Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 44.95

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Playmat
Price: 67.95

Number of Players: 2-4

Playing Time: 120+ Minutes

Recommended Ages: 13+

War of the Ring Second Edition is widely recognized as the best strategy board game based upon the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and the ultimate gaming experience set in Middleearth. The War of the Ring Anniversary Edition, produced in a limited number of copies, included a larger game board, and players have been asking for a similar board to be offered as a regular product.

Ares Games went a step further, and it is now producing the of cial War of the Ring Deluxe Game Mat a giant neoprene playing mat (laser cut, 128 x 88 cm size) with an enlarged playing area, for easier gameplay, printed on high-quality, foldable material. This beautiful mat features the amazing John Howe’s depiction of Middle-earth created exclusively for War of the Ring.

The game mat provides a gaming surface similar in size to the Anniversary Release game board 50% larger than the normal board included in 2nd Edition. With this deluxe game accessory, players will have a durable game board with even more room to maneuver the 205 miniatures used in the game.

Contents:

• 1 Giant deluxe neoprene game mat (128 x 88cm).

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 13.95

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 86.95

The Battle of Five Armies is back! The epic game that recreates the fierce struggle witnessed by Bilbo Baggins at the end of his quest to the Lonely Mountain is coming back in a revised edition. 

The Battle of Five Armies is a two-players game that allows you to re-create the epic conclusion of The Hobbit, the world-renowned masterpiece by J.R.R. Tolkien. The Shadow player commands the armies of Bolg, the King of the Goblins of Mount Gundabad, while the Free Peoples player is in control of Men, Dwarves, and Elves, led by Gandalf to fend off the goblin army.

Based on the acclaimed mechanics first used in the War of the Ring boardgame, The Battle of Five Armies merges action dice and event cards, to make each game a unique experience. The system has been further enhanced by the addition of the “Fate Track” mechanic, handling the arrival of the allies and the triggering of special events. The Battle of Five Armies includes 126 plastic figures, with all the main characters of the battle, and many more top-quality components.

What if the Battle of Five Armies was lost by the Free Peoples? The Fate of Erebor is a variant for War of the Ring which you can play to answer this question. The course of history changes drastically and you will play the game with a different setup. A real challenge and a must-have for all War of the Ring fans!

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 45.95

War of the Ring: Warriors of Middle-earth includes Ents, Dead Men of Dunharrow, Great Eagles of the Misty Mountains, Corsairs of Umbar, Wild Hilmen from Dunland, and Giant Spiders, and with this new expansion forWar of the Ring (second edition), these warriors and creatures of Middle-earth – previously featured only as special Event Cards – will become an essential part of the game, with unique figures and specific abilities.

Warriors of Middle-earth also presents new mechanisms to enhance the game. Faction Dice and Faction Events, used together with the new figures, open up new and exciting strategies and make the War of the Ring (second edition) even more challenging and fun.

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 29.95

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 35.95

What if the Keepers of the Elven Rings had used their Rings of Power to challenge the might of the Dark Lord? What if the Balrog had risen out of Moria to bring fire and fury to the lands of the Free Peoples? What if the Council of Elrond had decided differently regarding the Fellowship of the Ring?

With Lords of Middle-earth, the first expansion for the War of the Ring (second edition) board game, players may explore these possibilities together with many other ones to create fresh gaming opportunities and new strategies.

Important personalities, previously featured in the game only through Event Cards, are represented by specific figures and rules. New Characters include Elrond, Galadriel, Sméagol, Gothmog and the powerful Balrog of Moria, as well as alternate versions of Gandalf, the Witch-king and the Mouth of Sauron.

New special Action Dice are included: Elven Ring Keepers dice for the Free Peoples player and Lesser Minion dice for the Shadow player. New versions of all the Companions of the Fellowship of the Ring are also included, to play the optional "Council of Rivendell" rules.

As an added bonus, figures for Aragorn and Gandalf the White are provided, accessories to the game that fans have been eagerly awaiting!

This is your chance to forge the destiny of an age...

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 0.00

War of the Ring Collector's Edition is a strategic wargame in a fantasy setting where one player takes control of the Free Peoples, and the other player controls Shadow Armies. As with the standard version of this game, one can win a military victory, either as Sauron and the Shadow Armies if he conquers a certain number of Free People cities and strongholds, or with similar conditions when playing as Fellowship and Free People. The game may also be won by the Free People by completing the quest of the Ringbearer and trying to get secretly to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Hidden movement prevents Sauron's awareness of the real intention of his enemies and keeps him looking across Middle Earth for the precious Ring. The Free People player must balance the need to protect the Ringbearer from harm, against the attempt to raise a proper defense against the armies of the Shadow, so that they do not overrun Middle Earth before the Ringbearer completes his quest.

Limited and different choices are offered each turn through the roll of action dice which dictate the type of actions may be performed. The choices range from personal character actions to political and military decisions through which to develop your winning strategies.

The War of the Ring Collector's Edition brings all that was in the base game and introduces factions, new characters and new events from the expansion, including Galadriel, the Balrog, the Ents, Dunlendings, Siege Towers, Catapults, Corsairs, and more. It is a complete game with updates to the original game rules and incorporates the expansion rules and cards to allow for new strategies to play out. This increases both the offensive options of the Shadow Forces and defensive options of the Free Peoples. This all-in-one version of the game is deeper, more comprehensive, and offers both more, and more difficult, choices of what path to pursue to victory, and where to spend one’s resources. The additional armies and characters of this version also enrich the theme and make it more true to the entire Tolkien saga of the Ring War.

Vendor: Fantasy Flight Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 77.95

Age of Conan 

Age of Conan is a boardgame which puts players in control of one of the major kingdoms of the Hyborian age, in the period of history well known through the tales of the adventures of Conan the Cimmerian, the barbarian hero created by Robert E. Howard.

You will fight with armies, sorcery and intrigue to make your kingdom the most powerful of its age, and to secure on your side the mightiest hero of all – Conan the Cimmerian!

Vendor: Ares Games
Type: Board Games
Price: 99.95

In War of the Ring, one player takes control of the Free Peoples (FP), the other player controls Shadow Armies (SA).

Initially, the Free People Nations are reluctant to take arms against Sauron, so they must be attacked by Sauron or persuaded by Gandalf or other Companions, before they start to fight properly: this is represented by the Political Track, which shows if a Nation is ready to fight in the War of the Ring or not.

The game can be won by a military victory, if Sauron conquers a certain number of Free People cities and strongholds or vice versa. But the true hope of the Free Peoples lies with the quest of the Ringbearer: while the armies clash across Middle Earth, the Fellowship of the Ring is trying to get secretly to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Sauron is not aware of the real intention of his enemies but is looking across Middle Earth for the precious Ring, so that the Fellowship is going to face numerous dangers, represented by the rules of The Hunt for the Ring. But the Companions can spur the Free Peoples to the fight against Sauron, so the Free People player must balance the need to protect the Ringbearer from harm, against the attempt to raise a proper defense against the armies of the Shadow, so that they do not overrun Middle Earth before the Ringbearer completes his quest.

Each game turn revolves around the roll of Action Dice: each die corresponds to an action that a player can do during a turn. Depending on the face rolled on each die, different actions are possible (moving armies, characters, recruiting troops, advancing a Political Track).

Action dice can also be used to draw or play Event Cards. Event Cards are played to represent specific events from the story (or events which could possibly have happened) which cannot be portrayed through normal game-play. Each Event Card can also create an unexpected turn in the game, allowing special actions or altering the course of a battle.

Re-implements:

• War of the Ring (first edition)