War of the Ring. What a game. What an epic, incredible game. If you had to hold me down and force me to name my favourite boardgame, after some struggling, pleading and possibly whining in a small girly voice I would eventually admit that game is War of the Ring. After all, I spent [actual amount deleted because I keep trying to block it out] on the Collector’s Edition, one of my most prized possessions and something I plan to display in a position of honour one day when I finally get that comfortable high-ceilinged Victorian library lined with multi-level bookshelves and one of those metal spiral staircases that moves around the circumference of the room so I can access the books on the higher shelves …
That’s a friend and I playing the Collector’s Edition, in the photo above. Isn’t it a thing of beauty?
It took me countless hours to create the first set of rules summaries and reference sheets for War of the Ring, since it was notorious for rules ambiguities and complexity. Now I’ve finally had the time, in response to numerous requests, to update these sheets for the Second Edition of the game, and I’ve included the rules from Lords of Middle-earth, the expansion. The rulebook is far better written, but I still had to go through and pretty much do this from scratch in case I left in any old rules.
Hopefully these sheets will make your next epic game of War of the Ring play even faster and smoother—if you discover any errors or have any suggestions, as always, let me know.
It’s time to do battle for the Third Age!
Hey there,
Thanks a million for putting together this exceptional rule summary. In the picture it looks like you got envelopes formthe cards. Is that true and, if yo, where did you get them? Related second question: Where did you get the card holders? Cheers, Christoph from Germany (once a student in Christchurch, love your country).
Hi – sorry for the delay in replying, I’ve been ill. The card holders are from Memoir ’44 (unfortunately the large cards tend to cause them to tip over). The sleeves – it was a while ago, but I *think* they were these: http://maydaygames.com/card-sleeves-70-122-mm-custom-large-size-75-pack.html
Do the things tip over with the non-CE cards as well?
They only tip if you knock them – which you tend to do. Normal cards are more stable but will also tip if you knock them.
Thanks for the infos. Last question on that matter: How many cards should my playing card holder(s) be able to carry for a war of the ring game? Around 12? Any long-term experiences, estimates, suggestions?
One Memoir ’44 stand holds 2 normal cards, and 2 large cards (with a bit of overlap). I use them all the time for normal games when I want to see my hand of cards easily, and I do for WotR too, though as I said the large cards fall over with the slightest knock.