Great game. One of my favorites. Only learned of the solo rules option last year that you demo here, and it was a fantastic experience. It was immersive, unique, and deeply satisfying all at the same time. Thanks for highlighting this game!
Thank you for posting. A couple times I thought about buying the cards for the art work since I didnt think there was anyone to play against. I appreciate you posting the solo version I never knew about. Hearing you described the themed decks a the end is making me consider picking it up.
This was fascinating to watch, thank you for posting this. I loved this game just for the cards alone and never really played it. I'm going to track down a deck and maybe give it a shot solo.
hoard items can only be played at dragon lairs. just saying. still i am amazed that 20 years after this game is still being played. thatj ust says something about how good it is. brings back fond memories.
Thanks for watching and commenting. It really is a rich solo experience and I bet plays very well 2-person too (though I've never had the chance to play that way).
I played this two player a lot. Challenge decks are playable straight out of the box (against each other), and I did some deck design against my brother-in-law head to head. And I played multiplayer a bit too (it's quite slow, multi-player)...but it was all years ago. I have SO many cards, from every set, and all the books and played some solitaire scenarios from those. I'm very tempted to get back into it.
Well that is great that you have all the cards you do. Definitely worth trying again in that case. One of the barriers to the way I play is the number of cards needed to make the game variable and rich. It does offer a lot.
I re-bought into the game during the pandemic, having a solo mode is very advantageous these days! The rules are are way too complex, especially after a few expansions, but the basic mechanics of prowess/body, mind/influence, corruption, and skills are sublimely perfect. Imagine playing a game of D&D with only 2d6! The real joy of this game nowadays is for aspiring game designers to study and remix this gem of a game! I've made several solo variants in the last few months.
I agree with your assessment: so much goodness here but so complex too. I need to revisit and maybe try some other solo variants. I’m not convinced what I did was the best. Game design is not my forte.
@@GeekGamers01 This is my fav bg/card game ever. As a big fan and collector, I'd say the main problem this game has its the rules complexity and errata. This game would not strive if released today. They would need to clean many of the rules, make them more streamlined and maybe lessen text. The problem with the later is losing narrative, which is part of the reason why this game is so great and does (in my opinion) the most immersive experience into Tolkien's narrative.
@@Nain1982 Yes, totally agree both about complexity of rules and immersive experience in Tolkien's world. Since doing this vid, I've taken the game out again to play and had to try to relearn everything. It was daunting! Certainly a game for devoted hobbyists and not the general public.
@@GeekGamers01 I realized I had commented back then too in your video. I'm getting old as I didnt' remember lol. It can be quite daunting! I've played probably more than 300 times (but haven't played in years) and in spite of knowing what every card does, I still forget an errata or a small rule. If you where close I would gladly wipe your hero companies though :)
So I played this in one way or another for 5 years straight when it came out and don't think I ever nailed down the rules! But yes, it made a very fleshed out and enjoyable solo experience. I still rate this as best card game ever made. Keeps a narrative and goes way beyond traditional ccgs. I use to use a map when I played which was a nice touch. Not sure (at that time) where I got the minis for travel came from
Dave Ryan Map and minis for sure would help. I brought it out again after not playing since this vid and was so confused! The rules never stick with me and I too find them confusing and I’m sure I’m playing incorrectly. Still, I agree with you about the quality of the game, the richness of the narrative, and the overall strength of the card options. I need to play it again soon. Thanks for commenting.
I made a few extra piles. Every turn I put either Gates of Morning or Doors of night in play. I have a larger deck beside it of Environment cards and really any Short or Long Event card that has to do with travel or the sky or weather (it's a hodge-podge). There are boon and bane cards in there with more hazard ones. It's "fun" when I flip over Doors of Night and a card that is worse with that combo. :D I'm also going to put a small stack of Light Enchantments, Rituals, Spells, Spirit Magic, etc. under my revealed Wizard. Seems more thematic that way and the Corruption Checks seem to balance those in my opinion. Like you said, I'm going for more of an experience overall.
Hi! No problem, all I did to find them was google "middle earth ccg solo rules" and I found quite a few interesting variants to whet my appetite. Hope you find a set that intrigues you :)
I started playing this game a few days ago. I think I understood the most rules but I can't figure out one thing: What do I do with the Region cards? I get the Locations, it's pretty logical to me, but not the Region cards. I don't use them with the "normal" rules and I don't use them in the advanced rules. WHEN do I use them?
BraunBär Teddy I don’t use them either and it’s been a while since I saw the rules but as I recall unless you are actually using them for regional movement you aren’t using them.
@@GeekGamers01 Yeah i got my companion book for the basic edition and its pretty good described in there. Anyway I will have a lot of fun with this game :)! Wish you more fun with it too!
![A Close Look at the Middle-earth CCG - MECCG [The FIRST Lord of the Rings Card Game] ► CCG Graveyard](/img/n.gif)
Great game. One of my favorites. Only learned of the solo rules option last year that you demo here, and it was a fantastic experience. It was immersive, unique, and deeply satisfying all at the same time. Thanks for highlighting this game!
Thank you for posting. A couple times I thought about buying the cards for the art work since I didnt think there was anyone to play against. I appreciate you posting the solo version I never knew about. Hearing you described the themed decks a the end is making me consider picking it up.
Nil Rym I’ve considered framing some of them for my office but haven’t gotten around to it. They really are quite beautiful.
This was fascinating to watch, thank you for posting this. I loved this game just for the cards alone and never really played it. I'm going to track down a deck and maybe give it a shot solo.
Glad you enjoyed it! The cards alone are fantastic, I agree!
Carrion Birds forces each character in your company to face one strike, so you couldn't have defeated the attack with just one character
hoard items can only be played at dragon lairs. just saying. still i am amazed that 20 years after this game is still being played. thatj ust says something about how good it is. brings back fond memories.
It is a great game. The best adventure card game out there.
Big fan of this game, thanks for explaining your solo approach.
Thanks for watching and commenting. It really is a rich solo experience and I bet plays very well 2-person too (though I've never had the chance to play that way).
I played this two player a lot. Challenge decks are playable straight out of the box (against each other), and I did some deck design against my brother-in-law head to head. And I played multiplayer a bit too (it's quite slow, multi-player)...but it was all years ago. I have SO many cards, from every set, and all the books and played some solitaire scenarios from those. I'm very tempted to get back into it.
Well that is great that you have all the cards you do. Definitely worth trying again in that case. One of the barriers to the way I play is the number of cards needed to make the game variable and rich. It does offer a lot.
I re-bought into the game during the pandemic, having a solo mode is very advantageous these days! The rules are are way too complex, especially after a few expansions, but the basic mechanics of prowess/body, mind/influence, corruption, and skills are sublimely perfect. Imagine playing a game of D&D with only 2d6! The real joy of this game nowadays is for aspiring game designers to study and remix this gem of a game! I've made several solo variants in the last few months.
I agree with your assessment: so much goodness here but so complex too. I need to revisit and maybe try some other solo variants. I’m not convinced what I did was the best. Game design is not my forte.
The creators of this great ccg are the same who created Middle-Earth Role Playing (MERP) Better than DnD in my opion
Tied for 1st with MtG for best ccg of all time imho.
Chris Kimbrel I agree it is fantastic and I’m surprised more people don’t play it now even with it being o.p. Complexity perhaps?
@@GeekGamers01 This is my fav bg/card game ever. As a big fan and collector, I'd say the main problem this game has its the rules complexity and errata. This game would not strive if released today. They would need to clean many of the rules, make them more streamlined and maybe lessen text. The problem with the later is losing narrative, which is part of the reason why this game is so great and does (in my opinion) the most immersive experience into Tolkien's narrative.
@@Nain1982 Yes, totally agree both about complexity of rules and immersive experience in Tolkien's world. Since doing this vid, I've taken the game out again to play and had to try to relearn everything. It was daunting! Certainly a game for devoted hobbyists and not the general public.
@@GeekGamers01 I realized I had commented back then too in your video. I'm getting old as I didnt' remember lol. It can be quite daunting! I've played probably more than 300 times (but haven't played in years) and in spite of knowing what every card does, I still forget an errata or a small rule. If you where close I would gladly wipe your hero companies though :)
Thank you so much for this video! I found it very useful in my own METW game.
Glad to hear it! I’d forgotten about this video!
@@GeekGamers01 yes, I have just noticed it is 7 years old. Still people like me play this game
So I played this in one way or another for 5 years straight when it came out and don't think I ever nailed down the rules! But yes, it made a very fleshed out and enjoyable solo experience. I still rate this as best card game ever made. Keeps a narrative and goes way beyond traditional ccgs. I use to use a map when I played which was a nice touch. Not sure (at that time) where I got the minis for travel came from
Dave Ryan Map and minis for sure would help. I brought it out again after not playing since this vid and was so confused! The rules never stick with me and I too find them confusing and I’m sure I’m playing incorrectly. Still, I agree with you about the quality of the game, the richness of the narrative, and the overall strength of the card options. I need to play it again soon. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks for posting this. I'm wading through my dusty MECCG cards at the moment.
A great thing to do!
Thanks for showing me how you play. I'll have to cobble together my own way to play.
Samwise Seven RPG You are welcome. The game will reward your efforts I’m sure. It begs for house rules!
I don't mind making up house rules. :D
I made a few extra piles. Every turn I put either Gates of Morning or Doors of night in play. I have a larger deck beside it of Environment cards and really any Short or Long Event card that has to do with travel or the sky or weather (it's a hodge-podge). There are boon and bane cards in there with more hazard ones. It's "fun" when I flip over Doors of Night and a card that is worse with that combo. :D
I'm also going to put a small stack of Light Enchantments, Rituals, Spells, Spirit Magic, etc. under my revealed Wizard. Seems more thematic that way and the Corruption Checks seem to balance those in my opinion.
Like you said, I'm going for more of an experience overall.
Great game, only ever played solo by the rules in the booklet myself. Nice to see and know there are alternatives out there :)
Yes, a great game indeed. The cards are so rich there are many possibilities for solo play beyond what's in the rules.
donnysmurf do you know where I can get the rules
Hi! No problem, all I did to find them was google "middle earth ccg solo rules" and I found quite a few interesting variants to whet my appetite. Hope you find a set that intrigues you :)
donnysmurf thanks. Do you know how many I need to make a deck
I have only ever had two starter decks and a couple of boosters from way back when :) They have done the job for me so far.
I started playing this game a few days ago. I think I understood the most rules but I can't figure out one thing:
What do I do with the Region cards? I get the Locations, it's pretty logical to me, but not the Region cards.
I don't use them with the "normal" rules and I don't use them in the advanced rules. WHEN do I use them?
BraunBär Teddy I don’t use them either and it’s been a while since I saw the rules but as I recall unless you are actually using them for regional movement you aren’t using them.
@@GeekGamers01 Yeah i got my companion book for the basic edition and its pretty good described in there. Anyway I will have a lot of fun with this game :)! Wish you more fun with it too!
You can use the region cards to travel by a different path than the ‘basic’ path on the location cards.
Best ccg besides mtg
Hard to disagree!
are you part of the forums?
Not sure which forums you are talking about so... maybe, no?
the middle earth forums. Council of Elrond. We always welcome more middle earth ccg fans :)
You can buy two challenge decks and have a very nice, balanced game.
Not anymore you can't XD. Just about done (and about $200 lighter) piecing together the 5 hero challenge decks.
A great game!