John Boone - Jan 17, 2005 3:26 pm (#8361 Total: 8435) War of the Ring, 4-player On the table this past Saturday, War of the Ring (WoTR). We played a 4-player game in about 4.5 hours. First 4-player game, does anyone have any knowledge if the 3-4 player games usually take longer than the 2-player game? Now that the one Ring is destroyed and its life extending effects gone my advanced age and feeble mind may distort some of the facts but here is how I remember the story. The Free Peoples(FP) team decided early on to start splitting groups away from the fellowship to help activate the Free Peoples Nations as early as possible. The first split occurred from Rivendale when Gimli and Merry went to Erebor to activate the Dwarves (they ended up going to war last). Later Merry would go to Dale to activate the Northmen. The Ringbearers (RB) declared themselves in Lorien to heal some corruption damage. Prior to this the Shadow Player(SP) team had not attacked but spent their time using mustering actions first to bring all their nations to war and then build up their forces for the attack. During this time Saruman made his appearance in Orthanc but the SP team withheld bringing out the Witch King in order to forestall activating all of the Free People nations. While in Lorien the second split from the RB party occurred as Strider and Boromir headed for Minas Tirith to aid in its defense (and also to activate Aragorn). Orthanc built up while the Rohirim in the Fords of Isen could only watch. A couple of event cards allowed me to add some units to Rohan before they were at war but Saruman was winning the arms race. The Orthanc/Fords of Isen standoff lasted the whole game as each side never attacked. I think this was a mistake by the SP team as it allow us to muster in Rohan on our own terms rather than as a response to any SP team actions. In the two games I played before, the Ringbearers never stopped in Minas Tirith but went straight from Lorien to Mordor but this time the Ringbearers had to make a pitstop in Minas Tirith or go back to Lorien after a reveal one space out of Lorien brought our total to 6 corruption. "Never go back" was our motto so off to Minas Tirith it was. It was during this time the SP team really got their military campaign going as the Witch King made his appearance in the North and a shadow army began its march to the Grey Havens via the Shire. A Southron Army rolled all through southern Gondor eventually ending in the territory adjacent to the Fords of Isen while Sauron had armies marching on Minas Tirith. Easterlings were slowly marching Westward and Rivendale and Lorien were being theatened with attack by both Sauron's and Saruman's forces (those mad Dunlendings). It was during this time Gandalf and Pippin left the Fellowship with Gandalf first going to Minas Tirith (where he became Gandalf the White) and eventually ending up in the Fords of Isen with Aragorn and the Rohirim to discourage any mischief from Saruman and also play two of the Ent Event cards which only resulted in 2 units lost from Orthanc. The Fellowship left Minas Tirith shortly after it fell to the Shadow Player team; their healing stay was all for naught as all the corruption they healed was returned to them before leaving by play of some events. They were then revealed in Osgiliath where Legolas fell inorder to prevent any more corruption from accumulating. At this point it became a race. The Shadow Player had captured 6 VPs, Minas Tirith, Dol Amroth, Pelargir, and the Shire and the fellowship still had 6 corruption. In addition, the Grey Havens were under siege; the Ringbearers had to go for it. We had accumulated enough movement to declare at the West Gate and begin our ascent of Mt Doom. We had progressed successfully two spaces up Mt Doom when the Grey Havens fell, 8 VPs; the Shadow Team started seeing victory in sight! We named our ringbearing hobbit "Forest Gump Baggins" as he couldn't stop running now! Another turn saw us move up 1 space on the Mt Doom track as the the shadow forces were converging on Lorien and Rivendale and threatening an eventual attack on Helms Deep with the Orthanc/Southron Armies. Another turn gets us two more spaces up the track; all we need is one more space. A two unit Northmen army retakes the Shire (only 1 unit garrison left behind) and forces the shadow team to burn a die taking Edoras, back to 8 VPs. At this time the fellowship is sitting at 9 corruption with one space to go, all the special tiles in the mix, but quite a few of the numbered tiles pulled already. Can the Fellowship make it? The fellowship use the first die of the next turn to advance to the final space of Mt Doom; the shadow team pulls a plain 1 damage hunt tile, 10 corruption, the Ring is destroyed, the fellowship wins.