I just purchased the game this weekend (the Core Set), and so far I am loving it!

Before taking the plunge (I weigh these things out heavily before getting into a new game of this magnitude) I read a lot of reviews, watched a lot of YouTube, and read through these forums. However, one of the clinchers for me was discovering and listening to Cardboard of the Rings! I downloaded all the previous episodes, and I'm currently half way through episode 9. To all of you involved - absolutely wonderful job! Great balance of information, thoughtful reflection about the cards and game mechanics, and hilarious antics. Well done! Now I'm even tempted to go back and listen to old episodes again, now that I have some games under my belt. Thanks for your good work. Your enthusiasm is contagious.

juicebox said:

That's awesome that you've found the 'cast so informative and entertaining, and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts - comments like these always make the "work" it takes to put together every show or written review worth the effort!

You may not have heard any of my thoughts yet (since I joined the show on episode 10 ), but I hope you keep having a blast playing this fabulous game. Putting out this show helps to breathe even more life into an already fantastic community, and we're always glad to welcome new players!

Update: Now half way through Episode 13, and I continue to really enjoy the show. Fantastic work, all.

Lightdarker, your contributions are very thoughtful, and I'm enjoying even more the expanded and well rounded cast. Good stuff!

Episode 14 is up! Check it out, and make sure to enter our new contest for your chance to win an Adventure Pack of your choice!

Episode 15 is up! Check it out, and make sure to enter our latest contest for the chance to win an Adventure Pack of your choice!

Episode 16 is up and ready to download! Check it out, and make sure to enter our latest contest for the chance to win an Adventure Pack of your choice!

Lightdarker said:

last time you burned us all by not even posting everyone entry that entered.. some people put a lot of effort into their stuff and even if it didn't win expected it to be on the site for comment. It was offensive. Made us feel that we completely wasted our time.

booored said:

Try to keep in mind that this is a collaboration of four different people, and things don't always turn out perfectly. For example, I personally did not have access to all of the contest entries up until recently for that episode, and although by now all of them should be posted , obviously there was the delay you were frustrated by - so sincerest apologies for not getting them up sooner, but things don't always go perfectly according to plan, unfortunately. In any case, everyone that entered still had the opportunity to win an Adventure Pack, and their hard work is now freely visible to anyone interested in seeing it.

booored said:

This is really unfair. These guys do this VOLUNTARILY, spending their free time to fuel all of our collective gaming obsession. They put most of them up in time for the last episode, and the rest of them up this week. Incidentally, the same thing happened to me. But I understand and appreciate what these guys do and I didn't get bent out of shape about whether or not my fantasy card for a Lord of the Rings card game got picked to be put up in a photo album on the internet one week earlier than everyone elses. If that offends you, you really need to re-examine your priorities.

COTR Cast -> You guys do an amazing job and some of us REALLY appreciate your hard work. Thank you!

Lightdarker said:

Don't get me wrong I love teh show and listen to it.. and I'm apreciative.. but regardless of intent or the errors, it upset a lot of viewers. I saw posts on your blog from other people, some gamers on this forum I am in personal contact, people at BBG.. it upset a lot of people. It is just a fact. I think the addition of the rule to add username and force jpgs for entries is a good idea to fix this for next time.

booored said:

When i listen this show first time i was laugh like hell: Those guys try to make Lotr show but not even the know rules well but also they logic and the way how they approach to new cards show me straight away they are really dilettantes. I stop to listen this cose there is nothing to hear for me.

But in the end of the day this game community is like this. Most of the players here is not proff. players for example as in Magic community so just accept it my friend.

Anyway thanks guys for the show cose we need something like this and i hope with time you will get better with the rules and so on.

P.S. I really wait for the official tournaments system cose that what will make game go up for more proff level.

Glaurung said:

I would argue that LightDarker knows the rules as good/better than most people who play (I would also put Radiskull and Dam on that list of people who really know the rules). Was it funny to hear their card mistakes at the beginning of the show? Ya I thought it was because they were just starting to play the game like we all were and most of us probably made the same mistakes! Also It's kinda a stretch to say that its not for professional players seeing as there are no professional players. No one (at least I assume no one) plays this game for their livelihood or as a means to earn some serious money. So we can't really say anything about professional players at this point in time because their are none. Is this podcast for everyone? No probably not but for something that these guys do for free and with no gain to themselves I would say its an amazing thing. Anyways to each their own. As for me I will continue listening to Brandon talk about putting 5 unexpected courages on Boromir.

Welp, the podcast may not be any good, but at least they give away free Adventure Packs!

In all seriousness though, love or hate the show, when it comes to describing the appeal, value, or personality of our podcast, this is how I perceive each host's individual contribution:

- Brandon brings an extraordinary amount of enthusiasm for this game, the Lord of the Rings franchise, and gaming in general to the show, and really brings it to life through sheer energy and excitement for each and every release in this series. He does make some assumptions and snap judgment calls (i.e., calling cards "unplayable"), but he is far from the first player in any gaming community to do this. I think his goal is primarily to enjoy the game as a thematically immersing, entertaining, and at times challenging gaming experience, and if part of that is having a less than rote memorization of the rules, then so be it. This community has all kinds of players, and I think that Brandon represents a tremendous portion of them.

- Andrew has been Brandon's friend for a long, long time, and their personalities complement one another very well, providing (in my opinion), great comedic relief. Andrew is certainly familiar with the Lord of the Rings series, but not so committed to either the franchise or the game as Brandon. A little more "casual," perhaps, but as the busiest of all of the hosts (full-time job, married with a new baby, etc), he certainly represents a significant portion of the player-base as well - people that quite simply don't have the time to dedicate to getting all of the rules absolutely perfect, but who still want to enjoy the game, both with their friends and alone, and to make the most of their experience while doing so.

- Brian is a relatively casual player, but someone whom is nevertheless passionate about the Lord of the Rings franchise and views the game from a primarily solo player perspective. He is willing at times to modify the rules for the sake of creating a more engaging, enjoyable or "fair" experience (e.g., house rules), and while some players may not necessarily agree with this approach, there are certainly those that do, as well. Along with Brandon, he is very comfortable discussing the lore or flavor aspects of the game, and overall I feel is as solid a contribution to the cast as any other host.

- Finally, Mitch (yours truly), approaches the card game as someone who is admittedly more interested in the mechanics of the game than the LOTR theme itself. When I first started listening to the show, I was as surprised as anyone about the misinterpretation of a few cards by Brandon and Andrew that seemed to me to be fairly straight-forward (i.e., Steward of Gondor, Eleanor), but that did absolutely nothing to stop me from becoming a huge fan of this podcast, as hearing people so enthusiastically discuss the game I even now continue to enjoy so much made it a far more satisfying and engaging experience for me when each new Adventure Pack or preview article was released by FFG. It's hard to say if I would be nearly as interested in this game if it weren't for the existence of the COTR podcast, but I certainly have Brandon and Andrew to thank for inspiring me to new heights of interest and enthusiasm in not only the card game itself, but really, the LOTR franchise as a whole. I probably pay closer attention to detail in this game than the other hosts (i.e. rules, card interactions and memorization), but even when we're recording a show and someone says something that I think is a poor decision, or maybe even plain wrong, I don't always feel the need to interject, simply because I believe everyone should be entitled to their own opinion, and it would detract from the overall quality of the podcast if I, or anyone, kept consistently interrupting people to adamantly assert my or their own "correct" thoughts.

Out of all of the hosts, I would probably be the most likely to attempt to participate should there ever become a LOTR LCG tournament scene, but until then, I hardly think that it's a matter of life or death for this podcast to get each and every ruling and card interaction absolutely accurate (even if I would honestly prefer it did). Not everyone would agree, of course, which in turn brings me to my next point.

To respond directly to Glaurung, whom called us dilettantes, I don't think for a moment that Brandon's initial idea for COTR was to cater primarily to the ultimate tournament gamer or rules lawyer, and when I joined the show, by no means did I want to alter that structure he had established and was satisfied with. Rather, I believe his idea and inspiration was from the beginning to foster a sense of excitement for, and to facilitate discussion of, this new game in a franchise that he has always loved - need I remind you that he actually wears a "One Ring?" It has unfortunately become very clear since the inception of the podcast that Brandon and the rest of us cannot please everybody, but really, all that we can try to do is to put together a show that we all very much enjoy creating once every two weeks, and for each of us to provide our own unique contribution as I laid out above. We present it to the community to either accept or reject it as they will, but despite having received feedback similar to yours in the past, I am still not convinced that I should try to persuade the rest of the hosts to approach this game in a way other than that which they have already been doing for so long - that which they have grown to enjoy as a way of spending a significant amount of their free time.

I have often thought of myself as being very similar to you, Glaurung, and will freely admit that I have often empathized and agreed with you when you have made (and continue make), controversial or inflammatory claims such as "this game is too easy," which so often tends to illicit frustration and ire from the rest of the community. However, as much as I hate to get drawn into any pointless debate or forum flaming, I just have to say (as so many others have before me), that the majority of your posts about this game that you somehow still claim to enjoy (and all things related), are consistently, astonishingly negative. You mentioned that there's nothing "for you" in the COTR podcast (which is fine, as anyone is certainly entitled to think whatever they would like about it), but quite frankly, considering your very outspoken opinions of this game, I don't really understand what there is in the LOTR LCG itself for you. You are welcome to have your own opinion about the podcast, of course, but truthfully, if you think that the primary goal of the other three hosts of COTR is to understand each and every rule and interaction of this cooperative, non-competitive, non-tournament game perfectly, above simply having fun playing a cool game and talking about it, then you're unfortunately missing the point. I believe that the show has indeed become more analytical than it once was since I joined the podcast, but for me to do more than I already do to "correct" the opinions of any of my co-hosts would, I feel, do nothing but to detract from the fun they have creating this podcast, and in turn, playing the game itself.

I'm not trying to get into a flame war with you, but if you honestly believe that this game is ever going to become as "competitive" in the tournament scene as the likes of Magic: the Gathering, then I think, unfortunately, that you are sadly mistaken, and to call COTR dilettantes or desultory is, I believe, not entirely accurate, and indeed, unnecessarily inflammatory. Would I approach this podcast differently, if it were mine exclusively? I daresay I would - but it has been Brandon's creation from the beginning, and essentially nonconstructive criticism does little more than discourage the hosts and listeners alike from participating in COTR, and perhaps even our game itself.

Does it make me cringe a little bit , for example, when Brandon declares a potentially useful card "unplayable?" It certainly does - but I'm okay with that. I accept COTR for what it is - an imperfect creation (much like LOTR LCG) - but that does not stop me from enjoying it immensely, and always looking forward to producing our next episode.

Dont be angry my friend. I really respect for what you done for the game and so on. My problem is i come from different community of the players when people play serious for win like magic or Lotr tcg from decipher. So i already understand here is just fans not SPORT PEOPLE. Anyway i cool about this and i play this game only cose is TOLKIEN and im big fan of Tolkien anyway. I just tell what i think and i dont wont argue or something like this and true to say i dont want even read your long respond. Just my mention about situation. Anyway i listen all your podcast and have fun with that!!!! Dont worry you have my respect LightDarker!!! In my opinion you on the right way. Just little bit critics sometimes can be healthy as well ok?

Anyway game is going to right way im my opinion and i happy with that.

i love your podcast guys keep up your great work and thanks

Thanks to all our listeners! We have a great time making the show and I'm glad to hear you guys are enjoying it, or at the very least engaged in the discussion about it. With Kazad Dum coming out soon there is certainly no lack of things to talk about! Keep the contest entries coming, we will do our best to share them, sorry for the ones I missed, no offense was meant! I think they should all be up on facebook by now, if not let us know through [email protected] that we missed yours, don't sweat it, we will get it up asap.

2012 is going to be the best year for the game and for Cardboard of the Rings, so stay tuned!

GirderZombie said:

Can't wait! Keep up the good work guys!

Love the podcast, guys. Just recently picked up a core pack, and I'm loving the game. Fiance got it for me for Christmas and I convinced her to let me have it early, haha. I've got two adventure packs on the way (Amazon has 'em on sale.) and I'm looking forward to catching up on the episodes as I play through 'em.

GirderZombie said:

2012 is going to be the best year for the game and for Cardboard of the Rings, so stay tuned!

WELL, I would like to hope that this statement is patently false, as I hope that every new year is better than the last, both for the game and the podcast! Thanks for making it! You guys rock!

With Brandon and Andrew away for the holiday season, check out a very special episode brought to you by Brian and Mitch!

After some technical difficulties with uploading the file (our hosting website had fallen into shadow), Cardboard of the Rings returns with a triumphant new Episode 17! Check it out for a retrospective look at the entire Shadows of Mirkwood cycle.

For either of the listed Podcasts, I keep getting a "connection timed out" error from ITunes when clicking GET ALL from ITunes. Works when DL one podcast at a time so that Is what I am doing. Looking forward to listening in!

Thank you for the hard work and time spent.

I don't know nearly enough about hosting and RSS feeds to be able to help you on a technical level, but just let us know if you have trouble getting any episode in particular. We can always find a manual solution if necessary.

I took the time to DL each episode separate. It worked. Listened to the first episode that was available and really enjoyed it.

I kind of withdrew from this game after playing the core set for a while, but now I'm enthused about it again with all of the expansions, and I started listening to the COTR podcast again. You guys are doing a great job, and I'm enjoying your rapport and insights and I love the custom card contests and stuff like that. But I still have the same complaint that I did originally... that the main host (sorry but I can't remember your names right now) is too far away from his microphone. There's too much ambient room noise (and I don't mean that as if there is noise being made in the background, but the mic is picking up too much of the room on the voice). Just listen to the other guys and how clear they all sound. I really think it's just a matter of the proximity to the recording source. So get yourself in closer to the mic and then it'll all sound great.

Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to more than a few minutes of the other podcast. Too much rambling, and not enough content focused on the subject. Podcasts are often way too long as it is, IMO, without a bunch of rambling chatter that's not relevant or entertaining in some way. It's possible that I just caught a bad episode as an example. but it would have to be significantly better normally to win me back. Anyway...