Game Info
Year
2027
Players
2-4
Age
12+
Playtime
120 min
Complexity
3/5
Collection
Ratings
Creator Score
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
A large-scale card-driven battle game reimagining the out-of-print Star Wars classic The Queen's Gambit with a Lord of the Rings theme where players clash across four simultaneous battlefields including Pelennor Fields Minas Tirith Pelargir and the journey to Mount Doom
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 11
This page: 11
Sentiment:
pos 8 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 2 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–11 of 11
Video NtLfDB7VTQs
The Brothers Murph Playthrough at 0:32 sentiment: positive
video_pk 151271 · mention_pk 424850
Click to watch at 0:32 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Thematic actions and abilities.
- Strategic card play and movement.
- Tense back-and-forth gameplay.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- The struggle for the fate of Middle Earth between the Shadow armies and the Free Peoples.
- Middle Earth during a time of conflict, specifically the Pelanor Fields and Minas Tirith.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Card Selection — Players secretly choose four action cards each round and play them in order, with each card having two options.
- Area Control — Players vie for control of three battlefields and specific locations like Minas Tirith and the Pelanor Fields.
- Dice combat — Attacks are resolved by rolling dice, with sword symbols representing hits and shield symbols for defense.
- muster action — Orcs can be mustered back onto the board when defeated.
- Objective Fulfillment — Players have objectives that grant bonuses and momentum tokens when achieved.
- Push/Pull Mechanism (Gollum Track) — The Gollum token moves along a track based on certain actions, influencing Frodo and Sam's journey.
- Resource Management (Willpower) — Players manage willpower, which can be reduced to zero, leading to a loss condition.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This part of Middle Earth would be rough. A little hectic. Yeah, a little tough.
- I am the shadow army. I'm I'm about chuck ahead. I'll chuck a head.
- It's a siege siege warfare. So, it's it's pretty pretty rough.
- My body is broken.
- The King's Gambit is what's back, baby.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 8UgYDDRS-K4
Tim Chuon Playthrough at 0:33 sentiment: positive
video_pk 151264 · mention_pk 424833
Click to watch at 0:33 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Epic theme and setting
- Asymmetric factions create varied gameplay
- Strategic depth with action programming
- Tense and exciting moments
- Close finishes are common
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- The final battle for Middle Earth
- Middle Earth
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action programming — Players plan their actions by selecting and placing cards face down, which are then revealed and resolved in sequence.
- Area Control — Players vie for control of different regions on the map, which are crucial for movement, deployment, and achieving victory conditions.
- Card Drafting — Players draw cards from a shared or individual deck to perform actions.
- Combine squads — Multiple units can combine to form a stronger squad.
- Dice Rolling — Combat and some other actions are resolved by rolling dice with different symbols representing attack, defense, and other effects.
- muster — A mechanic to bring more units onto the board from a player's horde board.
- overrun — Allows a unit to move into an occupied space for free after defeating an enemy unit.
- Push Your Luck — Players draw tokens that can affect their 'will' (a resource), sometimes resulting in negative outcomes but offering potential rewards.
- Resource Management — Players manage 'will' as a resource that can be depleted through certain events or actions.
- Variable player powers — Each faction has unique units, abilities, and victory conditions, leading to asymmetric gameplay.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We call that Baker's Field.
- So, that was the first attack.
- Get wrecked, Gimly.
- Get out of here.
- You wiped them out in one hit.
- This is revenge.
- He almost lived though.
- Get him out of here.
- My witch king.
- You killed him.
- That was a ridiculously close game.
- Gandalf kept wiping off the wiping the floor with my orcs like grated cheese.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Q0-B0PKWiVY
Rolling Dice & Taking Names Analysis at 8:22 sentiment: positive
video_pk 151269 · mention_pk 424836
Click to watch at 8:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Captures the feel of the Lord of the Rings narrative.
- Accessible gameplay for casual players.
- Strategic depth with multiple victory conditions.
- Engaging asymmetrical gameplay.
- Well-integrated bag-building and momentum systems.
- High production value with miniatures and 3D pieces.
Cons
- Can have big swings in gameplay.
- Teaching the last 20% of rules can take 80% of the time.
- The "ladders" card was a broken mechanic that was cut.
- Initial development involved many complex rules that were streamlined.
Thematic elements
- The final confrontation and resolution of the War of the Ring.
- The ending of The Return of the King, including the siege of Minas Tirith, the battle on Pelennor Fields, the journey of Sam and Frodo to Mount Doom.
Comparison games
- Queen's Gambit
- Star Wars themed game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players control different battlefields (Minas Tirith, Pelennor Fields, Great Port) to achieve victory conditions.
- Bag Building — Tokens representing willpower loss are drawn from a bag, and players can influence the contents of the bag.
- card-driven — The game uses cards to activate units, figures, and heroes, with each card having two actions.
- cooperative play — The game can be played with players on the free peoples' side working together against the shadow forces.
- Dice Rolling — Dice are used for combat resolution (attack and defense dice).
- miniatures — The game features miniatures for characters and units.
- Resource Management — Momentum is a resource gained from actions that can be spent on future turns for larger turns or to influence the Smeagol/Gollum track.
- Solo Play — An automa system using a deck of cards simulates opponent actions for solo play.
- Variable player powers — Heroes have unique abilities that affect movement, combat, or other game elements.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The Lord of the Rings: The King's Gambit goes live September 29th.
- The limited edition is truly limited to the Kickstarter. That's all we're doing.
- It's my favorite game of ours that we make. Although King's Gambit might take that over.
- You bought the game. You play it however you want.
- My favorite Steven story about this project is uh we were trying to get prototypes ready for Gen Con. And we wanted them to look, you know, good. And so, we were going to 3D print all the miniatures cuz we had again done all that legwork ahead of time. They'd been approved for the prototype for Gen Con and all this. But we had to get them done. So, we were looking at like an outside service and Steven says, 'For the money that it would cost us to get this printed by an outside service for like we were getting like six prototype copies, we can buy three sort of top-end Bamboo Home 3D printers and I'll just do it.' So, that's what we did. And he had he converted his like half of his office into this 3D server farm and he took some video and it's like it was they were running like 24/7 spitting out these miniatures. It was crazy.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kBu-7q5SHe8
Rob's Gaming Table Analysis at 23:59
video_pk 103165 · mention_pk 296825
Click to watch at 23:59 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- The Lord of the Rings
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I just love it being on like in the middle of a stadium, basically.
- Welcome home, gamers. Best for days in gaming.
- Tables and shelves. Huge library.
- It's like such a cool atmosphere.
- Kind of cool. To make like all the events related to one game all the same area, crafting, theming, cosplay, gaming obviously.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PZUwL0VBhQ0
Tim Chuon Event Coverage at 16:07 sentiment: positive
video_pk 101614 · mention_pk 286654
Click to watch at 16:07 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Limited edition promo received
- Huge terrain
- Lots going on
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Lord of the Rings
- Middle-earth
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is probably the most I've seen for the merch line ever at Gen Con.
- Gen Con brings in a lot this year, brought in 75,000 attendees. I think $82 million in local businesses for funds.
- Lockwood's Asylum, a competitive survival horror deck building game.
- And your goal is to be the last person standing.
- The game makers here in full production. It's nice.
- The scale of Battlefront is just so insane. I I I can't wrap my head around how crazy this Battlefront looks.
- Flip Tunes 2. This is the only game that I looked up for Gen Con because I didn't make any lists.
- This is the favorite thing that I saw for today and it was Lord of the Rings: King's Gambit.
- I love the aspect of that you are trying to give that you're buying monsters to put into other players rooms, which I thought was really funny.
- Symbiosis. Really love this game. It's a really great fit for my family on trips and everything cuz it's such so tiny and so easy to play.
- The goal is to get that player to guess the secret word by collectively providing them with three clue words.
- It's actually one of those games where it's a little bit better if things go off the rails.
- What what I was really scared of is that a game like this can easily get frustrating if people are not along the same wavelength cuz it just invites that kind of frustration, right?
- I would never play this game without hints.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Y6oRSAVBeYk
Rob's Gaming Table Review at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 101578 · mention_pk 286574
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Has a lot of the same DNA as Star Wars Queen's Gambit but plays out very differently.
- Mechanics are all connected and affect each other simultaneously.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Forces of shadow versus the free peoples of Middle-earth
- Middle-earth
Comparison games
- Star Wars Queen's Gambit
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Military victory for the forces of shadow is that they get any of their units to the top of Minas Tirith over here. If you get up to the top, they've overrun the city and they win. The free peoples, if they destroy the three orc encampments here, then they push back the forces of shadow and they win.
- Bag Building — The longer you're on this quest, the more the bag goes in your favor cuz you can add these nicer tokens as you go through cards and stuff.
- Combat — You're going to play rounds of combat with four cards each and go back and forth playing cards activating units.
- Push Your Luck — The tokens are willpower and they tell you how much willpower you're going to gain or lose. This is a battle of will. So they're either going to get to the top of the mountain and destroy the ring or they're going to die trying. There's no in between.
- Variable player powers — Orcs when they die, they don't leave the game. They go into the orc horde and they can come back in later. All other units if they die, they're gone forever.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a battle of will. So they're either going to get to the top of the mountain and destroy the ring or they're going to die trying. There's no in between.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video pq8_O0Cs1yY
Rob's Gaming Table Rules Teach at 0:00 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 101579 · mention_pk 286575
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Forces of shadow versus the free peoples
- Middle-earth
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Majority — For the forces of shadow, getting any of their units to the top of Minas Tirith results in a win.
- Bag building / Token draw — In between combat rounds, players draw tokens representing willpower, which can be gained or lost, affecting the quest for Mount Doom.
- Card Play — Players play cards to activate units in rounds of combat.
- Objective Completion — For the free peoples, destroying the three orc encampments results in a win.
- Resource Management — Willpower is a resource that players can gain or lose, with zero willpower leading to instant loss.
- Unit reinforcement — Orcs that die go into an orc horde and can return to play, while other units are permanently removed if destroyed.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a battle of will. So they're either going to get to the top of the mountain and destroy the ring or they're going to die trying. There's no in between.
- So it's really a battle back and forth to, you know, see who can hold out the longest.
- cuz they orcs when they die, they don't leave the game. They go into the orc horde and they can come back in later.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video UbJSDMcjaxI
Good Time Society Review at 10:34 sentiment: positive
video_pk 82116 · mention_pk 206208
Click to watch at 10:34 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Redo of a highly sought-after game
- Affordable alternative to expensive originals
- Lord of the Rings theme
Cons
- Original Star Wars theme was tied to prequels (which some dislike)
Thematic elements
- Lord of the Rings
- Middle-earth
Comparison games
- The Queen's Gambit Star Wars
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players battle on different 'chess boards' representing different fronts.
- Multi-Front Warfare — Plays multiple battles simultaneously across different fronts.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Good Morning Society.
- Ruell has plans that will surprise even himself.
- This is Good Morning Society, your daily dose, or your weekly dose of board games, beverages, and shenanigans.
- So, Magic for April Fools put out a special drop of April Fools Deadpool cards, which are ridiculous.
- The King's Gambit is a redo of a game that's been on my holy grail list forever. The Queen's Gambit Star Wars.
- Harvest 54 is a cooperative card laying game that fits in a standard poker size of tuck box.
- Don't ever let someone tell you you can't turn your hobbies into a professional career.
- Extra Life. They raise money for the Children's Miracle Network.
- So, the premise of this game is have you ever wondered what meeples do when they're not being used in their ordinary worker placement games?
- But they can't help themselves. They must score fun points.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video wsEozm3nLxg
The Dice Tower Discussion at 23:15 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 82102 · mention_pk 206082
Click to watch at 23:15 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- They ended really strong in book three. It was a good ending of sorts and I really liked it.
- I don't care about it.
- They have multiple multiple uh points of view which I was fine following the one person.
- I just found it to be maybe the last book will bring everything back together, but I doubt it. I just don't care anymore.
- Look, I'm okay with characters dying and things that you need that to progress a story sometimes, but good grief. Does it have to be that bad all the time?
- The mobs are out there and the mobs are going to hunt you down and no matter what you say.
- It has definitely become a witch hunt in many ways where people like as soon as they hear the word the letters AI, they're like, 'I'm out.'
- I think the backlash is and people going and rating games one on BoardGameGeek is kind of ridiculous.
- That has nothing to do with the game. It really doesn't. That's that's just nonsensical.
- I'm kind of mind-boggled with how much people complain about prices of games.
- Yes, games are expensive. They're really expensive to make.
- You don't go yell at your gas station attendant, you shouldn't when gas goes up. That's not them who are doing it.
- It should be a friendly place to go to.
- I always try to put some monkeys in my zoo, period. Just so I can say I have some monkeys.
- I dislike the cat character a lot and I found it to be okay.
- But I will warn you, I noticed that a lot of people when they do this, they also forget about the part where they you should make money.
- Wash it in the shower?
- If I ran BoardGameGeek, if I saw someone rate a one with a comment of 'I hate what they did here.' I would just delete that rating instantly.
- I think are you kidding me? This is so nonsensical.
- I love going to bookstores.
- Any place that has unique interesting thing, a hot sauce store, a a beef jerky store, whatever.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xPRHwEz9LCY
Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 16:32 sentiment: positive
video_pk 81912 · mention_pk 204971
Click to watch at 16:32 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Lord of the Rings theme is highly anticipated
- New version of a sought-after 'grail game'
- Designed by Rob Davio, who originally designed Queen's Gambit
- Will have both a Kickstarter deluxe version and a retail version
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Recreating the battle from Return of the King
- Pelennor Fields
Comparison games
- Queen's Gambit
- Star Wars miniatures game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Grail Game — Queen's Gambit is considered a grail game, implying high regard and difficulty in obtaining.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The Grim Reaper begged for more time.
- When Chuck Norris met the Grim Reaper, the Grim Reaper begged for more time.
- I'm sorry. I got all tongue tied there.
- Board games is a luxury item. It's a luxury. You don't need it. You don't have to have it.
- The market spoke and we're giving it to them.
- You guys are cutting out the local game store. You're you're cutting out the your bread and butter.
- Well, last week they pulled the plug on Altered. It is now a dead game.
- It is now a $650 console. Really? Remember in times when you bought consoles and they got cheaper over time? Yeah, that time's gone.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video lHXxqVEo9B4
Board Stupid Discussion at 12:39 sentiment: positive
video_pk 81572 · mention_pk 203300
Click to watch at 12:39 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- licensing alignment with classic IP
- potential for larger player configurations
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- reimplementation of the Queen's Gambit with a LotR license
- Lord of the Rings universe
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deck Building — takes the deck-building premise and applies it to a LotR-themed reboot
- Deck-building adaptation — takes the deck-building premise and applies it to a LotR-themed reboot
- two-board, two-versus-two option — two boards support 2v2 play
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's essentially it's going to be a deck building game where you're going to be controlling mechs to dig undergrounds in the wreckage of an old mining corporations trying to get gems, useful materials, upgrade your mech, dig deeper, get more stuff to make that money
- Be the biggest driller there is.
- Looks super good.
- I am dead excited about this as a concept.
- watch this space.
- I love Caesar anyway.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–11 of 11