Publisher: Parker Bros (Hasbro)
Author: Stephen Baker
Year: 2003

Very often absurd products are immolated on the altar of merchandising. Products that are the result of the convergence of genres with little affinity or of scarce creative and/or innovatory capability, or that are the outcome of the need to respect some deadlines to do not loss multiplicative effects on the sales. So, titles and goods are marketed which are little more than an esthetical celebration for the object of the license.
Luckily this is not one of those cases.
In fact RISK – THE LORD OF THE RINGS – TRILOGY EDITION presents itself as a well conceived product, and well realized too. A game that innovated with respect to the classic characteristics of RISK, respecting both an adaptation of the game to the cinematographic license and the spirit of a title that is one of the more known ludic icons in the world.
Let’s see these differences, starting from the board of the game. The board shows the North-Western part of Middle Earth, and precisely an area a little wider than the one interested by the travel of the ring told in the famous trilogy. Here we find topographical elements (rivers and mountains) normally absent in RISK: their presence is not only esthetical, but is a natural obstacle, not allowing attacks and moves of troops between territories separated by them. This choice has probably been determined from the will to avoid that all the territories (with the obvious exclusion of those on the coast line in the West or on the borders) are attackable from all the sides. This last fact depends, on its turn, from the fact that the represented territory is obviously continuous and not separate by seas and oceans like in traditional RISK, that is played on a board representing our planet.
The most important places in the trilogy are represented on the map as strongholds and sites of power.
Between the strongholds, represented with gold drawings, we find as an example Isengard, Minas Tirith, Helm’s Deep, the Mines of Moria and Rivendell. Their value is twofold: first of all they give to their owner an extra battalion that must be placed in the territory of the stronghold, in the reinforces phase. In the second place they allow to increase by one the higher die thrown by the player who defends that territory from an attack.
Then there are the sites of power, represented by black drawings; among them we find: Hobbiton, the Gates of Moria, Bree, Lothlórien and Mount Doom. Their use is tied to those of the leaders, so we have to examine them first.
Each player begins the game with two leaders that can place on two of her territories as she wants and that do not count as battalions. If you have a leader in a territory, when you attack from or defend that territory you have a +1 on the highest die you throw. The effect can be considered together with that of the stronghold (obviously only when defending). When you conquer a territory with a site of power by using a leader, you can draw an Adventure Card.
The Adventure Cards are of three types: the ones that must be played immediately (and some of them have negative effects on who played them); the Power Cards, that can be kept to be played when it is more convenient; the Mission Cards. These ones mention a site of power and a reward (typically battalions to put there): when you reach that territory with one of your leaders (not only by conquer, even by moving, if the territory is already in your hands) you put the card face up and collect the recompense.
Another important element, in the game and on the board, is represented by the path followed by Frodo and the One Ring. It is signaled by a broken line that starts from the Shire and reaches Mount Doom.
At the end of each player’s turn the Ring, an element of the components, is advanced one territory to represent the Fellowship that gets nearer to their final goal. But, as the Fellowship encountered many difficulties to advance because of the various troubles encountered in the trilogy, there is the need to throw a die with a 50% of success. A success throw means that the Ring advances, otherwise it remains still for that turn.
In the normal modality of game the Ring is a clock. As there are no goal cards, the destruction of the Ring will determine the end of the game. The winner is who has the highest sum of points, given by: owned territories, owned regions, owned strongholds and Adventure Cards played.
The rules also explain an alternative variant of play, in which the Ring plays a key role. If at the end of a turn the Ring is in a territory owned by a “bad” player, he can throw 2d6 to try to find it. The bad players immediately win with a result of 12 (less if there is a leader or if the player owns the whole region). On the contrary, if the Ring manages to arrive to Mount Doom, the game is won by the “good” players. Naturally this fact completely upsets the game strategies and, instead of players that close one or more regions trying to defend their position, there is a more dynamic fight. At the beginning the battles are in the higher part of the board and, as the Ring gets down, the battles follow it, trying to conquer the territories where it has to pass. Here there is no room (or almost not) for “fence sitter” strategies, but the sensation that all is hanged to a die throw is not always pleasant. In fact anomalous cases can verify, for example the Ring conquered at the first turn: five minutes of play, while the disposition required thirty minutes. Or a “bad” player that throws almost all the turns, dominating virtually all the game, that does not obtain the victory as he is not lucky in the search throws.
For that reason I typically use a personal variant that I suggest here. The game follows the previous rules but, when the game ends because of the Ring (as it has been found or destroyed) the points are counted as normal, adding 15 points for the Ring (to the “good” player if she saved it, to the “bad” player if he destroyed it).
In this manner there is anyway an engaging hunt for the Ring, without completely make a well conducted game fruitless. Certainly it is possible to have an aberrant result where the “good” player wins even if the Ring has been found or, vice versa, the “bad” player can win with a destroyed Ring. But I think that this is a game and I believe that we have to look at the entertainment and at the playability more that at the “realism”.
Basically there is nothing more, as the rest of the game (the fighting, reinforcements and triplets of cards) functions as the classic RISK! (Not exactly as the Italian game, as it presents some differences as the possibility for the defender to use three dice.)
After all I warmly recommend to buy this product: it will satisfly the keen on Tolkien and the fan of the original game too. And it is a good “gift idea” too.
Let’s think to it: in spite of De Beers you can proudly say to have bought a... trilogy to your sweet girlfriend. Maybe she won’t be happy of it but the thought is what counts… other than some dozens of euros. After all, inside she can find a ring anyway: among other things, it is a rare example of One Ring mass-produced.
Before leaving you an historical note is necessary. This game is, as a matter of fact, a new edition of an older game.
In fact in 2002, at the same time of the debut of “The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers” in the cinemas, RISK – THE LORD OF THE RINGS came out.
This game, with some little exceptions, was the game I told you, but its board did not include the lower part, Gondor, Mordor and the Haradwaith that would have been considered in the third part of the trilogy.
Later, in 2003, with the coming of “The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King”, THE LORD OF THE RINGS – RISK – GONDOR & MORDOR EXPANSION SET came out in the shops, with the missing part of the board. I say “the missing one” because looking at the whole board it is impossible to not think that the game was initially conceived as a whole and then cut for commercial reasons.
The unique consolation (and not a little one) for the buyers of this product was the presence of another game in the box. On the back of the board, together with the missing regions, a section of the wall of Minas Tirith and the terrain in front of it was depicted. It could be utilized in the 2-player version: the SIEGE OF MINAS TIRITH, that was played using new miniatures and new cards.
Unfortunately in the new edition, done in 2003 too, the board was complete but the additional game was missing. We can say that it is lost forever (with the exception of the collector market) as RISK – THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE LORD OF THE RINGS – RISK – GONDOR & MORDOR EXPANSION SET are out of print today.
Our last hope is that somebody retrieves this lost Golden Oldie and that she or he supplies us a really definitive edition of the complete game…