Games of Middle Earth is a trilogy of board games published by Simulations Publications, Inc. in 1977 that are all based on the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was a bestseller for SPI even before its publication, and remained at or near the top of SPI's Top Ten list for two years.
The boxed set contains three games
In 1976, SPI was granted a license by the Tolkien Estate to produce wargames based on Lord of the Rings. [1] It subsequently produced three wargames in 1977: War of the Ring , Sauron , and Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith . SPI also packaged all three games into a boxed set titled The Games of Middle Earth. This proved to be one of SPI's bestsellers, entering SPI's Top Ten list at Number 1 four months before publication based on pre-orders alone. Following its release in November 1977, Games of Middle Earth remained SPI's bestselling game for almost two years. [2]
In White Dwarf #11, Bill Seligman called this product "one of the most artistic games [SPI has] ever published, and one of the easiest to learn." But on the other side of the coin, "it is also one of the least balanced games they have ever put out." Overall, he found Middle Earth a bit disappointing, saying, "All in all, I'd say the game set Middle Earth is only fair. Tolkien deserves much better." He concluded by giving the set of games a rating of 5 out of 10. [3]
Writing for the Dutch games review site Casus Belli, Frank van den Bergh liked War of the Ring, but called both Sauron and Gondor "clearly lesser games". Although he admitted, "they are fun games that offer many possibilities," van den Bergh concluded, "These games are only recommended for the devoted Tolkien fan." [4]
Denethor II, son of Ecthelion II, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. He was the 26th ruling Steward of Gondor, committing suicide in the besieged city of Minas Tirith during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is largely concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with the restoration of the realm afterward. The history of the kingdom is outlined in the appendices of the book.
A palantír is one of several indestructible crystal balls from J. R. R. Tolkien's epic-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The word comes from Quenya palan 'far', and tir 'watch over'. The palantírs were used for communication and to see events in other parts of Arda, or in the past.
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. He was the father of Isildur and Anárion, last lord of Andúnië on the island of Númenor, and having escaped its downfall by sailing to Middle-earth, became the first High King of Arnor and Gondor. In the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, Elendil and Gil-galad laid siege to the Dark Lord Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr, and fought him hand-to-hand for the One Ring. Both Elendil and Gil-galad were killed, and Elendil's son Isildur took the Ring for himself.
Minas Tirith is the capital of Gondor in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It is a seven-walled fortress city built on the spur of a mountain, rising some 700 feet to a high terrace, housing the Citadel, at the seventh level. Atop this is the 300-foot high Tower of Ecthelion, which contains the throne room.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Isengard is a large fortress in Nan Curunír, the Wizard's Vale, in the western part of Middle-earth. In the fantasy world, the name of the fortress is described as a translation of Angrenost, a word in Tolkien's elvish language, Sindarin, a compound of two Old English words: īsen and ġeard, meaning "enclosure of iron".
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, was the defence of the city of Minas Tirith by the forces of Gondor and the cavalry of its ally Rohan, against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron from Mordor and its allies the Haradrim and the Easterlings. It was the largest battle in the War of the Ring. It took place at the end of the Third Age in the Pelennor Fields, the townlands and fields between Minas Tirith and the River Anduin.
In J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, the Battle of the Morannon or the Battle of the Black Gate is the final confrontation in the War of the Ring. Gondor and its allies send a small army ostensibly to challenge Sauron at the entrance to his land of Mordor; he supposes that they have with them the One Ring and mean to use it to defeat him. In fact, the Ring is being carried by the hobbits Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee into Mordor to destroy it in Mount Doom, and the army is moving to distract Sauron from them. Before the battle, a nameless leader, the "Mouth of Sauron", taunts the leaders of the army with the personal effects of Frodo and Sam. Battle is joined, but just as it seems the army of Gondor will be overwhelmed, the Ring is destroyed, and the forces of Sauron lose heart. Mount Doom erupts, and Sauron's tower, Barad-dûr, collapses, along with the Black Gate. The army of Gondor returns home victorious, the War of the Ring won.
The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age is a 2004 role-playing video game developed by EA Redwood Shores for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. A turn-based tactics version of the game was developed for the Game Boy Advance by Griptonite Games. The game was published on all platforms by Electronic Arts, and released worldwide in November 2004.
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top tabletop role-playing games published in 1977. For video games, see 1977 in video gaming.
Faramir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Faramir enters the narrative in The Two Towers, where, upon meeting Frodo Baggins, he is presented with a temptation to take possession of the One Ring. In The Return of the King, he leads the forces of Gondor in the War of the Ring, coming near to death, succeeds his father as Steward, and wins the love of Éowyn, lady of the royal house of Rohan.
The Lord of the Nazgûl, also called the Witch-king of Angmar, the Pale King, or Black Captain, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He was one of the Nine among Men that the dark lord Sauron gave Rings of Power, becoming Nazgûl or Ringwraiths. His ring gives him great power, but enslaves him to Sauron and makes him invisible. As a wraith, he had once established himself King of Angmar in the north of Eriador. In the events of the Lord of the Rings, he stabs the bearer of the One Ring, the Hobbit Frodo Baggins, with a Morgul-knife which would reduce its victim to a wraith. Much later, in his final battle, the Lord of the Nazgûl attacks Éowyn with a mace. The Hobbit Merry Brandybuck stabs him with an ancient enchanted Númenórean blade, allowing Éowyn to kill him with her sword.
Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Aragorn is a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arnor and Gondor. Aragorn is a confidant of the wizard Gandalf and plays a part in the quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. As a young man, Aragorn falls in love with the immortal elf Arwen, as told in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". Arwen's father, Elrond Half-elven, forbids them to marry unless Aragorn becomes King of both Arnor and Gondor.
Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the elder son of Elendil, descended from Elros, the founder of the island Kingdom of Númenor. He fled with his father when the island was drowned, becoming in his turn King of Arnor and Gondor. He cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, but instead of destroying it, was corrupted by its power and claimed it for his own. He was killed by orcs, and the Ring was lost in the River Anduin. This set the stage for the Ring to pass to Gollum and then to Bilbo, as told in The Hobbit; that in turn provided the central theme, the quest to destroy the Ring, for The Lord of the Rings.
War of the Ring, subtitled "S.R. 1418 to 1419", is a licensed wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates the events described in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Linda D. Mosca was the first commercially published female board wargame designer. In the mid-1970s, when the wargame industry was dominated by men, she was the only woman employed in a creative role.
Gondor, subtitled "The Siege of Minas Tirith S.R. 1419", is a licensed board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates the Battle of Pelennor Fields from the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Sauron, subtitled "The Battle for the Ring, S.A. 3434", is a licensed board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates the battle between Sauron and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men mentioned in the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Siege of Minas Tirith is a 1975 board wargame designed by Richard Jordison and published by Fact and Fantasy Games. It depicts both the Battle of Pelennor Fields and the siege of Minas Tirith from the novel The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Erech and the Paths of the Dead is a supplement published by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) in 1985 for the fantasy role-playing game Middle-earth Role Playing, which is itself based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.
