I find myself constantly returning to this game. I find it nails down several of my Lord of the Rings requisites.
1st,
A feeling of traveling in the specific region.
2nd,
A story that slowly unfolds.
3rd,
Branching paths in the story (your choices change the outcome).
4th,
Thematically appropriate mechanics coupled with immersive interactions with the other players.
The last point in its favor, it’s easy gameplay and intuitive rules make the hurdle of learning the rules, so disagreeable to new players, almost nonexistent. Unlike Middle Earth Quest, War of the Ring, & The Battle of Five Armies, I can teach & play the game in under two hours. I am very hopeful that a great many expansions are in the pipeline, but am very pleased with the core product as it stands. I must here confess that I abandoned the Lord of the Rings LCG for the simple reason that I felt it was too abstract. I wanted a sense of location; in a word, a map! & so I have been savoring Hunt for the Ring and Journeys in Middle Earth with keen and regular satisfaction.