Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation

The Dark Player takes the first turn; play then alternates between the two players for the rest of the game

During a player's turn, he must move one of his characters forward into an adjacent region

If there is an enemy character in the region you enter, a battle occurs (moving into a region occupied by an enemy is also called attacking)

Characters can only move forward; they can never move sideways or backwards unless otherwise stated on their character text or allowed by card play

Characters can never move sideways while in the mountains, not even through the use of cards or character text

Each player can have a maximum of four characters in the Shire and in Mordor

Each player can only have one character in each mountain region

In all other regions each player can only have two characters

A player can never move a character into a region that already holds the maximum number of his own characters, not even through the use of cards or character text

At any time, a player can mix his characters in the same region by picking them up, shuffling behind his back, and placing them back into the same region

The Good Player can use the river to move his characters sideways (downstream) from Mirkwood to Fangorn, or from Fangorn to Rohan, but not in the opposite direction; the Dark Player cannot use the river

The Good Player can move his characters through the Tunnel of Moria from Hollin directly into Fangorn, but never in the opposite direction, even if retreating; the Dark Player cannot use the Tunnel

If a character is moved into a region occupied by more than one enemy character, the attacking player randomly decides which opposing piece will be his opponent in the battle, and reveals only that enemy

Both players reveal their characters to their opponents and read their characters' text aloud

The Good characters Frodo and Pippin have the opportunity to flee at the start of the battle before the Dark Player's text takes effect (with the exception of the Warg)

After characters have been revealed and their text has been read aloud, they have the opportunity to retreat sideways or backwards into an adjacent region

A character cannot retreat into a region occupied by an enemy character, a region with the maximum number of characters, or sideways in the mountains

If a character is defeated based on character text, that character is removed from the board and set aside

If neither of the characters have retreated or been defeated after reading the texts, then each player must secretly select one of the cards from his hand

After both players have selected a card, they reveal their card choice simultaneously face-up on the table

Text cards always take effect before Strength cards; if both players reveal text cards, the Dark Player's card takes effect first

If the battle isn't over after the text cards have been implemented, the Strength number of each player's Strength card (if played) is added to the Strength value of his character

The character with the lowest total Strength is defeated; if the total Strength of the two characters is equal, then both characters are defeated and removed from the game

After a battle, the used cards are discarded and placed face-up beside the game board

When all nine of a player's cards have been used, that player takes all his used cards back into his hand

After a battle, if there are still additional enemy characters in the contested region, another battle begins with the attacker randomly deciding which enemy character will be attacked

A player's turn doesn't end until all battles are resolved and only Good or Dark characters (or none at all) occupy each region

At the end of a battle, including after a retreat, the revealed non-defeated characters are concealed and thus hidden from the opponent again

A player who plays this card may immediately replace it with any one of his discarded (previously played) cards; if both players play Magic simultaneously, the Dark Player chooses first

If this card is played, both characters involved in the battle are defeated, unless the Dark Player played his Retreat card, in which case neither character is defeated (but both cards are still discarded)

When the Good Player plays this card and the Dark Player plays a number card, the Strength value of the number card is ignored; if the Dark Player plays a text card, then the Elven Cloak has no effect

The Good Player moves his character backwards into an adjacent region, as long as this region contains no enemy characters and isn't occupied by the maximum number of characters

Five of the Good cards have Strength values ranging from 1 to 5 that add to character strength during battle

See the explanation under the Good cards

When the Dark Player plays this card and the Good Player plays a text card, the text on the Good card is ignored; if the Good Player plays a number card, then the Eye of Sauron has no effect

The Dark Player, if able, moves his character sideways into an adjacent region, as long as this region contains no enemy characters and isn't occupied by the maximum number of characters; in the mountains, characters can never move sideways; when the Dark Player uses this card to retreat from a battle, the Good Player's Noble Sacrifice card has no effect

Six of the Dark cards have Strength values ranging from 1 to 6 that add to character strength during battle

Can retreat sideways when attacked, but not if he himself is the attacker; cannot use this ability in battle against the Warg; can only use his ability at the beginning of a battle, not when cards have already been played; the retreat doesn't count as a normal move; can never retreat sideways in the mountains

If Sam is in the same region as Frodo, he has a Strength value of 5 and may fight in Frodo's place if Frodo is attacked first, even in battle against the Orcs; the Good Player must reveal both Frodo and Sam at the beginning of the battle to prove Sam's strength; in battle against the Warg, Sam's special ability is ignored; Sam can never accompany Frodo in the mountains due to the one-character limit

When Pippin attacks, after he and the enemy character are revealed, he can retreat backwards to an adjacent region, but not if the enemy character is the Warg; if Pippin is attacked, he cannot retreat; can only use his ability at the beginning of battle, not when cards have already been played; the retreat doesn't count as a normal move

Defeats the Witch King immediately, before any cards are played; in battles against all other enemies, the usual rules apply

In a battle against Gandalf, should the battle come to playing cards, the Dark Player must choose and play his card first (though not if the battle is against the Warg); this is resolved before the Good Player must play a card; after the Dark Player has revealed his card, the Good Player chooses and plays his card, even if the Dark Player played his Retreat card

Can move into any adjacent region (forward, sideways or backwards) if he attacks at least one enemy character by doing so; otherwise, Aragorn can only move forward into an adjacent region like other characters; can attack the Warg using his special ability since he uses his ability before he enters the region with the Warg; cannot attack sideways in mountains

Defeats the Flying Nazgûl immediately, before any cards are played; in battles against all other enemies, the usual rules apply

Defeats the Orcs immediately, before any cards are played; in battles against all other enemies, the usual rules apply

If Boromir is attacked, or attacks an enemy character, both characters are defeated immediately; the only exceptions are the Warg (in any region) and when Boromir uses the Tunnel of Moria while the Balrog occupies Moria

If the Balrog is in Moria when a Good character uses the Tunnel of Moria shortcut (from Hollin directly to Fangorn), the Dark Player may reveal the Balrog to instantly defeat the Good character without a battle; Frodo cannot, when using the Tunnel through the mines, make use of his ability to retreat; the Balrog itself remains unharmed; even Boromir cannot harm the Balrog in this situation

When Shelob defeats an enemy character, she is immediately returned to Gondor; if there are already two other Dark characters in Gondor, Shelob is defeated and removed from the game

Can move sideways into an adjacent region if he attacks at least one enemy character by doing so; otherwise he can only move forward into an adjacent region like other characters; can never attack sideways in the mountains

Can move to any region on the board, as long as that region is occupied by a single Good character; if moving into an unoccupied region, or a region with multiple enemy characters, the Flying Nazgûl can only move forward into an adjacent region like other characters

Can move forward any number of regions if he attacks at least one enemy character by doing so; if the Black Rider does not want to attack, then he can only move forward into an adjacent region like other characters; may never move into or through a region already containing the maximum number of Dark characters, nor may he move through a region occupied by one or more enemy characters

Can decide that no cards shall be used in battle; if no characters are defeated (or retreat) before cards are played, then the Dark Player may choose that the battle will be decided by the characters' Strength values only; all other normal rules for battle apply

When the Orcs attack, they immediately defeat the first attacked Good character; Frodo may retreat sideways before the Orcs defeat him in this fashion; if further battles follow, the Orcs do not have their special ability for the remainder of the turn; Gimli immediately defeats the Orcs and is therefore unharmed; if the Orcs battle against Boromir, both characters are defeated; the Orcs have no special ability when attacked by a Good character

In battle against the Warg, the Good character's text has no effect; only Aragorn can use his ability in the adjacent region, before the battle against the Warg

When it comes to playing cards in battle with the Troll, the Dark Player's card has no effect; the Dark Player must still play and discard a card, even though that card has no effect in the battle

The Good Player wins immediately if Frodo enters Mordor, regardless of whether or not there are any enemy characters in the region

The Dark Player wins immediately if he has three characters in the Shire

The Dark Player wins immediately if Frodo is defeated

If a player is unable to move a character during his turn, he loses immediately

It is recommended that you play two games, with each player playing the Good Player once and the Dark Player once

The winner of each game receives one point for each of his remaining characters, and the loser receives no points

After two games, the player who has the highest number of points wins