Breaking: A New Digital Lord of the Rings Card Game from Fantasy Flight Interactive!

Back in 2011 I discovered Fantasy Flight Games and the Lord of the Rings Living Card Game. I was immediately captivated––the game provided the geeky fun of a collectible card game like Magic: the Gathering or the old Decipher Star Wars CCG, but set in Middle-earth. For several years (2011 to 2016) I collected the game avidly, before eventually (and very reluctantly) selling my collection for a variety of reasons (mainly lack of time and a lack of people to play with). I've missed the game since then, so I was thrilled when Fantasy Flight Games announced today that they are developing a digital version of the game that will be available for PC and mobile devices. Jump past the break to read more.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the physical Lord of the Rings Living Card Game, here's a brief recap. Living Card Games (LCG) are Fantasy Flight Games' (FFG) unique genera of card games that provide the complexity and deck-building challenges of traditional collectible card games, without forcing players to spend time and $$$ hunting for super rare cards. Instead of releasing cards in randomized packs, LCG cards are released in expansions with a set number of cards––players know what they're buying. Ideally this alleviates some of the frustration of tracking down and paying for super rare cards. On the other hand, collecting the card game loses some of the excitement of traditional CCGs.

Hero Card Example: Aragorn

Even among FFG's several different LCGs, the Lord of the Rings LCG is unique because it is a coop game––1 to 4 players unite in a Fellowship to defeat Sauron's forces. In my experience the coop format is both a pro and a con. Thematically it is really cool to unite with your friends and face off against hoards of orcs, trolls, and other creatures. On the other hand, because the actions of the enemy are determined simply by drawing cards from a randomized deck, the game can get feeling static at certain times. In terms of the story, the game's main quests feature original adventures that are set between the events of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, thought there are also "saga" expansions that allow players to play through the events of the Hobbit and the Lord of the rings. Currently, the game features a core set, six deluxe expansions (three scenarios per expansion), forty normal expansions (one scenario each), eight stand alone scenarios (special scenarios released at events like Gen-Con); and eight saga expansions (two for the Hobbit and six for LOTR).

For each scenario, players craft decks that must have at least fifty cards that include up to three Hero cards (main characters like Aragorn, Frodo, Gandalf, etc.) as well as ally cards (secondary characters that aid your Heros), attachment cards (armor, weapons, tools, enchanted artifacts, etc.), even cards (spells and actions), treasures (in the saga expansions), and player side quests. The reason I'm listing all of these card types here is that I suspect the digital version of the game will feature similar categories.

You can read Fantasy Flight's announcement of the new digital LCG here, as well as visit the new Fantasy Flight Interactive website which has additional information about the game. Eurogamer.Net has some additional information about the game as well. And finally, here's a video introducing the game on Twitch:

Watch Fantasy Flight Games from FFGLive on www.twitch.tv
I'm both excited and a little nervous about the new digital version of the game. On the one hand, the introduction of an AI-driven enemy seems like it will be amazing . . . you'll still have all the excitement of playing with friends in a Fellowship, but now the actions of your enemy will be much more dynamic. I'm hoping this will increase the tension of each game. On the other hand, I'm a little skeptical of all the "streamlining" the game developers keep talking about (see the Twitch video, for example). Part of the fun of many LCGs and collectible card games are the intricate rules that make deck building a challenge. I'm worried that will be lost in this new digital version. Finally, while the developers in the video kept touting how unique this new game will be, all of the screenshots I've seen so far look a lot like Blizzard's Hearthstone. Will this new LOTR game be able to differentiate itself enough to stand out from the crowd? Will it have staying power?

For now, I'm cautiously excited. The game is releasing on Steam Early Access for PC and Mac first, and then will apparently be expanded to mobile platforms as well. From what I can tell, the initial release of the game will be single player only, with eventual expansion to two player (another bummer . . . in the physical game 3 and 4 player fellowships are a lot of fun).

Here's a few screenshots of the game itself:

Later.