Home>The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth

2024 · Card Game

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth

Two sides vie for control of Middle-earth across three chapters: the Fellowship advances the Quest of the Ring while Sauron pursues the Ringbearers and spreads his forces. Players draft from a tableau of face-up and face-down cards each round, then play cards to strengthen skills, recruit units, claim landmarks, gain coins, or discard for immediate treasure. Landmark tiles grant regional presence via Fortress pawns on the central map and provide ongoing effects. Victory occurs immediately by completing the Quest, collecting six different Race symbols, or being present in all seven regions; if no condition is met after chapter three, the player with presence in the most regions wins.

Players: 2
Playing time: 30 min
Age: 10+
Complexity: 2.1 / 5

8.3 on Ludoya from $31.99Novel-basedFantasyPoint to Point MovementMarketVariable Set-up

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About the game

Design: Antoine Bauza
Bruno Cathala
Art: Vincent Dutrait
Publishers: Ігромаг
Repos Production

Expansions

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The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth – Allies2025

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth – The Shire Promo Tile2024

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth – Grond Promo Tile2024

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Full stats in Ludoya

1,388
Plays logged: 734
Players: 33m 39s
Average play: 475
In collections: 36
On wishlists: 1
Pre-ordered

8.3/10

from 161 Ludoya reviews

gcasasf10.0
Not only my best 2 player game but also a LOTR board game
First impressions · 1 play
Vardak7.9
Non asymetric 2p game quite well produced and designed (even better than 7W Duel). Three ways to obtain the victory keeps the game tension.
Played it 4 times
Nugatra8.0
Rank: 21 Strategy: 21 Family: 1 Player: 2 Community: 2 Best: 2 Like: Tammy
Played it 6 times

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Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

How do I win the game?

There are three immediate victory conditions: complete the Quest of the Ring, rally the support of 6 different Races (the Eagle token can count as one), or be present in all 7 regions with a Fortress and/or at least 1 Unit — each immediately wins the game (see page 8).

If I discard a Chapter card, how many coins do I get?

If you discard a Chapter card you take Coins equal to the current chapter: Chapter 1 = 1 Coin, Chapter 2 = 2 Coins, Chapter 3 = 3 Coins (see page 3).

Can Frodo ever get farther away from the Nazgûl?

No — the Nazgûl piece is placed on top of Frodo and Sam, so when Frodo and Sam move the Nazgûl automatically moves too; the distance between them can only decrease (see page 6).

Does an enemy Fortress trigger combat or stop me from placing Units in that region?

No — an enemy Fortress does not trigger conflicts and does not prevent you from placing your Units, so both players can be present in the same region (see page 7).

What is 'chaining' and when can I play cards for free?

Starting in chapter 2, a card with a chaining symbol can be played for free if you already have a played card with the matching chaining symbol; otherwise you must pay its Skill and/or Coin costs as normal (see page 4).

Official score sheet