New Lord of the Rings Game Announced

A new Lord of the Rings board game will be released later this year. After a brief tease in April, Asmodee announced Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth, a reimplementation of 7 Wonders: Duel. The game was designed by 7 Wonders Duel designers Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala, with illustrations by Vincent Dutrait. The two-player game pits the Free People against the Armies of Mordor in Rivendell (called by its French name Fondcombe in the initial announcement). No other gameplay details were announced about the game, but Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth will be released in October. 

The new Lord of the Rings board game is one of the first announced since Embracer Group obtained the overall license to The Lord of the Rings media rights back in 2021. Asmodee is currently a subsidiary of Embracer Group, although the company recently announced that it would be splitting into three companies, with Asmodee being spun into one group and the rights to Lord of the Rings going into a different company focused on AAA video games. While the two companies are splitting up, Asmodee and the new Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friends are expected to retain a close relationship, in part due to the shared ownership between the companies. 

7 Wonders Duel is one of the highest rated board games of all time, ranked 19th overall on review aggregator BoardGameGeek. The game is a reimplementation of 7 Wonders but is made for two players. The game involves drafting cards (some of which are blocked by other cards) that provide resources to players to allow them to build wonders. Players can win 7 Wonders Duels in one of several ways, including a military might option that will likely be re-used in the Lord of the Rings format. 

Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth will be released in October.