The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth

Today's review is of the 2024 release, The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth (hereafter, DME). For 2 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview

Sauron's malice and will to dominate is clear. Can the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth stop him, or will he rule them all?

In DME, you play as either the Fellowship or Sauron. There are three chapters to the game, each with their own unique decks of cards, laid out at the start of the chapter in a prescribed pattern.

On your turn, you either:

• take a card (an available card from the display)
• pay its cost (if any) and place it in your play area, obtaining its benefit, OR
• discard the card to earn 1, 2, or 3 coins (equal to the chapter you're in)
• buy a tile
• pay its cost and place it in your play area, obtaining its benefit

Costs can be paid by using skills on cards (gray cards) you have previously taken and/or paying coins for each symbol you lack on the card/tile's cost. Coins can be attained by discarding a card from the display on your turn or selecting an available yellow card. Some cards (of any color) also have symbols in their upper right that can be used as an alternate cost for some other cards (this is called 'chaining').

A chapter ends when the cards in its display are gone.

Chapter 3 in progress; image from here

There are three possible victory conditions; the first to fulfill one of them wins:

• Quest for the Ring: 
• uses the fellowship track and advances through blue cards
• If Frodo and Sam make it to Mount Doom, the Fellowship wins. If the Nazgul catch them, Sauron wins.
• Support of the Races:
• achieved through collecting green cards
• if any player gathers one of the six different race symbols on such cards, they win
• Conquering Middle-Earth:
• achieved through collecting red cards and tiles
• if any player has presence (unit and/or fortress) an all seven regions of the 'main' board, they win

Review

I like this game. I assume it is based on 7 Wonders: Duel, which is itself based on 7 Wonders. As with that offering, DME forces you to be balanced (in approach) and mindful (of your opponent's strategies). You need skills (gray cards), but if you neglect other cards, your opponent can take the day. So they all matter, and as you build your tableau, your choice will depend on both what is available on your turns and what you are trying to do (or stop your opponent from doing). There were turns, especially late in the game, where I was forced to take a card simply so my opponent could not. But he was forced to do the same to me, and I enjoyed the overall experience.

There is a lot to keep track of, but it is easy enough to pick up after a few turns. This is a nice two-player game, especially for The Lord of the Rings fans. And the art is fantastic!

Rating: A