The first thing that hits you after playing a few games of The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game is that it is most definitely an interesting and challenging game!

The true novelty of The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game shows in how it differs from Games Workshop's other main games. Our other games have one player complete his entire turn, then the other player completes his turn, then back to the first player, and so on.

The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game is very different, because it starts with both players moving their pieces, then both players shooting, and then both players finish the turn by resolving close-quarter fights. This gaming system creates a completely different experience from our other games. For Games Workshop veterans like myself who have grown up with an alternating turn system, adjusting to this new way can take some time. While I was coming to grips with this new system, I made a lot of silly mistakes. For example, I would move my archers to get a clear line of sight to my opponent's models and think that I had a great set up for the Shoot phase. Of course, that plan overlooked the fact that my opponent could still move (usually behind cover) and thus negate my lovely line of sight. D'oh!

Obviously, I reconditioned my gamer brain enough to help write The Lord of The Rings Strategy Battle Game rulebook! If I can do it, I'm sure you can too. To help you along the way, allow me to share a few tips that I picked up as I playtested this different and exciting game system.

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