How to Play

The Battle of Five Armies

2-2 players 90-240 min 7.8 Board Game Geek Rating

This tactical battle game recreates Tolkien's climactic Hobbit confrontation, where Elves, Dwarves, and Men face Goblins, Wolves, and Bats around the Lonely Mountain. Players command armies using modified War of the Ring mechanics on a smaller scale. Victory depends on strategic positioning and combat as heroes like Gandalf and Bilbo influence the outcome of this legendary five-way clash.

Published 2014

The Battle of Five Armies

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Prepare the Hand of cards
Set aside all Story cards and unit type cards for units not participating in the Army
2
Check Terrain Superiority
Count the number of units that have Favoured Terrain matching the Defender's Region
3
Draw Event card for superiority
The side with higher number of favored units draws 1 Event card, discarding down to 6 if required

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Move into adjacent Region
Enter any adjacent region, but not if blocked by Beorn, enemy Army, impassable terrain, or river border
2
Execute Strategic Move
Both Armies must move before any other actions are executed; each may move maximum once
3
Execute Fast Move
May only split in initial region or merge at the end of the move
4
Enforce Army Stacking Limit
Maximum 5 units per Army, except any number allowed in Normal or Goblin Mustering Region; remove excess units at -2 damage per unit removed
5
Mark Settlements
Place Control marker on any Settlements moved through or into; award VP and remove Recruit tokens
6
Play Maneuver cards
Each player secretly plays 1 Event card for Combat or Unit card for Maneuver ability, then reveal simultaneously
7
Use Regroup maneuver
Always available; return all unit cards to Hand and allow Retreat
8
Use Vampire-like maneuver
If 1+ Damage exists, may remove 1 Great Bats in Defender's Territory for +1 Damage
9
Use Mighty Strokes
If Thorin is in Combat, gain +1 to Combat Roll or Re-roll
10
Determine Target Number
Hits on 5+; hits on 6+ if attacking 1+ Fortification, first Round across Ford, or attacking "up" into Mountain
11
Roll Combat dice
Roll white D6 per Combat Strength (max 5D6); Great Orcs and Dwarf Veterans roll 2 dice per unit, all others roll 1 per unit
12
Leader Re-roll
Re-roll misses up to Army's Leadership value; each die may only be re-rolled once
13
Trigger Maneuver ability
If 1+ black D6 hits, owner may trigger the Maneuver card's ability once
14
Use Bilbo's ring
May remove Bilbo from the board and spend 1 Ring token to reduce Damage by 2
15
Use Bolg's Bodyguard
May spend 1 Bodyguard token to prevent all Damage
16
Apply Damage to Fortification
Reduce Fortification by 1 per hit; if none remain, Fortification no longer changes Target Number to 6
17
Apply remaining Damage
Apply leftover Damage to the Army
18
Take Casualties
Remove units at -2 Damage per unit removed; must take casualties if Damage exceeds number of units
19
Attacker Withdraw option
Stop the attack and end combat immediately
20
Defender Retreat or Rout
Defender may Retreat if Regroup card was played, or Rout
21
Attacker Advance
If Defender Retreated, Routed, or was eliminated, Attacker may Advance and split Army

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Award Victory Points
Gain VP when marking Settlements with Control markers
2
Eliminate enemy forces
Continue combat until either side is eliminated, retreated, or routed
3
Remove defeated army components
If all units are removed, also remove any Characters and Leadership tokens from the board

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

The Battle of Five Armies // En bon québécois

The Battle of Five Armies // En bon québécois

Instructional

Battle of Five Armies

Battle of Five Armies

Session

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

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