It was War of the Ring time last night, that epic game on which opinion seems sharply divided. I had only played the basic game before so it was headfirst into the full experience, and what a satisfying experience that was.
When I read the books I sometimes wondered why Sauron didn't just swarm across the map and engulf the world and the ringbearer as he went. War of the Ring gives a good illustration of the fact that he just wasn't ready - you have so many choices before you can attempt such an all-out assault. Where do you muster, do you attack now, where do you attack, where is the fellowship? The game is tormenting, you can't even simply play a card, each card has two uses and you have to decide which is better for you! Throughout the theme is very strong, Lord of the Rings is so familiar it could almost be real "history", and all the game mechanisms work your familiarity to the full. While Iain paraded up and down in front of Mordor with the Last Battle in play and was repeatedly assaulted by the Witch King out of Minas Morgul, the fellowship sneaked safely into Mordor. This felt totally in theme, but different enough that I didn't feel I was in a non-interactive replay of the books.
Ultimately I was too slow to launch an attack, and didn't really work my minions or Nazgul as well as I might, though Saruman perishing early on was a bitter blow. Despite Sauron controlling Lorien, Erebor and Minas Tirith the fellowship strolled to the Crack of Doom and destroyed the ring. The complete Free Peoples Victory!
A good game leaves you with thoughts like "What if I had done that" and "When can we play again". War of the Ring left me full of such thoughts! A grand adventure and one I am keen to repeat. Thank you, Iain, for suggesting it!
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