The Hobbit Card Game

Today's review is of the 2012 release, The Hobbit Card Game.  For 2-5 players, it take 30 minutes.

Overview
The Hobbit is a trick-taking game with some twists.  Players take the role of a character (there are 5- Bilbo, Thorin, Gandalf, on the good side, Smaug and Bolg on the evil).  The good side competes against the evil to take tricks, with the winner distributing cards as they wish- based on their character 's rules (see below).

Cards have number, color, and symbol.  The number and color determine who wins the trick (highest number in suit wins, unless trump color (purple) is played- then highest trump card wins); symbol depends on which side you're on:
white star: heals one point of damage (good side) or does one point of damage (evil side)
orc helmet: does one point of damage (good side) or heals one point of damage (evil side)
brown pipe: gives the receiving player one extra card in the next round

Here's the twist: each character has different card distribution restrictions.  Quoting from the rules:

• Bilbo must assign one card to himself, assign one card to another player, and discard the remaining cards. 
• Thorin must shuffle all the cards that were played in the trick facedown and randomly assign one to each player, flipping it faceup. 
• Smaug may assign up to one card to each player, including himself. Then he discards any cards he did not assign (this could be all cards in the trick). 
• Gandalf assigns cards exactly like Smaug does. 
• Bolg must assign one card to another player and discard the remaining cards.

At the end of a round, any player with two or more points of damage is eliminated.  The good or evil side win based on who survives.

sample of cards; image from here

Review
This game has some positives.  The art is beautiful, the rules are simple, and the twists are fun.  On the other hand, gameplay felt lacking . . . I'm not sure why.  Perhaps it all comes down to Thorin- his character is not exactly an asset to the good guys.  You don't want him to win tricks.  A neat twist, but a detriment.  And unbalancing the good & evil teams (3 on 2- 3 on 1 if four players) may make sense but can present challenges.  In the end, for a fast trick-taking game, this is okay and worth a look, but you may be dissatisfied.

Rating: C