Klaus-Jürgen Wrede is one of the most prolific board game designers of our time, and he is certainly one of the most accomplished. Carcassonne, a game that originally came out in 2000, continues to be a gateway to the hobby for millions of people around the world, and his work on other seminal projects, such as The Architects of the Colosseum, Mesopotamia, and Bali, are among some of the most loved games of our hobby.
One Ring to Rule Them One, One Bearer to Slow Them Down
Not only that, but Wrede has 164 entries to his name, not least of which are various Carcassonne expansions. Now, the designer will try his hand at a new Lord of the Rings board game which will have 3-4 players try to take care of the One Ring and cast it into the fires of Mount Doom in 45 minutes.
The game itself is a work in progress and most of the information comes from its entry into the popular game aggregation website. Der Herr der Ringe: Der Ringträger, which translates as Lord of the Rings: The Ring-Bearer by Schmidt Spiele will have the Fellowship try to make the treacherous journey while being chased down by Black Riders, the Nazgûl.
The title offers cooperative game mechanics, with one player becoming the ring-bearer, however, the One Ring’s power grows, and it may corrupt players, especially the Ring Bearer who could fall and do Sauron’s bidding. The game is also automatically lost if the Black Riders catch up to the Fellowship.
Race Against Time and Hope
Although a cooperative journey, the ring bearer may find themselves in a situation where they start helping the Black Riders to catch up with the party, but this doesn’t mean that the fellowship couldn’t carry on and try to make it to the accursed mountain anyway.
An active player will have to ensure their party’s success on each turn, with the players changing each turn, as Meeples Herald understands, so the party may sally forth even if the ring-bearer has fallen under Sauron’s influence. An interesting take on the Lord of the Ring board games pantheon, The Ring-Bearer by Schmidt Spiele is definitely an interesting title to add to your list of titles to try.