# War of the Ring: Battles of the Third Age ## General Info - **Year Published**: 2006 - **BGG Rating**: 8.1 - **BGG Rank**: — - **Players**: 2-4 (Best with: 2) - **Duration**: 180 min - **Weight**: 3.68 / 5 - **Designers**: Francesco Nepitello, Marco Maggi, Roberto Di Meglio - **Artists**: Bob Naismith, Fabio Maiorana, John Howe, Matteo Macchi - **Publishers**: asmodee, Fantasy Flight Games, Fantasy Shop, Nexus Editrice, Phalanx Games B.V., Phalanx Games Deutschland - **Categories**: Adventure, Expansion for Base-game, Fantasy, Miniatures, Novel-based, Territory Building, Wargame - **Mechanics**: Area Majority / Influence, Area Movement, Campaign / Battle Card Driven, Dice Rolling, Hand Management, Variable Phase Order ## Verdict If you're a fan of War of the Ring and crave more epic battles, this expansion is a must-have! It adds new units and a fantastic siege module.More miniatures and unitsTactical siege moduleExpands the base gameNew strategies emergeRequires the base gameRulebook reading neededHigh language dependencyHIGHLY RECOMMENDED ## Description If you thought the original War of the Ring was epic, get ready for more! Battles of the Third Age arrives to further boost your Middle-earth experience. This expansion doesn't skimp on new features: more incredible miniatures, like the fearsome Ents, Dunlendings, and even siege engines such as towers and catapults. And it doesn't stop there; we have Corsairs and Southern cavalry joining the fray, plus iconic figures like Galadriel and the Balrog! But things get really serious when we talk about the siege battles. This expansion brings a complete companion game module for you to relive the most thrilling clashes of the late Third Age, such as Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith. Forget grand-scale strategy for a moment and dive into tactical battles, with new rules that completely change the dynamic. It's like having a new game within your favorite game! For those who enjoy War of the Ring, this is a feast. The expansion adds depth and new tactical options while maintaining the essence we love. If you enjoy wargames with a fantasy theme, miniatures, and a good dose of strategy, you can jump right in. The only caveat is that, being an expansion, you need the base game. Oh, and be prepared for some rule reading, but the reward is worth every minute! ## How to Play Game Objective In Battles of the War of the Ring, players recreate the epic military campaigns of The Lord of the Rings. One player commands the armies of the Shadow, with their fearsome creatures and supernatural powers, seeking to destroy the forces of the West. The other player commands the armies of the Free Peoples, gathered around great heroes and commanders. Victory is achieved by making the best strategic choices amidst the changing conditions of battle. The victory condition for the Free Peoples player is achieved immediately if the Fate token reaches the Endgame token on the Fate track. The Shadow player must achieve their victory conditions (detailed in the specific scenario) before this happens to win the game. Preparation (Setup) To play a scenario of Battles of the War of the Ring, you will need the following components: Appropriate game board (this expansion includes a double-sided board, with Rohan on one side and Gondor on the other). The action dice from War of the Ring. At least five six-sided dice in one color (e.g., white) and five six-sided dice in another different color (e.g., black), used as combat dice and maneuver dice, respectively. A certain number of figures (units, leaders, characters), as detailed by the scenario rules. Event card decks: A deck of 30 Generic event cards (used by both players). Two decks of 16 Story cards each (one for the Shadow and one for the Free Peoples). A special deck of 06 event cards (Gríma cards for Rohan or Darkness cards for Gondor), specific to the scenario. The 16 Fate tokens. The control tokens from War of the Ring. The unit replacement tokens from War of the Ring, which are used as damage tokens. The 2 action symbols. The Character tokens and the Character cards, Vassals, Companions, and Captains involved in the battle (detailed by the scenario). A set of colored bases to identify the Captains. The Fate token. The Endgame token. The Leadership tokens (used by the Shadow player). The Tactics tokens (some will be used, depending on the scenario). The Recruitment tokens (some will be used, depending on the scenario). At the start of the game, the Fate token is placed on space 0 of the Fate track and the Endgame token is placed on the space specified by the scenario. All standard Fate tokens (gray) are placed in a container and shuffled. The additional tokens (blue - Free Peoples; and red - Shadow) are set aside for later use as per the scenario. The Shadow player starts with 06 action dice and the Free Peoples player starts with 04 action dice. The Free Peoples player also starts each turn with 02 action tokens. A number of recruitment tokens are randomly selected and placed on the board, face down, as specified by the scenario rules. The setup included in each scenario instructs players to place a number of Free Peoples character tokens on the Fate track at specific stages. Game Flow The game progresses in turns, following the sequence of steps below: Draw Event Cards: Each player, starting with the Free Peoples, draws two event cards: one from the Generic Deck and one from their own Deck (Story Cards). If a player has more than six cards in hand, they must discard the excess. Shadow Phase: The Shadow player chooses the position of the commander-in-chief of the Shadow armies. A number of Shadow action dice are placed in the Shadow box, depending on the commander-in-chief's position. These dice are not rolled in step 4, but will be available in the action resolution step. A number of Shadow Leadership tokens are gained, depending on the commander-in-chief's position. The Shadow player immediately places these tokens on the Shadow armies anywhere on the board. Advance Fate Track: The Free Peoples player can draw a number of Fate tokens, one after another, up to the number of Shadow action dice that are in the Shadow box. After drawing each token, the Free Peoples player can stop drawing and apply its effects, or adjust the drawn token separately and draw another from the token pool. The Free Peoples player can decide to stop drawing at any time (unless a special Shadow token is drawn, in which case they must stop immediately), and then apply the effects of the last token drawn: Advance the Fate token on the Fate track a number of steps equal to the number on the chosen token, and apply all other special effects determined by the token. The chosen token is discarded after use, while all other remaining tokens this turn are returned to the pool. If the Fate token reaches the Endgame token on the Fate track, the Free Peoples player wins immediately. Roll Dice: Players roll their action dice. The Shadow player takes all Character dice and adds them to the Shadow box. The Shadow player takes a number of Shadow Leadership tokens equal to the number of Character dice they placed in the Shadow box and sets them aside. These tokens can be placed on the Shadow armies during the action resolution step. Resolve Actions: Starting with the Free Peoples, players alternate their actions, choosing a possible action allowed by the die result. A player can pass their action if the opponent has more unused dice than them. If the Free Peoples player passes and still has unused action tokens, they can use an action token at any time. The Resolve Actions step ends when both players have used all their action dice. Check Victory and End of Turn: Check if any player has achieved the victory condition determined by the scenario. If not, a new turn begins. Remove all Shadow Leadership tokens from the board. Actions and How to Play Players roll a number of action dice each turn and alternate performing actions, within the options allowed by the die. Possible actions include moving an army and attacking an enemy army; recruiting new troops; regrouping demoralized units; moving characters; and so on. Special cards can also be played as actions. Action Dice The icons on the dice correspond to the actions a player can perform: CHARACTER: Rapid Movement: Move an army with a Leader up to two regions. Attack: Move an army with a Leader to an adjacent region and attack. Move Characters: Move all characters on the board. Play a Character Event Card. ARMY: Strategic Movement: Move up to two different armies to an adjacent region. Attack: Move an army to an adjacent region and attack. Combined Attack: Attack using all armies adjacent to the attacked region. Play an Army Event Card. ENLISTMENT: Recruitment: Flip a recruitment token to recruit a unit in two different regions on the board. Recover: Perform two recover actions on two different armies. Roll a number of dice equal to the number of units in each army, and for each result of 5 or 6, remove a damage token. You can reroll a number of dice equal to the total Leadership of each army. Play an Enlistment Event Card. EVENT: Draw up to two Generic Event Cards. Draw a Story Card. Play an Event Card of any type. EYE (for the Shadow player only): Mordor Recruitment: Place an Orc in two different recruitment areas. Mordor Strategic Movement: Move two armies containing Orcs, each to an adjacent region. Mordor Attack: Move an army containing Orcs to an adjacent region and attack. WESTERN DESIGN: Can be used as any other type of action die. Free Peoples Action Tokens In addition to the action dice, the Free Peoples player starts each turn with 02 action tokens. These tokens can be used whenever the player passes, to perform a partial action: Partial Army Movement: Move an army to an adjacent region. Partial Enlistment: Flip a recruitment token to recruit a unit. Partial Recover: Perform a recover action on an army. Partial Character Movement: Move a character or group of characters on the board. The action tokens become available again at the start of each turn. Event Cards Event Cards can be Generic Cards, Story Event Cards, or Special Event Cards. Drawing Event Cards: At the start of each turn, each player draws 02 event cards (one from the generic deck and one from their story event deck). Using an Event die during the action resolution step, players can draw 02 cards from the generic deck or one from the story deck. Special Event Cards (Gríma and Darkness) are drawn only during the Shadow phase, if the commander-in-chief of the Shadow armies has been placed in the appropriate position. The maximum hand limit is 06 cards. If the generic card deck runs out, it can be reshuffled. Story cards cannot be reshuffled and reused. Card Types: Generic Cards: Have dual use. The top half shows an order event (special action spending a die) and the bottom half shows a combat event (used during a battle). Story Cards: Detail two effects, one for each scenario. To play a Story card, the player must spend a die during the Action Resolution step. Special Event Cards: Used solely by the Shadow player, they represent cunning devices and supernatural weapons. How to Play Event Cards: Event cards are played using an action during the action resolution step, in two ways: Using an Event die. Using a die result that matches the card type (e.g., Army die for army card, Character die for character card, Enlistment die for enlistment card). The Western Design die can be used to play any type of event card. Effect of Event Cards: Generally, event cards are discarded after the action. Some cards are played face up on the table and their effect remains as long as they are in play. Some cards have a prerequisite condition that must be met. Moving Armies Armies are moved from their region to any adjacent region not occupied by an enemy army. Actions to Move Armies: Army Die (or Army/Enlistment): Allows strategic movement (move two armies to an adjacent region) or attack action (move an army to an adjacent region and attack). Character Die: Allows attack action (move an army to an adjacent region and attack) or rapid movement (move an army up to two regions, ignoring impassable borders for adjacency). Eye Die (Shadow player): Move armies that contain Orcs. Splitting an Army: When moving, the player can leave units in the origin region and move the remaining ones. If there are damage tokens, they must be divided so that no part of the army has more damage tokens than units. Joining Armies: If an army ends its movement in a region with a friendly army, they join. If the resulting army has more than 05 units, the excess must be removed. Building Armies (Recruitment) Troops are recruited using recruitment tokens, which show a unit type symbol. Placing Recruitment Tokens: At the start of the game, they are randomly placed on the board, face down. Abilities of vassals, characters, or events can add more tokens, chosen randomly and placed face down. ## FAQ ### Do I need the base War of the Ring game to play? Yes, absolutely! Battles of the Third Age is an expansion, so the base game is essential to enjoy all the new content. ### How many players are recommended? Just like the base game, this expansion is designed for 2 players, but it can be played with up to 4, with each player controlling specific factions. ### Does the game become much more complex with this expansion? The expansion adds new rules and a game module focused on tactical battles. Complexity increases slightly, but it's nothing that will scare off players who already master the base game. The reward is a richer experience! ### What are the main components added? You'll find new army miniatures (Ents, Dunlendings, Corsairs, etc.), siege engines (Towers, Catapults), and a new board for the siege battles. ### Does the expansion add significant new mechanics? It deepens existing mechanics and introduces specific rules for siege battles, focusing more on tactical combat in smaller areas while maintaining the core hand management and area movement. ### Is the siege module a separate game? It's a module that integrates with the main game, allowing you to relive iconic battles like Helm's Deep and Minas Tirith on a more tactical scale, using new rules and a dedicated board. ### Do I need to know English to play? Yes, the expansion has a considerable language dependency. Access to rule and card translations is highly recommended for a complete experience. ## Price Comparison ### Best International Offers - **BoardGamePrices.com**: $ 41.95 (https://boardgameprices.com/item/go?source=A&storeitemid=150893&utm_source=boardgamesbot.com) - See all on BoardGamePrices: https://boardgameprices.com/item/show/3451/war-of-the-ring-battles-of-the-third-age?utm_source=boardgamesbot.com