The Lord of the Rings (2000) — How to Play, and Why It's a Gem

This week's older board game gem is The Lord of the Rings, the cooperative game from 2000. An important historical game, being the first major cooperative game in the hobby as we know it today. A new anniversary edition was announced this past week so I thought I would cover the older version.

I also recorded a clip describing whether I'd recommend it to newer hobbyists, but the clip was lost. In summary, if you're interested in the evolution of cooperative games, or if you're just a really big fan of cooperative games in general, you owe it to yourself to at least give it a try. I still like it, but if I'm honest, it can feel a bit one-dimensional and limited in options compared to more modern cooperative games. If you're only an occasional fan of co-ops, and not much into older-style games, don't feel like you have to have it in your collection. But it's a well-respected classic and still worth a look today.

00:00 Intro
03:43 Setup
11:24 Goals and Main Concepts
15:53 What You Can Do On Your Turn
26:30 Why It's a Gem


Board Gems is a weekly (or more often) video series highlighting board games that aren't talked about much any more — maybe they're a bit old (though not usually crazy old), or maybe they didn't make a big splash when they came out — but are still great games today, and deserve a second look.