Fight Head-to-Head in ‘Lord of the Rings: Duel For Middle-Earth’
Lord of the Rings: Duel For Middle-Earth takes 7 Wonders: Duel and turns it into a battle for the fate of all Middle-Earth!
A few months back, we looked at the first announcement for Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth. As promised, now that we have more information, we’re back to take a closer look at the game and how it works.
Lord of the Rings: Duel For Middle-Earth Overview
Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth is a competitive card drafting game for 2 players. It also has some area control mechanics as well! While the game does use a lot of the same mechanics at 7 Wonders: Duel, there are a few very important changes.
The most notable difference, at a cursory glance, is the new map board. Gone are the days of taking 20 minutes to calculate your score at the end of the game. Now, rather than tallying up points to determine the winner, like in most games of 7 Wonders, players can win by controlling all 7 regions on the map.
Additionally, players can win by allying themselves with all the races of Middle-Earth. And finally, players can win by reaching their objective first. The Fellowship wins by reaching Mount Doom, and Sauron wins when the Nazgûl reach Frodo and Sam.
The gameplay of Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle Earth is fairly straight forward. Players alternate picking a card from a collective market. Most cards have some cost requirement to pick them up. These costs are icons which can be provided to the player by other cards. So, players start by picking up a few free cards, or using their gold as “wild” in place of any symbol. Then those cards will allow the player to pick up more expensive cards, and so on.
Multiple Ways to Win
There are a variety of types of card. Some cards only provide symbols used for buying more expensive cards, some cards provide more gold, and some cards will win favor with the various races of Middle Earth. As players gain favor, they will be able to gain additional bonuses. But winning the favor of every race is also a win condition.
Other cards will allow the player to move their objective forward. It’s a race to the finish line and yet another win condition for either player. Finally, landmark tiles, some cards, and some other effects will allow the players to place fortresses and units on the map, or to move their units. If a player is able to have presence in all 7 regions, they also win.
Lord of the Rings: Duel For Middle-Earth plays over 3 rounds, with stronger but more expensive cards each round. But with so many various win conditions available, it’s unlikely to ever make it to the final stage of the game.
If you’re a fan of 7 Wonders, or especially 7 Wonders: Duel, Lord of the Rings: Duel For Middle-Earth is a great new reimplementation of the classic head-to-head drafting game. The new rules and mechanics add a ton of flavor and provide more viable options for victory.
