Lord of the Rings Board Games: cooperative board game
Lord of the Rings Board Game: How Turns Work
Reiner Knizia's Lord of the Rings Board Game (2000) is a cooperative game for 2 to 5 players. You play Hobbits on the road to Mount Doom, working together to win or lose as a group. A good fit for families and groups who enjoy team play.
- 2000
- 2-5 players
- 60-90 minutes
- Ages 12+
- cooperative board game
- Kosmos (original German edition); later Wizards of the Coast, Parker Brothers, Fantasy Flight
Designers: Reiner Knizia
One Ring, one road, and the whole table on the same side.
Everyone’s on the same team, with Sauron creeping along the Corruption Track as the clock. A turn is quick, and the six steps below cover a turn during a conflict. Still choosing a game? Our Lord of the Rings board games page compares the options.
Sauron only moves toward the Hobbits, never away.
A quick look at one turn in the Lord of the Rings Board Game
During a conflict, players take turns clockwise, starting with the Ring-bearer. The six steps below show the routine.
You can talk about your hand, but you can’t show it or swap cards.
- Step 1:
Reveal a story tile and resolve it. If it shows an activity symbol (fighting, hiding, friendship or traveling), stop revealing. Otherwise, resolve its effect and reveal another tile.
- Step 2:
Move the matching activity marker one space and take that space’s reward, such as a Gandalf rune, a life token, a card or a roll of the Threat die.
- Step 3:
Play up to two Quest or Legendary cards, with at most one brown and one grey. Each symbol on the played side moves its matching activity marker one space.
- Step 4:
Each space you pass over has an effect, good or bad. Keep the rewards from every space the marker crosses.
- Step 5:
Instead of playing cards, refresh: draw two Quest cards, or move your Hobbit one space away from Sauron on the Corruption Track.
- Step 6:
End your turn by putting the revealed tiles and played cards in their discard piles. Play then passes clockwise to the next player.
This turn summary skips safe havens, the Ring, and end-of-conflict checks, which decide most games. Next up: setup, rules that catch new players off guard, and scoring. The rulebook in the box is from the Fantasy Flight edition.
Lord of the Rings board game rules, made clear
Setup
Put the Master Game Board on the table and place Sauron on space 12 of the Corruption Track. For a first game, the rulebook suggests space 15.
Place an Activity marker on Bag End. Set up the Moria conflict board below the Master Game Board, put the Event marker above its Event Track, and place one Activity marker on each of the Traveling, Hiding and Fighting tracks.
Shuffle the six gold Gandalf runes facedown. Put the other runes, the Threat die and the Life tokens beside the boards.
Shuffle the Story tiles into a Story pile and the Quest cards into a Quest deck. Sort the Legendary cards by location above the Master Game Board, then place the five Gandalf cards faceup.
Deal Hobbit cards based on player count: Frodo and Sam for two players, then add Pippin, Merry and Fatty for three to five. Each player places a Hobbit marker on 0 of the Corruption Track.
Frodo starts as the Ring-bearer and takes the Ring token. Frodo takes the first turn, then play goes clockwise.
Turn by turn
Safe havens
Bag End, Rivendell and Lothlórien are safe havens. The Ring-bearer acts as the active player while the group resolves each action listed above the location, from left to right. Then move the Activity marker to the next location.
Conflicts
Moria, Helm’s Deep, Shelob’s Lair and Mordor each have a conflict board. Set up the board, reveal the matching Legendary cards, then take turns until the conflict ends.
Story tiles and events
Tiles without an activity symbol trigger effects such as the Ring’s Influence, Sauron’s Will and Cycle of Time. A Cycle of Time tile moves the Event marker down the Event Track, and you resolve the Event on that space.
The Ring
Once per conflict, the Ring-bearer may put on the Ring and roll the Threat die. Then advance one activity marker by four spaces minus the symbols shown on the die. Skip any spaces passed over. The Hobbit slips right past them.
End of a conflict
A conflict ends when the main Activity marker reaches the last space or the last Event space is resolved. In Moria, Helm’s Deep and Shelob’s Lair, each Hobbit then needs a Heart, Sun and Ring life token. For each one missing, that Hobbit moves one space toward Sauron.
Choosing the next Ring-bearer
After checking life tokens, the player with the most Ring life tokens becomes the new Ring-bearer. In a tie, the tied player closest to the current Ring-bearer’s left takes the role. Return the life tokens, then the new Ring-bearer draws two Quest cards.
End of the game and scoring
The game ends if the Ring-bearer is eliminated, the Ring is Mine event is resolved in Mordor, or the Fellowship tries to destroy the Ring. If the Ring is destroyed, the whole group, including eliminated players, scores 60 plus the value of its unspent Gandalf runes. Reaching Mount Doom without destroying the Ring scores 60. An early elimination scores the value of the Activity marker’s space.
Key rules
The Corruption Track
Hobbits start at 0, while Sauron starts at 12, or 15 in the introductory game. Sauron only moves toward the Hobbits. Any Hobbit who lands on Sauron’s space or is passed by him is eliminated.
Cooperation limits
Players can talk freely about their hands, but they cannot reveal cards or trade cards and tokens unless a card allows it. That’s the difference between useful table talk and breaking the rules.
The Threat die
Depending on the face, the Threat die can move Sauron one space, move your Hobbit one to three spaces toward Sauron, or make you discard cards. Roll it whenever its symbol appears on a space, tile or event.
Eliminated players
An eliminated player discards cards and life tokens but keeps runes for scoring. They stop taking actions, though they can still offer advice. The game continues unless the eliminated player was the Ring-bearer.
Hobbit abilities
Every Hobbit has a special ability. Sam only moves one space toward Sauron from a Threat die result, Pippin may play two cards of the same color, and Fatty draws two extra Quest cards after each conflict.
Tips for your first game
- For a first game, start Sauron on space 15, as the rulebook suggests.
- Discuss your hands, especially Legendary Story cards, but don’t show or swap cards.
- Before each conflict ends, check that everyone has a Heart, Sun and Ring life token. Each missing token means one step toward Sauron.
- Finish the main Activity Track before the later, harsher Events on the Event Track show up.
- Save the Ring for tough spots. It lets you skip hard spaces, but the Threat die can move the Ring-bearer toward Sauron.
At the end of a conflict, every Hobbit needs a Heart, Sun and Ring token.
The rules cover how to play, but there’s more to a Hobbit game than the steps. Next, learn who made it, which awards it won, and which stops on the journey it visits. For a different kind of Middle-earth strategy, try War of the Ring.
The game and the Tolkien story behind it
The Ring skips spaces, but the Threat die roll still counts.
The game
Design and release
Reiner Knizia designed the game, with artwork by John Howe. It came out in 2000, published by Kosmos in Germany, Wizards of the Coast in the U.S. and Parker Brothers in the U.K. Fantasy Flight Games later released a slightly revised version.
Awards
After its release, the game won a special award from the Spiel des Jahres jury for best use of literature in a game. In 2004, it also won the Games Magazine Games 100 Honor in the Family Strategy category.
The film or series it covers
The game follows J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings, not the films. The rulebook retells the quest from the Shire to Mount Doom.
Players take the roles of Hobbits. The Master Game Board traces the route from Bag End through Rivendell, Moria, Lothlórien, Helm’s Deep and Shelob’s Lair to Mordor. Fellowship members show up on Legendary cards. You don’t need to know the story, though it can help in some situations.
Scenes and story beats in the game
- 1
The journey begins at Bag End and ends in Mordor, with Mount Doom as the final stop.
- 2
Four conflict boards cover Moria, Helm’s Deep, Shelob’s Lair and Mordor.
- 3
Collect enough runes and the Fellowship can call on Gandalf cards.
- 4
The Ring lets its bearer slip past tough spaces, but there’s a chance of drawing the Eye of Sauron.
What’s inside the Lord of the Rings Board Game box
- 1 Master Game Board and 2 double-sided Conflict Game Boards
- 60 Quest cards and 35 Legendary cards, including 5 Gandalf cards
- 23 Story tiles and 5 Hobbit cards with 5 Hobbit markers
- 1 Sauron marker, 5 activity markers, 1 event marker and 6 plastic bases
- 11 life tokens (3 heart, 3 sun and 5 ring)
- 26 silver and 6 gold Gandalf rune tokens, 1 Ring token and 1 Threat die
- A rulebook
The base game is a complete cooperative adventure, yet several expansions and special editions followed over the years. Each entry below says what it adds. You can also see how the whole range fits together on the Lord of the Rings board games page.
Sauron only moves toward the Hobbits, never away.
Lord of the Rings board game expansions and editions
Friends and Foes 2001
Adds scenario boards for Bree and Isengard and a deck of 30 foes such as barrow-wights and wargs. It also lets players take the roles of Strider, Saruman or the Mirkwood spiders.
Limited Edition 2001
A run limited to 750 copies, with a box signed by Knizia and Howe, a signed art print, pewter Hobbit pieces and a 22-karat gold One Ring.
Sauron 2002
Lets one player take the role of Sauron and play against all the others.
Battlefields 2007
Adds six more battlefields and five more members of the Fellowship.
Anniversary Edition 2020
Released for the game’s 20th anniversary, with design elements from the earlier edition and a set of newly sculpted miniatures, markers, tokens and dice.
Lord of the Rings Board Game FAQ
How do you play the Lord of the Rings Board Game?
Players take the roles of Hobbits, revealing story tiles and playing cards on their turns to move markers along a conflict board. The group must keep Sauron at bay on the Corruption Track and make it to Mount Doom.
How do you win the Lord of the Rings Board Game?
The Fellowship wins as a team by destroying the Ring in Mordor. There’s no individual winner. If the Ring is destroyed, the group scores 60 points plus the value of its unspent Gandalf runes.
How many players can play the Lord of the Rings Board Game?
Two to five players. With two, you use Frodo and Sam. Add Pippin, Merry and Fatty in that order for games with three to five players. A game lasts about 60 to 90 minutes.
Who designed the Lord of the Rings Board Game?
Reiner Knizia designed the game, with artwork by John Howe. It was first published in 2000 and won a Spiel des Jahres special award.
What expansions does the Lord of the Rings Board Game have?
The three expansions are Friends and Foes (2001), Sauron (2002) and Battlefields (2007). The 20th Anniversary Edition came out in 2020.
Is the Lord of the Rings Board Game cooperative?
Yes. Players win or lose as a team, and the rulebook says there can be no success without cooperation. You can discuss your hands, but you can’t show cards or trade cards and tokens.
What does the Ring do in the Lord of the Rings Board Game?
Once per conflict, the Ring-bearer can put on the Ring to skip hard spaces on an activity track. First, they roll the Threat die. A bad roll can send them closer to Sauron.
You can talk about your hand, but you can’t show it or swap cards.
At the end of a conflict, every Hobbit needs a Heart, Sun and Ring token.
Sources
- Fantasy Flight Games: The Lord of the Rings board game rulebook (PDF) images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com
- Wikipedia: Lord of the Rings (board game) en.wikipedia.org