The Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle-Earth Board Game - Epic Cooperative Adventure Game for Kids and Adults, Ages 14+, 1-5 Players, 60+ Minute Playtime

Overall, Lord of the Rings (LOTR): Journeys in Middle Earth is a must own for LOTR fans. I have always wanted to get into a table top role playing game (RPG) for years (>10 years), but I could never convince my wife until LOTR Journeys in Middle Earth. Both of us love the franchise so that probably helped convince her to try it out. First off, this app driven game is the game master so it doesn't require you to come up with a story or keep track of how much health enemies have; all of it is stored in the easy to use app (downloaded via Steam, Apple store, or Google store). The app tells you which map tiles to put down and where (including initial placement of enemies, various tokens, etc), and you simply place all of the physical pieces on your table to match the app. It is all interactive through your tablet or mouse (if you're using a computer) to select what you want to do. The app even saves your progress so if you can't finish a mission or adventure because it is getting late, you can save the game and come back to it (you'll just have to keep track of where your enemies are on the board). The app experience is so well done and it really facilitates the table top experience; however, I wish there was an "undo" function if you made a mistake after confirming an action. The quality of the heroes/enemies, tiles, and cards are great. Also, there are separate character packs that you can buy as well (I own both of them). The base campaign is made up of multiple adventures, and the game will tell you whether or not failing that particular adventure will cause you to fail the campaign. If you fail a mission that requires you to pass, you can just reset the adventure for that particular mission and replay it (didn't figure that out until 2nd playthrough). You can easily play some adventures (adventures make up the campaign) for 2-3 of hours whereas some are quicker than others. It really depends on how much you strategize. This is a role playing game, so you do upgrade your character/class and items throughout the campaign. Once again, the app stores all of this information for you and it is very easy to use. The large booklet of instructions is easy to follow, but we did run into some instances that required us to search online for a solution to our dilemma. I own both physical expansions and recently finished the Shadowed Paths expansion. I haven't played the Spreading War expansion yet, but I'd recommend getting Shadowed Paths for sure. I haven't purchased the digital expansions yet, but you can get them on Steam, apple store, or Google store. I will eventually purchase the digital expansions. I would have liked to have seen more story lines included in the base game (maybe they could have included the digital expansions with the base game). We absolutely love this game and hope more content will be developed for this game! Great family memories! ***We play a lot of different board games such as Betrayal at House on the Hill, Plunder: a pirates life, Castle Panic (with all expansions), Mansions of Madness (with expansions), Pandemic (with expansions), Ticket to Ride Europe, and many others.****

We are a board game family And the integration of playing alongside an app was actually so much fun We love that it saves the progress along the way The art on the map pieces makes you want to look at everything so you don’t miss any details Just a really fun game

Pros: - This game provides a cinematic adventure for 1-5 players - Not throughly difficult but complex enough to provide a level of strategic playing - Fairly detailed and well casted minituares - The campaign genuinely provides the feeling of a lord of the rings adventure with several twists and dangers - Not too difficult and not too easy. Players will definitely need to rely on their characters special skills and work together to win - App support adds nice background sounds, is simple to use and functions really well - Long campaign with a lot of replay value. Interactions, and the map are randomly generated offering a different experience each playthrough. Not to mention a 6 dollar bonus campaign which is a fantastic deal and 2 huge expansions avaliable. Cons: - The game is completely reliant on the app. I think it functions great but for some people this is a negative and the game requires the app. No power? No charged device? No luck. - The rules aren't overly challenging but if you're not familiar with this type of game you will need to watch some YouTube videos and there is the occasional discrepancy - There are moments in the campaign and certain interactions that lack clarity. For example, the 3rd mission could be completely lost for the sole reason of the game not being exactly clear on what you need to do. Like a surprise extra step Conclusion: The game provides a detailed and interesting campaign either solo or with a group of friends. You can anticipate each adventure being about an hour and the entire game lasting about 14 hours and there is excellent replay value. The game is entirely run on the app which makes the game much easier to play but it is dependant on the app. I recommend this game to anyone who wants their own detailed lord of the rings adventure but be prepared to spend time learning to play the game.

This game is an incredibly fun adventure using middle earth as a backdrop. I am thankful for the new "Adventure" mode with a scaled back difficulty. It is very helpful in learning some of the depth of the game and how certain cards and heroes work together. I've played through the 1st adventure 3 times using all of the characters in pairs. All the games were fun and varied. Of course, the same main plot points are in each playthrough, but the encounters and map layout were different every time and made my time very enjoyable. Highly recommend this game.

My favorite game at the moment

Grande titolo per gli appassionati del Signore degli Anelli (a meno che vi dia fastidio che qualcuno mischi i vostri eroi e storie non canoniche). Si va ad esplorare, si combatte in una campagna lunga e rigiocabile. Miniature di buona qualità. Richiede l’uso di una app per giocare. Unico difetto: se perdi uno scenario devi rigiocare tutto da capo.

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This is a great game for the lore of LoTR. I've played already the first campaign (Bones of Arnor) and looking forward to replay it, as it seems due to the application there would be some differences in the way the story and maps are developed. The fact that you have few characters to select, combining them with different roles, makes the variety of the game really rich. The application is really nice with the music and the visualizations that makes you enter more and more into this world of Middle-Earth. The figures are great and I even think I might give it a try to paint them. So that's an extra add-on as a side hobby if you would like that. The cards are really nice, but here is my only comment that I would prefer them a bit bigger so the letters were more easily read. But all in all this is great game!!

Great cooperative game and no one needs to ‘sacrifice’ to be the game master in this D&D-esque game set in Middle Earth. Limited replayability with same story events for the campaign but randomized setup and events do keep things interesting. Definitely looking to get at least one of the expansions. Each base box/expansion comes with 1 campaign out of the box and an extra campaign that be bought in the app.