I'd love to see a LotR LCG book similar to MECCG's "Casual Companion": http://www.amazon.com/Wizards-Casual-Companion-Middle-Earth-Support/dp/1558063129

In the book could go:

- FAQs
- errata
- general strategies
- examples of play
- deck examples (good for learning how certain sets of cards work together)
- maps (of the quest locations) - this is something I miss from MECCG
- variant rules (especially for solo players)
- profiles/interviews with creators and artists
- new "learning" quests (with quest cards you can cut out) - could use existing encounter cards
- new hard or themed quests (perhaps some of the fan-developed quests)
- cards missing from core set (for inserting into card sleeves) - this would let us not have to buy 2 or 3 core sets
- new cards (for inserting into card sleeves)

What else could go in the book?

And would you buy it?

if they brought out some oven gloves i would probably buy them if they had this game on them haha

i actually asked about an art book last year but it was just speculation

i like your idea though, as long has it has lots of nice piccys in

rich

tripecac said:

Unless it was egregiously expensive, I would likely buy such a thing.

gatharion said:

same.

The MECCG books were great - I still love thumbing through them in idle moments.

they could put in a bit of background history for the cards too -- expand on the lore a little bit, and explain who the people are. that would help us when making thematic decks

I just read the first issue of Boromir's Buffet: http://cardboardoftherings.com/2013/08/30/boromirs-buffet-1-1/

It was great!

It made me think yet again how cool it would be to have a full-fledged book devoted to LotR LCG. I would definitely purchase such a book in a heartbeat!

I miss how the old CCG's would come out with their little books like the MECCG ones, and I think a LOTR LCG one would be awesome. My hunch is that FFG probably has too much going on to spend time on creating one, but it's a good idea.

Maybe the CotR folks and other fans can assemble a book, and then approach FFG with it.

FFG would then either:

a) finish and publish it themselves (with original authors retaining credit and/or payment)

b) grant the authors the right to self-publish (perhaps with FFG getting some payment)

c) allow the authors the right to distribute the book, but not sell it

d) prevent the authors from distributing the book

What do you think is the likelihood of each possibility?

- FAQs

- errata

This will be obsolete as the time passes, because new editions of FAQ/errata would add more.

However, I like your idea.

Maybe the CotR folks and other fans can assemble a book, and then approach FFG with it.

FFG would then either:

a) finish and publish it themselves (with original authors retaining credit and/or payment)

b) grant the authors the right to self-publish (perhaps with FFG getting some payment)

c) allow the authors the right to distribute the book, but not sell it

d) prevent the authors from distributing the book

What do you think is the likelihood of each possibility?

It's not a bad idea, but I think c and d are the most likely possibilities. While FFG seem to be very supportive of websites/podcasts and at least tolerant of things like OCTGN, it seems like they draw the line at people making money off their content. Such a fan-made book would have to be distributed for free. If someone was going to undertake the project, the smart move would be to contact FFG beforehand to figure out the situation, so that they don't put a bunch of work into something that can't see the light of day.

you could easily turn your blog into a book. just put all the content you've written into a huge pdf file, jazz it up a bit, and sell it for free on the apple store. i've seen loads of free books on the apple store. i think you can self-publish on amazon as well, but i've never seen anything for free on there, so i'm not sure if they do it.

if FFG are cool with the content on your blog (i guess they must be if they've given you a card to spoil), then presumably they would be cool with the same content appearing in an ebook. but who knows, maybe they will look at it differently.

it might bring a load of extra traffic to your blog

I think one large problem with creating a physical book for this game is the fact that the game is updated so often with brand new content as well as new errata left and right. Thus, I think a much handier resource is a blog or website, as mentioned, because they are able to change and reflect all new additions. For me, the Tales from the Cards blog is the #1 go-to source for this game.

books are just so much nicer to look at than a computer screen though. ..... however as someone who has self-published artbooks i know how expensive they are to look nice. they would have to be pretty expensive to make it worth it

rich

The contents of the first issue of Boromir's Buffet seem appropriate for a book. Sure, little details might change over time, but I think essays, maps, and analytical articles can be considered for the most part "timeless", and not made obsolete by later additions to the game (or errata). Also, the articles were short, resulting in a high information-to-page ratio. A book that sustains that density of information (and which has attractive images and maps) would be awesome.

By book I mean book, not PDF. To me, a PDF is not really a book, just like a bunch of mp3s is not really a CD.

Just imagine: a LotR LCG coffee table book. What would go in it?

I'd absolutely love a book with full page splashes of the artwork with profiles of the artists. It may or may not be "egregiously" expensive, but I bet something like that would cost a pretty penny though!

How much would you pay for a LotR LCG companion book?

(I'd pay $30, if it's at least 100 pages.)

How many books do you think they could sell?

How many LotR LCG fans are there anyway?

How much would you pay for a LotR LCG companion book?

(I'd pay $30, if it's at least 100 pages.)

How many books do you think they could sell?

How many LotR LCG fans are there anyway?

not enough.....at least not to make it worth it. as i said in my previous post i know how expensive it is to make these things look nice - which it will have to be to do any sort of justice to this game.

i would probably pay up to £25 if it had mostly art and not text as this is what i want- more an art book than a companion book. however such a large amount of images would put the price up so i would probably pay up to £30

ffg would have to sell quite a few to make it worth their time designing it instead of a new pack or whatever their current project is. i am not sure there are all that many who would pay that amount for a book

rich

How many LotR LCG fans are there anyway?

BoardGameGeek lists 6999 ratings (I wish I could be 7000, but I've already rated it), 1637 comments, and 1366 fans .

I'd bet that only about a quarter to half of purchasers are on BGG (I really don't know how to gauge that), so maybe 2500 to 5000 "fans," and 15,000 to 30,000 folks who've played it? Certainly one of the mods could tell us sales figures (but I doubt they'd release info other than "it sells well".

I'm slowly getting back into the game, and as I refresh myself with the rules I really long for a Casual Companion style book.

Has there been any more discussion about it on the forum? If so, could you please post a link to the thread? Thanks!

Not that I know of. There has been a Rules Reference Guide officially released by FFG, though.

Thanks! The Rules Reference Guide is new[ish], which is nice. I just wish there were a less graphics-heavy version of it, since it takes forever to scroll through on my computer. Perhaps a "printer friendly" version?

I see that the Unofficial FAQ apparently hasn't been updated in 3 or 4 years. Hmm...

Are there any other "must-read" documents about LotR LCG?

The Official Faq was updated a few months ago. I don't even know who owns the unofficial one, but it might not be needed after the RRG.

I'd be more inclined to have a new rulebook that has the FAQ and errata added, as well as a including all the new adventure specific rules.

Holy necro here!

There is a (fanmade) compendium, called "Lore (something)" I think, somewhere on boardgamegeek. It is a pdf with round abount 300 pages. It contains all the erratas, custom AP rules and the lore from the games. And I dunno what else.