WizKids delves into the world of J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle-earth once again with their second "dice building" game.  The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game uses custom-designed dice to represent armies of Men, Dwarves, Elves, and Hobbits battling against the forces of Sauron.  The new game is scheduled to release in January 2013.

 

The new dice building game is based on the game mechanics that first appeared in WizKids’ Quarriors! game, designed by Mike Elliott and Eric Lang.  The Middle-earth themed version was developed by Jeph Stahl and Brett Myers.

 

Quarriors! designer Elliott described the adaptation of the mechanic in the announcement.  "Fans of Quarriors will readily recognize the dice building mechanic…," he said, "but The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game explores a few key elements that make it an entirely new experience out of the box," according to Elliott. 

 

The Lord of the Rings Dice Building Game will be produced by NECA/WizKids Games under license from Warner Bros.  Other Lord of the Rings themed games from WizKids include HeroClix: Lord of the Rings (which has an expansion set planned for October--see "'HeroClix' Does 'The Hobbit'"), a boardgame based on the upcoming Hobbit movie (see "'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Board Game'"), and a semi-cooperative game in which players assume the role of Sauron’s Nazgul (see "WizKids Preps 'Lord of the Rings: Nazgul Board Game'").

 

Quarriors continues to receive support as well, with a third expansion set planned for October of this year (see "New 'Quarriors!' Expansion").