Lord of the Rings – Journeys in Middle Earth is the less than punchy title for a really punchy game of solo or co-operative adventures through the sprawling lands of Tolkien’s masterpiece. Up to 5 players take a character each to form a fellowship that works together to combat the various pitfalls and evils put before them. In point of fact I think this game is most enjoyable played solo controlling all the members you choose in the party yourself and combining their different skills to triumph.

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

And to help in that control we have the free to download Journeys in Middle Earth app. This app, available on a full range of devices, acts as Dungeon Master and bookkeeper. From the start of the first adventure of your campaign it sets the narrative, lets you select your party with their weapons and items and then, when you are ready to embark, tells which of the 22 double-sided journey tiles to lay out to set the scene of your adventure. All this to a haunting, evocative soundtrack.

As your journey progresses it will reveal locations to search, characters to interact with and, of course, foes to fight. Whilst you record by means of cards any wounds and fear to your own characters the app will tell you when you can remove vanquished foes and will plot their attacks until that point.

You step into the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to

The App weaves an intricate story for you to follow. The initial campaign is split into 15 “adventures” over a background of Tolkien’s famous map. The terrain for your journey is created by laying a number of the lavishly illustrated, double-side, chunky tiles either of the green, open countryside or dark underground caverns. Each tile has from 2 to 4 areas within it and an exploration token that provides Inspiration to the first adventurer to go there.

Alternatively there are large Battle Map Tiles for interior locations that can have individual terrain tokens: walls, fire pits, barrels, statues, bushes etc placed upon them.

All We Have To Decide Is What To Do With The Time That Is Given To Us

The app will also inform you of what sort of test you must make to uncover secrets or overcome obstacles. these will be against your varied attributes: Might, Wisdom, Agility, Spirit and Wit. The party has different attributes so you might choose Legolas’ Agility to climb a tree or Gimli’s Might to batter open a chest.

The characters’ actions are controlled by their individual deck of Skill cards. This deck is also used to determine the result of your attacks or whether you pass varying “tests”. Importantly, through the Scout command you get the chance to manipulate the deck and potentially stack it with successes.

It’s A Dangerous Business Going Out Your Door

Along the way you will be confronted by a range of enemies. There are 25 beautifully sculpted miniatures of your foes : from Goblin Scouts and Hunters, Ruffians through to Ogres, Wargs and the mighty Cave Troll. These are great as they come, in fawn plastic for the Heroes and grey for the Villains but look even better if you paint them.

When you attack them, it is best, through a combination of your weapons and skills, to try to eliminate a group completely so that it doesn’t get a chance to strike back. Note that not all weapons use the same Attribute for their result. It is Might for Swords and the like and Agility for Bows and Daggers

The board is set, the pieces are moving. We come to it at last, the great battle of our time

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle Earth is a great role playing game with the App providing all the evocatively themed locations and story narration whilst doing all the heavy lifting in terms of keeping all the stats and inventories.

This blog was written by Pete Bartlam