There's no evidence to suggest this game is going to end and lots to suggest its doing really well.

Why even make these stupid threads?

At present Lotr Lcg is above Netrunner and X wing on Bgg's hotness list.

If you want to argue to future of the game, that's fine. But there is no way anyone can gleam any evidence from the announcement of the 4th saga.

I think it's just like the conspiracy theories people like to make up - find some statement, read too much into it and/or twist it so that it fits your purposes and then scream in panic as the "truth" becomes apparent and obvious, because they (NWO, Illuminates, lizard people, that Kenyan muslim jihadist Obama or FFG) are out to get you. Or to deprive you of the game. And of course don't let such petty things as facts (for example as was mentioned above about the game having very good sale figures) get in the way of your overreaction and paranoia.

I think that as long as the designers can come up with some nice ideas/stories the game will go on. Of course sales also play a major part here. Considering license, I do not think that FFG will lose LOTR license any time soon.

The people who are into LOTR LCG will keep supporting the game if you ask me. The game keeps getting better and better for the most part (I'm looking at you VoI + RM Cycle). Also FFG customers are hardcore and die-hard fans if you ask me. This is especially true for LCGs and Miniatures games where they want to own everything.

The game is not going anywhere. FFG CEO said at the last GenCon that LOTR LCG s one of their all time best-selling products. Plus, the CEO, Christian T. Petersen, as well as people like Matt, Caleb, and Nate French all clearly love and enjoy the game.

1) One of FFG's best-selling products

2) FFG core personnel have expressed nothing but excitement and optimism about the game

3) BGG hotness list

4) Not rotation because it is a cooperative game and FFG said that it will just do errata where necessary

5) Lots of new content

And then ZERO evidence that the game is dying or ending...

Perhaps some of the people who are worried about LotR LCG ending are LOTRO players. LOTRO's been dying, and I think the general feeling is that once LOTRO reaches Mount Doom, development will effectively cease and then game will go into "maintenance mode". That's even assuming LOTRO survives until Mount Doom!

Hey guys,

First post in a long while. For me the game has lost momentum. This last wait between new content really took it's toll. I was hesitating even getting Lost Realm, but decided to give it a chance to see if it would pull me back in. Unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me, and I did not feel very motivated to try and cook up some deck ideas.

I've always enjoyed this game for 1 hand solo play, but the recent payer card pool is making it even more apparent that 2 handed or multi player is the way to get the most out of the game, there are a number of cards and even whole strategies, especially with the dunedain cards, built around multi player that don't really intrigue me. The scenario mechanics for Lost Realm were interesting, but overall it all just started to feel repetitive for me, and I became more focused on the number crunching than the theme of the game.

Sure this is only 1 players perspective, and it probably does not have much to say about the big picture of the game, but something shifted and I can't quite place my finger on why this game went south for me. The thrill is gone.

I truly hope the game does have a long life, and this has been a great community to be a part of for the last few years, but I don't think I'm making it all the way to mordor with you all. Best of luck on the journey, and i'll probably keep checking in to see when you all get there.

Unfortunately, I fully agree regarding The Lost Realm. Apart from a few interesting cards like Secret Vigil, it feels like the box has been designed with multiplayer in mind. Even the side quest mechanic only feels half as much fun in solo as it does when you can actually discuss questing decisions with others. I also believe that with the current card pool, solo play in general has become somewhat mononotic and sometimes too easy. That is, deckbuilding in solo is becoming more and more obsolete with so many powerful deck types emerging that just work too well out of the box to ignore (Dwarves, Outlands, Silvan, Gandalf, ...).

This is not to say that the game is lacking thrill completely from my point of view. In particular, I feel like Nightmare decks still open up tough deckbuilding challenges and the designers are doing a fantastic job in forcing players to go beyond their traditional strategies. Having said that, I definitely got a lot more playtime and enjoyment out of Nightmare Conflict at the Carrocks than out of the complete Lost Realm box.

Like so many of your original posts that inspired me to start deckbuilding when I was new to this game, maybe this post can inspire you to revisit some of the older quests and find out whether Nightmare decks can also motivate you to try and cook up new deck ideas. Maybe it will not but it would be extremely sad to see you leave before the end of the journey.

The fact that everyone has been complaining about the difficulty of the quests since Heirs of Númenor, and the subsequent fact that we all keep playing this game and talking about it, is enough for me to believe that she's not going no place.

/drop_mic

I am the original author of the spanish post and I would like to clarify some things:

First of all, "Mndela" who is the OP in this thread, is manipulating the statement I made. I do not know why.

The real idea is this: after the announcement of "Land of Shadow" I simply said in the spaniard forum that if the box is expected late 2015, that means that the next and final two saga boxes will be released in 2016 as long as FFG is keeping the same pace (two sagas in a year).

Then I made an assumption considering that late 2016 with the complete saga out would be a critical moment and maybe a suitable one to put an end to the game or apply on it a reboot (game of thrones style). I feel it like that. Nothing more.

After several cycles, all the content based directly on the books published and the end or reboot of another lines it was natural to think that in one and a half year or two years we will have the biggest part of the game.

But dude I did not claim at any time neither that is the thing to come for sure nor my desire. I do not have privileged information or so. It was just a post talking about a possibility in the future of the game as any else could write here.

And of course, the ridiculous statement on "Land of Shadow" is a complete invention created by Mndela.

I think the scare is completely unfounded. Reasons:

• Caleb laughing off the idea completely in his interviews. Granted, he speaks as FFG developer there, so perhaps he would not openly admit if the opposite was true. But he did sound very confident and convincing, so I just see no reason to disbelieve.
• Sales are reportedly very good (FFG annual "flight report" said it is one of their strongest products).
• How on earth can one make an argument that the game is close to discontinuation because the Sagas are being released faster than we expected? Non sequitur.
• Personal feels and individual perceptions of hype (or lack thereof) are of no relation to the actual strength of the game. Players and playgroups have episodes of more and less intense fascination and involvement with the game. But it is individual.
• Abundance of community resources, showing devotion of fans. Someone already listed it here. Also, listen to CotR Podcast episode 79 for a rundown of community sites. Plenty of it.

Perhaps the discontinuation theories are just an echo of the love of LotR LCG, and of the scare of the precious game being taken away. But there really is no reason to inflate the rumors.

ooh, the plot thickens

and by thickens I mean actually that asfaloth just explained that we are talking about a statement that no one really ever made in seriousness

Somebody started a similar thread when the Road Darkens was announced, claiming FFG would only release a Gandalf Hero if the game was about to end. It was equally as idiotic.

Asfaloth, i won't go into detail about what means each word in our posts. It would be open another different thread.

I only say: when i read the spanish thread i was sad thinking the game was off..., now, reading this thread i return to be happy thinking the curse of the game is going normally, even good, very good. Only for this, my appreciation for this thread is usefull. Thanks to all for your replies.

The objective of this thread, when i opened it, is simply what people think (and know) about the furute life of the game.

And LOTR LCG will never go into rotation. It wouldn't make any sense. It doesn't have competitive play so why bother? Even if FFG would say one day: "The Mirkwood Cycle player cards are no longer legal to play with! - Yeah, so what?"

I'll always play with all the cards, which is also the intention here.

And LOTR LCG will never go into rotation. It wouldn't make any sense. It doesn't have competitive play so why bother? Even if FFG would say one day: "The Mirkwood Cycle player cards are no longer legal to play with! - Yeah, so what?"

I'll always play with all the cards, which is also the intention here.

Yup. Also, it's important to consider that decks are developed not only by looking at the Sphere, but also by looking at Keywords. If they declared "illegal" the first AP cycle, then decks with Creatures, or Dunedan, or a Rohan theme will instantly see the pool of eligible cards being halved. Considering how slow certain traits are developed, declaring deceased certain cards will be non-sensical and a real danger to the good health of the game. Just imagine you cannot use Dain any longer. Any dwarf player will be like "whaaaat? Not gonna happen. Period"

@Tracker1

Hey man, so sorry to see you go. You were a real asset to the Community and one of the most gifted Deckbuilders I have come across in the www so far. But I can somewhat relate to you as I more often than not catch myself these days starting to draft a solo deck and then realizing it might be even better to pair it with the "right" second player deck and then play two-handed. I really enjoyed the Ringmaker-cycle though Lost Realm arrived just today (even though I pre-ordered!), so let's see...

The only real reason I could think of for them to stop the game at by the end of 2016 would be the end of the license period...game was released in 2011 if it's e.g. 5 years that would be 2016. I have no idea how much they pay for the license but it might indeed turn a slightly profitable product into a non-profitable one. And it certainly would make ffg think how long they will continue the game before renewing the license...but afaik we have no information on price and duration of licenses so this is a somewhat futile exercise at best.

If it could be the license, i think: if lotr-lcg is bought for a lot of people, developers will want to continue with the game. They could get a new license if they see it still gives more money.

Tracker1 went out. I am not so worry. I am used about those events. I remember Richsabre, i remember... a lot of people. But also a lot of new people come into the game, even more. So i am not so worry. It is usual, if the game has got 5 years old. Not everybody can follow a game too much time! ^^.

Well I'm going to miss Tracker. His decks and videos were great and his opinions were always worth deep consideration. As they are now.

Well I'm going to miss Tracker. His decks and videos were great and his opinions were always worth deep consideration. As they are now.

Agreed. I was just lamenting the other day about the lack of critical commentary in the deckbuilding section of the forum. Tracker always used to give great feedback on my deck ideas, but lately there hasn't been much discussion. I'm going to try to fill that void as much as possible, but I encourage other people to comment more on other people's decks.

What could it be?

Wargriders from Isengard or evil Orc spies from Mordor?

Go back to the shadows and remain hidden. Be gone, foul creatures.

It is this talk, not only of late, that the game would die.. It utters the fear in our hearts and saddens my old, wise heart.

Many folk have stated things here. That's why my hope remains. If nobody would respond to such a thread/t, I would be a bit more concerned (of Hobbits)

Evidence shows us that hope remains. There is no reason to believe in the treason of saruman or devilry from Mordor.

But most important: I do not know, for even the very wise do not see all ends.

I frequently wonder "where are they going?" but not once did I think it meant the end of the game. They make several interesting quests just from capturing gollum and bringing him home. They've built two completely different quests for the battle of lake town. I have faith in their ability to create quests even when we don't see obvious stories available. I wouldn't mind seeing some of the older stories in middle earth being told as well. There is plenty of lore, no reason to stop now.

Also, the article that said Call of Cthulu and Netrunner would go into rotation also mentioned LOTR would not because it was a cooperative game.

Yes so much mileage out of simply capturing gollum.

They could do so many similar things.

The stirring of the "necromancer" before lotr, imagine how much intelegence gathering missions can come from that. Like or loath, look at how Peter Jackson takes single paragraphs and drags them out into half hour aspects of his films.

Simple quests of Aragorns ranger adventures, Boromirs journey to Elronds council, there is allsorts.

Plenty of content.

What would end the game is:

End of license

Or

Lower sales

Or

Lack of enthusiasm from designers

Very little else.

We will keep buying the stuff wont we

Without rotation I could see this game having a limited shelf life as the cost to maintain the catologe of expansions is prohibitive to stores. Also a large cardpool causes many issues with card interactions and the need to ban or errata cards which is what happened to A Game of Thrones. Maybe we would get a reboot similar to AGoT.

Even now LOTR still has a very small card pool. We're finally getting to the point where multiple archetypes can be legitimately supported. MtG has about 2000 different cards available during any given rotation and someone else can figure out GoT. In LOTR 2/3s to 3/4s of our cards are encounter cards. The other problem is the way they design the sets: the player cards in a set provide answers to the quests of the same set. Rotating out the player cards of the set would also rotate out answers for the quests contained in those boxes. Finally, there is not going to be a competitive environment so why bother with rotation?

Hey guys,

First post in a long while. For me the game has lost momentum. This last wait between new content really took it's toll. I was hesitating even getting Lost Realm, but decided to give it a chance to see if it would pull me back in. Unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me, and I did not feel very motivated to try and cook up some deck ideas.

I've always enjoyed this game for 1 hand solo play, but the recent payer card pool is making it even more apparent that 2 handed or multi player is the way to get the most out of the game, there are a number of cards and even whole strategies, especially with the dunedain cards, built around multi player that don't really intrigue me. The scenario mechanics for Lost Realm were interesting, but overall it all just started to feel repetitive for me, and I became more focused on the number crunching than the theme of the game.

Sure this is only 1 players perspective, and it probably does not have much to say about the big picture of the game, but something shifted and I can't quite place my finger on why this game went south for me. The thrill is gone.

I truly hope the game does have a long life, and this has been a great community to be a part of for the last few years, but I don't think I'm making it all the way to mordor with you all. Best of luck on the journey, and i'll probably keep checking in to see when you all get there.

Honestly I feel like this is more a personal thing and not something that can really be attributed to the game.

First off the whole delay and period without much content, that happens from time to time with this game and the various shipping delays and what not didn't help either. It sounds like your personal change of heart happened during these delays however and not due to anything to do with the actual game as you were hesitant to even get the Lost Realm to begin with and was hoping that it would draw you back in.

The lost realm has been received really well by the community overall and the new saga boxes are incredible as well. I haven't seen a single bit of negative feed back about the box except for yourself and perhaps one or two others commenting on how multiplayer focused the player cards are. Also new Heroes like Erestor, Gandalf and Galadriel have really opened up deck building and given us different ways to play the game and some really unique (yet still thematic) hero abilities. We now have side quests (player and encounter) as well as cards that manipulate or are even shuffled into the encounter deck. All of these new mechanics and heroes can be used solo or with multiple decks/players except for some of the dunedain cards.

The game is at its heart designed for multiple players or decks and so naturally many cards will only be useful when playing with multiple decks or players. If you want to play solo you need to realise this and be happy to miss out on a fair bit of the mechanics of the game. Many quests (especially saga) just do not work well with one player thematically or mechanically such as breaking of the fellowship. Either play solo and be happy with it or if you want to utilise ranged, sentinel etc then play two handed (still technically solo in a way) or with other people... but to be annoyed, upset or even disappointed that new cards are mainly directed at multiplayer is pretty silly. It is a multiplayer game after all. Just wait for some other new cards that work better for solo to be released, god knows we already have a fair few of them.

Henamarth comboed with any card that shows the top of the encounter deck to you is insanely good in solo and you can plan every round safely this way.You can also see whether or not you need to keep that test of will in hand or can use up the resource for something else as you will know if you are going to need it or not. I think that this not only proves that there are plenty of cards that are far better for Solo so it really doesn't if there are other cards only for or much better for multiplayer but also helps show how solo doesn't really work as well as it could and the game is at its heart designed for two or more players/decks.

I am just trying to make a point by the way, I know that in no way has Tracker said that the game is any worse or not as good now by having new cards that focus mainly on multiplayer but simply stated that it does not interest him personally which is totally fair enough.

I really don't feel like anything big has shifted in the game. Like you said I think that the thrill simply disappeared for you personally which is quite sad but fair enough. The new mechanics are great, the new player cards are great, everything is only going from strength to strength.

New quests are far more unique than older ones and aren't just make X progress to win and always have new and exciting features.

I'm guessing that my post is not going to be very warmly received I just don't feel like it is a bad thing that the game has leaned away from Solo play for the new mechanic introduced in the new expansion. All areas of play should be expanded multiplayer included.

I too remember many posts by you that were a great read and many amazing decks you made that I read about. You were and still are a great asset to the community for sure and I'm also sad to see you go and like that although you have moved on from the game you are still interested to see where it goes. Absolutely no offense is intended and I wish you all the best of luck just wanted to add my two cents about how much I love the game and how I feel that sometimes it is judged for reasons that aren't entirely valid.