How to Play The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill

Game Objective

In The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill, players join Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and the company of dwarves on their perilous journey from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain. This Saga expansion allows players to participate in or recreate the events of the first half of The Hobbit book. The objective is to complete the story scenarios, with the victory condition being the successful completion of each one. If Bilbo Baggins leaves play for any reason, players immediately lose the game.

Setup

Game setup varies slightly depending on the scenario and chosen game mode. Here are the general and specific instructions provided:

Components

• 165 cards, including:
  • 5 Hero Cards
  • 45 Player Cards
  • 106 Encounter Cards
  • 9 Quest Cards
• This rule supplement.

General Setup

1. The first player must take control of the new hero Bilbo Baggins from the V (Baggins) sphere at the start of each game. No other version of Bilbo Baggins may be used in these scenarios. This version of Bilbo Baggins has a threat cost of 0 and does not count towards a player's starting hero limit, allowing the first player to start with up to 4 heroes if one of them is Bilbo Baggins from the V sphere.
2. Treasure Cards: A player may add a treasure card to their deck if they have already found it in a previous scenario with the same group of heroes and if the treasure card belongs to a treasure set listed in the current scenario's setup instructions. Only 1 copy of a treasure card (by title) can be added to the deck, and they do not count towards the minimum 50 cards in the deck.

Game Modes

• Easy Mode:
  1. Add one resource to each hero's resource pool.
  2. Remove cards from the scenario's encounter deck that feature the "difficulty" indicator (a golden border) around their encounter set icon.
• Normal Mode: Follow the normal setup instructions for the chosen scenario.
• Nightmare Mode: Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Scenario-Specific Setup

• Scenario "We Must Away Ere Break of Day":
  • The encounter deck is composed of all cards from the encounter sets: We Must Away Ere Break of Day and Western Lands.
  • The Sack Deck: Remove the seven Sack objective cards (cards number 44 to 50) from the encounter deck and shuffle them to create this new separate deck.
• Scenario "Over the Misty Mountains Grim":
  • This scenario uses two encounter decks.
    • The first encounter deck is formed by the sets: Western Lands and Over the Misty Mountains Grim.
    • The second encounter deck is formed by the sets: Goblin-town Goblins and The Great Goblin. This second deck is set aside and is inactive at the start of the game.
  • During setup, a player may add any previously discovered treasure with this scenario's specific icon to their deck.
• Scenario "Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim":
  • The encounter deck is composed of all cards from the sets: Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim and Goblin-town Goblins.
  • During setup, a player may add any previously discovered treasure with this scenario's specific icon to their deck.
  • Create a "riddle area" with stage 2A of the quest deck. Both quest cards (stage 1A and 2A) are in play simultaneously.
  • The riddle area is a new play area, separate from the staging area, and is formed by stage 2 of the quest deck (Riddles in the Dark), the Gollum enemy card, and the Bilbo's Magic Ring objective card. Bilbo Baggins is also placed in the riddle area.

Game Flow

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Actions and How to Play

New Rules and Terms

• Immune to Player Card Effects: Cards with this text ignore the effects of all player cards and cannot be chosen as targets for player card effects.
• Bilbo Baggins (Baggins Sphere V):
  • Collects 1 resource in the resource phase.
  • Cannot receive resources from player card effects.
  • If Bilbo Baggins leaves play, players immediately lose the game.
  • In multiplayer games, when the first player token is passed, the new first player takes control of Bilbo Baggins, his resource pool, and all cards attached to him. If Bilbo Baggins is the last hero under a player's control and that player loses control of him, they are immediately eliminated from the game.
  • In the "Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim" scenario, while Bilbo Baggins is in the riddle area, the first player still controls him, but he cannot be committed to quests, attack, take damage from other cards (except Gollum), defend (except against Gollum), or have cards attached that have been played by players. He is also immune to player card effects and cannot leave the riddle area, except by specific quest card effects.
• Treasure: A new type of player card that cannot be placed directly into the deck. Players need to discover treasure cards in a scenario to then use them in subsequent scenarios.

Keywords and Scenario-Specific Effects

• Sack X (Scenario "We Must Away Ere Break of Day"):
  • When activated by the encounter deck, the first player draws the top X cards from the sack deck and resolves the "Sack" effects present on those cards, one at a time.
  • If there are no cards in the sack deck, the effect is ignored.
  • If a sack card leaves play, it is shuffled back into the sack deck.
  • When resolving "Sack" text, if there are two or more possible targets, the first player must choose one. If an instructed target is not eligible, the first player must choose a possible target. If there are no possible targets, the Sack card is shuffled back into the sack deck.
• Active and Inactive Encounter Decks (Scenario "Over the Misty Mountains Grim"):
  • This scenario uses two encounter decks. The active encounter deck is the one in play and interacts with cards and effects.
  • If a quest card effect causes the second encounter deck to become active, all encounter cards currently in play and in the encounter discard pile are removed from the game along with the first encounter deck, becoming inactive and being set aside.
• Riddles (Scenario "Dungeons Deep and Caverns Dim"):
  • When an encounter card with a riddle effect is revealed from the encounter deck, the first player can choose to resolve it normally or answer the riddle. This option is only available if the card is revealed from the encounter deck, not as a shadow card.
  • To answer a riddle:
    1. Step 1: The first player names a card type (ally, event, attachment, treasure), sphere (leadership, spirit, lore, tactics, Baggins), or cost (any number), as instructed by the riddle.
    2. Step 2: The first player shuffles their deck and discards the top X cards, as determined by the riddle.
    3. Step 3: The first player places 1 progress token on stage 2 (Riddles in the Dark) for each discarded card that matches the type/sphere/cost named in Step 1. If multiple items are named, a "match" requires the card to feature each of the items.
  • While Gollum is in the riddle area, he does not contribute his threat strength during the quest phase and cannot be engaged by players.
  • Bilbo's Magic Ring has the following Action: "When answering a riddle, spend 1 resource to discard an extra player card from the top of your deck."

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when players successfully complete a scenario or when a defeat condition is met.

• Defeat Condition: If Bilbo Baggins leaves play for any reason, players immediately lose the game.
• Defeat Condition (Multiplayer): If Bilbo Baggins is the last hero under a player's control, and that player loses control of him, the player is immediately eliminated from the game.

Players can record and track their games and scores in The Lord of the Rings: Card Game Quest Log.

Tips for Winning

1. Manage Bilbo Baggins' Resources: Since Bilbo Baggins collects only 1 resource in the resource phase and cannot receive additional resources from player cards, it is crucial to carefully manage his resources. They are important for paying for Baggins sphere cards and for various situations in the scenarios.
2. Protect Bilbo Baggins: The loss of Bilbo Baggins results in immediate defeat. Players must be careful not to leave him unprotected, especially in scenarios where he may be targeted by attacks or specific effects.
3. Utilize Treasure Cards: Discovering and using treasure cards in later scenarios can significantly strengthen your deck, offering valuable and rare items that can be decisive for victory.