War of the Ring (the card game): My Favorite Mechanism
Stonemaier Games
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Jamey discusses his favorite mechanism in War of the Ring (the card game), a team/dueling game set in Middle Earth.
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16.06.2023
13 Comments
Hey Jamie, thanks for reviewing this game! WoTR the board game is my favourite game of all time. I play it with a close friend (we were best men at each other's weddings), we do best of 5 series with the winner keeping a replica one ring until they lose a series. We must have played 200 times and have had so many epic moments and games. It is amazing I would recommend the board game (2nd edition) to anyone. BUT!!! he is the only person I play with because the first playthrough takes 4-5 hours, the rules are complex, it only really works as a 1vs1 game. It needs your opponent to have a similar skill level to be enjoyable. This card / team game sounds like a far more sociable and accessible version and I;m very excited to get it and try an convince my wife and a couple of casual gamers to give it a go.
Marvel Champions has a similar cycling mechanic but it's not 1 for 1 which simplifies the process and gets rid of the issue where a card cost may be so high that you never end up playing it and then it's just a permanent resource taking up hand space. I like the idea that each character has better times to use or limited and that the decision tension is between putting it out for your opponent to see what's coming but knowing you'll have it ready when needed or taking the chance of putting it back in the deck and getting it back later. The natural thinning of the deck from battles is also interesting. I've been curious about this one back a lack of solo kept me from going in. I love more clever hand management like this that isn't just resource management but also a bit more long term thinking. Did you find it could lead to AP much? And at that game length I'd imagine adding any AP could really slow things down even more.
Classic War of the Ring is my favorite game of all time, so I was immediately interested in WotR: The Card Game when it was announced (and preordered it).
However, I was a bit concerned because I'm generally not a fan of the 'fight over bases' mechanism. For instance, I haven't particularly enjoyed my plays of Smash Up or Blood Bowl Team Manager.
When I finally got a chance to play WotR: The Card Game, though, I did really like it. My connection to the source material certainly helps, but I think the cycling mechanism and (in particular) the reserve mechanism make this game feel better than those others. I felt like I had more control over my game because I could have cards ready in reserve for when I really needed them (or cycle them to try to have them come out later). And I felt like the 'loss aversion' decisions (what to cycle or eliminate) were really tough and interesting.
Card cycling is a huge part of the Flesh and Blood tcg. There cards aren't discarded but "pitched" directly to the bottom of your deck, so you're directly setting up later turns.
Game looks like a blast! As a massive Tolkien and Game fan, I will have to check this game out with some of my fellow Tolkien geeks.
Quick questions. When will the Scythe Legendary Box be reprinted? Got the Scythe collection and we love it! But having everything in a single box would be far more convenient with our limited space. Pre-Ordered Expeditions as well and am Super excited!!
Reprint for Between Two Cities Essential Edition in the future?
I'm intrigued to try this one. War of the Ring is one of my all-time favorite games. When I reviewed the rules I was on the fence but your favorite mechanism here has me more interested. @jamey I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get WOTR to the table, ideally with someone who owns the anniversary edition. It's gorgeous
Hey Jamie, thanks for reviewing this game! WoTR the board game is my favourite game of all time. I play it with a close friend (we were best men at each other's weddings), we do best of 5 series with the winner keeping a replica one ring until they lose a series. We must have played 200 times and have had so many epic moments and games. It is amazing I would recommend the board game (2nd edition) to anyone. BUT!!! he is the only person I play with because the first playthrough takes 4-5 hours, the rules are complex, it only really works as a 1vs1 game. It needs your opponent to have a similar skill level to be enjoyable. This card / team game sounds like a far more sociable and accessible version and I;m very excited to get it and try an convince my wife and a couple of casual gamers to give it a go.
>Hasn't played War of the Ring, the best Board Game out there…
NGMI
Thanks Jamey 🙂
you have to try the board game!
Marvel Champions has a similar cycling mechanic but it's not 1 for 1 which simplifies the process and gets rid of the issue where a card cost may be so high that you never end up playing it and then it's just a permanent resource taking up hand space. I like the idea that each character has better times to use or limited and that the decision tension is between putting it out for your opponent to see what's coming but knowing you'll have it ready when needed or taking the chance of putting it back in the deck and getting it back later. The natural thinning of the deck from battles is also interesting. I've been curious about this one back a lack of solo kept me from going in.
I love more clever hand management like this that isn't just resource management but also a bit more long term thinking. Did you find it could lead to AP much? And at that game length I'd imagine adding any AP could really slow things down even more.
The card cycling is a cool concept. I don’t know many games that do that, but it’s cool
This game looks great! Idk what is going to be harder to find – friends to play this with or finding the game itself.
Classic War of the Ring is my favorite game of all time, so I was immediately interested in WotR: The Card Game when it was announced (and preordered it).
However, I was a bit concerned because I'm generally not a fan of the 'fight over bases' mechanism. For instance, I haven't particularly enjoyed my plays of Smash Up or Blood Bowl Team Manager.
When I finally got a chance to play WotR: The Card Game, though, I did really like it. My connection to the source material certainly helps, but I think the cycling mechanism and (in particular) the reserve mechanism make this game feel better than those others. I felt like I had more control over my game because I could have cards ready in reserve for when I really needed them (or cycle them to try to have them come out later). And I felt like the 'loss aversion' decisions (what to cycle or eliminate) were really tough and interesting.
Card cycling is a huge part of the Flesh and Blood tcg. There cards aren't discarded but "pitched" directly to the bottom of your deck, so you're directly setting up later turns.
The War of the Ring board game is my favourite 2 player game.
Game looks like a blast! As a massive Tolkien and Game fan, I will have to check this game out with some of my fellow Tolkien geeks.
Quick questions. When will the Scythe Legendary Box be reprinted? Got the Scythe collection and we love it! But having everything in a single box would be far more convenient with our limited space. Pre-Ordered Expeditions as well and am Super excited!!
Reprint for Between Two Cities Essential Edition in the future?
I'm intrigued to try this one. War of the Ring is one of my all-time favorite games. When I reviewed the rules I was on the fence but your favorite mechanism here has me more interested. @jamey I cannot recommend strongly enough that you get WOTR to the table, ideally with someone who owns the anniversary edition. It's gorgeous
So you should love the Flesh and Blood. Cycling or pitch stacking your deck is key to many of the hero's winning later in the game.