How to Play

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

1-2 players 30-60 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

Players cooperatively navigate Middle-earth scenarios using heroes and custom decks of allies, events, and attachments. Each round involves strategic choices between questing for progress or battling enemies, as exhausted characters limit available actions. Victory requires completing scenario objectives while managing escalating threats. The living card game features extensive expansions with new heroes, quests, and storylines.

Published 2011

Get Ready

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

Select random card sets

Randomly select 4 card sets (5 if 3+ players) in order from available options: core set, major cycles, full LotR saga, Hobbit + 9 wild cards, ALeP Oath of the Rohirrim, or starter decks (max 2 starter decks can be selected)

Determine starting card pool

The first 2 sets (3 if 3+ players) are available at campaign start; the other 2 sets unlock as rewards after scenarios 4 and 8

Add wild cards

Each player receives 3 wild cards in addition to randomly selected sets (intended to be 3 copies of A Test of Will if Core Set not selected)

Select heroes randomly

Each player randomly selects 5 heroes from their entire pool, then chooses 3 of them to use

Build initial deck

From the starting card sets, each player builds a deck of 50 player cards following normal rules with 0 sideboard cards

Lock deck composition

The cards selected are locked in and cannot be changed without gaining rewards outlined in the rules

Build campaign structure

Construct campaign with 4 easy scenarios (difficulty under 6), followed by 4 medium (difficulty 6-7.2), ending with 3 hard (difficulty over 7.2)

Optional warmup

Choose 1 warmup scenario to play as many times as desired before solidifying deck and starting campaign

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Play scenarios standalone

Play each scenario as a standalone with one change: track the number of completed rounds

Handle Saga quests

If playing a LotR Saga quest, use Fellowship Frodo/Aragorn as normal; if that hero is in your deck, replace with any hero/ally matching the card type from available sets

Attempt scenarios once

Each scenario except the final one may only be attempted once, win or lose

Mark injured heroes

After completing a scenario, mark any out-of-play heroes as Injured

Calculate Detriment Points for wins

Gain 1 point for each completed round minus the number of Quest Phases, plus average ending threat divided by 10 (rounded down); maximum 10 points for winning

Calculate Detriment Points for losses

Gain 14 Detriment Points

Accrue Detriments

For each 12 Detriment Points accumulated, gain a Detriment penalty:

Balance Detriments

If you have 2 more Burden Detriments than non-Burden (or vice versa), you must take the type you have less of

Collect rewards by scenario

Earn rewards based on which scenario was won:

Choose rewards

Select from [Player Count + 1] options; unchosen rewards are permanently removed from campaign

Optional sideboard increase

For scenarios 1-3, 5-7, or 9-10, opt to increase sideboard by 5 cards instead of taking reward