Tolkien Boardgames

We will post updates to the web site here.

 

09/22/2014: New game for 2014. The Battle of the Five Armies by Ares Games (in US). This is the 6th version of this game. Made by the same publisher as "War of the Ring". This is a game for 2 people. Board game with miniatures. I don't own this game just yet, but I posted some pictures.

05/03/2014: Added a new game. Hobbit Tales from the Green Dragon from 2013. It is a new card type game (lots of those kind now). It does have a board, but mostly it is a card game. I found mine on Amazon, but this is a more obscure publisher. These are the kind of games that get hard to find later. I haven't played it yet, but I added some minimal information. I will continue to try to come up with new format information. Also added what looks like a really fun game - LEGO: The Battle of Helms Deep Lord of the Rings from 2013. There are a bunch of other games from 2013 and 2014 and I will post them as soon as I can.

04/28/2014: I added a new game. Lord of the Rings: Nazgul. Published by WizKids in 2012. I am still learning how to upload and edit the web site. Basic information for now. 

04/2102014: I'm back (David). I have upgraded this site. It has a new Site Builder so now I can finally update my pages and add new content. Lots of new games since 2010. The new Hobbit Movie is out and new games with it. Plus new LOTR games too like WizKids LOTR: Nazgul. Give me a chance to gather new information and I will update the site. If anyone has anything new just let me know. And I am here to help. If you need anything from any of the games just drop me a line and I will see what I can do. I own a lot of these games and can provide you rules if I have them. Welcome back.

 

08/18/2011: I'm still here. I've just been busy with work and life. But I have not forgotten about this site. I do have some new games to update on the site. I need to gather the information then I can post it. There were a couple of new games in 2010. And a new one in 2011. Plus I found some older games from around 2002. They are considered handmade, so they are not something you can easily find, but I will post what I can. I think I have about 6 games to add to the list. I'll be back soon. Plus I hope to find some time to finally fix up some of the web pages that just look a little odd. I don't really have any new reviews, but I will pull up whatever information I can on each of the games. With the new movie "The Hobbit" due out next year, I'm hoping to see some new games. We'll just have to wait and see. I'll be back.

11/07/09:  Hi Folks.  It has almost been one year, but I finally heard about a new game.  Middle Earth Quests Game by Fantasy Flight Games. I had gotten word on a special edition of War of the Rings Coleector's Edition by Nexus and Fantasy Flight Games (excellent looking game due out in 2010 - Very Limited Edition - Retails for $399.99) when I found out they had come out with this other game.  Let me go gather the informaiton and I will finally create a new page or two. Dave

12/21/08:  Well, the year is about to wrap up.  I am still keeping this site active.  There just hasn't been any news.  I see that The Hobbit movie is in pre-production stage.  It's still a two years away, or so.  I have heard some Very Interesting news.  Gary sent me an email saying he was just at a party and must have been talking to someone who knew about this bit of information.  Apparently, back around 1970 Avalon Hill was in the process of developing a Lord Of the Rings game.  But the Tolkien Estate had them cancel the game and destroy all the games produced.  One of these games was held back.  One of a Kind.  I don't have any other information other than that.  This was during the time of the original Lord of the Rings lawsuit that was going through about the American paperback that was illegally produced.  That would be the cover with the weird Emus and funky trees on the cover.  That's all I have.  If anyone has any more information, please let me know.  I'll pass on any info I find.  Let's hope that there are some new Tolkien games in 2009.  Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.     Dave

03/06/08:  Added a page for SPI's Dark Ages game (1971).  It's not really a Tolkien game, but there were some scenarios written in 1974 for that game; Rohirrim! and Siege of Gondor.

03/01/08:  I've created a new page called Games for Purchase.  I don't sell games here, but I can set up links to people who would like to sell their games.

02/29/08:  Well, it's Leap Day and I have an extra day where I can do a little update.  I had a link to a Free downloadable game called Ringmaster, but I didn't have it listed in the Chronology page under 2006.  So I added it, plus some additional information.  You can also download the game for free on http://www.boardgamegeek.com/.  It was originally written in Italian, but there is an English translation available.  I'm still waiting on some more information on some other self published games.  When I get anything that I can mention, I will post them.  One of those games is a self made version of a game based on an article originally published in Panzerfaust Magazine back in 1975.  The game is Siege of Gondor and depicts the battle at Minas Tirith.  When I get some pictures I will post them.

01/17/08:  Happy New Year to all!  I haven't seen any new games yet.  However, we may get lucky in the next few years.  I've seen the announcements that Peter Jackson will be Producing the movie of The Hobbit.  As of yet, the director has not yet been named.  From what I have read, the movie will be made into two movies.  It is supposed to cover both the book of The Hobbit and portions from The Silmarillion.  We'll all have to wait to see how the story script works out.   I would expect that someone will create some games from The Hobbit.  There is a least one major battle scene, and I'm sure we'll see some new boardgames similar to Lord of the Rings.  And the Silmarillion is ripe with battles from the First Age if they use that part of the book.  I for one can hardly wait!

In the mean time, I have something for you to look at.  A recent person, Mark Ainsworth, visited our site.  He has created a program that can be used to create some wargames.  There is no Aritficial Intelligence to the game, but any kind of map can be created.  It also has dice rolling generator and other very nice features.  It is basically a hex boardgame creator.  You would have to supply your own rules.  Right now he is still working on it, but if you are interested please visit the game at http://www.thewargamer.com/grognard/avalompro.zip.  If you want to reach Mark, please send me (Dave) an email and I can hook you up.  Mark says that his program can be used to create all sorts of battles throughout Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion.  There are some great battles that no one has ever created from the First Age as far as I have seen.  Some of those battles are much greater than those found in the Third Age with Lord of the Rings.  Mark's battle generator is similar to Aide de Camp 2 but looks easier to generate battle maps.  If you would like some more information on ADC2, let me know.  That program is a few years old.

I also have a mostly English translated version of A Guerra Do Anel - O Wargame  that I created.  There are still some rough translations in the rules but it is very readable and can be used as a game.  I can send it as a PDF file.  And I still have to touch-ups to do with the map board.  But if you are interested in getting a copy, send me an email.  If someone wants to help me clean it up a bit, just contact me.

09/20/07:  I added a page for A Guerra Do Anel - O Wargame.  This is the Brazilian game from 2002 that is a free PDF File (see below).  I posted some pictures as well.  If you want a copy of the game in English, I've been translating it and I send you a copy of a PDF once I put one together.  I'll need to password protect it like the original author.  This game is free and is not for sale, or re-sale.  Everything except the die are included.

09/18/07:  I found another not quite new game.  It looks like it comes from around 2004 at the time of the Return of the King movie.  The game is called Memory - Lord of the Rings and is produced by Ravensburger.  I came across a picture of the game in BoardgameGeek but with no other information.  I posted what little I know about it.

I also made a good translation of A Guerra Do Anel.  I have some detail work on the translation but when I get it done I'll post a PDF file of the english translation.  I still need to make a web page for it.  More to come.

09/07/07: Guess what!  A new GAME!  I came across this on BoardgamesGeek.com.  The game is called The Lord of the Rings Game, by Sophisticated Games of the UK.  From some Google searches, it is that Sophisticated Games is a co-producer of the game that made the LOTR game by Reiner Knizia in 2000, by Kosmos in Europe and Fantasy Flight Games/Habro here in the US.  If you search Sophisticated Games web site you will find the older games.  I did a little more digging and I found a store in the UK that sold this new game.  The new game is a dice/board game.  I don't know the mechanics of it yet.  I have one on order from the UK.  When it arrives I'll post more.  The designer of this game is Mike Siggins.  After a little searching, his name shows up as a reviewer of games in the UK.  He's also designed two other non-Tolkien games (one is based on Shakespeare!).  The site that I found it at is called Shiregames.com.  As of this evening, they are out of stock of the game - and I only ordered my copy this morning.  That was fast.  That is the only site I've seen the game at so far.  I think it just came out.  You can also check it out on BoardgamesGeek.com.  Look for the Lord of the Rings from 2007.

06/25/07:  I'm still around folks.  I get the occational email for questions.  I have no problem answer emails.  You may notice a new page by the name of Sherlock.  It has nothing to do with Tolkien Board Games.  Sorry, it's password protected.  I'm just experimenting with a couple FreeWeb features.  Nothing of any interest.  I found that I can include Word files for you to download.  I can now include rules and the like whenever I get the chance.  I can't access this site from work anymore (they've blocked everything fun) so I have to do this from home (truthfully that is where I have done most of the work anyway).  Happy gaming! :-)

04/06/07:  We are still here.  I do have some updates and some new information.  I'm busy at work applying for a new position so I have to be brief.  There was a new game posted on Boardgamegeek.com that came out in 2002 from I think Brazil.  The game is free on line but is in Portuguese.  In my spare time, I have been using BabelFish.AltaVista.com to do a rough translation into English.  At the moment it is a Literal translation, but it is readable.  I still have to translate the tables and fix up the language in English a bit.  I'm doing that in my spare time.  Mostly because I want to try out the game.  The game is called A Guerra Do Anel, or War of the Ring.  It is a standard hexboard game like the old days (which I like - old school).  I'll post some information when I get a chance.  I also finally recieved the War of the Ring (Nexus or Fantasy Flight Games) new expansion pack Battlefields.  It came out in Feburary 2007.  A little late, but it finally made it.  It runs around $25 to $30 US.

No other news at the moment.  I have some other game translations that I've been able to get.  I'll put that together after Taxes are due.  And once again, if you hear of anything or have any questions, please contact myself or Mike (yes, he is still around).

11/25/06: Rare appearance by Mike :-) Anyways, wanted to correct a mistake. The man (I know him) who let us know about The Live Ring name is not Matt. His name is Mike. Sorry Mike R for the mistake. You are now credited :-)
11/13/06:  A new update on a rare game.  The Live Ring (posted here as The Living Ring as found in an old advertisement from Land of Legend).  Mike down in Australia was able to find a copy of the booklet.  All I have at the moment is a picture of the cover and one of the open pages.  I left a short note from Mike on what the game is about.  Nice find Matt and thanks for the update.

10/26/06:  What's this?  A new entry?  I thought you guys gave up.  Never!  There just hasn't been much out there.  Well, now that we late in the year, there is a new game that should be coming out very soon.  There is a new expansion to the boardgame The Lord of the Rings (Fantasy Flight Games).  In the past they have put out two other expansions; Friends and Foes; and Sauron.  Due out in Oct/Nov 2006 will be Lord of the Rings: Battlefields by Reiner Knizia.  I'll create a new page for the game.  I also got word of a Polish version of the old SPI game War of the Rings.  According to the picture, the game was published in 1991.  I don't have a copy, but I do have some pictures.  I'll create a new web page for that one once I figure out what to call it (title is in Polish).

03/09/06:  Three additions for the month of March.  Cool!  Well, to add a little bit to the site, I decided to step outside the boundries and add a couple of COMPUTER Games!!  Usually computer games are put in the computer games section.  But this time I am adding them to the gameboard section.  And these aren't even gameboard style games.  So with that, the two new games that are out are Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II by EA.  And yes, there was a Battle for Middle Earth I that came out in 2004 (I added that one to the list too!).  They take you to the same page because really they are the same game, just upgraded.  The other game is also an EA game but this one is for the Play Station Portable (PSP).  Its called Lord of the Rings: Tactics.  I think its just like the PC games.  I don't have a PSP, so I have to rely on screen shots and to me it looks the same.  But it's a new game, so I added it to the list.  If anyone wants to add anything to either of these, just send me an email.  If you really want more information on either game, I suggest just doing an on-line search.  Other people will have much better reviews than me. DW

03/08/06:  I added a couple of pictures to War of the Ring: Battles of the Third Age Expansion and Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation Deluxe Edition.

03/05/06:  Howdy Folks!  Yes, I am still here.  Again, there isn't much going on that I have heard on any new games with the exception of the new Nexus/Fantasy Flight game War of the Ring Expansions - Battle of the Third Age.  From what I last saw, the game was postponed from last Fall to this April.  I have seen pre-orders for it on the web.  I checked with the Final Fantasy web page (they will sell the game too, of course), but since its not April yet, it is not shown as being available.  You will need the original War of the Ring game to play this new Expansion set.  I've seen pre-orders going for around $40US.  There will be new characters like Galadriel, and new war machines like Siege Towers.  I had contact with a Beta game player and he said the game is great.  BoardGameGeek.com has some pictures of the new pieces.  I also saw an update for the Fantasy Flight Game for Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation Deluxe.  It is the same game but a bit bigger and better.  The board is larger, and it has better sculpted pieces with some new characters.  I'll have to create a link to both of these games.  I've been getting emails asking for various information and I am answering them as best as I can.  I really appreciate the email.  I have been sent some new information on Wizards & Warfare about the UK version of this game.  I was able to get a downloaded picture of the cover.  And I got some information on a LOTR Chess game from 1976.  I'll have to look into that one a little more (busy with work at the moment - big project due within the month).  That's about all that I have seen.  If anyone hears of any new games, please let me know.  If you are interested in buying games, this is a good time to look into getting them.  Prices seem to be down.  If you are looking to sell, this is a bad time.  Prices seem to be down.  In other words, its a buyers market at the moment.  But it was times like these over the years that I picked up most of my games.  So the deals are out there.  I see it is harder to find the older games.  All you have to do is keep looking.  They all eventually end up on eBay.  It just takes time.  I waited about 3 or 4 years for a couple of games to show up, but they did.  So guys and gals, keep your cards and letters coming.  And I'll keep you posted as best as I can. DW.

01/29/06: Added a CHAT ROOM! I would have preferred a forum so people can post messages but freewebs doesn't provide it.
Just come on in and see if anyone is in there and if there is, talk about tolkien boardgames! Maybe I'll put up a scheduled date and time for people to meet up on the chat and talk about tolkien boardgames.

01/04/06:  Happy New Year to all!  Yes, we are still up and running.  There hasn't been much going on in the gaming world that I know of.  Of course I am busy with my normal work and life, but I am always trying to find any new games.  I get the occational email asking gaming questions.  You are always free to send me any email and ask me any question, and I will do my best to answer them.  I have an English translation for the Italian game of Battle of Helms Deep from Franco in Italy (thank you very much Franco).  When I get a chance I will post it.  If anyone needs any game information, please contact me.  I have a lot more information in files on my computer that I have posted here on this web site.  Trying to get it in the right format for posting takes time and I have many different things going on.  I haven't heard if the War of the Ring Expansion (Nexus) game came out or not.  It is due to be out, but I just haven't checked.  I'll see what I can find and post the information here.  If anyone knows anything, please let me know.  Take care all.   DW

10/09/05: Go to the War of the Ring (SPI) section and see the compiled list on all the different versions of War of the Ring. I have added two more editions! Apparently, there are two versions of the War of the Ring (one game, green box) and two versions of the Middle Earth trilogy (3 games, green box). Go take a look and find out which one your copy is :-) -Mk

10/02/05: Another minor update to satiate your appetite for tolkien games! Go to the Lord of the Rings Recall Game (Milton Bradley) section and find out about another print of this game!-Mk

9/30/05: Minor update: Go to Lotr Dominoes. Apparently their is another version and I have posted a picture of it up. Enjoy for now. -Mk

9/29/05: Huge update is going to be split into little parts so that you guys can handle all the new info :-) Go to the War of the Ring (SPI) section and see a little list I compiled on what all the different versions of War of the Ring (SPI) are and also take a look at the Fellowship of the Ring (ICE ) page and take a look at the new version just recently discovered. Big thanks to Simone for letting me know about the two versions of Fellowship of the Ring (ICE). More updates coming up! -Mk

9/22/05: Huge update coming up soon. I will be revealing some incredible discoveries. Stay tuned! Also worked on some stuff in the Games Rarity page. Changed the rarity of some items -Mk

09/06/05: Finally - I have a new game to announce for 2005.  Games Workshop in the UK has come out with Battle of the five Armies (Games Workshop).  A miniatures game along the same lines as the Lord of the Rings games.  This is a self-contained game and is separate form the LOTR Games.  I've posted a page for it.  I also created a page for the game Battles of the Third Age, a War of the Ring Expansion by Nexus.  I only have a picture of the box cover at this time. - DW

09/06/05: Got word from another collector Rob that he has a Living Ring game. I have requested if he can send in a scan. Hopefully he will send in a scan soon for all of us to see what this rare item looks like!
Also, I have been in contact with the former President of American Publishing Corp and the creator of The Hobbit boardgame by American Pub Corp 1977. I will be adding info to the Hobbit by American Pub Corp page soon.
-MK out for now.

08/31/05: I've heard rumor of two expansion pack games for the War of the Rings game by Nexus/Fantasy Flight Games.  One is based on the Pelennor Fields.  I forget the other one.  Beta testing is underway.  Expansion games may be out by October 2005 so keep your eyes open.  Also check out the War of the Rings web site by Nexus for expansion figures at http://www.warofthering.it/. -DW

I just found out what the expansion is called: Battles of the Third Age.  See the War of the Ring page for a picture. - DW

07/13/05: Two new games added! The Living Ring game by Land of Legend (1975?) and Ringmaster. Scroll to bottom of the page to find them. -Mk

06/16/05:  Edited some info on Game Rarity page. Added some info on The Hobbit by American Publishing. Added info on Fellowship Games Riddle of the Ring -Mk

06/10/05: Finished the Ringbearer page. Go check it out people. -Mk

06/08/05: Started a new page on Game Rarity. Go to very bottom of the page and look on the left hand side to find it.
Also updated Middle Earth Games (MK) with pictures of the front and back box. Also added a picture of the 1975 edition rulebook of Quest of the Magic Ring. -Mk

06/04/05:  New Review.  Robert Hatchitt sent in a review for the Middle Earth Sword Game.  I myself got past the Mines of Moria, including the Balrog, and am working my way south.  I had to fight another Troll with little health.  Fun, fun, fun.  Thanks very much for the review Robert!!!!  If anyone else wants to send in a review, I will get it loaded in as soon as I can.

05/24/05:  Sorry folks.  I didn't realize the subscription ended in April.  Pictures should be back on line in the next day or two.  I got an email about a MERP game.  When I get a little more organized, I'll get that information up.  As usual I've been busy at work.  Since the games have slowed down, I hope to go back and write up some reviews on some of the games.  Any inputs from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

03/17/05:  Our first new game of the year.  I got this one from Gioacchino who live in Italy.  The game is Parchis, or in english Parchisi.  It looks to be the same game using Lord of the Rings pieces.  I was given an english translation of the game and I don't see any special LOTR rules.  But at least we have a new game.  Sorry for not updating so much, but I just don't see much out there.  If anyone finds any new games, please let us know.  Dave

02/06/05:  I'm still here, but I've been busy at work.  No new games that I have seen.  I did get to finally play the LOTR Warrior of Middle Earth Sword game.  It is a lot of fun, and simple to work (but harder to beat).  So far I have made it partway through the Mines of Moria before I get overrun by orcs.  I'll have to work on my sword slashing skills.  I did take fencing in college, but those moves don't work on this game, but it still a lot of fun.  I have also found an expansion game (homemade not published) for LOTR Risk.  Someone has made a Helm's Deep expansion.  I don't have the web site at the moment, but you can find it on Boardgamegeek.com in the Risk game section.  There should be a link in there somewhere.  If you want the link, just let me know and I'll look it up.  Well, back to the superbowl game.  DW

01/04/05:  Has it been a month already?  Has it been another year?  I was busy this past month getting ready for Christmas (the family came to our house this year).  Not a whole lot of new stuff.  The new Battle for Middle Earth computer game came out (I'll have to add that to the computer gaming section).  Also, there is a new "game" called Lord of the Rings Warrior of Middle Earth TV Sword Game.  A kind of video game that has a wireless remote sword that you swing around killing orcs and such on the computer.  It looks like a lot of fun.  I got to play another game of LOTR Risk and once again, the elves (me) won.  I got lucky and was dealt a lot of cards from Gondor.  Once I took over the souther end of the board, it was just a matter of time.  Next time, we will have to play with the extended rules that include moving the Ring to Mount Doom.  For now it was just pure strategy.  As soon as I hear about any new games, I'll post it.

Also, about the bandwidth problem - we seem to run out of bandwidth around this time (the 5th of the month).  Please be patient.  The counter gets reset on the 14th of each month.  I probably will have to go in a remove some large file pictures to keep us under our limit.  My next big task is to move to a new, bigger web site.  I am looking around for a good deal.  When that happens, I'll keep this site up with the basic information and redirect the good stuff to the new site.  As usualy, I just need time to do that.  Until then, keep on gaming in the free world.

12/04/05:  Welcome Holiday Shoppers!!!  I have seen an increase in our main page counter.  Typically we get about 30 hits a day.  Lately, I have seen about 50 hits a day.  I am guessing gamers are coming across our site for gaming information.  I hope our site helps you out.  There are some really great games out there Tolkien related.  Depending upon your preference, there boardgames and wargames and trivia games.  All the ones included on our web site deal with the Tolkien based games.  Some games, like Backgammon, have absolutely no Tolkien influence except sticking Lord of the Rings on the title and adding silver and gold rings, but no "Middle Earth" variations.  Most other game designers actually took the time to add the flavor of the movies or books to the game.  The Stratego and Risk games did a very good job of this, while the Monoply adds a ring variant that adds a little fun to the normal play of the game (all of these games should still be available).  With that said, I do have some news of some new games.  The latest in the market seems to be Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit DVD Game (Hasbor/Parker Bros).  The game is a typical Trivial Pursuit game for the Trilogy of Movies.  There are over 2400 questions (audio and video too) on two DVDs.  I also have a little information on a game from Spain/Portugal.  Manuel from Portugal notified me of these games that came with a Pizza ordered from TelePizza (a Dominoes type of Pizza place).  There were three games available.  Miguel was kind enough to send me two of the games (the third one was too hard to find - thank you very much Miguel).  One game is a card game of some sort, and the other game is a checkers game.  When I get some pictures taken, I will post them.  In the mean time you can find the game here TelePizza LOTR Games.  I am also trying to find information on another Spanish LOTR game.  When I get that, I will post it.  Hopefully I will have more information soon, and it has been a long time since I wrote a review on a game.  During the holidays, I will see if I can write something up.

11/15/04:  I have a correction for the Battle of the Five Armies by Nexus.  The issue #50 was published in 1997, not 2003.  That was just a guess on my part (I didn't check the magazine before I wrote that).  Thank you Gioacchino for that update.  I also have been told of another Lord of the Rings board game that is from Spain, thanks to Manuel in Portugual.  When I get some more information on the game, I will post it.  The game is called El Senhor de los Anillos (Lord of the Rings, of course) published by Falomir.  I think it came out last year or so.

11/05/04:  Added pictues to Battle of the Five Armies by Nexus as found in issue #50 of Kaos, an Italian games magazine.  This game is a reprint of a game that came out in 1982.  I don't know much about that version of the game at this time.  The rules are in Italian.  DW

11/02/04:  Happy Halloween everyone.  I hope the Great Pumpkin brought you nice presents.  I have some small good news.  I seemed to have helped our bandwidth problem by removing the pictures from the main page.  I shouldn't be shut out again.  Also, I have a game to add to our list.  Nexus (from Italy) has sent me a copy of their 50th issue of their magazine called Kaos that came out a year or two ago that has a reprint of an old Battle of the Five Armies Nexus game (all in Italian).  This is different from the other US versions.  I have a few pictures from the game and I will try to post them soon.  I also have to add a new page.  I'll try to get that out later today.  See you soon.  DW

10/15/04:  I have posted a couple of pictures of the new Return of the King game by Rose Art.  The game is supposed to be available at Wallmart.  UnclesGames.com should also have the game.  And I forgot to mention that Top Trump has come out with all three Top Trumps decks from the three movies.  I don't know if there are any special cards, but there are special cards available, for a price (like the Balrog card).  I have included a picture of the box that I found on the internet.  And you also get in today's edition, new pictures of the Nexus War of the Ring game.

10/13/04:  We're back on line.

10/10/04:  Well when we come back on line, you will have seen my concern about Bandwidth.  We exceeded our bandwidth by four times.  So I had to remove the pictures from the main page.  I may have to look at some of the other pages to see if the pictures are too large.  This also gives me more reason to move to our own web site where I can post more information.  In the mean time, I have found another game as I have stated.  Lord of the Rings Dominoes.  I ordered a set.  It is made by Rose Art.  The only LOTRish about it is the tin box it comes in and the pictures on the face.  The pictures are of charaters from the movies.  I'll post some pics when I get a chance.  I also got my copy of War of the Ring, but I haven't had a chance to dig through it yet.  When I do, I'll let you know what's up with the game.  For now, I have to wait until the 14th when the Bandwidth counter resets.  I'll monitor the bandwidth and adjust.  DW.

10/05/04:  The latest news that I have found out about the WizKids game, Lord of the Rings: Epic Battles, is that they are postoning production while they improve the game.  They are concentrating on a Pirates game for now.  I hope they come out with the game next year.  It looks like it is similar to a collectable card game but instead of cards, you collect stirine figures that you put together and set up large armies.  If you go to their website, wizkids.com, you can see what the Pirates game, and other games, they have.  It sounds interesting and an inexpensive gameing.  Except to amass a large army, may cost a pretty penny.  Also, a few web sites are starting to sell the LOTR Return of the King game by Rose Art.  One of them is TolkienTown.com  More later.  DW.

NEW GAME!  I was looking through TolkienTown.com and found that there is a LOTR Dominoes game.  Maybe not too exciting, but if you like dominoes and you like Lord of the Rings, well here you go.  They are selling if for $9.99 plus shipping.  If you see any new games, just let us know about it.  By the way, I didn't see the Return of the King game by Rose Art posted there, but I had gotten an email from them saying it was available, so just check with them.  Dave

09/30/04:  Well, it's the end of the month and I still haven't add much.  I will get to it so please be patient.  I had to remove the pictures from the Chronology list because they were taking up too much bandwidth.  I am looking into updating this web site so I can have more space available and more bandwidth.  That should take care of some of the problems I have had, plus the site will be a little better organized.  I will let you know when I do this and I will leave all the information posted here once I set up the other site.  For now, I am learning how to use Front Page.  War of the Ring by Nexus should be out by now.  I just received an email from a company that I bought mine from over the internet.  And I do have other games to report to you.  I just need to organize them.  Thank you for your emails.  Everyone seems to like all the information we post.  I will do my best to keep up with all that is going on out there, worldwide.  DW

09/19/04:  Never fear fellow gamers, I am here.  Well, as usual, I have been busy.  I have a few games to update you on, but for now, I will let that wait.  I am still looking for the Rose Art Return of the Rings game, but I still have not seen it.  I got an email from someone who did, but I have not seen it.  Also, I did find a site in Germany that is selling the Risk Expansion game Mordor and Gondor, but they won't ship to the US.  I am trying to get back to this web site, and I will.  See you soon.  Dave

09/01/04:  I have two bits of information to give you.  One is a couple of pictures of a Beta Test Game for War Of The Rings by Nexus.  And the other item is a new game called Lord of the Rings: Epic Battles by WizKids Games.  This is for Series 1.  I don't have much information, but the game is due out in Oct 2004.  It looks like it will be very inexpensive.  Retail value is only $4.99.  We will have to wait and see what is needed for the game.

08/26/04:  New Game, new game.  Actually it came out last year, but I just found out about it.  And it will be a little hard to get as it was published in Spain and Portugal.  And to top it off, it came from a Pizza place called TelePizza.  Miguel from Portugal informed me of this one (Thanks Miguel).  The game is Spanish is called El Juego del Anillo, or in Portugal O Jogo do Anel.  They both basically translate to The Game of the Ring.  It looks like it is a 3 game series available when you buy a pizza from them.  Miguel sent me a picture of the flyer for the Gollum version.  The flyer is in Portuguese.  If we are all very nice, we can get Miguel to translate the flyer for those of us who don't speak the language (I am going to have to become a ligustic expert, in the mean time, I have to get by on English, a little Spanish, and littler amount of French).

Also, I have an update on LOTR Return of the King game by Rose Art.  It is supposed to be available at Wallmart this time (the first two games were at Target).  I have been trying to find a copy, but no luck.  One lucky fan found a copy and said the game was fun.  It will be nice to be able to play all three games.  I did find a copy of Impact International Return of the King.

I also got an email from Bart in Belgium that he said the LOTR Risk Expansion Mordor and Gondor is still availble there.  He suggested going to [email protected] as marked on the side of the box.  It is worth a try if you are looking for the game.

08/17/04:  Hello, I am back.  I was on a vacation for the past two weeks and I wasn't near any internet connections (that were affordable - I was out of the country).  I have some news on a new (small) game.  It is called LOTR Epic Battle Game by WizKids.  It is due out in October or so (should retail for about $5.00).  I have only seen a picture of it so far.  When I can find out more, I'll post it here.  I have been getting a lot of questions about Rose Art's Return of the King Game (third in the series).  It is supposed to be out.  One guy said he found it at Unclegames.com, but it is currently out of stock.  Target should carry the game, they did the last two.  I have an email in to Rose Art with a contact I have.  When I hear back from her on where you can purchase the game, I'll let you know.  In the mean time, I have have to readjust to our time zone, and I am still working on my backyard.  My kids will be back in school, and I hope I have a little more time.  However, it is also soccer season.  More soon.  War of the Rings should be out soon.  Dave

07/30/04:  I posted some pictures that I took at the 2003 and 2004 San Diego Comic Convention.  You can find the Con Pictures Here.  I received Impact International's Return of the King game the other day.  I haven't opened it yet, but as usual, I'll post pics when I can.  I also found a Spanish LOTR Deck of Cards at the Comic Con.  Nothing special, but I'll post a picture when I can.  DW

07/28/04:  Never Fear fellow gamers.  We are still up and running.  It's summer and a lot is going on.  Our site was down for a day or two while FreeWebs was doing an upgrade.  This is the first chance I have been able to get back on.  Not much to report.  I did find that Fantasy Flight will be delivering War of the Rings in September.  It will cost around $60.  Hetft price tag, but from what I hear it is a great game.  I have been in contact with some people that have play tested the game and they say it is awesome.  I went to the San Diego Comic Con last week.  Boy was it crowded.  Last year there were 73,000 people and this year the numbers were supposed to easily exceed that.  There were lines for everything.  I did get to meet Billy Boyd (Pippin), David Wenham (Faramir), and Sala Baker (Sauron and various stunts).  Also the guys from TheOneRing.Net were there filming a documentary called Ringers.  It is about the fandom of LOTR since 1954.  It looks really good.  Quickbeam is the Producer/Director along with the other guys/gals.  Really nice people.  The only game I found that I hadn't seen was a Spanish LOTR Deck of Cards.  But most of the other LOTR games that are available were being sold somewhere in the 400,000 square foot Dealers Room (that takes at least a day and a half to walk through).  It was a lot of fun.  I did win a book at the Houghton-Mifflin Publishing booth.  I guessed the correct answer to What is the Capitol of Rohan.  I'll let you find the answer if you don't know it.  I got a Gollum book by Andy Serkis.  That's all for now.  I am going on vacation for about a week and a half starting next week, so questions/comments will have to wait.  See ya.  Dave

David Wenham and Billy Boyd signing at Comic Con 2003

07/03/04: I re-added the Top Trumps card game page.  It includes all three decks, Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, and the new Return of the King (also added to the Chronology List).  I am still working on the missing pages.  No new news for any new games at this time, but keep checking back.  Two games are still due out this summer are the Rose Art Return of the King game, and the long awaited Nexus War of the Rings boardgame.  And now I have also added some basic information and pictures of the original version of the LOTR Risk game.  This is a good game.  Though I recommend getting the Trilogy Edition, or get the Mordor and Gondor Risk Expansion from the UK (not available in the US) if you already have the original edition.

Ok, something strange is going on with our web site.  Now I see Lord of the Ring Risk, the first Edition is now down.  I am not sure what is going on here.  If you have any questions on any of the games, just contact me.  I have all the information.  Really.

06/28/04:  It's not really a review, but I did add some more information to our most popular page, Lord of the Rings: Risk; Trilogy Edition.  I got to play the game again, this time with one of my kids who's old enough to know how to really play the game, and possibly win (however, at the moment my Orcs are holding most of the Southern Territories).  This is a great game to play.  And while I have not yet played with Expanded Rules which include Adventure Cards and destroy, or not destroying, the Ring, the standard rules are quite fun too.  It creates new stategies, if you are used to playing the old classic.  Once you have taken the Southern Territories, it is difficult to attack.  But you have to read what I have read so far.  I may add more stuff later, after I get a chance to play the Extended Rules game where the Southern Territories are accesible by Sea.  Interesting.  Having a good summer so far.  I think LOTR Stratego is next.  DW

I also got a chance to fix up the Alphabetized listing.  I had some games I added, but never moved into place.  I also re-added the lost page of Der Herr der Ringe: Die Ruckkehr des Konigs by Kosmos (that's LOTR Return of the King).  Not much there yet, but I at least got the pictures up.  And I got the Tri-Memo Game, which is like a memory game back up.  Not much to say about that game though.  It's a memory game.  And the Fellowship of the Ring by Rose Art seems to be working now (I didn't do anything to it).  Just a few more game pages to get back to working.

06/18/04:  I added the game O Senhor dos Aneis (Lord of the Rings in Portuguese) back into our site along with pictures.  One of the lost pages.  Mike and I have been in contact with Lucio, the designer, who said he would help us with the translation.  He is also a TV producer of a show that talks about boardgames.  Interesting.  That's all for now.  DW

06/10/04: Green Alert.  I have re-added the following of the lost pages.  All three Impact International games, Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King.  Also, the LOTR Risk Expansion Game: Mordor and Gondor.  And lastly, so for, Lord of the Rings Labyrinth.  So with these 5, that makes 6 out of the 15 that were lost (see below).

06/07/04:  Okay, there are 15 pages that have been affected and I will list them.  When I get the chance I will go back and re-add the content to these pages.  There is the possibility, that I may have exceeded the allowed bandwidth, but we usually only get about 30-40 hits per day.  That is pretty good, but it shouldn't exceed the bandwidth.  I have asked FreeWebs if there is a problem.  But when I checked on the pages that I can edit, all the content is gone, so who knows.  In the mean time, here are the pages that are missing.

I will hyper link them when I add something:

Return of the King Impact International; LOTR Risk Expansion Game; The Two Towers Impact International; Fellowship of the Ring Impact International; Die Ruckkehr de Konigs by Kosmos; LOTR Labyrinth; LOTR Tri-Memo; Fellowship of the Rings Rose Art; LOTR Risk; O Senhor Dos Aneis from Brazil; LOTR Tarot Card Game; Pelennor Fields Miniatures by Doug Larsen; The Hobbit by ICE 1997; Middle Earth by Games Workshop 1984; and Battle of the Five Armies by ICE, also 1984.   I will see what I can do to get these back up.  If you have any questions just send them in.  Thanks.  Dave

06/06/04:  RED ALERT.  It looks like I have lost information to some of the pages.  I will have to go through and figure out what has happened.  I am supposed to have a least a minimal amount of information on each of the games.  So if you have any questions on any game, please feel free to contact me David, at [email protected]. This happened once before and it was temproary, so we'll have to wait and see.

06/04/04:  Great news.  Mike and I got an email from Kristofer, who has been play testing the new Nexus War of the Ring game that is due out this summer.  He has a web page that talks about play testing the game, and has an interview with the two designers, Francesco Nepitello and Roberto DeMeglio from Nexus.  Great stuff.  And Kristofer added us as a link to his page.  So I will do the same.  Check out Kristofer's War of the Ring page.  Or you can check out our page (it doesn't have nearly as much as Kristofer's, but when I get more information, I will post it) at War of the Ring - Nexus.  The game looks great (I am saying great too many times, but what else is there to say!).  It looks like a combination of LOTR Risk, the old SPI War of the Ring, and the War of the Ring by Fantasy Games Unlimited.  Kristofer has some early pictures of the game.  I will check with him to see if I can use there on our site.  So check back.  DW.

06/02/04:  Hi there.  Sorry, no reviews lately.  I do have some game information updates though.  I read through the rules for the Return of the King Battle of Destiny and found it looks to be exactly the same as the Two Towers Battle of Destiny version.  The only difference that I can see is the packaging (ROTK is blue and TTT is red) and the Gandolf figure was replaced by Saruman (which is odd in that he doesn't appear in the third movie, although he definately is in the third book).  I also found that Impact Internation's LOTR Return of the King game (third in a series, just like Rose Art's games) is now available.  Impact International is located in the UK and they said it is available at Toys R Us in the UK (not at this time in the US).  I checked with MailOrderExpress.com and I don't see it posted there yet.  You can still get the Impact International Two Towers game there, but the Fellowship of the Rings game is out of stock.  I ordered the ROTK from Impact International.  When I get it, I will post more information.  Still to come this year is The War of the Ring boardgame by Nexus due this summer, and Rose Art's LOTR Return of the King game.  I also have some pictures and information on some games that are really not quite games, more like puzzles, but are game like.  They are the Lord of the Rings Brain Teasers (Magic Triangle, Magic Square, and Magic Hexagon - Tri Memo is also a part of this set) and The Journey of the Ring.  This last one is a slide puzzle to move pieces around in a box to get the ring card out.  Sort of like the game "Traffic" (and other puzzle games).  I'll add those a little later.  I got a new digital camera, so I can take some really good pictures now.  It has a macro feature so I can take close up shots.  Come back soon. DW

05/24/04:  My mistake.  The picture I posted for Rose Art's Return of the King is really for Impact International's Return of the King.  I still have not heard back from them if the game has hit the streets yet or not.  I will check with Rose Art to see if I can get some advanced pictures from them.  I also found that I didn't have a link for Rose Art's The Two Towers.  I also added some pictures.

05/21/04:  Once in a while I have a little extra time to just "fill in the missing parts" of this web site.  As I have mentioned, I have a lot of information, it is just taking me time to get it out there.  But hey, better to give it to you a little at a time rather than all in one big glob.  So I added a picture, and a little information on the Lord of the Rings Backgammon set by USAOpoly.  It is a nice set if you like backgammon.  And I have a little informaiton on Rose Art's Return of the King game (third in a series).  Not much, but is still due out this summer.  They are still play testing it.  I added a couple of pictures that Rose Art sent me.

Side note, not related to Tolkien in any way.  If you like "bad" movies (B-movies that is), Bruce Campbell's (Army of Darkness) "Bubba Ho-Tep" is due out on DVD on Tuesday.  Also I found out that one of the funniest movies (keep in mind these are "bad" funny) I have seen in years will be coming out on DVD on June 22, "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" (missed that one, eh?).  I don't think I laughed that hard since I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail's credits (the rest of the movie was funny too, but the first time I saw it in the theaters, I couldn't stop laughing at the credits).  Lost Skeleton had that affect on me.  Now if you don't like old 50's Sci-Fi movies like original "The Thing" or "Plan 9 from Outer Space", you may not like this one.  Or maybe you will.  My wife and a friend of ours usually doesn't like "those kind of movies", but they laughed most of the movie too.  And there were only 30 people in the theater at the time.  Also, if it is a concern, Lost Skeleton is family friendly.  It is made just like a 50's movie.  Bubba Ho-Tep on the other hand is rated R.  I am not sure why as I have not seen it yet.  I missed it when it came to town last fall.  Check out http://www.imdb.com/ if you want more info on these or any other movie out there.  And I mean Any other movie.  That is an awsome database.  Or you can watch the trailers (if you search for them) at www.apple.com/trailers .

I added an extra paragraph in my (Dave's) bio.  It just tells a little more about me other than gaming.  It is probably more than anyone really cares, but if you are interested, it's there.

05/14/04:  I am still here.  I was told of a mistake on the Chronology for the Middle Earth Collectable Card Game (CCG).  I had it posted in 2000 when the game came out in 1995.  Sorry about that.  I posted a couple of pictures of the Wizard Stater Set Game that was availble as well as one of the decks that were sold separately.  This is like Magic The Gathering type game.  This is not from the movie, but has original art work based on the books.  I also had some questions on the LOTR based Playing cards.  I see there is a new ROTK deck of cards from Character Games (also a Two Towers version, haven't seen a Fellowship version from them).  What is nice about this deck is that there are six original (?) card game rules like Gandolf's Gambit and Frodo's Fear.  I am going out on a limb here and guess that the new ROTK Playing Cards also come with some new set of card game rules.  The pictures on the face cards are from the movies and are different for each suit.

04/26/04:  NEW GAME!!!  Milton Bradley (aka Parker Bros, aka Hasbro - take your pick, but on the box it has MB) has a new game coming out.  Lord of the Rings Stratego (just like the one I suggested in my games that could be developed - maybe others will show up now like LOTR Clue).  They call it a Trilogy Edition.  It is due out tomorrow, April 27.  There are various places to buy it, but I found one at Amazon.com (aka ToysRUs.com).  It looks like the retail price is $14.95.  It is already showing up on ebay.  Someone is trying to pawn it off for $29.  My advice, shop around.  Someone else on ebay has it with Buy-It-Now for only $15, but they want $9.95 for shipping.  Amazon is only charging $5 or so for thier shipping (does not qualify for free shipping as it is a game).  So I have set up yet another page for this game.  I'll post a picture for now.  When I get more info, I will post it.  DW

04/23/04:  I added a picture to Battle of Destiny ROTK, and I added it to the Chronology list.  I haven't seen the game yet, but I am presuming it came out in 2004.  I also found that there is a LOTR Checkers/TicTacToe game out.  It looks like the original LOTR Checkers game, but on the flip side it has four TicTacToe squares.  It looks like it is made from the same publisher.

04/21/04:  New game! Sort of.  There is a new version of Battle of Destiny Return of the King.  Same company.  I am not sure of what differences there are, if any.  When I find out, I'll post it here.  I have been really busy at work writing a lot of technical info, and I am just too burned out to write more for this site for the past few weeks.  But don't worry, I will post info.  We have been getting a lot of emails, so we are taking care of you guys, one at a time.  I was reading through our web site agreement and I think we can post items for sale.  So we may set up a Classified Ads section.  So if you want to sell something, I'll see what we can do.  But I want to check with our web host first, just in case.  This is a free site and I want to keep it that way.  DW

By the way, I decided to take in some of my war games with the large boards and had them scanned on a large scanner.  So far I have scanned Seige of Minas Tirith (that was is for Robert who was asking me about this), Battle of Helm's Deep, Battle of the Five Armies (TSR), Quest of the Magic Ring, The Two Towers by Fantasy Games.  I also had a non-Tolkien war game called Siege that was published by Richard Jordison who developed Siege of Minas Tirith and Battle of Helm's Deep.  This was a precurser to his later games and runs on similar game mechanics.  I'll post a shrunk down version of the pictures (original size of each is aournd 100MB, but that shows you the extremely high resolution I got for boards that are around 22 x 24 inches) when I have a chance to scale them down to a web managable size.  Oh, and I also scanned War of Wizards by TSR, which is also not a Tolkien game, but it is very close.  There is a variation for Siege of Minas Tirith that uses this game (see that page for more details).  Hasta la vista.

04/12/04:  I just have enough time at the moment to say today is our 1 year anniversary.  Yeah us!!!  I see we have had over 6000 hits on our main page.  Lately we have been averaging around 30-40 hits per day.  Thank you for visiting.  If you can let other people know about this site, that would be great.  But we are here to help, and maybe entertain you a little.  If I get a chance, I may try to add some more info later tonight. Keep on Gaming!!!  Dave and Mike.

04/08/04:  I was able to squeeze in some information on The Siege of Gondor game found in Panzerfaust #66.  It looks like there are no counters included with the magazine.  It looks like it was a bogus ebay sale.  So be carefull.  The information on the counters and the map are included in the game making this a mini game included in the magazine.  If you read the editorial in the magazine, it sounds like the poor artist bearly had time to make the picutres for the rest of the magazine, let alone create game pieces.  Not a problem.  In this modern digital age, that is easy to do.  Just need to be creative.  I am going to try to make my one set.  If anyone is interested, when I get it done, I can forward you an electronic copy.  Back to filling out taxes.  Happy gaming.  DW

03/25/04: I added some of the games I have listed lately on the Chronology section.  Games include: Siege of Gondor - Panzerfaust #66 (1975); Kellogg Cereal 3D card and boardgame promotion, both FOTR (2001) and TTT (2002); Wizards' Duel (2002); Return of the King by Rose Art (2004, forthcoming); and War of the Ring by Nexus (2004, forthcoming).

03/24/04:  A lot of the emails I have been getting have been asking about the price of some of the older games.  I don't mind answering the email, but I talked it over with Mike and we are going to add a new service to this web site, estimated price of some of the games.  Most of the new games probably just have face value, but some of the older games can go for quite a bit.  Recently on ebay, a copy of issue #1 of Wargamer (a UK wargame magazine from the 1980's), which has included with the magazine the game Battle of the Ring, sold for an unbelievable $316.  Mike said he only saw one other game go for more than that, a SPI War of the Ring game for $350.  Ususally the rarest games sell for no more than $200, so I am surprised.  To give you some prospective, other Wargamer magazines go for around $10.  Shows you the power of Tolkien Collectables.  If you are lucky enough to find the stand-alone game of Battle of the Ring (they did publish it separately too), it can go for $100-$150.  The hardest game to find, that I have found is There and Back Again.  It usually goes for around $180.  I have only seen three of those on the market.  So what we are going to do is figure a way to post some prices that we think the games are worth.  This doesn't mean you can get this much for a game, and it definately depends on the condition of the game, and you may be lucky and get more than our educated guess.  An unpunched, mint game is worth two or three times more than a complete, but not mint game.  A typical price for most of the older games usually are $50 or less, usually depending upon popularity and/or condition.  The SPI War of the Ring game is typically in the higher priced side.  So we will post the information as soon as we can agree on some of the prices.  If anyone else disagrees with our prices, just let us know and we can discuss it.  And I am sorry for our many international fans, I will have to let you convert the costs to a familiar currency.  Keep those cards and letters coming.  Hasta la vista.  DW

I see that I have not added a page yet for the new Rose Art Return of the King game that is due out around May 2004 in the US.  Please note that this is not the Impact International Return of the King (that one is due out soon, I'll have to contact them to see when) from the UK.  And no new news on the new boardgame War of the Ring by Nexus.  If you can't tell, I can't wait for that one.  Due out this summer, 2004.

03/20/04:  Okay folks, I have been busy.  I do have a bunch of information to add to the web site, but lately I have been taking care of answering email.  It may seem like I am taking care of only a few, but I consider it helping all.  I now have The Siege of Minas Tirith and Battle of Helm's Deep (Fact and Fantasy version) rules scanned to PDF along with the combat charts.  I also have been trying to collect rules for other games so I can post them here for all to use.  I want to eventually be a one stop place for Tolkien game information.  So be patient.  I also have some new information.  Okay, it isn't necessarily new, but I just found out about it.  I have copies of old wargame magazines, one of which is called Panzerfaust (later called Campaign).  Issue #66, which came out in 1975, has a Tolkien game included in it.  I knew there was an article, but I didn't read it too closely.  I thought it was an article suggesting how to set up a miniatures game called The Siege of Gondor (from LOTR ROTK).  What I didn't know was that there was, included with the magazine, a counter sheet to play the game.  The copy I own didn't have this sheet.  The rules state you have to make your own map based on the picture provided (very basic).  I found this out due to a recent sale on ebay where a copy of the magazine was up for bid.  I didn't find out about it until after the auction, and the game has been sold to someone in Japan, so I guess that copy is gone.  What I want to find out, does anyone out there have a copy of Panzerfaust #66?  I would like to get a copy/scan of that counter sheet, hopefully to post it on this web site for others to be inspired with.  Please let me know.  DW

03/08/04:  I snuck in a new game that I just found out about.  It is called Wizards' Duel, and it is by Games Workshop.  The same folks who make the miniatures Table Top Battle Game for Lord of the Rings.  This is a mini game that has nothing to do with the rules of the other game, so I consider this a separate game.  The funny part is that I don't even see it referenced in the little catalog that came with it, nor do I see it at their web site.  So I don't know how hard it is to come by as I came across it by accident on ebay.  I believe this game comes from the UK, so it may or may not be available here in the US.  Unknown for other areas around the world.  When I take some pictures, I will post them.  For now, I have the picture that I got from ebay.

03/03/04:  I have added a page for a Kellogg 3D Card Game that was found on Kellogg cereal boxes in Germany back in 2001 and 2002 as movie tie-in promotion.   I don't have much information yet, and I will add some pictures when I get a chance.  From what I have heard, there will not be a series for Return of the King, but the first two (FOTR and TTT) are out there.

02/27/04:  I added a page for the upcoming new boardgame "War of the Ring" by Nexus in Italy.  I posted a picutre of the box as well as some picures from a brochure I found.  The game is due out this summer.  I listed the various distributors around the world.  Fantasy Flight will be distributing the English version of the game.  Same company as the Lord of the Rings game (the green covered one with Gandolf hoofing it across a field).  I am not sure if Hasbro will be a co-distributor for the US or not like they were for the LOTR game.  I also was told by Russell that Kellog cereal had a trading card promotion in Germany for the first two movies (it doesn't look like they will have it for ROTK).  Apparently, a game board could be found to go with the cards making it a "game".  He is sending me some pictures that I will post.  Thanks Russell.  And hello Stuart, welcome back (not that you really left, I just haven't seen you in a long time).  Stuart was a friend a while back that I used to play wargames with.  He tracked me down from this site.  See you soon.  DW.

We at the end of the month and I have a stats update.  The page that people seem to be interested in is the Lord of the Rings Risk, the European Expansion, followed by the original version as well as the Trilogy version.  Also, Battle of the Five Armies (ICE edition), and Battle of Helms Deep by Fact and Fantasy are strong condenders along with Seige of Minas Tirith by F&F too, War of the Ring (SPI version), and now the Top Trumps The Two Towers card game has generated a lot of interest.

02/23/04:  Hi ya'll.  I'm back.  I went back to Boston area for the past week to visit my wife's brother's family.  We got to tour around the Boston area and we got up to Maine and New Hampshire where we did some Nordic or Cross Country skiing.  It was a lot of fun.  Now back to the serious stuff.  Sorry for not posting any reviews lately.  Read my other entries, I get very busy with work and family.  So for now, I want to once again thank those who have been writing in.  I have a review I got from Yegor in the Ukraine.  Thanks Yegor, I'll post it when I get a chance.  I also sort of found a new game.  Actually, it is an expansion of the Games Workshop LOTR Tabletop Game, I think.  I am hoping it is a separate game from the rest of the rules.  It is called The Wizard's Duel by Games Workshop. Like I said, I am not sure if it is just an expasion of the regular game set, or if this is separate.  From the picture, it has a diamond shape board with hex squares.  There is a podeum in the middle and you get two metal figures of Gandolf and Saruman.  I presume this is a recreation of the battle between the two wizards in the Fellowship of the Rings movie.  When I get it, I will let you know.  Hey, I won a minor prize with the Hasbro sweepstake game from the two entries I sent in from their LOTR Risk Trilogy and LOTR Monopoly games.  I didn't get the Sword of Aragon, but I did get a Top Trumps card game.  Yeah me.  If you don't play, you can't win.  I also received my LOTR Labyrinth game and the Kosmos Return of the Rings game from Jurgen in Germany.  I got the games the day before I left on my trip, so I haven't really had a good look at them yet.

I have been getting requests for some electronic copies of some of the wargames I have posted.  I have no problems sending out the files.  I don't charge any money for them either.  I don't have them all scanned, and I don't have all the mapboards scanned as they are sometimes bigger than my scanner.  But if anyone needs a copy of the rules or combat charts for any of the games (I have most of the games listed), just let me know.  I also have most of the translations for the German games.  So does BoardgamesGeek.com which is where I get most of mine from.  But if you need anything, let me know.

Have I told you that there is a new game coming out later this year, War of the Ring?  This is the one designed by the Italian game designers.  If I remember right, there will be an English version of the game.  That's all for now.  DW.

02/09/04:  I have been getting some new information on new games from you guys.  Thanks.  When I organize it I'll post what was sent to me.  I do have some other information I have found due to a question to me from Mike.  There are some software programs available that you can recreate old boardgames (works best with hex wargames) for your computer.  I think I have mentioned before the program Aide De Camp v.2 by HPS Simulations.  Why I mention that one, someone converted Battle of Helms Deep by Fact and Fantasy to this game, available free at the website in the download section.  There is no AI to the game, but it works fine for Play By EMail (PBEM).  Both people have to have the program though.  The other site that I found (I haven't tried the program, but it looks good), is Strategic Map Simulator (SMS).  Again, what is important to our web site is that someone created the game Sauron by SPI available at their website.  There are some other game downloads for both of these programs (mostly wargames).  Take a look.  Aide De Camp is a purchased program, but SMS is Freeware (and is the newer program).

02/03/04:  I did a little site maintenance.  I moved the alphabetical listing of the new games to their proper place (that takes a while, it's not so easy - right Mike?).  I will take this spot to mention that Winning Moves came out with the Top Trumps Return of the King deck somewhere around December 2003 (it might have been Jan 2004).  I've seen it on ebay.  Usually they can be found in the UK where they are published.  I also just added a new page that might interest game designers.  They are some ideas that I had for LOTR games.  I don't have the time to develop them, but if anyone wants to take a shot at it, check it out New LOTR Game Ideas.

02/01/04:  I am still around.  Today is Superbowl Sunday (football here in the US).  I received two of Impact International games, FOTR and TTT.  When I get a chance, I will post how the game is played.  For now, the game is on.  Talk to you soon.  DW

01/16/04:  A new game is due out soon.  The third game in the series of the LORT Impact International game for The Return of the King will be out late Februrary from the UK.  There is always a possibility of delay, but that is the current expected release date.  I have pictures of all three versions from Impact International.  These were the games that I thought were put out by Games Talk, but are not.  I have to set up some new web pages for each of the three games, but I do have pictures of each game.  These games are available directly from the company at http://www.impactint.com/pages/default.htm.  They have other sites that buy from them.  One of them is MailOrderExpress.com, but they are currently out of stock.  I added all three games to the Chronology list.  Also, the Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King from Impact International can be found by clicking on the hyperlinks.

01/15/04:  I added some pictures to the LOTR Tri Memo Game (the memory game).  The game also comes with a mini poster of Minas Tirith from the movie that looks really nice.

01/13/04:  Here is an update on some of the new games.  From what I have found, LOTR Labyrinth is sold in Belgium and The Netherlands.  There may not be an English version.  From what I saw at the Ravensburger web site, the game from The Netherlands and Begium had an English title.  Not sure why.  I am trying to find out where this game can be found and if there are any translations for the rules.  The game came out in Oct 03, according to their web site.  Also, I got word that Impact International will be coming out with The Return of the King game in Feb (Thanks Russell!).   The Impact International games are found in the UK.  I have not found any US dealers.  The FOTR edition box cover looks just like the Rose Art FOTR game, but it is different.  I believe this is the same game that boardgamegeek.com said was made by Games Talk.  They are probably related somehow to Impact International.  There is also a Two Towers edition.

I also added some more pictures to the Battle of the Five Armies by ICE.  That page seems to be visited a lot.

01/09/04:  Ok, I have posted some more stuff.  At the moment I have posed pictures for the O Senhor dos Aneis.  I know not many of you out there have this game, but I think it looks like a good game.  I have only come across two people who have this game.  I don't know if it is rare, but it is hard to find here in the US.  I will try to put out some more information on other games later tonight or this weekend depending how busy I get.  Now there are two pictures for Lord of the Rings Labyrinth game from Ravensburger.  There is an English version of this found in the UK, but not in the US that I have found.  I have fixed a few minor mistakes for some of the pictures for the Lord of the Rings Risk FOTR version.  The red version is from the UK, and one of the games I listed was German, and I found it is Dutch (I think).  And now I have some pictures of  Die Ruckkehr Des Konigs from Kosmos (Return of the King) games in Germany.  There are English translations for the game, but no English version.  This game is the third in the series from Kosmos.  I just found I don't have any pictures posted of Der Herr der Ringe - Die Gefahrten by Kosmos, now I have one.  I have the game, but I have not taken any pictures of it yet.

Our most visited page is the Lord of the Rings Risk game, both the first version, and now that the Trilogy version is out, that page is getting a lot of hits.  So in line with this very popular game (I really like this game too), I have now set up a separate page for the Lord of the Rings Risk Mordor and Gondor Expansion game from Parker Bros/Hasbro that just came out the other day (first game of 2004).  At this time, this game will not be published here in the US.  You have to find someone in the UK if you want one.  The great thing about this version is that there is a mini game that is not included with the Trilogy version.

01/06/04:  Still busy here.  The past couple of days I have been translating the rules for O Senhor dos Aneis (Brazilian to English).  I don't speak a word of Portuguese, but I found a web page that does translations (babelfish.altavista.com).  I thought I would try it out.  It works pretty well.  Since I translated it, I'll post it when I adjust some of the little querks.

01/02/04:  I want to thank those who have been writing in.  I got some great tips from Russell in Texas.  Just to let everyone know, we are an international web page.  I have been getting emails from Brazil, Ukraine, Germany, UK, and Spain.  And of course from around the US.  Russell let me in on several new games.  There is a new Kosmos game for The Return of the King called "Die Ruckkehr Des Konigs".  It is of course in German like the other Kosmos games.  No word on an English version.  Also, along with the new version of Risk here in the US from Parker Bros/Hasbro, there is a European version that is an expansion of the first game (Risk: Mordor & Gondor Expansion).  It adds the lower part of Middle Earth that comes in the US Trilogy edition along with extra pieces, AND it also includes a stand-alone game that is not included in the US version.  A mini Minas Tirith game.  Also, there are two games out that are selling over in the UK  I think they are the Games Talk versions of Fellowship of the Rings, and I don't think it is out yet, but there is supposed to be a Two Towers game too.  When I get a chance, I will add these games to the "List" and throw in some pictures.  I want to thank the guys over at Boardgamesgeek.com.  They have people post some really good stuff.  That is a great place to find English translations of some of the German games.  I have found some of the pictures I posted on our web site over there (that is fine with me, just as long as the information gets out).  So that means people are checking out our site.  There has been a big surge in people visiting our site.  All I have been getting are thanks on posting this info.  That is what we are here for.  So once again, if you have any questions or information, please let us know.  Hasta la Vista.  DW - I forgot to add the game LOTR Labyrinth from Ravensburger in Germany.  This is an adaptation of a line of games called Labyrinth.

01/01/04:  Welcome to a New Year.  I have still been busy so no new news.  Mike and I have been getting some emails from you guys and that is great.  We will answer your questions as best as we can.  I got to play LOTR Monopoly the other day and it was fun.  Not much different than regular Monopoly.  The one change you can play is The One Ring option.  I don't think it does much for the game, but it did make the game shorter.  We finished in a little over an hour.  More later.  DW

12/22/03:  Winter is now here (for us on the Northern Hemisphere - Summer for you guys in the Souther side).  Sorry for no updates, I have been very busy.  It is that special season now.  Anyone getting new games?  I got to see the movie Return of the King last night.  I have a one word review: WOW.  Or as Neo would say - Whoa.  I started writing a review last week (I was on business travel), but I haven't finished.  As soon as I have time, I'll get that out.  So be patient and I will be back.  DW

12/08/03:  I saw an update on the new Lord of the Rings Pinball Game by Stern.  To get to the web page, go here for pinballnews.com.  It is beginging to look real good.  There is an extensive review by the guys at http://www.pinballnews.com/ and a bunch of close up pictures of the playing field.  Excellent art for the game as a whole.  Go take a look.  Who says pinball is dead.  I love pinball games.  It takes a certain skill not found on computers to play the game right.  Plus, you get all the "bells and whistles" and lights.  DW

12/07/03:  I added a bunch of pictures for Battle of the Five Armies (TSR) version.  I also added pictures to the Die Zwei Turme (Two Towers) boardgame by Kosmos - no review yet, but soon.  DW

12/05/03: Gooooooood Morning fellow gamers.  I was able to receive some information from RoseArt on their rules (FOTR Game).  I have read on the web some reviews from customers who have played the game on Amazon.com and said the rules are a little confusing, but most people seem to like the game.  I was able to clarify a couple of issues for Tia who had asked me for some answers.  Thanks Tia !  I haven't written a review for the RoseArt Fellowship of the Ring game yet, but I am hoping to play that and the Two Towers game over the holidays.  I did get word from RoseArt that the Return of the King version (Volume 3 if you will) will be out next summer.  They are producing it now.  You will probably need a big table to play all three games when it is done.  I will see if I can get some advanced pictures or something from them.  I will also add the rules clarification to the game site when I write the review.  I am also trying to track down some information for Matt on a LOTR Chess game (circa 1979).  It looks really nice.  There is a lot of information on the web, but sometimes it is hard to find.  There were a bunch of different chess sets published over the years.  This particular one was authorized by Tolkien Enterprises, so I hope I can help Matt out.  Beyond that, I have not seen any new games lately.  Maybe after the movie ROTK comes out we'll see something.  Games Workshop should have something out soon.  Mike is always scouring for games, but if anyone else sees something, let us know so we can let others in on it.  The newest game I have seen is the Sabertooth LOTR Tradeable Miniatures Game (I really want to try that one out) and the Hasbro games (Monopoy, Risk).  I am still trying to track down that LOTR Brazillian game, no luck so far.  Until a little later - Hasta la vista.  DW  - I forgot to mention that Mike found out that "Die grossen Abenteuer der kleinen Hobbits" game (the original German version of The Hobbit (ICE) game) came out in 1994.  So I added that to the Chronology list.

12/01/03: Fellow Gamers.  Keep those cards and letters coming.  Once in a while we get emails asking questions on game play.  We will answer them as best as we can.  I have some contacts of the game manufactures.  For your information, Dave (that's me) usually handles game play, and Mike (that's him), is really knowledgeable on collecting, although Dave (me again), has had some of these games for a really long time.  So if you have any questions, please contact us.  We recently got a question on the RoseArt Fellowship of the Ring game.  I am finding that there are some confusion on the rules, mostly due to not enough explaination.  Whenever I am able to find a solution, I will try and post that info on the particular web page so everyone can read them.  I was off on Holiday (like the English say) last week so I haven't any other updates.  I did however, get to play a really groovy game of LOTR Risk (first version).  After a four hour struggle, I won, barely.  I was able to sweep my forces from Rohan up the eastern side of the board (holding Moria was important) and attack Arnor from the North (my friend didn't like me busting up his territory).  Once I held the South and North (Forodwaith) positions, I took over Mirkwood (my daughter held that for a long time).  The final battle took place near the Gray Havens where my friend (who wins Risk a lot) admitted to defeat.  Elves Rule.  Have to run.  More gaming later.  DW  -  Also, to keep you posted, the big winner (sorry, no prizes, just honors) for site page access goes to Lord of the Rings Risk - Fellowship/TTT version with 346 hits for November.  Second place goes to War of the Rings (SPI) with 189.  And third place goes to Battle of Helms Deep (Fact and Fantasy) with 147 which is always a big number getter.  Runners up are Battle of the Five Armes (ICE) 137, LOTR Risk Trilogy Edition (the new one) with 136, and LOTR Monopoly with 107.  Congratulations (it is more exciting if it sounds like a contest, there is no real voting, and it changes from month to month depending upon new information).

11/21/03: Mike here. Added some tolkien sites to our links section. Please check them out!

11/19/03: Mike here. Just letting those know that I have put my email on the Where to Buy Games section.  I am looking to sell some of my tolkien boardgames so if anyone is interested, please email me at [email protected]

11/18/03:  Sorry, I have been having trouble accessing my account and I have not been able to provide an update until today - and last week I was recovering from Lasik eye surgery (doing fine and seeing better - no glasses, yeah).  I have some updated information on the LOTR Risk Trilogy Edition game.  I was able to get one through ebay and when I received it over the past weekend.  A tip to buying the game - the one I got has a Toys R Us price sticker on it ($24.95).  That means the game is available in the stores, if you can find one.  This new edition has improved rules over the previous one and includes the full map of Middle Earth, not just the northern section.  I took a whole bunch of pictures of some of the games that I have and I will be adding them to respective pages when I get a chance to organize them (Loney Mountain, Battle of the 5 Armies - ICE, and a couple of others).  I also see the new PC game War of the Ring (CostCo has it) is out as well as the PC game The Hobbit, and I think the new PC Return of the King game is due out soon if it is not already out.  There should also be Playstation versions of the games that will be supported by Playstation.  I know what I am asking for this Christmas.  Game on.  DW

11/05/03:  I doubt I am scooping others on this, but I found that the new version of Hasbro's Lord of the Rings Risk - Trilogy Edition is out, or at least someone is posting the game on ebay this past week.  I checked the Hasbro/Parker Bros site, but there is no news on the new version, but that is no surprise.  They are always behind.  From what I have read, the rules were improved and the map board expanded to include most of Middle Earth (not just the northern section from the TTT version).  There are also new pieces.  From what I understand, this is not an add-on to the old version.  This is a stand-alone game.  I have set up a separate page for this new version.  Whenever I can get the game, I will let you know about it.  I posted some temporary pictures of the game so you know what it looks like.  I found two versions of the box.  I think one is US (gold toned) and the other is UK (blue toned), but that is just a guess at this time.  The pictures are slightly different too.  ---  Just added a start of a review for the massive game War of the Ring by SPI.  Also called Games of Middle Earth and include the games Gondor and Sauron.  I will have to add more, but I got the basics in, along with some pictures.  More later.  DW

11/04/03:  I added some pictures to the LOTR Tri-Memo Game.  The picture of the box is one I borrowed from ebay (it's the one I bought).  I will update it with a higher quality one later.

11/03/03:  Well, I made it through Halloween and the fires.  I received the mysterious game Tri-Memo today from the UK.  It turns out that this is the LOTR Memory Game - one and the same.  The official title on the box says Lord of the Ring The Two Towers Tri-Memo, Memeory Card Game.  It is from BETEXA games.  From the web site reference, it looks like it from the Czech Republic as the web says http://www.betexa.cz/.  I think CZ is Czech.  The game is distributed by Feva UK, Ltd.  The box is the red color of TTT movie.  You match up the tiles (sets of three instead of two).  There isn't much to the game.  I'll read the short rules and let you know on the Tri-Memo page.  Also, I have been filling is a little information on some of the blank pages to this site.  'Till then, happy gaming.  DW

10/30/03:  Happy Halloween Eve (I'll be busy tomorrow installing The Haunted Corridor at my house, so I you probably won't hear from me).  Just wanted to let you know, I picked up the new LOTR Tradeable Miniatures Game (Combat Hex) at a local Comic Book store.  I was able to find a store at SabertoothGames.com that listed places that carried their games.  I picked up the Starter Game and the Booster Pack.  Those are the two items that are out.  I don't have any pictures yet other than a couple of "borrowed" pictures.  I will temporarily post those until I take my own pictures.  I asked Sabertoothgames if I could post their pictures, but I never get a response (still a cool company though, I am guessing they are busy).  Also, a Stats update.  While we passed 1800 hits this month, the stats showed me we had a total of 338 hits for August, then 4051 hits for September.  And for this month I saw we supposedly had 17,596.  I think there is a glitch in the system.  How can we have 17,000 hits but only a total of 1,800 hits on the counter.  True those are total hits added up from all the pages.  The counter only works on the home page.  Last month, the pages that were browsed the most were Battle of 5 Armies (ICE), Helm's Deep (always a biggy), Battle of the Ring, Dungeons and Dragons, LOTR Monopoly, LOTR The Two Towers Rose Art (this had the most at 259 hits), and War of the Ring (SPI) which is odd as I don't really have anything there.  I guess people are checking but not finding anything.  It is about time I have to buckle down and tackle that big game.  The problem is, I am not an expert at that game so it will take some research.  Oh well, that is what is fun about this for me, I guess.  Anyone want to help?  I'll post anything, well almost anything.  Happy Haunting.

10/29/03:  Our web site is buzzing.  Just from the Counter, I see we passed 1800 hits since April 03.  I just wanted to let you know two things.  I live down here in San Diego and our skies have been dark since Sunday.  The sky is just now clearing up here but there is still a lot of smoke.  While 5 miles from the fires may not be considered too close, it was close enough for me.  I live in an area that had potential evacuation.  But the winds stopped and eventually shifted.  I was ready to load up my precious belongings.  I wouldn't have been able to load up all of my collection, but I would have grabbed at least the rare ones.  Possessions can be replaced, pictures can't, although I would have ripped the computer out because now information on the hard drives is important, even with backups.  On to the good news.  Yesterday  (mail delivery was resumed once the fire line shifted) I received my LOTR Trivial Pursuit and LOTR Monopoly games that I ordered from ToysRUs.com.  The release date for the Trivial Pursuit was supposed to be Nov 15, but I also saw both games at a local Target store today.  I have not opened up the shipping box yet because these were supposed to be Christmas presents, but maybe I can take a peak and let you know what's inside.  Just don't tell my wife ;-) DW

10/24/03:  Mike found another game, sort of.  Not a board game, but a Pinball game.  It looks like Stern is developing a new Pinball game based on the Lord of the Rings Movies.  You can check out the article and some pictures at the Pinballnews.com web page.  I added a bunch of pictures of the Lord of the Rings Adventure Game by Milton Bradley, circa 1979.  Alas, no review, but I will work on it.  And breaking news, I found that Sabertoothgames.com will start selling a starter pack and booster pack for their new LOTR Tradeable Miniatures Game (or Combat Hex). The website says these two items will be available starting Oct 25, 2003.  That's tomorrow.  Check their website for locations of stores that sell their products.  I also added them to our Where to Buy Games page.

10/23/03:  Okay, time for some news.  Mike found a new game; LOTR Two Towers Tri-Memo Game.  From what I have found out so far is that this is a game from the UK.  Again, when I get a chance I will start up a web page for it and at least post one picture.  Also, I have a new review.  It is for LOTR Battle of Destiny, also a UK game.  I have played it a couple of times.  It is small and can fit in your pocket (if you have cargo pants).  It is kind of like LOTR Oracle but this one really is a game.

10/13/03: Howdy Tolkien collectors, Mike here. Added the rec.games.board.marketplace onto the "Where to Buy Games" section. Also if anyone is looking for a certain lotr game and cannot find it at all in the links provided in the  "Where to Buy Games" section, feel free to email me at [email protected] and perhaps I can help you locate the game or have a double that I can let go of. Happy hunting!

10/12/03:  This week, and this week only (Oct 12-18, 2003), ToysRUs.com (Amazon.com) is having a buy one, get one free offer, with Free Shipping for Hasbro Games.  What is important about this is that is there are four Lord of the Rings games that fall under that category: LOTR Risk, LOTR Chess, LOTR Top Trumps (Two Towers version), and the brand new LOTR Monopoly.  If you want to do what I did, you can order LOTR Trivial Pursuit (due out Nov 15) and get a free game of LOTR Monopoly.  Just use the ship together option (you will have to wait for the free game then) and you don't have to pay extra.  ToysRUs did this last year.  You can also purchase the games at the store as well, but the Trivial Pursuit game is not available yet so you will have to purchase something else (Hasbro).

10/10/03:  Hello fellow gamerists.  I have some new information on some games.  Sorry, no reviews at the moment.  I found a Brazilian game called “O Senhor dos Aneis – A Sociedad do Anel – A Guerra do Anel” published by Glasslite (2001).  The title translates to “Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring - The War of the Ring”.  It apparently is hard to get, even in Brazil.  It is a child to early adult boardgame from what I can figure out.  I’ll post information on it when I set up a page for it.  I also found another LOTR Boardgame that will be coming from Italy, with an English version due, called “Lord of the Ring – War of the Ring” (yes another one).  This will be published by Nexus Editrice from transferred rights by Sophisticated Games (and Tolkien Enterprises) who published the popular “Lord of the Rings” by Reiner Knizia in 2001 (over 1 millions copies have been sold to date).  This new game has been designed by Roberto Di Meglio, Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello.  More information can be found at the KaosOnLine web site with a second article here.  And the final bit of information that I am trying to find out more about is a boardgame that was published by New Line Cinema called, you guessed it, “Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring”.  I have never seen this version of the game before.  The outer box looks like the Rose Art box, but the picture of the game inside is completely different.  When I get more information out on this, I will post it.  Let me give credit where credit is due.  I found a lot of this information while searching around at BoardGameGeek.com.  That is a great web site for all sorts of LOTR Games and people post game availability as well (that is where I am trying to get the game Die Gefahrten but with not much luck – I sent the money to the guy in Germany, but I have not yet received the game and that was 8 weeks ago).  Mostly I have had good luck with them.  I have decided to add a page that lists some of the places on the internet to go to for purchasing games since I do not sell them as this is not a paying commercial web site.  You can visit the page Where To Buy Games for the links.

10/07/03:  Well, so much for schedules.  It looks like the Lord of the Rings Monopoly Game has hit the shelves.  Mike saw one at a store and says it looks cool.  I checked on-line and it is available from ToysRUs.com (ie Amazon.com) for $29.99 and ships in 24 hours.

9/25/03:  I haven't touched much on the subject of Tolkien games in the computer world, but I know that is a big subject in todays market.  I was leaving this subject to other sites.  But since we seem to be covering all the other Tolkien games, I thought I would put at least some information that's out there.  New page: Tolkien Computer Games.  What prompted this is the up-coming issue of PC Gamer Magazine (Nov 2003).  The front cover (with Gandolf on the front) features the new PC (and other electronic gaming platforms) game "Return of the King" (Electronic Atrs).  There is a lot of advertising for this game.  However, this particular issues covers other LOTR PC games that will be coming out along with a bunch of patches to other games that turn them into LOTR type games, such as a patch for Command and Conquer to turn the charaters into Tolkien charaters.  I will have to try out a few of these.  Other PC games on the horizon are "War of the Ring", and one I hadn't heard about, "The Hobbit".  There is even a side bar that shows five of the old PC games dating back to "The Hobbit" from 1983.  That is ancient in the PC world.  I was surprised to have found a PC game that was based on the parody book "Bored of the Rings" from 1985.  The other three old games listed are LOTR and TTT by Interplay ('90 and '91) which are readily found on ebay, as well as "Tolkien's War in Middle Earth by Virgin Games, 1988 which shows up on ebay from time to time.  Since there is an interest in this subject, I will make a separate page that will cover the PC games.  Since I don't own a Playstation 1 or 2, or X-Cube, or any of the other new systems (I do have a Nintendo 64), I will concentrate on the PC games, because I do have a PC and they usually make Playstation type games for PC (with the exception of The Two Towers, what up with dat?).  What they didn't cover were some of the overseas computer type games like the Spectrum Games from the UK.  So to help you out, I will try and list on this special page, the games that I can find.  If someone has anymore information on the ones I am missing, just let me know.  I will try and include the closest dates that I can find.  This is not my area of expertise, so I will do my best.  Happy gaming.  DW

9/20/03:  It looks like I fixed the problem I saw on the home page in the mid-Chronology section.  Also added the new games at the bottom and added some thumbnails.

9/19/03:  I don't know if anyone else noticed, but I have been getting some strange occurances on the main page.  The page starts doubling up, meaning, I see a repeat of the upper page showing up in the lower page.  Also, some of the Chronology listing are missing.  I have checked my page that I can edit and everything looks fine.  If anyone is having any problems, let me know.  I will keep checking on this.  DW

9/18/03:  Mike passed on to me that Amazon.com (toysrus.com) has posted two games for sale that will be available Nov 15.  The two games are LOTR Trivial Pursuit  ($34.99)from Hasbro, which we knew about, and something I hadn't heard about, a LOTR Monopoly Game for $29.99.  How cool is that.  I will see if I can find some more info in the Monopoly game.  DW

9/09/03:  I added some pictures of the bagged version of War of the Ring (by FGU), the 1976 version.  I also added some pictures for The Hobbit: The Defeat of Smaug.  Sorry, no review for it yet.  I am trying to at least get some picutres posted of the games since reviews take a while.  So keep checking back.  DW

9/07/03:  Hidey-ho.  I received, from England, the Battle of Destiny game (originally named Game of Destiny, Lord of the Rings of course).  It is a little different, I must say.  It is sort of like the LOTR Oracle, but this one is actually a real game.  It looks fun.  The sort of game to take on a trip.  Since I go backpacking, this one is light enough to take (my favorite backpacking game is called Cosmic Wimpout [there is a web site out there somewhere for it] it comes with a cloth board but it is not required, it is a dice game and can be played late at night around a small campfire  It is small and lightweight.  Hobbits I think would love that game).  The board for this game is made of cloth and has pull strings to make the board the carrying sack for the game.  I will tell you more about the game later.  I took a couple of pictures and I will post them when I get a chance to upload/download them.  - Later in the day:  I don't have a review yet, but I do have pictures now of the game.  I removed the Game of Destiny page and replaced it with Battle of Destiny.

9/04/03:  It's here, a new review.  Something new to read.  Yeah!!!  It is a little lengthy (that's my style, if you want a shorter review, you write it and I will post it, even if it's a review that I have written, it's always good to various opinions - for now, you are stuck with mine).  I have posted the review for War of the Ring: The Game of Middle Earth by Fantasy Games Unlimited (FGU).  Now this is not the SPI game of the same name.  That one is a little more complex and had a bunch of reviews written on it back when it was published.  I will get to that one some day.  For now you get this game with is much more rare and is hard to find (and costly if you do find it).  I just checked our stats for our web site and found that a lot of the hits are for Battle of Helm's Deep (good choice) and LOTR Risk (another good choice).  The past month, those have been the most visited.  I don't have much information on the new version of LOTR Risk that Hasbro is coming out with this December other that it will be revised and not compatilbe with the current version, but I can write some more on Battle of Helm's Deep.  While it is not as good as Siege of Minas Tirith, it is a good short game (similar game mechanics).  It is probably popular because of the Two Towers movie (which just came out on DVD, the extended version is due out in Nov, but you already knew that).  You also have been looking at the various Battles of the Five Armies games.  I haven't written much on those yet, but it looks like that is what you guys would like to see.  I'll see what I can do, although I would like to concentrate on the newer games that are out there.  Some of you have been checking on the Rumors page.  Sorry, I have been leaving that page to Mike as he tracks the Game rags.  If I hear something, I usually post it here in What's New, but I will try to remember to add it to that page as well.  DW

9/02/03:  Sabertooth Games has posted the rules for their LOTR Tradeable Miniatures Game (Combat Hex Rules) at http://sabertoothgames.com/stg/index.jsp.  The file is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.  I didn't see any release dates yet.  I was busy over the Labor Day weekend, but I will still post the War of the Ring review when I get a chance.

8/29/03:  The latest from the rumor mill (I saw this on http://www.theonering.net/ - a highly recommended site for all Lord of the Rings info - by the way, I highly recommend their book "The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien" by theonering.net if you love all things Tolkien, great articles compiled from their web site) that Habro will be reissuing their Lord of the Ring Risk game with updated rules.  There is enough of a change that your old LOTR Risk game will not be compatible with the second half of the game to come out later (the lower half of Middle Earth, the part with Mordor).  So if you were waiting for the second half, you will have to purchase the updated first half.  The re-issue is due out in either November or December, I forget which.  The second half, I think is due out next year.  As for reviews, I am writing up something for War of the Ring: The Game of Middle Earth by Fantasy Games Unlimited.  My review will be based on the earlier Bagged version that came out in 1976, not the Boxed version from 1978, although I don't think there is a difference other than packaging.  I haven't heard anything from Sabertooth Games and I haven't seen the Two Towers game from RoseArt, but then again, I haven't had time.  It might by on ebay.  I'll check.  Hasta la Vista.  DW. -  A slight update from the above - The re-release game will include the lower half of Middle Earth, so it looks like this will be the only game.  This info came from Rob Daviau from Hasbro games on Usenets Rec.games.board.  This game will include a new board, new cards, new rule book, and more pieces.  The game is due out in December of this year. 

8/25/03:  Sorry guys for not putting any updates up, but I had a death in the family (mother in-law) and I have been really busy taking care of those issues.  Right now, I am trying to get back on track and I will post new information when I get a chance.    My mother in-law had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and that was the reason for not posting many review lately.  She had one of those great life stories.  Born in Romania and survived WWII during the fighting between the Germans and the Russians (bullets flying overhead while running across open fields, barefoot).  As a refugee, she eventually found her way here, where my wife was born.  She was a great lady and I will miss her a lot.  More reviews soon.  I am expecting Der Gefahrten game by Kosmos in the next week or so.  It is coming in from Germany.  I couldn't find any copies here in the US.  I will let you know about it when it gets here.  Thanks for waiting.  Please keep checking back (Note: I see we have passed the 1000 hits, yeah).

8/12/03:  New Review!!!  Lord of the Rings Trivia Game  by Fantasy Flight Games in the US and Sophisticated games in the UK (Kosmos for Germany).  I read through the Trivia game rules and paraphrased it as best as I could.  It looks like a fun game.  Be warned, that the questions can get a little tough.  Your really have to know your book trivia.  If you are relying on the movie for information, you won't do so well.  To make it easier, the answers are given in mulitple-choice format, so you can at least get a good guess.  Pictures will have to come later.

8/11/03:  I received the Tolkien Trivia game from the UK today.  The game is originally from Germany and is published by Sophisticated Games and is distributed by Esdevium Games in the UK, and according to the back, Fantasy Flight Games will distribute it in the US.  I have to dig through the game, but it says on the back that there are two games inside.  One is a "new and original full length game, and the other is a shortened and simpler version of the main game designed for those who are keener on Tolkien than on games".  That's what it says.  I will take a look through the game and post pictures and information when I get a chance.

8/07/03:  This has been a really busy summer for me both at work and at home.  I haven't had time to write more reviews lately (I was on travel this past week).  The game front has been kind of quite lately.  No new games others than ones that we have mentioned.  I am waiting for my Tokien Trivia Game from the UK, but it has not yet arrived.  I am also trying to find a copy of Das Zwei Turme, but to no avail, yet.  I haven't seen RoseArt's next TTT game out yet, but they told me it should be out this month at Target and Kohl's.  If I have time tomorrow, I will try to post something (maybe The Lonely Mountain).  Keep checking back.

7/28/03:  I found a new game that will be coming out soon.  I actually saw it at the Comic Con 2003 in San Diego, but I didn't realize it at the time that it was the first showing of the game.  The game is called Lord of the Rings Combat Hex Game.  It is by Sabertooth Games, a subsidiary of Games Workshop.  I am having trouble with FreeWebs in putting in hyperlinks and pictures today.  I have an ad from the Comic Con posted.

7/23/03:  Here at last, a Dungeons and Dragons Reivew.  I have been looking through our stats of what you guys have been looking at the most.  One of the pages that has been accessed a lot is the page about Dungeons and Dragons.  Well, I haven't had time, but I figured I need to get something out.  I know there are a lot more people that know about the history of the game and it's current state, but I come from the old world of DnD.  I was around in the mid 70's when it was huge.  If I have anything wrong, please let me know.  I tried to keep it general and I referred to some other sites that have more information.  I put here on our web site due to its obvious ties to the Tolkien world, but the game goes far beyond that, so I will leave the review as is.  Go to this link to see the game - Dungeon And Dragons (DnD).  I will post some pictures when I get a chance.  (I hyper-linked the site multiple times because people seem interested in this little game)

7/22/03:  Fellow gamers.  I just got word from RoseArt, makers of last years Fellowship of the Ring boardgame, that they will be coming out with The Two Towers boardgame if a few weeks.  This game takes off at the end of the Fellowship game.  As I understand it, the two games can be connected to play one bigger game.  I presume that since they have game 2 coming out, that some time next year expect the final game, The Return of the King.  I will write up a review of the FOTR game as soon as I can and post it.  RoseArt told me that the Two Towers game will be available in Target and Kohl's stores in a few weeks.  I added pictures to LOTR Fellowship of the Ring boardgame by RoseArt to the page.

Other news; I attended the San Diego Comic Convention last week.  I got to see the Lord of the Rings presentation that New Line put on.  Elijah Woods, Sean Astin, Dominic Monoghan, and Andy Serkus (Gollum) were there (I got Sean's autograph).  I found a site that has posted some pictures of the con.  http://www.warofthering.net/images/comiccon/  Check it out.  Weta had a huge display.  Decipher was there with their new Two Towers Collectable card game.  Also, Games Workshops was there.  I have more information on what I saw, but I didn't see anything new (or old) games that I hadn't seen before (Top Trumps).  I will post that later.  I will have to add a pictures section to our site so I can post some of the pictures that I took.

7/15/03:  I got a big review on the Fantasy Game The Two Towers (circa 1975) along with pictures.  This is a very rare game and very hard to find.  Important for collectors.  I have only come across two copies.  I own one and Mike owns the other.  I have heard of a couple of others but not very often.  One was at a Gen Con a few years ago.  If anyone has any more information on this game, please let me know, especially if you own a uncut copy.  Both Mike and I seem to be missing one piece, and it is the same piece, one of the Ranger counters.  Easy to duplicate, but it is odd that we are both missing the same piece considering we each got our games from completely different sources.

I also got a bunch of pictures up for the Top Trumps card game too.  The site was not working well today, but it is now up.  I also added more thumbnails to the home page to give some guidance and color to the page.

7/14/03:  All right, I have been snooping around our own web site and found that we still have a bunch of blank pages.  Hyperlinks to nothing.  Kind of a Twilight Zone area.  So to fill in the gaps, I am at least going to start uploading a series of pictures for the games that I haven't written reviews for.  I will start with pictures for Two Towers by Fantasy Games.  Frankly, I am surprised I haven't written the reveiw yet.  I have a copy of the rule book, so I will see what I can get out.  I also have the rule book out for The Lonely Mountain, so check back soon for reviews on both of these games, and hopefully others.  The San Diego Comic Convention starts this Thrusday, so I am going to be scoping out the Dealers Room (it is suppose to be huge this year).  I just also added some pictures of the ICE version of Riddle of the Ring.  I don't have very many good pictures yet of The Lonely Mountains by ICE, but I do have a couple.  They are now posted as well.  I squeezed in a review for LOTR Top Trumps Card Game but I am having trouble adding a hyperlink and pictures.  I have a small amount of editing for it .  I have to check on some of the cards first.  When things are working you will see the hyperlink for the card game. (got it working).

7/07/03:  Hey Tolkien game fans.  I have returned from my vacation (we did the Disney World and other parks trip - we had a lot of fun).  I didn't have time for the web site, so I am behind on what is going on.  So give me some time and I will write up more reviews.

6/25/03: Added a links page and some links of websites that may be of importance to some people.

6/16/03:  Well games enthusiasts,  I am off on vacation until the Fourth of July.  I was going to try and squeeze in a review or two, but now I am out of time.  If possible, I may try to update while I am gone, but that is doubtful.  But I may surprise you.  If you have any questions or concerns, Mike will be around.  He will keep you posted of any new games.  I have a copy of Die Gefahrten by Kosmos on the way.  When I get it, I will post info.

6/12/03: Added a review and several pictures of the LOTR Activities and Games Pack.  A promotional item from a Mobile Gas Station in New Zealand.  No real games (boardgames that is), but there are puzzles, coloring pictures, crossword puzzles and the like.

6/11/03: Added a short review and a bunch of pictures of the LOTR KinderSurprise Eggs The Two Towers boardgame from Germany.  Please note that I am going on vacation next week for a couple of weeks.  I will try to squeeze in a couple more reviews if I can before I go.  If not, then please be patient.  I will be back.  I am also doing some research on Tolkien's First Age from the Silmarillion for the wargames (hex-type, not miniatures) I want to develop on the Battles of Beleriand.  That will take me a while, but I will keep you posted.  Also added a review Battle of the Ring from WWW (and Wargamer Magazine #1) along with pictures.  A fairly rare game, but the bagged version shows up from time to time.  The magzine version is very difficult to find partly because the magazine is from the UK, but they are out there.

6/04/03: Added a review and pictures for The Hobbit by Milton Bradley, the childs 3-D boardgame from 1977.

6/03/03: Started to add more information on War of the Ring: The Game of Middle Earth by Fantasy Games Unlimited.  Also added pictures.  I will add more of a reivew of the game when I can.

6/02/03: Added info and a picture of the Lord of the Rings Limited Edition Game by Reiner Knizia.

5/29/03: Added what little info, and a picture, that I have for a forthcoming "Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit" game by Hasbro.

5/28/03: Added a review for "Lord of the Rings Children's Game" by Eagle Games.  I will add some pictures after I take them.   I will try to scan parts of the rules leaflet (too big to scan at once for my scanner).  Later -  I scanned in a few pictures from the Rules.

5/27/03: Added "Middle Earth Wargame" Rules by SELWG to the chronology list (1976) and added a picture as well as information and a review that I found from someone in the Newsgroup.

5/25/03:  Sorry, I have really busy although I have not been lazy.  I have been trying to organize all the information that I have (I have a lot which is why we have this web site).  Well, I have added "Ringgeister" (Ringwraith - a German game).  I didn't really review it yet, I just temporarily added a Rules Summary and added some pictures.  I will review it later, but for now this will give you a good idea of what the game is about for now.  I also found a new Tolkien game.  I think it is from the UK, called "Game of Desitny".  I don't have much information on it yet, but when I do, I will add it.  I also found a picture of the up-coming LOTR Chess Return of the King version that will be coming out later this year.  I will add the picutre I found the the LOTR Chess page.  I will try to get some more reviews out as soon as I can.  In the mean time, tell your friends about this web site.  And remember, if you want to send any info, just drop us an electronic line.  Okay, I added a short review on LOTR Chess with picutres from all three versions.  Added minimal known information on a new UK game (published by?) called "Game of Destiny".  Check it out.  I also have a small bit of info on the new "LOTR Trivia Game".  Also found a series of "LOTR Mind Teasers".  I am not sure if they are games or not, but when I find out, I will post the information.

5/19/03: Added some more information about Middle Earth Games, an unlicensed limited edition boardgame being made by Mike.

5/15/03: Moved Die Zwei Tuerme boardgame and Kartenspiel up to make it alphabetical with the rest of the games and also updated credits list.

5/14/03: Added a review for "There and Back Again" by West Coast Games, a vary rare game from 1977 as far as we have found.  It can be played solo or with two people.

5/13/03: This has been a busy week at my house (DW), so I haven't had time to write up some new reviews yet.  I have received the game "Ringgeister" (Ring Wraiths), so when I get a chance I will post that.  Also, I found a variant to the "LOTR Risk" that was posted at BoardGameGeek.com.  I will see if I can post that under the Risk section.  Also, I have found some English translations for a couple of the German games.  I am also expecting the game "Die Zwei Turme" (boardgame).  The German games are a little harder to find here in the US, but they can be found (again, try http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ or Funagain Games at www.kumquat.com/cgi-kumquat/funagain/home)   If anyone is having any problems with the site, or if you want some info on a particular game that we have not posted but you see it on the list, let me know ([email protected]).  I will get it up as soon as possible.  Right now I am just starting from the top and working my way down, or I am writing up the easiest ones (for instance, I am waiting on "War of the Rings" (SPI) because there is a lot of info to post on that one).  Updated news, we are now posted on Web-Grognards (http://grognard.com/index.html) under their boardgame section.  I am trying to get us listed under some other sites as well.  Keep checking back for more updates, same bat-time, same bat-web.

5/08/03: Added the game(?), if you want to call it that, "Lord of the Rings Oracle".  A Tarot Card type book and cards with a map of Middle Earth.  A real oddity.

5/07/03: Fixed a couple of bad links (Die Zwei Tuerme Boardgame [Kosmos] and Cardgame {Ravensburg]).  Also included a picture of each game.  They still need to be moved up in the Alphabet list.  Added a "picture" (actually is it a characature of me) to "About David" just for the fun of it.

5/06/03: Added a review for "Battle of the Five Armies" by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE).  The web server was able to upload picture again.  I loaded a bunch and I will put them in the proper place when I get a chance.  Added pictures to "LOTR Recall Game" by Milton Bradley.

5/05/03: Having trouble uploading pictures, so they will have to wait.  Added a review for "Riddle of the Ring" by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE).  This is the third edition or so from the Fellowship Games.  Finished up the Alphabetizing the left list.

5/04/03: Added pictures and  information about "LOTR Trivia Game" by Fantasy Flight Games and "LOTR Checkers". Also added another person to the credits list.

5/02/03: Fixed up a bunch of links in the Chronology.  Continued to alphabetized left list.

5/01/03: Fixing up the left side list tyring to make it Alphabetical for ease of searching.  General striaghtening up of the site.  Added more information for "Middle Earth PBEM Games".

4/28/03: Added Review for "LOTR Risk" by Parker Bros/Hasbro.  Also "The Search" by Rio Grande Games.  And "The Confrontation" by Fantasy Flight Games.

4/25/03: Added "Battle of the Five Armies" (LORE version) review with pictures.

4/24/03: Found and added a new version of "Riddle of the Ring" (Fellowship Games, INC) to the ROTR list. Also added a new game by Fantasy Flight Games called "The Lord of the Rings Trivia Game". It is due in June 2003.

4/22/03: Added a rather lengthy review for "Siege of Minas Tirith" with pictures.  Includes "The Nazgul" Variant.

4/21/03: Fixed some links that were not working. "Riddle of the Ring" (Fellowship Games, INC) link now works. Added links to the three games from Miniature Wargames magazine.

4/20/03: Added 3 games from the UK Magazine Miniature Wargames. The rules for the game were from Doug Larsen. He made rules for how to play/reenact Pelennor Fields, Helm's Deep, and Battle of the Five Armies.

4/17/03: Added information and picture about "Riddle of the Ring" by Fellowship Games, INC.  Also added more games to the Chronology (still need to link them). Added "Eagle Games Lord of the Rings" childrens game to chronolgy and added a pic of it as well.

4/16/03: Added Reviews for "Dragons - A Middle Earth Adventure"; and "LOTR Recall Game" by Milton Bradley.

4/15/03: Added pictures of Tsr "Battle of Five Armies", ICE "BO5A", Picture and info about "Wizards and Warfare", ICE "Fellowship of the Ring", and pictures of Little Soldier Games "The Ringbearer".

04/14/03: Added "LOTR KinderSurprise Game" to the list, a childs game from Germany (the one with the Chocolate eggs with a surprise inside - there was a special Lord of the Rings version).  Added "Chainmail" review (with BOT5A Variant Article); Pictures for LOTR Risk; Picture for "BOT5A PBEM Middle Earth Games".

04/13/03: Added first draft of "The Quest of the Magic Ring";  Added pictures to "The Hobbit Game";

As of 04/12/03: Started web site.

Added "Conquest of the Ring";  "Battle of Helm's Deep";  "Siege of Barad-Dur";  "Der Herr der Ringe: Die Zwei Turme, Spiel zum Film" (Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Game from Film);  "The Hobbit Game" (American Publishing Game);