be either Good or Evil, and can only include miniatures from that side (each model is named in the rules as being either Good or Evil). Armies include:

Forces of Good	Forces of Evil
Arnor Dwarves Elves Men of Dale Gondor Rohan Hobbits	Angmar Corsairs of Umbar Easterlings Harad Isengard Mordor Moria Goblins Variags of Khand

Game Systems

The games uses a points system similar to Warhammer Fantasy, which itself has many similarities with Tolkien's works. It is primarily a skirmish game, but can be played in varying scale:

• Scenario - These are based on an event in the book or film, and the armies are predetermined and fought using Special Scenario-specific Rules
• Points Match - These are played between two forces of equal size, generally of 500 Points each (which is usually no more than 50 miniatures per side).
• War Party - This is a stricter form of the Points Match, using forces of no more than 250 Points.
• Battle Company - This is an experience-based system which is played out with no more than 25 miniatures.

The Turn system game is played using four phases:

• Priority Phase
• Move Phase
• Shoot Phase
• Combat Phase

Differences with Warhammer

One of the key differences between the game and Warhammer, however, is that in Lord of the Rings, the players take turns playing out one phase at a time, but in both forms of Warhammer, each player plays their full turn before the other player has their turn. Warhammer miniatures are usually grouped into units; LOTR SBG allows freedom of movement for each individual miniature. For this reason, the perfected turn and movement systems of LOTR SBG can be considered more realistic than that of Warhammer Fantasy or Warhammer 40K. However, LOTR SBG is impractical for large games, especially since combats are fought model-to-model rather than unit-to-unit, however in Warhamer fantasy (where movement trays make moving hundreds of models easier) and Warhammer 40k (in which the Apocalypse expansion makes huge games practical), large games are encouraged. This Difference was eliminated however when the War of the Ring was introduced as a separate game style in which movement trays are used to carry out larger battle scenarios

Online Community

There are a large number of small, unofficial websites and forums for Lord of the Rings players, such as "The Last Alliance", with over 9000 registered members, and "The One Ring", with over 1800 registered members.

On June 1, 2005, Games Workshop launched their UK-based Annual Online Summer Campaign: "The War of the Ring Online Campaign". The Campaign was successful, with 3007 registered participants. Games Workshop also introduced the "Wrath of Umbar" Roadshow, with custom-built corsair models and gaming boards being brought to various cities in the United Kingdom. When the Campaign formally ended on September 8, Good emerged the victor. The combined total of the 14 weeks was 27239 recorded games. The Forum closed shortly after, giving way to a smaller Campaign based in Canada. However, the Campaign was nowhere near the scale of its UK counterpart, and was ignored by many who viewed it as a "watered-down" version of the original.

Trivia

• Four of the LOTR SBG designers were in the Return of the King film as Rohirrim at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields: Alessio Cavatore, Brian Nelson, Alan and Michael Perry. They can be seen near the Oliphaunt when Peregrin Took goes searching for Meriadoc Brandybuck among the debris from the battle, and are also on the base of Games Workshop's Mumak miniature. [5]
• Games Workshop created two miniatures of Peter Jackson as a hobbit from Bree: one is owned by the director, and the other is kept on display at GW headquarters in England.

Translations

Foreign Language	Translated name
Afrikaans	Die Here van die Ringe: Strategiestryd spel
Albanian	Kryezoti i Unazave: Strategji e betejës lojë
Arabic	سيد الخواتم: لعبة معركة استراتيجية
Armenian	Մատանիների տիրակալը: Ռազմավարության մարտական խաղ
Azerbaijani	Üzüklərin Hökmdarı: Strategiya döyüş oyun
Belarusian Cyrillic	Уладар Пярсцёнкаў: Стратэгічная бітва гульня
Bengali	দ্য লর্ড অফ দ্য রিংস: কৌশল যুদ্ধ খেলা
Bosnian	Gospodar Prstenova: Strateške bitka igra
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Властелинът на пръстените: Стратегия Битка игра
Cambodian	ព្រះអម្ចាស់នៃកងដែល: ល្បែងប្រយុទ្ធជាយុទ្ធសាស្រ្ត
Catalan	El Senyor dels anells: Joc d’estratègia de batalla
Cebuano	Ang Ginoo sa mga Singsing: Estratehiya Pagpakiggubat dula
Chinese	魔戒: 战略战斗游戏
Croatian	Gospodar Prstenova: Strateška bitka igra
Czech	Pán prstenů: Strategická bitva hra
Danish	Ringenes Herre: Strategi Kampspil
Dutch	In de Ban van de Ring: Strategie Vechtspel
Estonian	Sõrmuste Isand: Strateegia lahingu mäng
Filipino	Ang Panginoon ng Singsing: Diskarte labanan laro
Finnish	Taru Sormusten Herrasta: Strategia Taistelu peli
French	Le Seigneur des anneaux : le jeu de bataille
Galician	O Señor dos Aneis: Xogo de estratexia de batalla
Georgian	ბეჭდების მბრძანებელი: სტრატეგია ბრძოლა თამაში
German	Der Herr der Ringe: Strategie-Kampfspiel
Greek	Ο άρχοντας των δαχτυλιδιών: Στρατηγική μάχη παιχνίδι
Hebrew	שר הטבעות: משחק אסטרטגיה הקרב
Hindi	द लार्ड ऑफ द रिंग्स: रणनीति लड़ाई खेल
Hungarian	A gyűrűk ura: Stratégiai csata játék
Icelandic	Hringadróttinssaga: Stefna bardaga leikur
Indonesian	Raja Segala Cincin: Strategi pertempuran permainan
Irish Gaelic	An Tiarna na bhFáinní: Cluiche Cath Straitéis
Italian	Il Signore degli Anelli - Gioco di battaglie strategiche
Japanese	指輪物語: 戦略バトルゲーム
Kannada	ದಿ ಲಾರ್ಡ್ ಆಫ್ ದಿ ರಿಂಗ್ಸ್: ಸ್ಟ್ರಾಟಜಿ ಬ್ಯಾಟಲ್ ಗೇಮ್
Kazakh	Сақиналар әміршісі: Стратегиялық шайқас ойыны (Cyrillic) Saqïnalar ämirşisi: Strategïyalıq şayqas oyını (Latin)
Korean	반지의 제왕: 전략 전투 게임
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Теңир шакеги: Стратегия согуш оюну
Laotian	ພຣະຜູ້ເປັນເຈົ້າຂອງແຫວນໄດ້: ເກມຮົບຍຸດທະສາດ
Latin	Dominus Anulorum: Ludus bellicus strategematicus
Latvian	Gredzenu pavēlnieks: Stratēģija kaujas spēle
Lithuanian	Žiedu Valdovas: Strategijos mūšis žaidimas
Luxembourgish	Den Här vun de Réng: Strategie Schluecht Spiller
Macedonian Cyrillic	Господарот на Прстените: Стратегија битката игра
Malaysian	Raja Segala Cincin: Permainan pertempuran strategi
Marathi	द लॉर्ड ऑफ द रिंग्स: स्ट्रॅटेजी बॅटल गेम
Mongolian Cyrillic	Бөгжний эзэн: Стратегийн дайн тоглоом
Nepalese	द लर्ड अफ द रिङ्ग्स: रणनीति युद्ध खेल
Norwegian	Ringenes Herre: Strategi Kampspill
Persian	ارباب حلقه ها: بازی استراتژی نبرد
Polish	Władca Pierścieni: Strategiczna Gra Bitewna
Portuguese	O Senhor dos Anéis: Jogo batalha de estratégia
Punjabi	ਦ ਲਾਰਡ ਆਫ਼ ਦ ਰਿੰਗਸ: ਰਣਨੀਤੀ ਬੈਟਲ ਗੇਮ
Romanian	Stăpânul Inelelor: Joc luptă de strategie
Russian	Властелин колец: Стратегия Битва Игра
Scottish Gaelic	Tha Tighearna nam Fàinnean: Geama Cogaidh Ro-innleachdail
Serbian	Господар прстенова: Стратегијска битка Игра (Cyrillic) Gospodar Prstenova: Strategijska bitka Igra (Latin)
Sinhalese	ද රින්ග්ස් සමිඳාණන්: උපාය සටන් ක්‍රීඩාව
Slovak	Pán Prsteňov: Strategická Bitka Hra
Slovenian	Gospodar Prstanov: Strategija Bitka Igra
Spanish	El Señor de los Anillos, el juego de batallas estratégicas
Swahili	Bwana wa Mapete: Mkakati wa Vita Mchezo
Swedish	Sagan om Ringen: Strategislagspel
Tajik Cyrillic	Парвардигори зиреҳҳои: Бозии стратегияи ҷангӣ
Tamil	த லோட் ஒவ் த ரிங்ஸ்: வியூக போர் விளையாட்டு
Telugu	ఆ లార్డ్ ఆఫ్ ది రింగ్స్: వ్యూహాలు యుద్ధం గేమ్
Thai	ดออฟเดอะริงส์: กลยุทธ์เกมต่อสู้
Turkish	Yüzüklerin Efendisi: Strateji Savaş Oyunu
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Володар перснів: Стратегія битви ігри
Urdu	دی لارڈ آف دی رنگز: حکمت عملی جنگ کھیل
Uzbek	Узуклар Ҳукмдори: Стратегия жанг ўйини (Cyrillic) Uzuklar Hukmdori: Strategiya jang o'yini (Latin)
Vietnamese	Chúa tể những chiếc nhẫn: Chiến lược trò chơi chiến đấu
Welsh	Yr Arglwydd y cylchoedd: Gêm Frwydr Strategaeth
Yiddish	דער האר פון די רינגס: סטראַטעגיע שלאַכט שפּיל

External links

• Unofficial War of the Ring website a monument to the participants of the War of the Ring Campaign