Middle-Earth Quest

The combat card system is way cool, but playing the game as the heroes feels a lot like playing Arkham Horror. You go around the board collecting [-]clues[/-] favor and then go to Sauron's [-]open gates[/-] current plots and spend favor to [-]seal[/-] cancel them. The encounter deck idea seems to be straight from AH, too. End of turn: Sauron opens a new plot at Dol-Goldur; a new clue appears at Bree; the [-]doom-track[/-] plot-track advances. :p There's even a final battle between a hero and the ring wraiths in AH style. I'm not complaining too hard, though; I [i]like[/i] AH. (I was just surprised at the highly similar feeling)

"Favor" is a bit too abstract, though. It feels more like you're going around collecting signatures for petitions to Sauron to stop his evil, and then you go to the plot locations and present your collected signatures to discard the evil plot.

Really epic game, I actually quite enjoy the combat mechanic.

Through one play as Sauron, I'm not certain as to whether I actually beat the Free Peoples in my victory or not. Big disconnect with respect to player interaction on each turn. Asymmetric game play is fine, but co-operative games should more respect to a team plan; I mean, wow- FP players can give one another gear, and that's it. No combat support. No assisting to defeat a location; it's all down to "I give you my horse". A four player game is more akin to three separate games of solitaire being played from out of the same deck.

Meanwhile, as Sauron, it's not necessarily your cunning plan that is winning, but the luck of drawing key plot cards that fit your current pool size. With the right plot cards out (even in region 1), victory was basically assured in a scant 5-6 turns.

Not impressed. FFG has better titles managing as many things on the table or more, with faster gameplay and a much higher level of player interaction (see Warrior Knights). I'll give it another go, but if it doesn't play better on round two, it will definitely be up for trade.

Great game!

It was OK - not an LotR game I need to own. Not super exciting.