You know you’re a game geek when …
Oct 14
Board & Miniatures Games fantasy, Lord of the Rings, War of the Ring 3 Comments
… you get the War of the Ring Collector’s Edition.
Yes, I’m now the proud owner of the Holy Grail of board games: number 600 in the 2,000 worldwide print run of the Collector’s Edition of my favourite game of all time. And what a monstrous beast it is! A big, heavy wooden box measuring 480 x 550 x 130mm. I’m still trying to work out where I’m actually going to put the thing.
I put off buying this edition when it was first released, thinking it was really too much, and that one day I would get around to painting all the miniatures myself one day, but after playing the game again the other night I realised just how wonderful a game it is; and how much better it would be with a larger map, larger cards, and fully painted armies. So the next day I started hunting for a copy, not really believing that I could get one for anywhere near a realistic price. Luckily, I found a fellow gamer who was willing to part with his set.
The quality of the paint jobs on the 200+ miniatures is much better than I expected, and the perfect bound, hardcover, high quality rulebook is a beautiful thing.
Sure, it’s a crazy, self-indulgent purchase. But the time is long past for me to pretend that I’m not a boardgamer through and through, and in a way this is the ultimate expression of my enjoyment of that hobby—not to mention my lifelong love of The Lord of the Rings.
Update: New War of the Ring rules summary and reference sheets on the Game Sheets page.
Oct 17, 2010 @ 12:52:04
Aren’t all games pretty much self-indulgent purchases anyway? I think so, and I’m very self-indulgent on this particular front.
That really was a stroke of luck finding a copy, since it’s mostly going for prices that might actually be comparable to an arm and a leg.
So congratulations; that’s a really splendid thing to have on your gaming shelf.
Oct 18, 2010 @ 06:06:26
I too had to have this collectors edition and it’s well worth the cost. It looks awesome on the table and although I could’ve painted the miniatures of the basic set this one has so much more to offer. The new bigger board, larger cards and tokens just make the game much more enjoyable to play. I am very happy I was able to get one of these and it will be one game that we can enjoy for many years to come.
Nov 17, 2010 @ 18:47:07
The German version of CE is sitting proudly on my shelf, and although it took me a long time to decide, I’m now very happy I got it. Not for the miniatures, but for all the other gorgeous components, especially the cards.