The world is changed.
I feel it in the water.
I feel it in the earth.
I smell it in the air.

The opening words to the Lord of the Rings movies are a lot better than the opening words to the books. They prepare us for the changes brought on by a new age, to the rise of men and the fall of elves, and the shifting and forgetting of history, of great battles and small acts of bravery. It's all very Lord of the Rings. The book's opening lines are about Hobbiton getting excited for Bilbo's birthday party. Although they do introduce the "eleventy-first" to the english language, which makes it all a lot better.

So this is Pat and I am sort of a Lord of the RIngs fan (see the shirt I wore during my bachelor party on our Discord, and the shape of my wedding ring). So I am incredibly excited to review the War of the Ring: The Card Game, a chrome-riddled card game by Ian Brody about the Free Peoples and Shadow Forces battling for the fate of Middle Earth. There's tableau building, deck destruction, hard trade-offs in the multi-use cards, and fitful moments of bluffing and bluster. It's quite a thing.

We're looking at IP-based games, too, and the tension that they create against the design of the game. Fall too far into theme and you hit idiosyncracy and imbalance. Wade too shallowly and you risk plastering theme on for sales.

Anyways, listen in, and let us know your thoughts about it all below.

Join us in the conversation on discord: https://tinyurl.com/2wood4wheat
Ask us a question at TwoWoodForAWheat@gmail.com
Leave us a review on Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-wood-for-a-wheat/id1447901771
Read Tony's blog: https://boardgamegeek.com/user/maxlongstreet/blogs
Thanks to God Street Wine for our intro and outro music: https://www.facebook.com/GodStreetWine/

00:03:53 FEATURE REVIEW War of the Ring: The Card Game
00:11:19 Battleline, Schotten Totten
00:14:23 Twilight Struggle
00:50:30 FEATURE DISCUSSION IP-Based Games
00:51:00 Red Rising, Fantasy Realms
00:51:48 Dune
00:27:33 Wonderland's War
00:54:32 Rex
00:54:54 Dune: Imperium
00:56:43 Game of Thrones: The Board Game
00:58:21 Marvel: United
01:00:11 Dogs of War, Barrage, Scythe
01:02:32 Ryan Laukat Games
01:03:45 Tainted Grail