Summary is they're not sold on it. Not as good of an app based game as MoM2e, not as good of a campaign game than FFG's Imperial Assault, and a step down from Gloomhaven as a card based fantasy campaign game. Did FFG miss the make by trying to be a little bit of everything, and ending up with nothing to make it stand out, other than the Lord of the Rings theme?

They were mainly expecting faster advancement and cool trinkects. They did like the card mechanics, but expected all the check to become too repeteative. Also They did not like encounter rewards (mainly inspiration) They did like the app.

but Also Gloomhaven gets repeative after 40 games. And most Ffg games where there Are skill checks Are very repeative... the Main thing is do you like the story. Some game reviewers have liked a story a lot and in this video They Are not sold by it. So all in all it depends a lot if the story suits you or not. And how those side quest Are handled in the game now and in the future.

good review, In anyway! I don`t agree with everything They say in the interview (matter of taste) but They definitely have good points that should be taken in the account when making new scenarios and adventures to this game!

i really hope that we see same development arc in this game as in Lotr Lcg where later scenarios were much more interesting than those in the befinning of that game life span.

I generally like NPI reviews but often don't agree with their conclusions. They make a lot of good points but sometimes those points do not line up with my own impressions. Plus they just seem to have different game preferences than me and my gaming group. Plus that KS mid-video advertisement was bleh. Hate it when reviewers/content creators to that.

Once I heard the British accents I turned it off because everyone on that island works for Games Workshop.

I too, am a little worried about the threat bar: being so busy trying to beat the clock, many of the story elements will have to be passed by out of necessity.

You have to chose! And that is the Beaty of it. If you just would have infinite time there would not be meaningfull choises. Do I do this fansy side quest or do I go for the Main quest so that I don`t lose by time! It make Gaming much more interesting and you really have to think... what is the most important thing at this moment. The game would be very boring without that times. In Gloomhaven you run out of cards if you do things too slowly. In this we have threat meter. Similar goal, different way of doing it.

I can see what they're saying about enemy variety and inspiration being over-used, but that hardly makes this a bad game in my opinion. I just can't agree with their snap conclusion to view this game so poorly, especially after watching other reviews online and watching the play throughs.

It may be because I've never played the other games that this is drawing from. I've never played mansions of Madness, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, or Gloomhaven. I have played LoTR:LCG and I'm a huge LoTR fan as well. Seeing that the gameplay is functionally tight and practically fun to play is enough for me, given that it's LoTR.

I do hope that expansions and updates improve the game in the future, but as it is now it looks like a great game, possibly even a slam dunk.

This has me a little down on the game. I love Imperial Assault and Gloomhaven. Expecting a game as good as Gloomhaven is an extremely high standard, but I was hoping for an improvement over IA.

It does sound like a game I’ll enjoy, but I’ll have to wait and see the consensus once the game is fully released.

I saw that video, I hope they're wrong. I'm a huge Tolkien fan, so maybe my experience will be different.

The main thing that bugs me from what I've seen about the game is the fact that you have to shuffle the cards before each round. Probably my least favorite aspect of playing games is shuffling. So I don't look forward to having to shuffle every round, especially since the cards are mini, and I intend to sleeve them all.

Usually I like shuffling once before the game begins, as part of the setup, and I feel relief that part is over, and look forward to the game. Oh well.

Anyway, I've seen other review videos where they loved the game. As usual, best to decide for yourself.

On 4/15/2019 at 1:10 AM, Vince79 said:

I saw that video, I hope they're wrong. I'm a huge Tolkien fan, so maybe my experience will be different.

The main thing that bugs me from what I've seen about the game is the fact that you have to shuffle the cards before each round. Probably my least favorite aspect of playing games is shuffling. So I don't look forward to having to shuffle every round, especially since the cards are mini, and I intend to sleeve them all.

Usually I like shuffling once before the game begins, as part of the setup, and I feel relief that part is over, and look forward to the game. Oh well.

Anyway, I've seen other review videos where they loved the game. As usual, best to decide for yourself.

Basically you have to shuffle after every round so you can get successes, as if you would reshuffle just when all cards in your deck are discarded you will run out of successes eventually failing like pretty much every skill test/combat.

1 hour ago, ApocK2 said:

Basically you have to shuffle after every round so you can get successes, as if you would reshuffle just when all cards in your deck are discarded you will run out of successes eventually failing like pretty much every skill test/combat.

You’re exactly right about shuffling only when you reach the end of the deck. However, the knowledge of how many successes remain in your deck to aid in decision making and risk taking is part of the fun.

That said, if you’re likely to go through 3/4 of your deck in a round then enough of that element is present for my tastes. But if you’re getting through 1/4, then it will feel like that element is missing almost entirely.

The house rule in the second case is simple, though. Shuffle at the end of round if you’re x% through you deck.

I’m might even just say shuffling is optional until you’re down to a certain number or percentage of cards. That way my Gloomhaven teammate who has a knack for drawing the null modifier three turns in a row at some point in every scenario might have some fun, lol!

(Of course... I’ll try it before I mess with it.)

I am a fan of the reviewers, and enjoy their channel quite a bit.

They also had some critical reviews of Rising Sun (which I intend to try soon) as well as heroes of Land, Air, and Sea (a game I enjoy.)

The two main complaints do not give me any concern:

Inspiration: I have played Mansions of Madness for a long time... most interactions give you a little narrative, and a clue token (which works similarly to the inspiration.) These points of interest are to help the story unfold, they could take inspiration out and you just read text of the situation... but that would make everyone complain that it was all fluff. The inspiration is valuable as we will need it as it will greatly assist in all the tests.

Enemy variety: This one I actually mentioned in Arkham Horror 3rd edition that the monsters felt like stats and obstacles when compared to Mansions of Madness where all enemies had unique actions. I am not too worried about it as this is an adventure game, not a dungeon crawl. Also, they only got to play the first two scenarios, so there is a pretty small sample size. The perceived lack of unique mechanics on Arkham took nothing away from my enjoyment of that game.

In any case, I preordered at my FLGS and cannot wait to try it!

It doesn't look like the deck you have to shuffle every round is that big of a deck, so that may help.

But I wish I had a machine that shuffled sleeved mini cards well.

I really enjoy their videos; their video for Gloomhaven was both inspiring and humorous.

Regarding this video, I agree with them that GH is far and away the best campaign game ever made, but I do think they were a bit too critical of Journeys in Middle Earth. The other review videos I've seen have been very positive.

I think, they try to be fun, but they arent!

The review is absolutely terrible...they almost look homeless. Or is that a part of their business plan, I mean its a business, right?

Edit** I assume it was put on here for feedback.

A very lazy review IMO.

Well that was a trip. Hope they grow into their own and stop trying to be a SU&SD knock off.

On 4/16/2019 at 1:58 PM, Hockeyabe said:

I am a fan of the reviewers, and enjoy their channel quite a bit.

They also had some critical reviews of Rising Sun (which I intend to try soon) as well as heroes of Land, Air, and Sea (a game I enjoy.)

I played Rising Sun at a friend’s house, initially didn’t like it then while thinking about it overall the next day it clicked and I realized how good it was. It’s a very well done game, I hope you enjoy it too!

I watched their Heroes review after watching this one, maybe they just should have said “these games aren’t for us” and left it at that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who can take the mechanics and components of what make a particular game amazing and unique and spin them negatively. It makes me think they didn’t play it very much before reviewing it. For my money Heroes is one of the best games that came out last year, and its amazing symmetry and simultaneous asymmetry keep me coming back for more.

Journeys in Middle Earth looks like it took the best of what works in several different FFG board game systems and mixes them together with a Middle Earth theme. There’s nothing wrong with that. I was skeptical at first, thinking it was too app dependent but I’m actually quite excited to check it out. My FLGS gets it in next week, will find out then!

On ‎4‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 9:56 PM, TheSpitfired said:

Journeys in Middle Earth looks like it took the best  of what works in several different FFG boa  rd g  ame systems and mixes them together with a Middle Earth theme. There’s nothing wrong with that. I was skeptical at first, thinking it was too app dependent but I’m actually quite excited to check it out. My FLGS gets it in next week, will find out then!

We really like it. It builds on many mechanisms, and hits a spot for me that I have been missing since Runebound seems like it has been forgotten. The App assist is great, Similar in Mansions for exploration, but obviously a different theme. While many are not into app driven games, consider how many cards we had to manage for a co-op like Arkham Horror second edition or Eldritch Horror. It is taking control of the narrative, but removes the book-keeping aspect of a campaign game we always had to endure.

Hope it is a hit for you too!

3 hours ago, Hockeyabe said:

We really like it. It builds on many mechanisms, and hits a spot for me that I have been missing since Runebound seems like it has been forgotten. The App assist is great, Similar in Mansions for exploration, but obviously a different theme. While many are not into app driven games, consider how many cards we had to manage for a co-op like Arkham Horror second edition or Eldritch Horror. It is taking control of the narrative, but removes the book-keeping aspect of a campaign game we always had to endure.

Hope it is a hit for you too!

Now that I've gotten a few adventures in I am very glad I told my FLGS to order me a copy. I have enjoyed Journey's a lot so far! I think you hit the nail right on the head with how well the app integration works. I also think you're right, it certainly scratches that Runebound itch a bit. Good fun!

I have also found out that No Pun and SU&SD are good friends, so maybe I was a little harsh in my initial thoughts on their channel. They're alright.