The Hobbit Board Game

After experiencing all the thrills and excitement of the new Hobbit movie, I decided it was time to control the Company of Thorin's fate for myself!  Now, Fantasy Flight Games has already produced two fantastic Saga Expansions to the Lord of the Rings LCG that cover all the adventures that Bilbo and his companions face, but perhaps less well known is that there is also a fantastic standalone board game that came out long before both the movies and the card game.  This game is simply and adequately titled: The Hobbit Board Game.

One of the first things you'll notice upon even viewing the game box is the stellar artwork.  This artwork continues to enthrall the viewer as they unfold the board and sift through all the cards within.  The illustrator, John Howe, is of course no stranger to the field of Tolkien artwork, and his stunning depictions of Middle-earth's locations, heroes, and denizens are once again adding a powerful thematic presence to this game.

So let's get started on a quick overview of the game.  Players (2-5) take on the role of Dwarves as they accompany Bilbo Baggins out of the Shire on their quest to reclaim a long lost kingdom.  This adventure is broken into two main parts throughout the game: Events, in which the players are actively questing through the wilds of Middle-earth, meeting people and learning new skills to aid them, and Adventures, in which the players witness the iconic moments of the story for themselves, battling foes and escaping treacherous situations.  The Hobbit Board Game can best be described as a semi-cooperative board game because even though the players must work together to reach the Lonely Mountain and defeat the dragon Smaug, they are also still playing as Dwarves, which means that they greedily seek to acquire treasures whenever possible.  If the players manage to adventure all the way to the end, they defeat Smaug.  The player who has collected the most gemstones throughout the game is the victor.

With that brief synopsis of the game, a closer look at the board itself is in order to understand just how sprawling the journey is throughout the game.  As previously stated, the players begin their long quest in the Shire as they lead Mr. Baggins away from his home out upon the Great East Road.  Each player has his own player board as well in which he manages three distinctive skill sets: Initiative, Cunning, and Strength.  Throughout the Event traveling portions of the adventure, players are able to upgrade each of these skills, granted they land on their corresponding space on the game board each turn.  Players have a hand of 5 Dwarf cards at all times.  These cards are used for a variety of events, but most of the time they function as a "bidding" mechanism for players to vie for the spots that they wish to land on.  For example, if three players are playing and the current event is to move forward on the game board, each player selects a Dwarf card from their hand and simultaneously reveals them.  The lowest Dwarf card takes the first spherical track, the middle value Dwarf card takes the middle track, and the largest value takes the third and final track of that particular travel phase.

Another type of card of card that players might encounter during the Event phase are Ability cards.  Most of these cards act as a one-time-use card that players may cash in later in the game when they need assistance.  Once again, they use their trusty Dwarves to bid on these abilities just like they do for movement.  

Now, there's also a fourth track on the game board to discuss, and that's rations.  These are gained by the players when they land on them, and also when they first arrive at each Adventure segment.  They are represented by what appears to be a type of bread product (so I'm just going to assume it's Cram!) and these tiles act almost like a currency in the game, so you never want to be too low because they're needed in many of the Adventure encounters.  

Depending on which track Bilbo lands on, you will receive either one or two skill set increases for a particular skill on your player board.  However, occasionally you may also be deducted a skill on some tracks (denoted by a white X through that skill on the board.)  The Initiative track (represented by a three-leaf twig) allows for a boost to your Defense.  The Cunning track (represented by a sly fox) allows you to re-roll one or multiple dice.  Finally, the Strength track (represented by an upward raised fist) adds Battle Damage.  Each of these skills are vital for the other main phase of the game: Adventures.

Throughout the Hobbit Board Game there are four main segments in which the players stop journeying and stick around to fight, hide, and flee their way to safety.  The first one is the fight with Goblins deep in the Misty Mountains.  The next adventure encounter is with the pursuing Wargs.  Upon reaching Mirkwood, the players must successfully escape from the halls of the Elven-king, and finally the fourth and final adventure is with the dragon himself.

 

Upon reaching each of these encounter stages, the players will cease to draw Event cards and begin to draw Adventure ones.  These cards range from battling foes, defending against their attacks, and ultimately proceeding on once they're all dealt with.  Players engage each particular Adventure card on their own, rolling five dice in attempt to meet that card's victory requirement.  Players add in any of the skills they've acquired in the wild during these Adventure encounters, and if they pass, they receive a designated number of gemstones from the treasure horde.  If they fail, however, they must draw a dragon tile and suffer the consequences.  These dragon tiles often hurt the player in some way as well as move Smaug out of the Lonely Mountain and one track closer to Lake-town.  If Smaug ever reaches Lake-town, it's game over for all the players.  

If the players successfully manage to reach the fourth Adventure phase and pass each scenario, then they have bested Smaug the Magnificent and reached their journey's end!  The player who has collected the most gemstones throughout the game is the winner, but in a way everyone is because they made it all the way to the end without being engulfed in a sea of flames.  

Overall, I greatly enjoy this game!  I have had the chance to play it with two and three players so far, but really want to try it with four or five sometime too.  Even though it is unquestionably a linear board game that plays somewhat similarly each time, it is always great fun to interact with the other players in your quest, whether it be the ongoing battle to increase your player stats or to win the most gemstones during each Adventure segment.  The game comes with both a Smaug miniature (pictured at top) as well as a Bilbo Baggins one.  While I really like the Smaug one, I don't care so much for the plain Bilbo one; so, I decided to toss Lego Bilbo in there instead.

There may be one or two elements I didn't mention in this overview (such as how Bilbo's magic ring plays a part) but with the big picture covered, I think it's fairly easy to see that this is an exciting game that just about anyone can sit down and enjoy.  If you're in the mood for a light-hearted and fun unexpected journey, then look no further!  Thanks for reading, and leave a comment if you have any questions.