The Lord of the Rings as Convergent Game Play - Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games - page 26

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he Lord of the Rings as Convergent Game Play
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
Gandalf, he Fellowship of the Ring
Frodo Baggins was trapped. His friends Merry, Pippin, and Sam had already
trudged toward the Doors of Durin, eager to meet up with Gandalf, Legolas, and
Aragorn. But poor Frodo was stuck. In front of him, Buckleberry Ferry heralded
escape and, possibly, a chance to rejoin his friends. But he could not cross the
Brandywine River without the Ferry card. On his previous turn, Frodo had drawn
that card, but he had failed to roll the requisite wisdom of twelve or greater to
keep the card (despite his already impressive wisdom score of four). His friends,
perhaps sensing the uncertainty of the move, had managed to avoid the Ferry via
Sarn Ford and harbad. Unfortunately, they too were stuck—although they had
the Password card (“Speak, Friend, and Enter”) to the Doors of Durin, no one
had yet drawn the Doors of Durin card, which was required in conjunction with
the password to open the door.
Across the table, a diferent Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, as well as
their fellow Hobbit Fatty Bolger were working their way toward the Mines of
Moria. Fatty drew an event token and everyone huddled around the board.
What horrible future awaited the Hobbits?—“Orcs Attack: Group discards
ive 'ighting' symbols; otherwise, Sauron approaches ever closer to corrupting
the team.” Quickly counting up their cards, the group discovers they have just
enough ighting symbols, but one member of the gang refuses to participate—it
would exhaust Pippin's supply of cards. Cooperation turns to distrust as the
Fellowship starts to dissolve. With no other options, Sauron advances: now, he is
just one space away from Merry and that much closer to grabbing the Ring for
himself and ending the game….
Although vastly diferent in scope, mechanics, and game play, the two
games described above— he Lord of the Rings: he Complete Trilogy Adventure
Board Game ( he Complete Trilogy ) and Reiner Knizia's he Lord of the Rings