Explore Gandalf’s Lost Years with Middle-earth Quest
"This is just a 'quest' to kill more orcs, isn't it?"
What happened in the years between the defeat of Smaug and Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday party? Tolkien never went into much detail about that period, save that Gandalf was seeking information about the ring and Sauron, and the forces of good somehow drove Sauron out of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood (only to reappear in Mordor). With that era something of a blank slate, yet still inextricably tied to the greater events of the Lord of the Rings, wouldn’t you say it makes a perfect setting for a board game? If that board game were being produced by Fantasy Flight Games and created by some of their top game designers, what would you say then? If your answer was, “Hell yeah!”, then read on.
Middle-earth Quest is a board game depicting the 17-year period between the events of The Hobbit and the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. One player acts as Sauron, while the other players (up to three of them) play various heroes seeking to delay or defeat the Dark lord. It looks to be a combination of a heroic quest game with elements of war and diplomacy. The heroes try to find objects or information, meet with notable characters and gain the favor of various factions while Sauron sends his minions against them. So it looks like you won’t actually be Aragorn, but you might get to hang out with him.
As expected from a Fantasy Flight product, the game will come with an armful of cards and tokens and undoubtedly a gorgeous full-color game board depicting Middle-earth. Middle-earth Quest will have a retail price of $79.95. The game was designed by Corey Koneiczka and Christian T. Petersen, two designers with some top notch design credits on their resumes. Might as well put this one on my Christmas list now.
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May 14th, 2009 12:40 PM
Worth noting that the current scuttlebutt (at least, last I heard) had Del Toro’s “Hobbit” being a two movie deal; one in a very “GDT” style– the actual Hobbit– then the sequel being the over-throw of the Necromancer in Mirkwood, half-GDT, half-Peter Jackson style.
May 14th, 2009 1:08 PM
I haven’t played a board game in so long… generally because I tell myself, and everybody else that I hate them. Maybe I just need to play board games that are relevant to my interests. This sounds like it could be a hell of a lot of fun, but damn if it isn’t expensive. Since when did board games get so f’n costly?
May 14th, 2009 1:29 PM
The Halo board game is 100ish
May 14th, 2009 1:31 PM
@Megido: No kidding on the cost. This will have to wait until December. (Unless I can casually mention it to my wife who is LotR obsessed; and she can forego some other luxury…)
May 14th, 2009 2:31 PM
Amazon has the Halo board game for $25. Is there more than one? Or has the priced just dropped through the floor?
I know that the World of Warcraft board game has an MSRP around $100
May 14th, 2009 3:49 PM
I saw a Halo board game at Borders for about $100. It had adjustable boards and game modes similar to the shooter game. I have not played it, I don’t have much interest in buying it, but I’m going to look at the amazon board game and see if it’s the same. hmmm. . . that’s the same one. Must not have sold very well. I can’t imagine the Halo crowd playing board games particularly often. It seems odd to try to make a board game out of a shooter anyway. Starsraft and Warcraft I can imagine, them being strategy games and all, but isn’t the point of Halo the fast and furious action? Board games aren’t really known for that.
May 14th, 2009 3:52 PM
http://www.amazon.com/Genius-Products-Halo-Interactive-Strategy/dp/B001DDY6XA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1242334000&sr=8-1
Really long link. Watch the ad at the bottom of the page.
May 14th, 2009 4:01 PM
Finally! A prequel to Sauron Wins!
May 14th, 2009 5:11 PM
Ok, I thought there was only one Halo board game. I’ve always seen it and considered it, but was waiting till it dropped to a price I was more willing to pay. $25 isn’t a bad price.
so now I just need to find a group to game with…..
May 15th, 2009 6:06 AM
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May 20th, 2009 4:18 PM
Awesome! Coverage of board games! Looks like my input from the reader survey is going into effect!
Yes, today’s hobby board games have pretty high MSRPs, but in general you can get them 30% off at online retailer sites. $50-$60 is the same you’d pay for a video game or a couple of RPG books.
May 21st, 2009 12:27 AM
Yea, the good board games cost tons, but they’re totally worth it if you can get people to play them.
June 28th, 2009 10:39 AM
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