The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth is an adventure RPG from Fantasy Flight Games, who are likely best known for Mansions of Madness and Arkham Horror. Journeys in Middle-Earth supports 1-5 players, who explore procedurally generated maps in a story-driven campaign to battle new threats.

The base game’s asking price can seem pretty high, especially for newcomers to the hobby. But the sheer density and quality of the game are definitely worthwhile. The physical components include detailed map tiles and high-grade miniatures of classic enemies like wargs and goblins. They’re pretty durable, boast intricate designs, and have gorgeous artwork.

However, the cards may wear out after about 20 hours of gameplay. Since the full campaign features about 12 to 14 unique adventures, you could get there sooner than you think. You may have to invest in some sleeves.

The companion app is a revelation for solo players or couples who want to try out a Dungeons & Dragons experience, and don’t have a big group with a skilled dungeon master ready to go. It’s available on most platforms, like Apple or Steam.

The app neatly manages all your resources, upgrades, XP and so forth. The ability to save and quit is very useful, although setup can take a while. The app offers light narration for the beginning and victorious ending, but nothing else is read aloud.

Story and Gameplay

The story in the base game is pretty enjoyable overall, with enough mystery, decision-making, and replay value. The allies and enemies could use more personality, but they’re serviceable.

The language for the setting, action, and dialogue smartly uses an elegant tone that fits Tolkien’s world without attempting to imitate the source material. Tolkien’s bright mastery of language is downright incomparable, so the game would feel clunky if it tried.

It’s unfortunate that more familiar heroes aren’t available here, and the roster deserves criticism for omitting essential female characters from Tolkien’s work. Even the expansions continue to ignore Éowyn. Also, some of the more compelling enemies, like the troll, don’t show up until the latter half of the plot.

But Journeys in Middle-Earth does shake up the gameplay now and then with battle maps, which are two simplistic boards that focus on interaction instead of exploration. At times, players must root out a spy or converse with angry spirits. This provides the game with solid pacing.

The rules are considerably dense, but so is Tolkien’s source material, so it feels innately fitting. Nearly every process or interaction will need referencing, but the rules are generally very clear and straightforward. So, it’s more a matter of homework than confusion.

Players can move, attack, or interact on their turns. Next, the app runs a “Shadow Phase”, spawning and moving enemies, and increasing the Threat Level. Finally, in a “Rally Phase”, players shuffle the cards they used back into their character’s deck. This cycle is repeated as heroes explore.

The Threat Level is a red bar that fills up in each adventure, giving players a ticking clock to complete each mission. It’s pretty inconsistent, quickly overflowing on some maps, while trickling in on others. This can be frustrating, but the unpredictability is also appreciated. You will definitely need to explore as much as you can in order to upgrade, and win later scenarios.

Journeys in Middle-Earth can have a surprisingly high difficulty level, that may have you resort to house rules. There are many opportunities for heroes to die in a single hit, especially late game, since you can only prevent so much. You can choose your difficulty level at the beginning of the game, but even casual Adventure mode won’t change the battles much.

A smaller gripe concerns the Roles, which can be assigned to different heroes. Some heroes are more restricted for certain roles. Players draw cards to test for attack, interactions, and defense. As a result, some characters can’t really explore new roles if they want to survive.

Still, there are many fun decisions to make, a variety of weapons and items to wield, and an ever-changing map to explore. The cards, tokens and gameplay understand the source material well enough to translate it in a clever and rewarding way.

Final Thoughts

While I may have sounded a little hard on this one, I did ultimately love it. Journeys in Middle-Earth successfully blends mechanics from previous Fantasy Flight board games, Tolkien’s mythology, and app-driven gameplay in a tidy and satisfying way overall.

Fans of Lord of the Rings should be pleased, as well as purists who traditionally dislike apps. The board game experience is fulfilling and takes priority.

With endless replay value, a beloved IP, invaluable app management and high-quality components, this is a must-buy. It’s well-suited for couples, solo players and large groups alike. With the app companion and IP, it’s also a perfect introduction to the board game hobby.

Score: 7.5/10