Today WizKids announced The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey—Journey to the Lonely Mountain Board Game (MSRP $49.99), which will be released on October 17th.  The game, which was designed by Eric Lang, blends thematic gameplay with scenes, events, and characters from the first Peter Jackson Hobbit film, which will open during the 2012 Christmas season and promises to be one of the major movies of the year (see “The Hobbit Trailer #1 Released”). 

The deluxe board game features 5 highly-detailed, pre-painted miniatures with the HeroClix base (for variable character stats), plus a deluxe game board, cards, tokens, and a rulebook.

 

The all-new game, which follows the narrative of Jackson’s film as Bilbo Baggins attempts to make his way to The Lonely Mountain in the face of desperate opposition from the forces of evil, can be played as a one-on-one matchup or as 1 versus up to 3 players.  Players can take on the role of Bilbo or Gollum or 2 other dark foes in this twist on the epic tale in which the players must anticipate and react quickly to their opponents’ move and carefully husband their limited resources to use at just the right time.