Hello guys!

First of all, sorry for my bad english.

I have some ffg games (toi gow and civi) and a good group of people to play with, so we were planning on buy the lotr cardgame - we are big fans of the books, movies, story, games....

So, where should we start? I know i need the core game for 1-2 players...

1) To play 3/4 players do i need just one more core? Do any of the expansions allow more players by itself?

2) There's a lot of expansions. Which of them are good/indicated to buy with the core game? I mean... which of them give the game more lifetime! (the shipping and taxes that i spent in every order are very expensive... about 120%-180% the game price, so i want to make just one big order now and one or two later)

3) How easy is the game to teach/learn?

Thanks in advance!

AngeloGargamel said:

cant help on one....i just play 1 player sorry but

2.this isnt easy to answer.....the quests vary and depending on what you like your quests to be about will change what you think about them.....i know this was what you said you didnt want to do, but i would recommend just the core set then decide what parts of it you like ie. questing/ fighting/ theme......everyone has their favourites, perhaps look on cardgamedb.com and look through the card list of each one? you need to think what player cards you want most too......the first cycle of 6 packs has alot of EAGLES and ROHAN characters so if you like them then you can pretty much go for any pack.....the new dwarrodelf cycle will see obviously DWARVES so if you are a dwarf fan maybe hold out and buy khazad dum (the deluxe expansion) and wait for the releases....again this will mean multiple orders. maybe decide on the difficulty you want also....if you want a challenge i would say HUNT FOR GOLLUM or if you want a pack that is really hard then the last one RETURN TO MIRKWOOD- though i wouldnt recommend this one without you having a bit of experience first. if you like locations and theme then go for EMYN MUIL or DEAD MARSHES....or if you like fighting the CONFLICT AT THE CARROCK is a good one.....if you like a game with an interesting 'race against the clock' then go for JOURNEY TO RHOSGOBEL

3. i would say it takes a while to get your head round the rules...ESPECIALLY THE VAGUE ONES....have a copy of the recent FAQ ready at hand and a link to this forum ready...you will ask alot of questions even if you are an experience player of other similar games.....after you get the phases in your head things run pretty smoothly from there. the worst thing i think is timing....what you are allowed to play when, i would reccomend downloading the rule book which is available here on the site, and browse through it and the action chart at the end

ps. im not trying to put you off here.....im obsessesed with this game, but i do like to be fair when i say the rulebook isnt that great, that said once youve been playing for a while i think you could comfortably teach this game...i know i could teach this if i had the time

rich

Listen to Rich! Welcome to the game you guys, and happy gaming!

The only thing you'd need an additional core set for is extra threat counters, and possibly having extra copies of the cards that only come in 1 or 2 copies in a single core set. It it totally feasible to play 4 player with one core set, though.

Thanks for the quick reply!!

I've read the rulebook and take a look in some cards... i'm really excited to begin playing the game!

I'm thinking, based on rich's answer', i'll buy core, thehunt for gollum and the sequel (forgot the name...), even if we'll just play the core at the beginning!

We want to play some hard adventures (like the difficult in gears of war 4 players)

Thanks again!

AngeloGargamel said:

well i can probably say with ease that you will find the game a challenge at the start, i think everyone does....so if thats what you want you're in for a treat

great things await those who buy this game .........be warned though....the One Ring's power is strong....you may get hooked

hmmm.... buying for a gaming group can be tricky, as you can easily over buy... but imo a single player needs 2 copies of core + all expansions at a minimum to really get into this game... 3 copies of core if you are serious about making ubr decks. You can make very good 2 player decks with just 2 copies of core and the expansions.. but... . for 3 player games... well I think you will need 3 copies of core all expantions and then buy the occasional extra expansion to get "just the extra cards you need"

AngeloGargamel said:

There is an online store offering free shipping worldwide (BookDepository.com). That's where I got all my LotR LCG cards from

The decks in the Core set are quite a bit smaller than "official" 50-card decks. If you're regularly playing with 3 or 4 players, then you won't have any extra cards lying around. Each small expansion will only add 6 cards to your deck - assuming you've got 4 1-sphere decks.

That's not a problem, you can still play the game, it just gives things a different feel. Personally, for a lot of multi-player, I think a 2nd core set is worthwhile. 3rd core set, definitely just for hard-core players.

That's not to sat you can't have fun with a single core set, you just won't really be able to deck-build for quite a long time, and you'll probably struggle with some of the later expansion quests (starter decks could easily get milled out by Return to Mirkwood)

Ultimately tho, if it's just your group of 3 or 4, you can do what you like.

I would second Rich's comment about keeping this forum handy. I can tell you from personal experience that it saved my gaming experience with LOTR. My first game took 3 days cause I kept stopping to ask questions on this forum to be sure i understood what was going on...this forum is amazing when it comes to getting help on questions.

BookDepository has a pretty limited supply now that we have been talking about it in this forum. I was only seeing TWO Adventure packs available (HFG and CaTC)

There's someone on ebay who is selling the core set and the Shadows of Mirkwood cycle of expansions (all 6) for $90.00. Shipping will obviously depend on where you are, but it seems like a good deal. If you were to buy those 7 items at list price, it would be $130. You're looking at $10 per Adventure Pack and $30 for the core set. I'd do it if I had the money, that's for sure. I could use a second core set.

Here's the link on ebay.

hendersondayton said:

They have more adventure packs than those two. We just have to put in the 'correct' keywords into the search box. Their tagging system is not good enough

For example, 'Rhosgobel' will take you to http://www.bookdepository.com/Lord-Rings-Lcg-Fantasy-Flight-Games/9781616611033

thaks to everyone

i bought the core and all 6 adventures from mirkwood

cant wait for play!

AngeloGargamel said:

i like your style....dont want to decide which packs to get??? get em all!!! haha

welcome to the game

AngeloGargamel said:

after spending so much... get another copy of core...

booored said:

i'll probabilly do that in march/april Another core and the other expansions!

i've decided to buy all of them because after reading almost all of the cards/adventures/quests and seeing the possibilities of deck building i knew i would enjoy every aspect of the game!

Thanks guys, you make this forum awesome!

unpacked the box some hours ago!

first core quest vs the core tactics deck

ownnedddd hardly by huge spiders!

**** this game is nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyone that plays tide of iron has good taste, so you liking this game is no shock to me!

AngeloGargamel said:

pleased you like, now starts the journey....