The Fellowship: The Lay of the Land

It's only fitting that the last vestige of my Star Wars CCG
addiction now holds what could become
my Lord of the Rings LCG collection/addiction

Before we begin our journey in Middle-Earth, I thought I should provide you with a brief overview of what comes in the box, what the gameplay is like, and what to expect in my adventures.

One of the things that I really appreciate about the Lord of the Rings LCG is how story-driven it is. It is a cooperative game, and it has players playing against scenarios with various difficulties (ranging from 1 to 10). But what's great about these scenarios is that they are tangential to the Lord of the Rings books. That is, they easily fit within Middle-Earth, and in some cases are even mentioned in the books but without being discussed in depth (for example, the search for Gollum). While I'm sure this is a mercenary decision on Fantasy Flight's part--if you only publish scenarios in the quest to destroy the ring, well, you'll eventually run out of material--it's an exciting opportunity for players to forge their own path through Tolkien's world.

News Bits: 9/4/2012

Awards season is upon us, Mr. Lloyd! Here is the news:

International Gamers Award Nominees Announced
The nominees for the 2012 International Gamers Awards have been announced. There is an award for best multiplayer and best two-player game. The nominees are mostly what you might expect, though it seems odd to me that Star Trek: Fleet Captains received a nod. But perhaps I'm revealing my bias.

Nominations for the Golden Geeks Are Open
Board Game Geek's annual Golden Geek awards are now accepting game nominations for the 2012 awards. This is your chance to let your voice be heard! Maybe.

(Gaming) Life after Baby

As followers of this blog are well aware, I experienced a major life event in the last few months: the birth of my first son. While I am so grateful to have him around, there is one area of my life that has required a lot of adjustment: gaming.

My primary gaming partner before the Farmerlet arrived was my wife, but now with the (understandable) demands on her time, our gaming interactions have changed. So what have I been up to in the recent weeks? Find out below!