''Games of Middle Earth'' is a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

of board games published by Simulations Publications, Inc. in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

that are all based on the epic fantasy novel ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'' by

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...

. It was a bestseller for SPI even before its publication, and remained at or near the top of SPI's Top Ten list for two years.

Description

The

boxed set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

contains three games #''

War of the Ring ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...

'': The first licensed product to attempt to cover the entire series of conflicts depicted in ''Lord of the Rings'' from the Fellowship's departure from

Rivendell Rivendell ('' sjn, Imladris'') is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of th ...

to the final battle at the Black Gates of Moria. Designed by

Richard Berg Richard Harvey Berg (1943 – July 26, 2019) was a prolific American wargame designer. He was inducted into the Charles Roberts Awards Hall of Fame in 1987. Early life, army, student and lawyer Richard Berg was born in New York City. ...

, with graphics by

Redmond A. Simonsen Redmond Aksel Simonsen (June 18, 1942 – March 9, 2005) was an American graphic artist and game designer best known for his work at the board wargame company Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in the 1970s and early 1980s. Simonsen was consi ...

and cover art by

Tim Kirk Tim Kirk is both a professional artist and an American fan artist. He worked as a senior designer at Tokyo DisneySea, as an Imagineer for the Walt Disney company. He began his professional art career during the mid-1970s as an illustrator at ...

. #'' Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith'': A simulation of the siege of

Minas Tirith Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...

as described in Tolkien's ''

Return of the King Return may refer to: In business, economics, and finance * Return on investment (ROI), the financial gain after an expense. * Rate of return, the financial term for the profit or loss derived from an investment * Tax return, a blank document or t ...

'', the last volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. Designed by Rob Mosca, with graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen and cover art by Tim Kirk. #''

Sauron Sauron (pronounced ) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middl ...

'': A simulation of the battle at the end of the Second Age between an army of monsters led

and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men led by the heroes

Elendil Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is mentioned in ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Silmarillion'' and ''Unfinished Tales''. He was the father of Isildur and Anárion, last lord of Andúnië on the island of ...

Isildur Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the elder son of Elendil, descended from Elros, the founder of the island Kingdom of Númenor. He fled with his father when the island was drowned, becoming in his turn King of ...

and

Gil-galad Gil-galad is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the last High King of the Noldor, one of the main divisions of Elves. He is mentioned in ''The Lord of the Rings'', where the hobbit Sam Gamgee recites a fragmen ...

. Designed by Rob Mosca, with graphics by Redmond A. Simonsen and cover art by Tim Kirk.

Components

* three

hex grid A hex map, hex board, or hex grid is a game board design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into a hexagonal tiling, small regular hexagons of identical size. Advantages and disadvantages The primary advantage of a h ...

maps, one for each game * a rule book for ''War of the Ring'', a rule book of common rules for both ''Sauron'' and ''Gondor'', and one rule book each for ''Sauron'' and ''Gondor'' that contain rules exclusive to each game * die-cut counters for each game * reference sheets for each game

Publication history

In 1976, SPI was granted a license by the Tolkien Estate to produce wargames based on ''Lord of the Rings''. It subsequently produced three wargames in 1977: ''

'', ''

'', and '' Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith''. SPI also packaged all three games into a boxed set titled ''The Games of Middle Earth.'' This proved to be one of SPI's bestsellers, entering SPI's Top Ten list at Number 1 four months before publication based on pre-orders alone. Following its release in November 1977, ''Games of Middle Earth'' remained SPI's bestselling game for almost two years.

Reception

In ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...

'' #11, Bill Seligman called this product "one of the most artistic games PI hasever published, and one of the easiest to learn." But on the other side of the coin, "it is also one of the least balanced games they have ever put out." Overall, he found ''Middle Earth'' a bit disappointing, saying, "All in all, I'd say the game set ''Middle Earth'' is only fair. Tolkien deserves much better." He concluded by giving the set of games a rating of 5 out of 10. Writing for the Dutch games review site ''Casus Belli'', Frank van den Bergh liked ''War of the Ring'', but called both ''Sauron'' and ''Gondor'' "clearly lesser games". Although he admitted, "they are fun games that offer many possibilities," van den Bergh concluded, "These games are only recommended for the devoted Tolkien fan."

References

External links

*
The SPI Compendium
* * * * Adventure board games Board games introduced in 1977 Licensed board games Simulations Publications games {{Board-game-stub