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THE GAME |
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LORD OF THE RINGS TRADEABLE MINIATURES GAMES (LOTR TMG) This is mainly a 2 player game (even though it can be played with 3 or 4 Players) in which "Armies" from the 2 Camps of the Tolkien Stories are engaged in a deadly struggle. The Good Camp lines up Humans, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits led by Members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Orcs, Goblins, Easterlings, Nazguls are in the Evil Camp led by Saruman who decided to side with Sauron. The game focus on skirmishes rather than large scale battles. A typical game session has a dozen of figures in each camp and last from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
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TRADEABLE MINIATURES GAME, WHAT IS THIS? It is the miniatures equivalent to the Collectible Card Games, at least to some extent. When you buy a box you don't know what figures you are going to get. Inside are 4 figures of various rarity: 2 "Common", 1 "Uncommon" and 1 "Rare" (from time to time the "Rare" is replaced by an "Ultra-rare"). To make things more difficult (one may say to also make the most out of the sculpture job), there are different versions of the same figure. One basic version and less common versions with better stats. You can tell the different versions apart thanks to their "sliders" (orange, red, purple or blue). These sliders help keep track of the health and power of the characters. Die hard collectors will try to get all of the figures (120 for the first release). Players will try to get the figures that fit best in their armies. Here comes the "Tradeable" part of the Tradeable Miniatures Game. When you buy "Boosters" (packs of for figures), you are doomed to end up with multiples. It's not always an issue. An army may have many identical figures provided they are simple warriors ("Minions"). On the other hand you can have only one version of a "Hero" in your army. Trading takes place in gaming clubs or on trading web sites. Usually you trade a figure for another figure of the same rarity. Another way to handle trading is to sell and buy figures on an auction web site like e-bay. Some shops and some merchant sites also offers sales of single figures. You can start enjoying the game at a reasonable price by getting a "Starter" box and 2 "Boosters" for about $40. At this price you get 16 figures, 6 dice, a rule book and a two sided game map. Getting all the figures is a different story and you may have to spend as much as $1000!
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ANOTHER LORD OF THE RINGS FIGURE GAME? This game is not the first figure game based on the Lord of the Rings saga. Games Workshop already released a game similar to its Warhammer fantasy game of battles. Sabertooth (that happen to be a Games Workshop affiliate) has designed a game that has many differences with the one from Games Workshop. To keep it shorter we'll call the Sabertooth Game TMG and the Games Workshop Game SBG (for Strategy Battle Game). We know exactly what figures we are going to get when we are buying a box for the SBG, there is no "Rarity" involved. As explained earlier with the TMG we never know in advance what are going to be the figures. We only know that we are getting one "Rare" or "Ultra-rare" per Booster. We usually buy boxes for the SBG that contain many times the same figure. Armies may have dozens of figures including homogeneous battle groups. Collecting figures for the TMG we end up with multiples. Not a big issue for "Minions", but multiples of the same version of an "Hero" are trading material. A great delight for SBG fans comes from the fact that figures (plastic or metal) are sold unassembled and not painted. It is part of what is called "The Hobby". Players take pride in displaying their incredibly well painted armies on battle grounds that they often build themselves as well. On the other hand TMG figures are sold assembled and painted. They are nicely painted, better than in other miniature games (Heroclix, D&D Harbinger). Probably better painted than what a SBG newbie could do. Most experienced SBG players can go beyond the TMG standard of quality but it takes time, a lot of time. TMG figures are ready to play right out of the box. Another difference is size. Not that size always matters but TMG figures being 40mm tall they are more impressive (and probably easier to paint) than the 25mm tall SBG figures. One could wonder why the not painted figures are smaller and therefore more difficult to paint but you have to remember that the SBG is used to play sometimes massive battles that are already taking quite some space at this scale. For the same reason the SBG takes place on larger battle grounds (180cm x 120cm) compared to the quite smaller TMG maps (a bit less than 70cm x 60cm). Again: large scale battles compared to skirmishes. Game rules are not similar in size either. SBG is a simulation of large scale battles. Rules are not difficult but they are many. The Rule book has more than 100 pages (it is fair to underline that it also includes stats for all characters and creatures, scenarios, etc.). The TMG booklet has only 5 pages (for each of the 7 languages). TMG rules are short, easy to understand and remember. Nevertheless the game remains difficult to master thanks to the "Special Abilities". The SBG has few special abilities. Wizards such as Gandalf or Saruman have spells, Leaders boost troops morale, but it's nothing compared to the TMG. In the TMG most of the figures have one or more Special Abilities. This is the way to represent specificities (as Spearman, Archer, Wizard or Leader). Looking for the best associations of Special Abilities (called sometimes "Combos" is the source of a rich gameplay. The TMG plays on a hexed map. Figures have an hex base that fits the map hexes. Movement is measured in hexes (and may vary according to terrain). Facing is guided (6 possible directions). Even though the SBG has some wargame heritage it doesn't use hexes. The battle ground is in 3d: hills, rivers, buildings. By the way designing a battle ground is part of "The Hobby" and a source of hard work and pride. SBG figures can move freely, in any direction, using a meter. Some TMG players are already starting to use 3d terrain to play, with or without hexes. Most of the time they are SBG players that want to have the best of both worlds and leverage existing resources. Difference in scale is not a big issue. As mentioned before SBG figure stats are in the rule book. After a while they are remembered and players don't have to go back to the book. Sometimes players have stats cards or summary tables. TMG players have a big advantage. All the stats are on the figure hex base. And sliders to keep track of health and power usage. TMG players may still have to go back to the rule book for Special Abilities as (of course) only the icon and the cost of the abilities are on the base. But after a while you don't need to go back to the booklet. The SBG is a game of battles with dozens and even hundreds of figures. It is designed to handle situations like the at Helm's Deep or Minas Tirith. The TMG being rather a skirmish game, it is better applied to situations like the one that the Fellowship of the Ring had to face at Weathertop or Amon Hen. Both games can be used to play encounters like the one of Balin's Tomb. In the SBG scenarios are usually a key elements with specific victory conditions. TMG games are simpler and less specific: you in by eliminating half of the enemy figures (even though there are some special victory conditions when Frodo is playing). In a SBG game once you eliminate half of the opposing force they have to test their courage, but the battle is not over yet depending on the scenario. TMG games are formatted and quite suitable for tournament play. It is a contest of 2 players selecting their armies and testing their skills in less than 1 hour. At this point you should be convinced that these are two quite different games. So the question is: which one should you play? My answer is easy and straightforward: both! There are enough differences to make both games a different experience. They complement themselves nicely. And if you consider adding the Role Playing Game based on the Lord of the Rings you then have a mythical trio that allows you to play at character, small group or army level.
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GAME BOXES The are two type of boxes. The basic box ("Starter") has all what's necessary to start playing:
Booster boxes contain 4 figures: 2 Common, 1 Uncommon, 1 Rare (or 1 Ultra-rare) and a die The first release has 120 figures (60 for each camp). There are also collector's items: "Promo" figures. You can get them through Special offers enclosed in Magazines, by attending to some game conventions, by playing in official tournaments and even by reporting home games on the Sabertooth web site. 5 Promo figures have already been unveiled.
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THE COMBAT HEX The figure hex base contains a lot of information.
All the stats are written on the base. Base color: Dark Green for Heroes et Light Green for Minions A : Ranged Attack (number of ranged attack dice / Range) B : Movement Points (how far can the character moves) C : Toughness (difficulty to wound the character) D : Attacks (how many close combat attack dice) E : Collector Number (BSxxx : basic set, PRxx : promo set) F : Rarity Symbol (common, uncommon, rare, ultra-rare, promo) G : Unique Number (there can be only one figure with this unique number in a game) H : Faction (a crow for the Evil camp and a leaf for the forces of Good) I : Points Cost (you add these points when selecting an army up to a maximum of usually 1000 points) J : Special Abilities (icons with action point consumption when using the SA) K : Wounds Slider (a figure that looses all its points is retired from the game) L : Action Points Slider (these points are used to activate Special Abilities, to run, to convert near misses into hits and glancing blows into wounds)
Slider colors gives an indication of the figure version: Except for Special Abilities details all necessary stats are on the figure hex base. And there is even no need to turn the base! J
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GAME SEQUENCE Before starting each player has to select an army. Usually for a 30 to 45 minutes game armies are 1000 points worth. Each figure has a cost in points. An army is constituted of Heroes and Minions. The number of Minions is limited by the point limit but also by the Heroes stats (the sum of their Action Points). Beware! A game can be won or lost during army selection. Seasoned players will select the best combinations of Special Abilities. Nevertheless some combinations will work better on specific maps or against specific oppositions. Once the armies are ready the game can start. A roll of a die will determine who is going to be the first to attack. A turn sequence has 4 phases: Strategy, Attacker's Action, Defender's Action, Combat.
Strategy Phase
Attacker's Action Phase
Defender's Action Phase
Combat Phase At the end of each turn a check is made to understand if victory conditions are met (usually victory is achieved by eliminating half of the opposing force). If conditions aren't met a new turn begins. A key point to underline: according to their nature Special Abilities may be activated in different phases. Some apply to the Strategy Phase, others during movements, Range attacks or combat.
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COPYRIGHTS ©MMIII New Line Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. "The Lord of the Rings" and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc. Sabertooth Games, the Sabertooth Games logo, Combat Hex, and the Combat Hex logo are trademarks of Sabertooth Games, Inc. Game system © Sabertooth Games Inc. 2003. All Rights Reserved. Midi music demonstration sequence by Gary Wachtel © Blue Max Distribution 2003. The original content of this web site is ©Laurhidil and shouldn't be copied or distributed without prior formal authorization. I you believe that some material in this web site may infringe copyright laws, please let us know so that we can take appropriate actions.
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QUESTIONS? Visit the Forum. Forum Sections are dedicated to questions on rules or strategy. You have a comment on the above text? A suggestion? Contact me: write to Laurhidil
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