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MIDDLE EARTH: THE WIZARDS

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Author: unknown

Publisher: ICE 1995

EVALUATION

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"Middle Earth - The Wizards" (METW) is a trading card game based on Tolkienīs "Lord of the Rings" and it was released by ICE only a few years ago. The game is essentially one of the best Tolkien-Games I ever played, and I think that I can say that itīs a real MUST for every Tolkien who likes to play a bit of the Story of the "Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit".

Basically the game is designed as a normal Trading Card Game (TCG). The players can buy "Starter"-Packs, containing everything they need to play a few rounds of the game. Later on, when players want to improve their "decks" of cards from the "Starters", they may buy "Booster" packs, containing only few cards. One big plus of METW is the extraordinary good composition of the "Starters". A player who just buys a "Starter" receives a full set of corresponding cards needed to participate in the struggle for Middle Earth. People who have played other TCG will share my opinion that good "Starters" arenīt a trademark of every TCG. But METW is without doubt one of the really positive examples for a good composition of "Starters".

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In the game each player takes up the role of one of the five Great Wizards struggling against Sauron (Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, Pallando and Alatar). The players start the game at Rivendell, and from there they travel with one or more parties of adventurers to sites all over Middle Earth. At these sites the players may bring characters or items into play, and these in turn give "Marshalling Points" (= Victory Points) to the player who leads them during play. The player who first has a certain amount of Marshalling Points wins the game and will be elected by the Alliance of the Free People as their leader in the final struggle against Sauron (A struggle which isnīt included in the game).

True, this playing concept sounds easy enough, but the game gets itīs flair through the large variety of cards available for the players. So a major part of the cards consists of Monsters or other evil cards, and players may use these cards to hamper the progress of other players. There are options to take over cards or characters from an other player and, most important, a good lot of cards bearing important scenes from the Lord of the Rings are also included. So a player may pass through the "Paths of the Dead" and activate the "Army of the Dead", he may find a Sapling of the White Tree of Gondor which he may plant in Minas Tirith, or he might even discover "The One Ring" and - with a lot of luck and clever cardplay - suceed to reach Mount Doom bearing the One Ring and win the game by destroying it.

The game rules are clever and sophisticated, but not too hard to learn even for TCG-Beginners. Exspecially the basic game which only uses two "Starters" is easy to play. But the game also poses a really good challenge for experienced players, since there exist optional rules and, when also using "Boosters", there is much thought to spend on how to compose a clever deck for playing.

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The design of the cards also is of a very high quality. The cards contain pictures showing nearly every scene, site and charcter from "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings", and this adds to a very good and deep playing atmosphere. In a way, you really feel like you are travelling through Middle-Earth.

To sum it up, I think that the game is suitable for every Tolkien Fan. Because of the high-quality "Starters" even players who donīt want to spend much money may enjoy the game. A player simply has to buy a "Starter" for himself and find someone who also has a Starter, and then the playing may begin. But beware: Thos who bought a "Starter" are reported to become strongly addicted and buy more and more cards until they have a full collection.....

As an appendix I should add that METW was sold in a limited edition which is sold out by now, but the game is still available in an unlimited edition. There also exist two Booster-based expansions called "Middle Earth: The Dragons" and "Middle Earth: Dark Minions". These sets fit into the game perfectly, but personally I donīt like them as much as the basic game, since I think that the card-pictures have slightly lost quality. Last, there also is a new basic set available called "The Lidless Eye". I havenīt tested it, but from what I know this set allows players to enter the game on the side of Sauron, which allows a direct confrontation between Good and Bad.


Looking for this game? Visit Funagain Games!


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Copyright © 2006 Frank Schulte-Kulkmann, Essen, Germany