Middle-Earth Quest
Fantasy Flight Games
SRP: $79.95
Number of Players: 2-4 players
Playing Time: 3 to 4 hours
ISBN: 978-1-5899-4624-8
UPC: 9781589946248
Age Rating: 13+
ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Fantasy Flight Games has mastered the art of creating Big Box Games-- games that are entertaining, won’t fit on most bookshelves, include massive numbers of pieces, and generally cost more than $60.  Middle-Earth Quest fits easily into this category on all counts.  Another of FFG’s massive, all-afternoon games, Middle-Earth Quest combines elements of Arkham Horror and Runebound to keep the Tolkien legacy alive while we wait for the next film.

Players take on the roles of lesser-known heroes from the fantasy epic and one plays the part of Sauron himself.  The heroes attempt to gather knowledge from the four corners of Middle-Earth to help defeat Sauron and his minions.  The Dark Lord has a few tricks at his disposal as well, and will be making things as difficult as possible in the quest to defeat him.

Players first select a Starting Quest card specific to the character they’re playing.  They then move their character around the board, having encounters, fighting off evil minions and gathering influence.  Once they complete the quest they trade it in for the Advanced Quest.  The Quest cards give the players something to do while they work toward goal on their Mission for the game.  In one of the Missions, if all hero players have completed both their Starting and Advanced Quests, they win!  Each character also has a unique combat deck, which is used for movement as well as during combat to deal and suffer damage.

In fact, cards are a theme of this game; there are a lot of them, and they’re often difficult to tell apart.  This is not a simple nor quick game, but game play becomes natural and fluid after a few turns.  Incorporating individual quests along with an over-arcing storyline has proved successful for FFG in the past, and it works well here too.  Fans of Runebound and Arkham Horror will probably enjoy this game quite a lot.

-- Bill Bodden