2021Jon-Paul Jacques
- Videos
- 22
- Creators
- 19
2 - 4 players40 minLight weight

1982John Califf III, William A. Walker
From BoardGameGeek
In this fairly simple game based on The Lord of the Rings, you play one of four Hobbits or one of four Black Riders. Each player competes against all the other players to win. A Hobbit player wins if he can get the one ring to the Cracks of Doom and survive for one turn. A Black Rider player wins if he can get the ring to Barad-Dur and survive for one turn. There is a map of Middle Earth but this is a card driven game. The map generally hinders movement and supplies places to draw cards. Cards can be tools to help you fight or move through types of terrain at a reduced cost. A players turn consists of moving, having Friendly Exchanges, executing Power Plays, and drawing cards. Power Plays include looking at other player's hands, taking cards from another player, and/or executing a battle against another player. Though game play is simple and fast, strategies and subtleties of play are not always obvious and requires intelligent play through good timing in movement, using cards effectively, and especially having Friendly Exchanges and Power Plays in combinations to achieve maximum advantage. Optional rules include playing as partners (Hobbits vs. Black Riders) and the enhanced two-player game where one player controls all four Hobbits and the other player controls all four Black Riders.
Learn to play
Watch it played
Riddle of the Ring has 4 videos from 1 creator: 1 review, 1 how-to-play guide and 2 playthroughs. They date from September 2026.
To learn the rules, start with "Riddle of the Ring intro" by calandale, which runs 1 h 9 min.
For an opinion before you buy, start with "Riddle of the Ring review" by calandale. To see it played, watch "Riddle of the Ring 1" by calandale, one of 2 playthroughs.
If you like it, try Land vs Sea, Pandoria, Ingenious or Nexus Ops, which share several of its mechanics.
2021Jon-Paul Jacques
2 - 4 players40 minLight weight
2018Jeffrey D. Allers, Bernd Eisenstein
2 - 4 players90 - 120 minMedium weight
2005Charlie Catino, Steven Kimball
2 - 4 players90 minMedium weight
From BoardGameGeek:
In this fairly simple game based on The Lord of the Rings, you play one of four Hobbits or one of four Black Riders. Each player competes against all the other players to win. A Hobbit player wins if he can get the one ring to the Cracks of Doom and survive for one turn. A Black Rider player wins if he can get the ring to Barad-Dur and survive for one turn. There is a map of Middle Earth but this is a card driven game. The map generally hinders movement and supplies places to draw cards. Cards can be tools to help you fight or move through types of terrain at a reduced cost. A players turn consists of moving, having Friendly Exchanges, executing Power Plays, and drawing cards. Power Plays include looking at other player's hands, taking cards from another player, and/or executing a battle against another player. Though game play is simple and fast, strategies and subtleties of play are not always obvious and requires intelligent play through good timing in movement, using cards effectively, and especially having Friendly Exchanges and Power Plays in combinations to achieve maximum advantage. Optional rules include playing as partners (Hobbits vs. Black Riders) and the enhanced two-player game where one player controls all four Hobbits and the other player controls all four Black Riders.
Designers
John Califf III, William A. Walker
Artists
Rick Britton, James Holloway (I), Jessica Ney, Charles Peale, Chris White (I)
Publisher
Fellowship Games
Mechanics