The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Trick-Taking Game

Begin by separating the 'One Ring' card and the 'Chapter 1' card from the main deck. Shuffle the remaining cards to form the main draw deck. Deal hands to all players: in a solo game, you'll deal one hand of three cards to yourself and three hands of four cards for the AI players. The 'One Ring' card is given to Frodo, who also receives the start player token (grayed-out side up). Next, assign character cards to each hand. Characters with an asterisk by their name must be selected. The 'Lost Card' is revealed by drawing the top card of the main deck and placing it face-up in a designated area. Each character has a unique objective and a setup ability that is activated at this stage. For example, Gandalf's setup allows him to add the lost card to his hand and exchange a card with Frodo. In a solo game, exchanges can only be performed once per round.

The primary objective is to successfully complete all chosen character objectives by the end of the game. Each character has a specific goal, such as winning a certain number of tricks, winning the fewest tricks, or collecting specific types of cards. For instance, Frodo might need to win four or more Ring cards, while Pippin aims to win the fewest tricks. Successfully meeting all these individual character goals collectively leads to victory for the current chapter, allowing progression to the next chapter in the narrative campaign.

The game proceeds in tricks, similar to traditional trick-taking games. Frodo, as the start player, leads the first trick by playing any card from his hand, except for a Ring card if the 'One Ring' token is on its grayed-out side. Players then proceed clockwise, each playing one card. Players must follow the lead suit if they have a card of that suit in their hand. If a player does not have a card of the lead suit, they may play any other card from their hand; this is known as 'sluffing'. If a Ring card is sluffed, the 'One Ring' token is flipped to its colored side, indicating that Ring cards can now be led in subsequent tricks.

The trick is won by the player who played the highest-ranked card of the lead suit. However, the 'One Ring' card is special: when played, its holder may choose to win that trick, regardless of other cards played. If the 'One Ring' is not played, the highest card of the lead suit wins. All cards from the trick, including any Ring cards played, are collected by the trick winner and placed face-down in their personal score pile. These collected Ring cards contribute to Frodo's objective.

A chapter ends when all cards from players' hands have been played, completing all tricks for that round. Players then check if all chosen character objectives for the current chapter have been met. If successful, the game progresses to the next chapter, introducing new characters, objectives, and potentially new rules or challenges. If objectives are not met, the players lose the chapter and may need to restart or face consequences depending on the specific chapter rules. The overall game concludes when all chapters are successfully completed.