Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation: The Reprint!

by Firestone  

Good news, fans of awesome 2-player games! Fantasy Flight just announced that they're reprinting the Reiner Knizia game Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation. I talked about this game way back in August when Jeremiah and I posted about our favorite 2-player games. I lamented the fact that it was out-of-print, but it's coming back later this year!

It’s similar to Stratego, in that you have pieces that only face you, so your opponent’s not sure who’s who. Each piece is a character, and each character has special abilities. The good guys are trying to get Frodo across the board to Mordor, and the bad guys are trying to kill Frodo. Superb game.

Here are the differences in the new edition—from the press release:

• The rulebook contains additional clarifications to make the game even more accessible and easy to play.
• This compact new edition features bridge-sized cards, as well as scaled down character stands and tiles, with new character cards to serve as reminders of character abilities. The game board now has visual reminders, such as character limit indicators and darker mountain borders, to help clarify play.
• It features stunning new artwork for variant game Fellowship characters, as well as for several cards.

I don't particularly like the fact that the tiles won't have the special power text on them anymore, but at least you'll be able to play the game again! Save some money in the budget for this one—or add it to your Christmas list.

Thanks for reading! And please, check us out on Facebook and Twitter.

What You Missed...

Another Friday and another week over here at Theology Of Games. Here's what you may have missed this week... We started off the week with a bonus Kickstarter Weekly—the reprint of the great 2-player race game Odin's Ravens.

Then we had one of our Double-Take Reviews, for the fun family game Cheeky Monkey.

Then we had some news about:

• The imminent release of Arctic Scavengers
• A new season for Dungeon Lords
• And the nearly here status of The Lord of the Rings The Dicebuilding Game!

And finally, our regular Kickstarter Weekly was The Card Game of OZ.

Thanks for reading, and we'll see you next week!

The Lord of the Rings Dice-Building Game—Order NOW!

If there's one thing that continues to baffle myself (Jeremiah) and probably Firestone too, it's that most game companies don't publicize street dates/release dates for their titles.

For instance, this last December we were expecting the Star Wars card game from Fantasy Flight to hit stores in January. Turns out it was on shelves in December, with little fanfare from Fantasy Flight themselves. Anyway...I say all of that to say this.

Over on Amazon they're taking orders for Wizkids' latest dice-building title: The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game. According to Amazon they will be shipping the game on February 28, which means there's a good chance it could hit shelves the same day—if not sooner. We're both big fans of Quarriors, and the dice-building mechanic; add to that the spiffy Tolkien theme and we're pretty much in hog heaven!

You can order the game on Amazon Right HERE!

Thanks again for reading, and we certainly appreciate you liking us on FaceBook, following us on Twitter, and retweeting, sharing, and commenting whenever and wherever you can!

What You Missed...

We've got some great things coming up for the site—including some Best Of 2012 awards. In the meantime, here are some posts from this week that you might have missed.

First we told you about a new, cheaper version of Reiner Knizia's Ingenious from Fantasy Flight Games. And Jeremiah has already spotted one of these in his local Books-A-Million store.

Z-Man Games announced a new version of Pandemic. This will have a new art style, and two new roles. Check out the news, and designer Matt Leacock's announcement video here.

We reviewed Asmodee's fun, creative, family game Dixit.

We shared some news about 12 Realms being printed in Germany to save shipping for those across the pond.

Our Kickstarter Weekly was the new 4x space game Hegemonic.

And finally, Wizkids gave us some more details about The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game.

Next week we'll have a Double-Take Review of Mayfair's Catan Jr. Thanks for reading!

Wizkids Posts an Overview of The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game!

Wizkids has posted an overview for their newest dice-building title: The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game. If you're a fan of Quarriors, chances are you're going to want to look into this title as well. The game is said to have a similar feel to the game play of Quarriors, but also contain a few new elements to make it a fresh experience for everyone—including the fact that it's a co-op. And of course, the way-cool Lord of the Rings theme! The co-op aspect sounds pretty cool. The overview describes it this way: "Players alternate taking turns for Sauron and his forces. Sauron’s forces are represented by three sets of “Enemies” dice. Early in the game, players will face the likes of Goblins and Trolls with The Fellowship of the Ring Enemies dice. As players progress in the game, they will encounter tougher foes such as Wargs, Mumakil and Nazgul with The Two Towers Enemies dice & The Return of the King Enemies dice. If players are not able to defeat all of Sauron’s forces before his next turn, they may not advance to the next stage and Sauron gains corruption. Corruption is spread onto the cards on the playfield making the dice associated with these cards useless while corrupted. If too many cards are corrupted, Sauron has conquered Middle-earth and all players lose the game."

You can read our full review of Quarriors here.

While the preorder on Amazon claims that the release date is Feb. 28 of 2013, Wizkids is saying March. At any rate, you can pre-order it on Amazon RIGHT HERE!

2012 Holiday Gift Guide - Stocking Stuffers!

Today we're completing our gift guide with a list of things to get that gamer who has EVERYTHING! These little trinkets are fun, add something to your favorite game, or just add a little geeky Christmas cheer! Catan Ornament - For the serious Catan fan, this cut-brass beauty will help you celebrate the season while settling on the newfound island of Catan. The third in the Catan Resource series, this year's ornament features wool.

Cost: $48.00

Available from: Mayfair Games

Pirates of the Spanish Main card game - Wizkids Games' latest reboot of their former titles, turns their classic consrtuctable strategy game, into a single-deck card game, perfect for the nostalgic Pirates player, with lots of art that has been re-purposed for the game.

Cost: $10.60

Available from: Amazon, or your local game store

Ages: 8 & up

When Zombies Attack - Because Attack Dice (makers of When Zombies Attack), isn't Steve Jackson Games, this fun little dice roller has been somewhat overlooked. Unlike Jackson's "Zombie Dice"—which is basically a re-themed version of Farkle—When Zombies Attack is a competitive dice game that has players trying to eliminate not ALL of the zombies, just ones attacking them! Totally worth picking up and stuffing someone's stocking with this one!

Cost: $14.99 (And they're running a special Christmas deal 2 for $25.00!)

Available: Right here!

Ages: 8 & up

Alvin and Dexter: A Ticket to Ride Monster Expansion - By far one of the coolest mini expansions for a game to come along in a while! This was released last year and is becoming harder to find! They're out there, so grab a set for your gamer and become the hero of the day! It's like a Godzilla effect for Ticket to Ride! 'Nuff said!

Cost: $15.00

Available from: Amazon, and your local game store.

Lord of the Rings card sleeves - Fantasy Flight released a series of card sleeves featuring art from LOTR: the card game, every gamer wants to sleeve their cards, but most of the time they buy the cheap clear sleeves because that leaves more money for more games. So a couple packs a snazzy LOTR sleeves is sure to make the yuletide gay! (Note- there are Star Wars sleeves available now too!)

Cost: $5.00

Available from: Amazon, and your local game store

IronDie - I saw these at Origins this year and HAD to buy one. Simply because they are so cool! There is a game that is played with them if you choose to buy the whole set, but if you play any game that requires a 6-sided die, pick up a couple of these to replace them! There are now also polyhedral designs for that role player on your list!

Cost: $5.00 (6-Sided) $25.00 (Polyhedral, 7 die set)

Available from: Amazon, and your local game store.

Thanks so much for reading and being a part of Theology of Games; we hope this guide has been helpful to you during this wonderful season!

As always stay tuned for more great features from the gaming world!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

2012 Holiday Board Game Gift Guide—Gamers' Games

Here it is folks, the list you've been waiting for. You have a total gamer geek at work, and you pulled that person's name in the office secret Santa gift exchange! Now what? Never fear...below you'll find a list of games we ourselves are clamoring over and would love to see under the tree! We give you: the Gamers' Games gift guide! Star Wars The Card Game—Fantasy Flight has been working on getting this game out for years now, and they say it will be in stores for Christmas! We're very excited about this, their newest addition to the Living Card Game line up. And so will most any gamer out there! We interviewed Eric Lang the designer of the game last month; check it out here!

Cost: TBA (Estimated around $39.99)

Available from: Amazon and your local game store (Coming soon!)

Ages: 10 & up

Lord of the Rings: The Card Game—Yes, yes, we know... Two "living card games" in the same guide?! But really, if you're a fan of co-op games, this is probably one of the most elegant, and strategic of them all. It scales incredibly well—from 1-4 players—and is one of our favorite games here at TOG. If the gamer in your life is already into LOTR:TCG check out the new saga expansions The Hobbit: Under Hill and Over Hill, The Hobbit: On the Doorstep, and The Heirs of Numenor.

Cost: $39.99 (Base Set) $29.99 (Saga Expansions)

Available from: Amazon and your friendly local game store

Ages: 10 & up

Dominion—The card game that turned card games on their collective ears. Dominion is the premier deck-building franchise; it's incredibly rare for a game to create a genre, and then remain (arguably) the best game in that genre. Chances are if you've played a card game that was released in the last four years it was influenced in some way by Dominion. There are multiple expansions for Dominion that continue to strengthen this modern classic. If your gamer has Dominion already, check out the Prosperity expansion, and the newest Dark Ages!

Cost: $39.99 (Base set) $29.99 (Expansions)

Available from: Amazon and your local game store

Ages: 13 & up

Mage Knight—This game is for serious gamers only! Deep, complex, and rich game mechanics, and multiple campaigns to play. It's like role-playing in a growing board game. (Some campaigns are estimated to take up to 8 hours or more to complete!) If your gamer is a fan of games set in the fantasy realm, and highly involved game play, this is the game for them! Check out our review of the game right here!

Cost: $69.99

Available from: Amazon and local game stores

Ages: 14 & up

Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures—Easy rules. Amazing miniatures. Fun gameplay. This game is going to end up costing me sooooo much money, but playing this with my kids will lessen that sting considerably. There are official scenarios, fan-made scenarios, or you can just have a wipe-out-the-other-guys dogfight. If you have a Star Wars fan on your list, this one should be on your short list. If you want more info, you can read our in-depth review.

Cost: $39.99

Available from: Amazon, department stores and your local game store

Ages: 14 & up

Mice & Mystics—This game is basically a dungeon crawler, but instead of a typical fantasy theme, here you're playing as a group of mice trying to get to the bottom of a deadly conspiracy. Each scenario is a "chapter" in the story, with objectives, special powers, and dangerous enemies, such as rats, giant centipedes, huge spiders, and a cat!

Cost: $74.99

Available from: Amazon and your local game store

Ages: 7 & up

Gauntlet Of Fools—Even hardcore gamers sometimes need to play a quick game to start or end the evening—or to play while waiting for other people to finish another game. Gauntlet of Fools is the perfect game for that. You're heading into a dungeon with your chosen hero. Everyone is going to die, but if you can die with the most money, you'll win. Lots of fun. You can read our full review of the game here.

Cost: $19.99

Available from: Amazon and your local game store

Ages: 8 & up

What You Missed...

Well, we're not sure why it happened, but it was a record-breaking week here at Theology Of Games! And we couldn't have done it without you. (No, seriously. That's how it works.) Thanks for reading. Here's the week's wrap-up. First we told you about the 2nd Netrunner pack that's coming (we haven't even seen the first one!).

We reviewed that great, cheap, fun, and easily-found-at-Target game Spot It!

We gave you a bonus interview, with the folks behind the Extra Life benefit.

Then we interviewed the folks behind the upcoming deck-builder Pixel Lincoln—both Jason Tagmire and President Lincoln himself!

We gave you the news that Looney Labs is launching an iPhone version of their popular card game Fluxx.

This week's Kickstarter spotlight was We are Dead, a zombie game—from the zombies' perspective...

And finally, we revealed that the GenCon exclusive adventure in the Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is now available as a print-and-play deck.

Again, thanks so much for giving us a chance. We're doing everything we can to bring you fun, interesting, thoughtful, and useful posts regarding this crazy hobby of ours. Have a great weekend.

Lord of the Rings—The Battle of Lake Town!

Fantasy Flight also announced this week that The Battle of Lake Town adventure pack for their living card game The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, is now available as a print-on-demand title. The Battle of Lake Town was Fantasy Flight's Gencon exclusive this year, and promises to be an exciting addition to the LOTR adventure. Players will have to work together to save Lake Town from the Hobbit's main baddie, Smaug himself! If it's anything like last year's Gencon exclusive, it will be a brutal slugfest, with lots of action and not much questing! (My kind of adventure!) You can order a print-on-demand copy of The Battle of Lake Town RIGHT HERE! And you can read Fantasy Flight's full description of the adventure RIGHT HERE! As always, thanks for reading!

When We Last Left Our Heroes...

It's been a busy week for us here at Theology of Games—unfortunately, not because of gaming, but because of our busy lives. But we did get out a few new reviews, and share some news about the gaming world with you all! Stay tuned for more from the world of gaming next week! Here's your weekly recap of the week that was, on TOG! We all got giddy over the news of Wizkids' plans to release a Lord of the Rings themed dice building game!

Jeremiah reviewed the indie game "Walls of Light".

We looked for a little feedback on the blog and the possibility of a video post or two.

And Firestone reviewed Wizkids original dice builder, Quarriors!

Thanks for reading and thanks for the feedback! We hope you're enjoying reading the blog as much as we are writing it!