Game: Lord of the Rings - The Duel

Thread: You Shall Not Pass! - A Review

RedMonkeyBoy — 2008-08-18T19:41:40+00:00

I have been away from the Geek for a while now (but not in spirit, I assure you). Now I am back, I thought it would be a good idea to gradually work my way through the games I own, posting long overdue reviews. I'm starting with Lord of the Rings: The Duel (LOTR:TD).

I bought this game for several reasons, not least because it is a LOTR game with beautiful illustrations by the uber-talented John Howe. The fact it was a two-player Kosmos game was a bonus (I already owned Dracula, Odin's Ravens, and Blue Moon, and as I play most of my games with just my wife, we tend to enjoy games specifically designed for just two people).

So, was I happy with my purchase? Let's find out...

LOTR:TD comes in a pretty little box which is just a little deeper than usual for a Kosmos game. The reason? Well, they had to make room for the bridge, didn't they? Oh yes, the bridge - possibly the most irrelevant piece of chrome I have ever seen. Indeed, LOTR:TD has about as much chrome as it is possible to get onto a small game designed for quick plays between just two people. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

What you actually get for your money is a very simple card game. There is a deck of 54 beautifully illustrated cards (thanks John!) and these basically represent the tactics of Gandalf and the Balrog, who will be battling over the aforementioned bridge, just like in the book. Actually, not really at all like in the book, but I'll get to that in a minute... The deck is split, with 27 cards for Gandalf, and 27 for the Balrog. Cards are not interchangeable, so Gandalf will never use the Balrog cards, and vice versa.

You also get two playing pieces (wooden, abstract interpretations of Gandalf and the Balrog), two wooden cubes, a groovy little board with the fellowship and some goblins drawn on it, and a 3D bridge which is used to represent who has the upper hand in the fight.

That sounds like quite a lot of stuff for a little game, doesn't it?

So how much of it do you really need? Honestly; just the cards. That's not to say everything else doesn't have a function. The bridge looks pretty and allows you to quickly see who is winning (whoever is highest up the steps; get to the top to claim and early victory), and the board allows you to track wounds easily. Personally, I like all that chrome. It adds character which is sorely lacking from the very abstract card play. You don't really need it, but it doesn't hurt to have it, and the bridge never fails to attract attention when it is set up. It's like Blue Moon: You don't need the little plastic dragons, but I wouldn't give up those guys for the world; they're half the fun!

Okay, okay, enough already about the bitz. What about the game? How does it recreate the exciting moment where Gandalf faces his greatest fear and is dragged into the abyss?

Well, it doesn't. Each card played is supposed to represent an attacking or defensive move from one of the characters. There are symbols on the left and right of each card. If you play the first card, your opponent has to try and block the symbols on the right side of your card by playing a card with matching symbols on the left of his card. Of course, his card also has symbols on the right, and your next card should have symbols on the left to block those, and so on. It's quite difficult to explain, but plays VERY easily. The rules will take about three minutes to learn, and then you will be well away.

Oh yes... some of the cards also have special powers that allow you to move cards around, ignoring cards, that sort of thing.

It involves slightly more thought than you might think as well. You have just 27 cards to use throughout the fight, and the fight is divided into rounds (a maximum of four). In each round, you draw nine cards, but you can't use them all, you have to save three. This happens in each round until the last, when you will be left with the nine cards from the previous three rounds. If you have managed your cards well, you should have a killer hand left; if you have frittered away your powerful cards in early rounds, you may find yourself in a world of hurt. Bad management of cards can see a clear victory turn into a crushing defeat, as it is possible to lose so badly in the last round, that all previous rounds become irrelevant. However, if you try and save up all your heavy-hitting cards for the last round, there is a chance that your opponent will reach the top of the bridge, claiming an early victory, in which case all the cards you saved will be wasted. It can actually be quite a balancing act.

Now, question time...

Is the game fun?
Yes. In a "one game and then we'll play Fury of Dracula" kind of way.

Does the game accurately recreate the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog?
Not on your life. In the book (and film) the battle was brief and vicious. Here is goes on and on and on. There isn't even a Gandalf card that allows you to smash down the bridge. Tsk.

Will you enjoy the game?
The elegant, simple mechanics of the game allow you to get playing right away and you can easily get through multiple games in an hour on your very first try. If you like card games, then I think there is something here for you to enjoy. But if you are thinking of buying it just for theme, then don't bother. The artwork is lovely, and adds character, but you will never get the sense that you are really involved in a tense battle, no matter how many cardboard bridges you fight over.

Put it this way: I bought the game for the theme, but there was enough here for me to love anyway, and I rate the game very highly for what it is (a light, quick game to play before moving onto something with a bit more weight).

I very rarely get to play this game because my wife doesn't really like card management games. That may be a good thing. This game could probably get old quite quickly if it hit the table regularly, but when you see it only once every few months, it is always welcome.

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fractaloon — 2008-05-06T00:21:22+00:00

English edition box back - Higher resolution photo (high enough to read all the text easily).

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Martin Ralya — 2008-03-25T01:10:50+00:00

"You...shall...not...pass!"

Thread: Re: First game of The Duel: Quick, tense fun

Martin Ralya — 2008-03-24T21:06:00+00:00

Thanks, Jim! I'm glad you found it useful.

My recent session reports usually include a review element, but I don't feel quite ready to do full-on reviews yet. I've never reviewed a board or card game before, so at some point I'll just have to jump in and give it a shot.

My other concern is time. I've reviewed RPG products before, and while that's a different animal those tended to take me 3-8 hours to pull together. Session reports usually take me 20-30 minutes, and they seem like a good way to work up to doing reviews.

Thread: Re: First game of The Duel: Quick, tense fun

gjnave — 2008-03-24T16:58:08+00:00

Great session report! Perhaps it should have been a review since it spelled out the game so well. This is now on my short list for quick 2 player game to buy.

Thanks heaps!

Thread: First game of The Duel: Quick, tense fun

Martin Ralya — 2008-03-24T13:06:11+00:00

I snagged The Duel a year or two ago from my LGS's bargain table for a few bucks, figuring that if nothing else I like Lord of the Rings stuff and the components looked nice, and at best it might turn out to be a good game (and one that fills a niche -- two players -- that always needs more options). After I joined BGG and built my collection here, I saw how many games my wife, Alysia, and I owned but had never played -- and this was one of them. Alysia and I rectified that tonight with our first game of The Duel.

Reading through the rules beforehand, it sounded like a clever little game. I explained the rules to Alysia, kicked out a quick exchange as an example, and we were off.

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At the end of the first turn, I realized I'd screwed up: I thought we had to set aside our sets of three final duel cards before starting each duel, not afterwards. We decided that was too big of a mistake to keep going, and started the game over. It was smooth sailing after that.

Playing the Balrog, I decided to try front-loading my good cards, aiming to win in the first three duels without needing to play the final duel. My opening draw supported this, including a couple of excellent cards; Alysia's opening draw didn't have as many strong cards. I took the lead in the first exchanges, creating a nice wide gap between us on the score track, but she closed that gap with a critical Gandalf's Balance. I won the first duel by one point, and moved up one step.

We stayed even for most of the second duel. Alysia played Gandalf's Enchantment early on, and used it well in the middle of the round, forcing me to play a strong card I would have liked to use better, or to have saved for the final duel. She won the second duel by one point, moving up one step on the bridge.

The third duel was close as well, with both of us staying roughly even on the score track. I won by one point, putting me on the second step.

Going into the final duel, we both still had our trance cards (no symbols on either edge -- the worst cards in the game), as well as a mix of crappy cards we'd been hoarding, good cards we'd wisely set aside and a special card or two. Alysia led off with Gandalf's List, forcing me to play with an open hand for the rest of the duel. I used Balrog's Defense towards the end, and the card she had to re-use decided the game. I won with a solid margin, reaching the top of the bridge.

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Alysia and I both had a good time with The Duel. The components are great, and it went by quickly. Having to decide between using good cards to press for opportunities in the first three duels or hold onto them for the final duel -- and doing the same thing for bad cards, too -- made for some enjoyably tough decisions. It seemed like both of us were forced to opt for the least-bad option in a lot of exchanges, and that plus the structure of the game made for a tense session. This one's a keeper.

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Martin Ralya — 2008-03-24T03:29:23+00:00

The final duel, with a decisive victory for the Balrog

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Martin Ralya — 2008-03-24T03:28:47+00:00

The mighty Balrog's long journey to victory

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Toynan — 2008-03-13T19:59:30+00:00

Beginning of the game

Thread: A worthy addition to the Kosmos 2-player series, and a nice change of pace.

NateStraight — 2008-02-22T05:10:02+00:00

Overview

Lord Of The Rings - The Duel is a card game reenactment of the famous fantasy battle between Gandalf and the Balrog atop the Bridge of Khazad-Dum.

Others have mentioned, and it bears repeating, that the pace of the game is drastically different from the pace of the battle as written in The Fellowship Of The Ring. Whereas Gandalf takes down the Balrog in a matter of seconds--and the Balrog, Gandalf in just about as little time--in the book, "The Duel" is a fairly slow-moving game with a lot of back-and-forth.

If a Lord Of The Rings themed game that meshes well with the atmosphere of the books is what you're after, this may not be for you. Nevertheless, the theme suits the game just fine, adds a nice exciting atmosphere to the epic struggle you're playing out, and allows the game to draw upon the wealth of great artwork that has been produced over time based on the books.

Components

Sometimes I include a components section in my reviews and sometimes not. This game, though it has relatively few components, deserves more than a passing nod for the quality of its tactile elements.

There is a very neat 3-d cardboard bridge that you must assemble to keep track of victory points for the players. Since the bridge merely counts from 1 to 5, it could just as easily have another track of boxes drawn on the board (which itself is practically unnecessary) like the "energy" track is, but the aesthetics of the nifty interlocking bridge are wonderful and serve to draw you into the atmosphere and theme of the game.

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The two wooden player pawns, representing none other than Gandalf and the Balrog, are of a nice size and heft and have very cool iconic shapes. Again, these could just have been cubes or standard pawns, but the shapely and hefty pawns help to set the mood. Each player also gets a cube to track their "energy" level throughout each duel, as well as a unique deck of cards (the two decks are fairly significantly different).

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The artwork is wonderful. I believe the artist is John Howe, but I don't know enough about him or his work to say for sure, and I don't remember what the rulebook says about the source of the art. Nevertheless, the entire game is covered in beautiful artwork evocative of the darkness lurking in the depths of Moria. This game could have been an abstract (maybe in the ilk of Phoenix), but these touches are beautiful.

Gameplay

The gameplay is rather simple, but contains quite a bit of strategic depth and tactical opportunism. As a bonus, it's quite a bit different from the typical Kosmos 2-player game. It seems like the "building up cards on either side of 4-5 shared columns that can each provide victory points" atmosphere is fairly common in the Kosmos 2-player series, what with games like Lost Cities, Babel, Caesar & Cleopatra, Balloon Cup, and Hera and Zeus all possessing some reincarnation of this idea.

In "The Duel", however, you won't be battling across multiple fields of conflict at the same time, but focusing all of your attentions on combating your opponent's last move. Aside from a few cards with special rule-breaking powers, the only thing relevant at any given time is the single card your opponent played last turn and the single card you choose to play on your turn. This mechanic has a bit of Blue Moon's feel, being more like a time-series than a cross-section, if that makes any sense.

To accomplish this, the game uses a pretty nifty dual-purpose card trick. On either side of any given card is a set of four boxes that can either be filled in with an appropriate symbol that represents a strength or left blank to represent a weakness. You attack with the left-hand side of your cards and defend with the right-hand side (the cards have a distinct orientation; they can't be flipped around). The players take turns playing one of their cards so that their attack side (left) is lined up with the opponent's defense (right).

If your opponent's defense has boxes 1 and 2 filled in on the right-hand side of their card, you can counter them effectively with a card of your own that has boxes 1 and 2 filled in on the left-hand side or make a move to strike with a card that has, maybe, boxes 1, 3, and 4 filled in. After every card played, the success of the attack and/or defense is determined and your "energy" is adjusted accordingly. For every box where your opponent has a symbol filled in and you do not, you lose an energy point; both the attacker and defender can score hits. (In my example above of 1-2 vs. 1-3-4, the defender would score one hit for box 2, and the attacker would score two hits for boxes 3-4; box 1 is a wash, an attack which was successfully defended against.)

This all sounds rather confusing, but it's very simple once you see the cards and see the mechanic in action. It's actually rather clever, as the cards you'll be dealt are nicely balanced between weak cards with little defense or attack, cards with strong attack and weak defense (or vice-versa), and cards with strengths on both sides. You'll often have to choose whether to make a smashing blow with the fully filled-in left-hand side of a card, only to leave yourself open for attack because the card only has one box filled in for defense. Similarly, you can choose not to make an attack against a weak defense, and instead merely parry the blow with a weak left-hand side, hoping that the strong right-hand side defense of the same card will make it hard for the opponent to respond.

Eventually, the players will have played out all the cards allotted for a duel, or one of the players will have run out of "energy" on their track. At that point, you'll see who won the duel, judging by who has the most energy remaining. You'll get victory points for winning a duel, and progressively more victory points the more you win by. After a win, you track your score on the nifty 3-d bridge contraption, but the game's not over yet. There's not just one "duel" in the game, but a succession of four duels, with the final duel longer and more intense than the first three. The player highest up the bridge at the end wins.

Here's another clever part, and probably my favorite aspect of the game: during the first three duels, you won't play all of the cards that are dealt to you, and will instead choose three cards to set aside for the final duel. After three small duels of six cards each, you'll have a full hand of nine cards to use for the final duel. The "setting aside" mechanic is reminiscent of the "crib" in Cribbage, except that you will have the benefit of being able to play out your full hand before deciding which cards to set aside (the three cards you have leftover).

It would be as if you could play a cribbage hand with all six cards, and decide as you go which two to save to the end and send to the crib rather than playing out. It's very interesting, because you don't want to stick yourself with crappy cards for the long final duel, but you might want to use your good cards early in the little duels if an opportunity presents itself. And, you get to decide this all as you go rather than having to make up your mind at the very beginning of the "hand". It's very neat, and offers you a nice tension between planning for the long-term and seizing short-term opportunities.

There are some other minor details, including the 6 special power cards (different for each player) in each deck, which allow you to mess up your opponent's plans. These sometimes allow for some very clever plays that can really swing the momentum of the battle in your favor. Some special cards are very clearly offensive in nature, while others are designed to help you respond to an otherwise undefendable assault. Gandalf's cards tend to be more subtle than the Balrog's, as their effects are not always immediate (some allow you to choose when the Balrog plays a particular card, others allow you to continue the duel with the Balrog's cards face-up so you can better plan your attacks, etc). The Balrog's cards are pretty straight-forward, and carry the crushing weight of evil represented by the villain, though there are a few that have the surprise element of the Balrog catching Gandalf by the heel with the whip.

Summary

I really like this game. It feels almost like a "Blue Moon Lite" to me (though many people disagreed with my assessment of Babel as "Blue Moon City Lite," so take what you will away from this particular comparison). The two sides are fairly well matched (some say that the Balrog is overpowered; I'll admit I've won every game so far that I've played as the Balrog, though I think that the strategies for Gandalf are just less obvious than those for the Balrog, but only time will tell), and the game has a nice flow to it. The long-term planning aspects of laying aside part of your hands from the smaller duels for the final larger duel is very cool. The "right" plays sometimes seem obvious, but the requirement to set yourself up well for the final duel while simultaneously taking best advantage of short-term opportunities makes you second-guess yourself quite a bit.

I'd recommend this game to anyone who enjoys the Kosmos 2-player series of games, but is weary of the sometimes repetitive nature of some of them. The game is a bit heavier, I'd say, than a Lost Cities or a Balloon Cup, but not quite as heavy as the "big hitters" of the series like Blue Moon, Jambo, or Hellas. I think Blue Moon is probably the closest comparison, with the back-and-forth time-series dueling and the succession of multiple fights with the requirement to setup good combinations for later fights with the cards you're dealt for the present fight. That said, my wife adores Blue Moon and beats me at it every stinking time, but has yet to work out any sense of understanding for how to play "The Duel," so it may not be the right choice for every fan.

Thread: First play

jeffwolfe — 2008-01-22T12:18:00+00:00

I found Lord of the Rings: The Duel at Half Price Books a couple of weeks ago, and managed to get it to the table for the first time last Friday. The game was unpunched and I was impressed with how well it fit into the box both before and after we punched it, but since this isn't a full-fledged review I'll just leave it at that.

Neither of us had played the game before, so I summarized the rules as best as I could remember and we looked up the rest. There was much consulting of the rulebook during the game, but we didn't have too much problem finding things, fortunately. I played Gandalf and my opponent, Alan, played the Balrog.

In the first duel, I didn't manage to save much in the way of last-duel cards, and I still wound up losing the duel. Actually, we ended up tied, but since Gandalf starts the first battle, that translates to a loss. Part of the problem, I think, is that I got no special cards in this round.

In the second duel, I decided to have the Balrog start. I did a little better by way of setting aside decent cards for the end, but I still lost the duel. My best play was the last one, when I played a card that cost me two spaces on the track. Since I was zero spaces behind at the time, it didn't cost me anything on the bridge, and I was able to ditch a lousy card for free.

The third duel was when most of the decent special cards came out for me. I started out slow-playing so I could get maximum effect out of Gandalf's Balance, and I won the duel while still holding back two specials (including Gandalf's List) for the last duel.

In the last duel, I got to decide who started since I was behind on the bridge two steps to one. Making the Balrog start let me play Gandalf's List for its defensive strength as well as forcing Alan to play with his cards face up. My first reaction upon seeing his hand was disappointment that I wouldn't get to play Gandalf's Rage, because he hadn't saved any good special cards for me to neutralize. But it turned out not to matter, because he had saved even fewer good cards than I had. With the advantage of seeing what he had left, I won the final duel (and the game) rather handily.

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UnHalak — 2007-12-21T04:49:06+00:00

unopened contents of the box

Thread: Re: User Review

TomVasel — 2007-12-20T00:42:17+00:00

Thank you for the catches. I've fixed the review.

Thread: Re: User Review

wraith808 — 2007-12-19T23:09:39+00:00

In the review, you say that you draw three cards at the beginning of the game to make your hand; you actually draw nine cards. Also, you stated that you play six cards, but this does not happen if one player reaches the defeated area of the track before all six cards are played. Lastly, you state that you play the cards face down, but you actually play them face up; there is no reveal of symbols at any time- once a player plays a card, you see where the symbols are.

Otherwise, a very good review, though I think I liked it a bit better than you.

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Tobold — 2007-08-11T13:01:15+00:00

Alternative Gandalf - Games Workshop model

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Tobold — 2007-08-11T12:59:40+00:00

Box insert

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Tobold — 2007-08-06T15:26:45+00:00

Gandalf the Grey and Balrog wooden tokens

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ZiggyZambo — 2007-04-05T20:56:19+00:00

Thread: Session Report

Peter The Rat — 2005-02-03T16:52:46+00:00

The next game was proposed by myself. I had played this game before only twice. Both time playing the Balrog and crushing Gandalf under my claws.
So this time was Revenge and I had to take the "mighty" wizard.
I felt I had some good start and managed to force the Balrog back a few times earning me the first win and climbing the first step of the Bridge of Khazad-Dum!
The second fight was much nastier and the Balrog played some dirty tricks on me. I was adamant to spare my specail powers for the final fight and lost badly: Tha Balrog climbed three steps.
The third fight was once again more balanced. This time I had a special card, that would have been of no use in the final fight. So I decided to use her in this fight. Still the fight was so close, that I was forced to use even another special card in order to win this fight: I climbed my second step of the Bridge.

Now the final battle had begun, and an epic battle it was. I used "Gandalfs Mirror", "Gandalfs Magic Trick" asap to check my enemies cards. I almost fell in dispear, he had managed to keep the best cards for the final fight. I got unlucky when I could draw an enemy card, so I fell behind more and more. In the eighth round I finally fell exhausted from the Bridge. The Balrog climbed the remaining steps and claimed victory.
Evil triumphed
Maybe next time...

Thread: Session Report

rcmoore4 — 2004-10-04T15:39:12+00:00

This was a game between myself (Gandalf) and my brother in law (The Balrog). Although I've played this game about a dozen times, it was probably the 3rd of 4th time for my brother in law. Also, I tend to loose a lot, it doesn't matter which side I play (even though it's my game!)

Round 1:
This was a toughie. Gandalf had two 2-power cards (total power was 2, one on each side), and three high power cards. I was hoping to toss away the two low power cards, even if it meant a loss, but I'll be darned if the Balrog didn't play some mean cards (including the whip to bring back a 7 power card), forcing me to play my high power cards, just to avoid a loss of 3 spaces or more. Thus, in the end, I had to pass on the two low-power cards for the final duel, and still lost, albeit by 1 step.

Round 2:
Oh I thought I had him good this round. I had Gandalf's Magic out early, so that I could force a replay of a crap card of the Balrog's. I blew it on the last card. I forced his last card to be a 3-power card he played earlier. This ended the duel at 4 cards in his hand instead of 3...and one of them was the the 0-power card, which he would have had to otherwise save to the final duel! And I still lost by 1 step!

Round 3:
This round went handidly to Gandalf, with a 3-step victory. Problem was, I had too many good cards. Sure I was able to move 1 step higher than the Balrog, but I was looking pretty weak going into the final round.

The Final Duel:
I had Gandalf's balance and Gandalf's Mirror going into the final duel, and I knew the Balrog had already played the whip (although he did have that 8-power card waiting). I held onto the lead until the very end. We were neck and neck until I looked at my hand and found all I had left were the two 2-power cards from the first round! That did me end and the Balrog Crunched me, getting a 2-step victory and the higher position on the bridge by 1.

All and all a good game. And quick...only about 20 minutes. I'm always pleasently surprised that the non-gamer's I play with (mostly family) kick my butt. (Is it just luck? Only insofar as any card-drawing game has an element of luck...I find there's a lot of strategy involved with respect to which cards to play/keep; whether to play defensively or offensively; when to play magic, etc).

Rich

Thread: Session Report

snoozefest — 2004-07-09T20:15:56+00:00

We just got this game at a discount. Hadn't really heard much about it, but we gave it a go. The rules are pretty straightforward, and the board is pretty cool. This is really an abstract game, playing to 5 points - you don't need the bridge, but it does look pretty nifty!

Anyway, I played the Balrog (roar!) and Mary was weeny wimpy Gandalf. You'd think that getting a third of the deck, I'd have some decent cards. I did, but that first round by and large really stunk for me; I had mostly poor cards, and was crushed; Gandalf moved up 2 steps. The second duel, G got some nifty cards but was apparently unable to take advantage of them; she won, but only enough to take 1 step further up the bridge. Third duel, she played some of those special cards - the Gandalf cards are really pretty cool, but I managed to end the game a little early and win a narrow victory - up 1 step. So, G was ahead 3-1 going into the final battle. Unfortunately for her, she had mostly crap cards, and I had finally gotten some of the stronger Balrog cards. The Balrog spanked Gandalf, ending the round about 6 energy higher than Gandalf ... winning the duel 4-3.

Well this is certainly not a great game. I won't mind playing it again, but it's not one that will get a lot of play. There does look to be some strategy to it, and the board (artwork, bridge, little wooden pieces) is pretty cool, but it's not that interesting. I suspect it'll be more fun if we play it kind of fast, although right now that'd be tough 'cause it's hard to look through your hand to see what you've got. I wish the cards had summaries of attack/defense strength at the top, so you wouldn't have to shuffle through the entire stack of cards in your hand.

After 1 play, a 6/10.

Thread: User Review

TomVasel — 2004-02-13T12:38:32+00:00

Apparently Lord of the Rings game needs a colon, and then a cool description. So far, we had LOTR: The Confrontation, LOTR: The Search, and now LOTR: The Duel (Kosmos and Rio Grande, 2002 – Peter Neugebauer). When I heard about the game, I was torn – wondering whether it would be a good game, or another travesty like LOTR: The Search – which had the same designer. However, my love for all things LOTR, and my unshaken faith in the Kosmos two-player line won out, and I was glad to give this game a whirl.

And my verdict was better than I thought. The theme is plastered on, but the mechanics don’t work against the theme, like in The Search. While not one of my favorite games from the Kosmos two-player line, I still enjoyed the game quite a bit, and we found that strategy, while not exactly evident in the first playing of the game was enough to make game play quite fun.

A thin board is set up between the two players, and a bridge placed between them. The bridge has six steps on each side (including the first one on the board), and each player places their token (Gandalf or the Balrog) on the first step. Each player places an energy marker of their color on the fifteenth space of the “energy” track. They then take the deck of cards (twenty-seven) that corresponds to their character, shuffle them, and make a deck. There are four rounds in the game: three “preliminary” duels, and one “final” duel. For the first three duels, the players draw the top nine cards from their decks – forming their hands. Gandalf goes first, and then play alternates between the players.

The first player places any of their cards face up on the table. Each card has four symbols on each side – some of them filled in, and others empty. There is also the possibility of special text on the card. After the first card is played, the next player places a card on the right of the first card, so that the symbols match up. Each set of symbols is compared. If both symbols are full, or both are empty – nothing happens. However, if one symbol is full, and the other is not, the player whose symbol is empty must move their energy marker one space on the energy track. The next player places a card next to this card, and so on, and so on. Some cards have a high “attack” – symbols filled on the left, while other’s have a high “defense” – symbols filled on the right. If any special text is on the card, it occurs after the energy markers are moved.

This continues until each player has placed six cards. The other three cards are placed aside, and will be used in the final duel. After the duel is over, the player whose energy marker is lower (some exceptions are made if the markers are on the same space – but I haven’t seen that happen…) moves his figure up on the bridge. He moves a certain number of steps, depending on how far apart the markers are. The next duel then begins with the players drawing cards, and the other person going first this time. After the three preliminary duels, the final duel occurs. This time, the players use the nine cards they set aside during the first three duels and play all nine cards. After moving the figure at the conclusion of this duel, the person whose figure is higher on the bridge is the winner! If either player’s figure reaches the top of the bridge at any time during the duel, they win; and the game is over at that point.

Some comments on the game…

1.) Components: The box for LOTR: the Duel is thicker than most of the Kosmos line, which is because of the very nice bridge that is included with the game – a bridge formed of firm cardboard tiles. The bridge, which is the centerpiece of the game, and yea verily, the theme, is most certainly not necessary, but it does really make the game look nice and add theme to a game where no theme dare go. The cards are very nice, and extremely distinguishable from each other. My only minor quibble here was that on some cards, the Balrog, being the big flaming guy that he is, was a little difficult to tell which side of him was up. Of course, the small symbols on the sides of the card help, but this could be a little confusing. Great artwork, though, and the cards look fantastic! The wooden pawns are nice, even though the energy tokens are very, very small wooden blocks. Everything fits wonderfully in the box, which again is masterfully illustrated.

2.) Rules: The rules for the game are very straightforward, printed on a six-page color foldout, with illustrations and pictures. The rules could have been clearer, but were not really that difficult. There were two pages dedicated to explaining all the special cards, which I thought were fairly self-explanatory, but still were nice. The game is extremely easy to teach, except perhaps to a die-hard LOTR fan, who perhaps couldn’t get over the theme…

3.) Theme: This is definitely a case of theme plastered on game. The game could easily have worked with a tug of war theme (oh wait, we already have Heave Ho!), a sword duel, etc. Yet the LOTR license is so financially rewarding that one cannot blame Kosmos for choosing it. Yet if you come to the game, looking for the feel of LOTR, look elsewhere. In the movie, the duel on the bridge was short, and in the book – even shorter. In this game, the duel is rather long and drawn out. Still, the bridge really helps put a theme back into the game regardless.

4.) Strategy: At first glance, and at first playing, it may seem obvious when to play which cards. I have found that the best strategy and tactics to use in the game revolve around when the special cards are played. Playing the right card at the right time – using the special text to their advantage – can cause a player to win the game, although it might cause them a temporary loss of a preliminary duel. Players must carefully hoard good cards for the final duel, but yet take care not to lose the game in the early rounds. It’s a neat dance, trying to stay right on the edge.

5.) Contestants: In the games I’ve played, both Gandalf and the Balrog have come out pretty much even. Balrog’s cards are naturally stronger, but Gandalf has better special cards. Considering how simple the game is, there is not a huge difference between the two decks, but there is some.

6.) Kosmos Scale: Compared to other Kosmos two-player games, I would rank this one about in the middle. It does not match the fun and excitement of Balloon Cup, Lost Cities, or Odin’s Ravens, but also doesn’t reach the dredges of LOTR: the Search and Crocodile Pool Party. I bring it out on occasion, but it’s usually not our first choice.

7.) Fun Factor: The cool bridge adds a little to the fun factor, and the cards help – but the game doesn’t really “rock our world”. It’s fun, but in a passive, mild sort of way.

Therefore, I would recommend this game – if you must own all the Kosmos two-player games, and play them all often. There was no shining mechanic here that really stood out, but yet the game was fairly enjoyable. I liked the theme, but for the theme’s sake (mostly the bridge) and not the game play. It seems like luck was lower than other games, but still highly prevalent. It is an enjoyable game, just not one necessary for most folk to buy.

Tom Vasel

Thread: Re:strategy

zzini — 2004-01-11T20:38:35+00:00

Alan Kwan (#25497),
if i remember right both decks are not the same, i think if you compare them you will find this out, we find this game very hard to win as gandalf and play with the variants listed under this game, different thread

Thread: strategy

Alan Kwan — 2004-01-11T18:39:39+00:00

In this game, both players have their same deck of 27 cards, so how does one gain an advantage over his opponent?

One part of the strategy is to try to adjust the length of a round. Some rounds will last the whole length of all 12 cards (or 18 in final round) but some will end sonner because either side is KO'ed. If you have some very weak cards, you want the round to end before you are forced to play them, but if all your cards are okay, you want the round to last longer so that your opponent will be forced to play any weak cards he has in his hand. The way you control the length of the round is to try to match or mis-match the symbols your opponent has played.

For example, say if you have two cards both with 4 defending symbols, but one in the top two rows and the other in the bottom two rows. If your opponent has played an attack with symbols in the top two rows, you can either make both players take two damage by playing the second card, or you can block all damage by playing the first card. So while both cards have the same number of symbols, they affect the length of the round in different ways.

And if both players are skilled at this, you can try to guess what is in your opponent's hand and time the play of some special cards for their greatest effect. For example, cards which pick a card randomly from your opponent's hand tend to be more effective later in the round, when there tends to be a higher proportion of weak cards in his hand. By observing your opponent's play, you can decide whether it is worth it to use it in the current round, or save it for the final round.

Thread: Re:the two sides

Alan Kwan — 2004-01-06T13:46:02+00:00

DougOrleans (#24739),

Don't repeat The Big Mistake which I made: read page 6 of the rules! There is a page 6, don't overlook it!

Thread: Re:the two sides

DougOrleans — 2004-01-01T17:02:19+00:00

zzini (#24448),

I've played twice and Gandalf won both times. Perhaps you were just getting unlucky? Also, make sure you play Gandalf's Mirror correctly-- unlike most other cards, you don't resolve the symbols before reading the text. (At least this is how we decided it must be played, otherwise it's far too weak.)

Thread: Re:the two sides

zzini — 2003-12-28T18:37:04+00:00

Alan Kwan (#24440),we find it very hard to win as gandalf, when playing 1 game with each player just playing 1 role we use one variant where the balrog must discard 2 of his original 9 cards to his last duel stack and play with 7 cards each hand, gandalf plays with all 9 cards. this helps the inmbalance somewhat and keeps with the theme of gandalf having more smarts about him, my daughter also suggests that the Balrogs Power card be played exactly as Gandalfs Balance with the energy markers determining movement not the pieces on the bridge. if playing 2 games with each taking the Balrog once and Gandolph once then we use no variants.

Thread: the two sides

Alan Kwan — 2003-12-28T13:39:35+00:00

Balrog has a few more symbols, but Gandalf has more and better special cards.