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Riddle of the Ring

Riddle of the Ring

1982·John Califf III, William A. Walker

2 - 8 players
120 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting

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.

Riddle of the Ring

Watch first

Learn to play

Riddle of the Ring intro1:08:42

Riddle of the Ring intro

calandale

calandale

Review

Riddle of the Ring review22:05

Riddle of the Ring review

calandale

calandale

Watch it played

Riddle of the Ring 11:16:32

Riddle of the Ring 1

calandale

calandale

Which Riddle of the Ring video should I watch?

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.

All videos

Riddle of the Ring 1Playthrough1:16:32

Riddle of the Ring 1

calandale

calandale

Riddle of the Ring 2 & wrapPlaythrough1:17:07

Riddle of the Ring 2 & wrap

calandale

calandale

Riddle of the Ring reviewReview22:05

Riddle of the Ring review

calandale

calandale

Riddle of the Ring introHow to play1:08:42

Riddle of the Ring intro

calandale

calandale

Creators who cover this

All channels
calandale
calandale
4 videos of this game

Games like this

All games

Land vs Sea

2021·Jon-Paul Jacques

Videos
22
Creators
19
Mostly reviews and unboxings

2 - 4 players·40 min·Light weight

Pandoria

2018·Jeffrey D. Allers, Bernd Eisenstein

Videos
23
Creators
19
Mainly reviews

2 - 4 players·90 - 120 min·Medium weight

Ingenious

2004·Reiner Knizia

Videos
47
Creators
43
Mainly reviews

1 - 4 players·30 - 45 min·Light weight

Nexus Ops

2005·Charlie Catino, Steven Kimball

Videos
36
Creators
26
Mostly reviews and how-to-play

2 - 4 players·90 min·Medium weight

About Riddle of the Ring

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

Categories

AdventureFantasyBooks & Novels

Mechanics

Hex GridTeam-Based Game
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