Thank you for the video! War of the Ring (2nd Edition) is the EPIC game in my collection. I have LORDS and WARRIORS but did not know KINGS was out until recently so this was helpful! It is good to see Ares is still investing in this great version! I will be looking to get KINGS soon. I am hoping one day there will be a Hobbiton expansion which involves the start of the journey from Hobbiton to Rivendale and the Scouring.
@@iscariot666 I did not realize 'Hunt for the Ring' was made by the same designers as WOTR. You may be right when I am in the mood for an extra game. Thanks!
Dreaming for the next expansion... I would love to see a Hobbiton Expansion. I am experimenting with a quick simple home variation with the hobbits in Hobbiton and each space they move toward Rivendale each player gets to place an extra army unit anywhere and they pick up Strider in Bree. Also experimenting with giving Gray Haven Elves the ability to travel by sea several spaces and open up some options for them. But a real expansion could explore a lot: Black riders attacking, connect with Strider at Bree, Heal up with Tom Bombadil but risk damage at Old Tree Willow, Barrow Whights, or Weathertop, Add Glorfindel, Ford of the Bruinen River, while having to move each of the Fellowship from their respective lands to Rivendale in time. Could also add physical hit points for main characters or extend the corruption track so that when they reach Rivendale they might be better or worse off... but keep my option that allows players to add units anywhere so that when the Fellowship is in Rivendale the battle landscape can be a bit different each time.
I have all 3 expansions but we tend to play the base game on its own and we haven't yet played the KoME expansion. Does playing all 3 expansions add to the time to play the game? Further, does it move the needle of either side achieving victory towards one of the ways to win; dunk or military (free) and military and corruption (shadow) (so, for example, if corruption tokens are put on the character board, does that mean it will affect the ring dunk since whichever corruption token is placed is no longer in the bag)?
Is the Shadow player able to fight effectively against the Dead Men? I'd presume they can only be used a few times too, or there's a time limit to use them before they have to be dismissed?
Fantastic! Very informative and helpful. Thank you! (liked and subbed!) One question ... It seems like if the Shadow player is using hunt tiles on the sovereign board that this would detract from the more important goal of corrupting Frodo. What are your thoughts and experiences regarding this aspect of the Kings expansion?
Man, I disagree totally. I think Warriors of Middle Earth needlessly bloats the game. Lords is necessary, IMO, given the subtle ways it smoothes some of the edges in the rules. Kings is not necessary IMO, but I like it from a thematic perspective.
Oh wow, I love Warriors! It really encourages me to rush Strider south, and, since we introduced it, the Companions have played a far more active role in regions like Fangorn, Helms Deep, and the Woodland Realm. It's added that extra 'flavour' that you see in the books, that often didn't reflect in our games.
@@WiseGuyHistory I can see that. I just think the whole “add a figure/remove a figure” for effects and combat is really clunky. Plus all the new unit cards make the game take up even more space on the table. I like the cleanliness and unobtrusiveness of the original cards from the base game for those same effects.
![Game Comparison: 'War of the Ring' [2012] versus 'The Battle of Five Armies' [2014]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IPZgkLnjaTA/mqdefault.jpg)
![Game Comparison: 'War of the Ring' [2012] versus 'The Battle of Five Armies' [2014]](/img/tr.png)
Apologies, I referred to the Eagles as 'Elves' four times throughout!
Thank you for the video!
War of the Ring (2nd Edition) is the EPIC game in my collection. I have LORDS and WARRIORS but did not know KINGS was out until recently so this was helpful! It is good to see Ares is still investing in this great version! I will be looking to get KINGS soon. I am hoping one day there will be a Hobbiton expansion which involves the start of the journey from Hobbiton to Rivendale and the Scouring.
Play “Hunt for the Ring” by Ares.
@@iscariot666 I did not realize 'Hunt for the Ring' was made by the same designers as WOTR. You may be right when I am in the mood for an extra game. Thanks!
Dreaming for the next expansion... I would love to see a Hobbiton Expansion.
I am experimenting with a quick simple home variation with the hobbits in Hobbiton and each space they move toward Rivendale each player gets to place an extra army unit anywhere and they pick up Strider in Bree. Also experimenting with giving Gray Haven Elves the ability to travel by sea several spaces and open up some options for them.
But a real expansion could explore a lot: Black riders attacking, connect with Strider at Bree, Heal up with Tom Bombadil but risk damage at Old Tree Willow, Barrow Whights, or Weathertop, Add Glorfindel, Ford of the Bruinen River, while having to move each of the Fellowship from their respective lands to Rivendale in time. Could also add physical hit points for main characters or extend the corruption track so that when they reach Rivendale they might be better or worse off... but keep my option that allows players to add units anywhere so that when the Fellowship is in Rivendale the battle landscape can be a bit different each time.
I have all 3 expansions but we tend to play the base game on its own and we haven't yet played the KoME expansion. Does playing all 3 expansions add to the time to play the game? Further, does it move the needle of either side achieving victory towards one of the ways to win; dunk or military (free) and military and corruption (shadow) (so, for example, if corruption tokens are put on the character board, does that mean it will affect the ring dunk since whichever corruption token is placed is no longer in the bag)?
@Dangerous27Dave Actually our game today with all 3 expansions was our fastest ever! I'd suggest it'd normally add a bit of extra time, but not much.
Have the Base game & the first 2 expansions all painted up and have the 2nd Ed cards. Yet to put it on the table. This may have given me a nudge.
Is the Shadow player able to fight effectively against the Dead Men? I'd presume they can only be used a few times too, or there's a time limit to use them before they have to be dismissed?
@evildrganymede No they can't really respond. They just have to hope the Free People don't have too many of the Dead Men faction cards to use...
Fantastic! Very informative and helpful. Thank you! (liked and subbed!) One question ...
It seems like if the Shadow player is using hunt tiles on the sovereign board that this would detract from the more important goal of corrupting Frodo.
What are your thoughts and experiences regarding this aspect of the Kings expansion?
@jnharr Yeah they have a choice of what tile to use, so in effect they can weed out weak tiles, or go strong to corrupt the Sovereigns...
Man, I disagree totally. I think Warriors of Middle Earth needlessly bloats the game. Lords is necessary, IMO, given the subtle ways it smoothes some of the edges in the rules. Kings is not necessary IMO, but I like it from a thematic perspective.
Oh wow, I love Warriors! It really encourages me to rush Strider south, and, since we introduced it, the Companions have played a far more active role in regions like Fangorn, Helms Deep, and the Woodland Realm. It's added that extra 'flavour' that you see in the books, that often didn't reflect in our games.
@@WiseGuyHistory I can see that. I just think the whole “add a figure/remove a figure” for effects and combat is really clunky. Plus all the new unit cards make the game take up even more space on the table. I like the cleanliness and unobtrusiveness of the original cards from the base game for those same effects.