We have played a lot of different board games over the years, and through them we’ve seen a whole bunch of different designs, quirks and styles. That said, unique boards are few and far between, which is why I was delighted and surprised to see that the Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game is a game that takes place in a large, cardboard book.
Lord of The Rings Adventure Book Game is an adventure game where you and up to three other players go on adventures that line up with the Lord of The Rings books themselves. Players control members of The Fellowship, moving them and tokens around maps to complete objectives. It’s a very interesting system for both those who know Lord of The Rings and those who do not.
Each of the pages in the book showcases a different part of the story, with different tasks that you need to complete. The tasks are on the right-hand side of the book and sometimes need to be done in order, while other times you can jump around. You will often need to move characters to specific points and then spend action cards to complete the quest itself.
On your turn, there is actually a lot that can be done. You can move one character two spaces, or two characters one space each, or not move at all. The characters themselves follow paths and cannot jump around. There are also special spaces like hidey holes and special areas that are of key interest. After you have moved, you have a bunch of different options for what to do next. You can play action cards or discard cards to move characters an extra space. You can also trade a card with another player to have a better hand or help them have objects to trade in to complete a quest. If you do have all the requirements, you can complete the quest as well. You can then draw two more cards, keeping your hand at six object cards.
When your turn is over, the story then takes a turn. This is done by drawing a random dice card. The number on the card corresponds to the event that is currently happening. Sometimes this could be moving some enemies around, other times it could be moving characters to specific spaces. More often than not, in Lord of The Rings Adventure Book Game, it’s a bad thing that ends up happening!
Completing the quests in Lord of The Rings Adventure Book Game is quite fulfilling. Often it’s a challenge, and one that cannot be completed without planning. The nods to the story and general design are very fun too. I love the little character models that came as well, which are fun to move around. The book doesn’t lay flat at first, but over time does flatten out. Either way, it’s still fine to move characters about. The various completion tokens also make it so that completing tasks is organized. It’s a board game that has been well thought out! As someone who doesn’t know Lord of the Rings, I found it fun playing with those who did and would shout out quotes!
You can purchase Lord of The Rings Adventure Book Game on Amazon.
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