Fantasy Flight Games has announced the third quarter release of The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill, an expansion for FFG’s Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.  This is not a normal FFG Living Card Game Expansion.  This is a Saga Expansion that follows the events in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel The Hobbit.  With Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Hobbit slated for December, this expansion, which includes three scenarios that are meant to be played sequentially, will allow players to relive the events in this classic fantasy adventure.  The three scenarios can be played one at a time, or they can be linked to create a campaign.  The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill is not a stand-alone game, a copy of Lord of the Rings: The Core Set is required to play.

 

The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill basically encompasses events in the first half of Tolkien’s novel.  A second Hobbit Saga Expanion is slated for release by FFG in the fourth quarter, which is when Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movie debuts.

 

The Hobbit: Over Hill and Under Hill introduces a new kind of card to the LOTR game, the “treasure” card. Players can obtain the treasure cards only by completing scenarios, but they can carry over any treasures into the next scenario.  Player steer the fates of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, and Gandalf the Wizard as they being their perilous journey out of the Shire.

There are a number of other games based on The Hobbit due out this year. Cryptozoic has a suite of card and board games based on the Peter Jackson film (see "Six 'Hobbit' and 'LOTR' Games") and WizKids has a board game based on the film as well (see "'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Board Game").