Our good friends in Ravensburger North America gave over the Lord of the Rings: Adventure Book Game while I was away at GenCon, and on the contrary my son took it everywhere. Let’s look at the game in a short view, and give some opinions about the whole experience.

I started the adventure as a whole.

In the Adventure Book Game Lord of the Rings, players will work together to complete the book’s chapters, but this isn’t enough as the game board is actually a book. Each chapter has a set of requirements that are required before starting the game and that requires several challenges to complete to get the game started. If the chapter is endowed without you having to complete the required challenges, then you’ll lose, and your entire chapter will not work.

In Chapter 1 you’ll be running around the hut with Gandalf, Sam and Frodo, while trying to keep black riders on track. An objective example would be that Gandalf and Frodo sit on the boards by a specific point; Sam only a few days away. That is an obvious nod to the fact that Gandalf and Frodo speak inside Frodo’s Hobbit hole while Sam is listening outside. I love the subtle nods to films and books, but it brings back many positive memories.

Many players will have them in their hands, and these cards are useful in many fields. At the end of their turn, the players move one character 2 or two characters 1 space each. Then players start playing cards with their hands. Discarding a card will allow the characters to move an extra space, or can use specific types of cards from their hands to complete challenges. Players play cards, too.

After the turns are complete, two cards are drawn from the story deck which just adds more symbol-specific cards to their hand. Next, you can withdraw the top card of the plot deck, which causes something to happen within the chapter. They’re unique situations that will shake up the game and probably drive you toward a different strategy.

Component Quality

The parts of the game of The Lord of the Rings is very good. I really appreciate the fact that at the very moment there are a lot of miniatures in the box that could have easily been little cardboard tokens, but they are not. The miniatures are sharp and enjoyable for my children. The value of cardboard is highest when you use it. They feel like a great handler, and don’t look like they’ll easily slip from its use.

I like the way the gameboard has become incorporated into a book, each new chapter getting spread out of two pages within the book. The book isn’t open completely flat, so it’s the only one that happens to be unhappy, but overall it’s pretty happy with it.

Is this a bargain?

It isn’t really for adults to play together. If you do what you like, your interest in board games can be enjoyable. However, I found this very good at playing with my kids. The various stories are funny to play through. In that moment, they remember parts of the movies and books; they seem to be astonished to learn.

I think that the gameplay here is very simplistic enough that even extremely young fans can enjoy the experience. There isn’t anything overly complicated in that foundation of rules, although some challenges and chapters, particularly the rules, add a level of complexity, the fact that even my nine-year-old son Lochlan has some issues with.

To make your house a good experience, I recommend that you had a younger fan.