Collecting Tolkien - Board Games

This is the first of a series of blog entries to go through some of my Tolkien collection.

I don't want these blogs to be a detailed look at each area, there are specialist websites for that and I don't want to do a blog entry for nearly every piece in my collection (there are 1000s), I wanted to have a general look at MY collection.

First up is Board Games because it was what sparked my Tolkien Collecting interest in the first place.

A few websites to mention:

http://www.freewebs.com/tolkienboardgamecollecting/

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/1000/lord-rings-games-definitive-list

And this is a very good article: http://www.armchairgeneral.com/gaming-in-the-world-of-j-r-r-tolkien-an-overview-from-middle-earth.htm

Total Items: 105

The first game to mention is War of the Ring (by SPI). This game basically got me into Tolkien collecting. I was addicted to the books, but it wasn't until I became aware of this game that I realised there was more than just the books. The funny thing was, although I played this game, I didn't get my own copy until quite a few years later. I played this game when I was a teenager, as part of the our board games group, and it is a great game which catches the essence of Lord of the Rings very well. It is a hex based game (which means that movement is not fixed, you can go anywhere) and I have various versions of it, including a Bakshi Movie version. I also have the 2 single companion games Gondor and Sauron. One of the the highlights of my Tolkien collection is a Polish version of this game. I also have some magazines which feature this game, particularly the magazine Moves (one features a variation of the rules). Wanted: The Designer version and a full copy of the flat packaging version (the one I have is incomplete).

The next games I got were also from the 80s, by Iron Crown. First there was The Fellowship of the Ring then The Lonely Mountain and finally Riddle of Ring (which is reasonably rare). These are are also hex games, but with smaller boards. I then got another Iron Crown hex game, Battle of the Five Armies. I have subsequently got 2 older 70's versions of this game, one boxed by TSR (which is quite rare) and another bagged version by Lore (which is rarer still).

There are a few more bagged only hex based games from the 70's which are all very rare, I have Siege of Minas Tirith. Wanted: Battle for Helms Deep, There and Back Again (West Coast Games) and Battle of the Ring (only available from the Wargammer magazine #1).

There are a few 70s games which are all fairly rare, I have Quest of the Magic Ring (by Land of Legend), The Hobbit (by MB) and The Hobbit Game (by American Publishing Corp). Wanted: War of the Ring: The Game of Middle Earth (Fantasy Games Unlimited) and Conquest of the Ring (by Hobbit Toys and Games).

There are a few board games from the Bakshi film which I have (I do collect Bakshi stuff specifically), The Lord of the Rings, Recall and a version of SPI's War of The Ring.

I also have The Hobbit Adventure Board Game (by Iron Crown) from the 90s and a German version.

I also have another interesting German game called Ringgeister from this time period.

I didn't get many more games for a while, in fact there was a bit of lull in Tolkien games published during the 80s and 90s. The next game I got had a big release, The Lord of the Rings (by Fantasy Flight) designed by Reiner Knizia with art work by the renowned Tolkien artist John Howe, which came out just before the films. I have 2 signed limited editions of this, as well as two releases of the normal version, and the 2 extensions. Wanted: Thin box revised edition.

The first game I got following the release of the films was Risk. This is based on the traditional board game, which is one of my favourites, and I have various LOTR film versions of this game (Basic, Trilogy, Conquest (European edition) and Middle Earth). I also have the rare Gondor and Mordor expansion set.

Then there is Monopoly. Like Risk, this is based on the tradition board game. Again there are various film (LOTR and Hobbit) based versions of this. I have about 6 versions including a recently added Hobbit Trilogy version.

In the traditional games category I also have a LOTR Backgammon, Scrabble, Draughts, Dominoes and Stratego (all movie themed).

Tolkien Chess sets should be a separate area of collecting in its own right, however I don't have a lot of these. I do have a Royal Selangor Limited Edition pewter set and 4 versions based on the LOTR films.

Following the films there has been quite a lot of Tolkien based games.

Each of the LOTR and Hobbit films had its own game, there are also different games from America and Germany. I have about 12 of these games in total.

I also have various other film tie in games, Lord of the Rings Labyrinth, Battle of Destiny (I have two different themed versions), Tri-Memo, 3 Magic games (Triangle, Square and Hex), plus a few German games.

There were a few simple kid games which I have, The Confrontation (by Fantasy Flight), I also have a German and a Deluxe version, The Duel (by Kosmos), The Search (by Kosmos) and Lord of Rings (by Eagle Games).

There have also been a whole series of some larger games by Fantasy Flight which I have. The Hobbit (Wanted: Imagination version), War of the Ring (original and second edition - published by Ares Games) and 1 expansion (Battles of the Third Age) and 2 add-on (Warriors, Lords x2 - one a German version), The Battle of Five Armies, Middle Earth Quest and Hunt for the Ring. Along with a smaller game Lord of the Rings Journey to Mordor.

I also have The Hobbit: Defeat of the Evil Dragon Smaug (by Sophisticated Games) and a second edition of this game The Hobbit: Defeat of Smaug (by Playroom).

There are various factual based games which I have, Lord of the Rings Oracle, Lord of the Rings Tarot, Trivial Pursuit (2 versions) and Lord of the Rings Trivia (by Fantasy Flight).

There are a couple of Lego board games which I have, The Hobbit and the rarer Battle of Helms Deep.

Battle of Five Armies (by Games Workshop) is actually a wargame I have, however it is very limited in size and self contained (in a single box, with a few additional bits available) so I count this as a boardgame. It is quite rare.

Nazgul (Lord of the Rings), Journey to the Lonely Mountain and The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game (by Wizkids) are 3 wargames/board/card game crosses I have, these are variations/extensions of the Heroclix wargame system.

Wizards Dual (by Games Workshop) is actually part of their wargames series, but it is a standalone mini hex game.

War games, Roleplaying games and Card games are all separate areas.