| 👨👩👧👦 | Players: 1-5 |
| ⏳ | Time: 60-150 mins |
| 🎂 | Ages: 14+ |
| ⚙️ | Mechanisms: Cooperative, variable player powers, dice rolling, set collection, hand management, solo |
Fate of the Fellowship from Z-Man Games is a cooperative adventure for 1-5 players. It was designed by Matt Leacock of Pandemic fame and incorporates an enhanced version of the Pandemic system into gameplay that immerses you in the Lord of the Rings theme.
“The board is set, and the pieces are moving…the Enemy has the move, and he is about to open his full game. And pawns are likely to see as much of it as any, Perigrin son of Paladin, Soldier of Gondor. Sharpen your blade!” – Gandalf
Taking on the roles of the Fellowship and their allies, you’ll be working to complete several plot point objectives, such as ‘Confront the Balrog’, ‘Free Theoden’s Mind’, and ‘Shieldmaiden No Longer’ – along with many other familiar moments from the Lord of the Rings books. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam are making their way to Mordor to complete the final and ultimate objective: to ‘Destroy the One Ring’ by throwing 5 rings into the fires of Mount Doom. Where he got those extra rings from, I’ll never know.
“I wish it need not have happened in my time”, said Frodo. “So do I”, said Gandalf, “and all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given to us.”
But this journey won’t be easy. At the end of each round, shadow cards are revealed to orchestrate the movement and strength of the Forces of Shadow. Just like in the book, Sauron is always searching for the One Ring, and enemy forces are marching (and flying) across Middle-earth. The Barad-dûr dice tower reveals the outcome of Saron’s searches for Frodo and the ring, and battles fought across Middle-earth, and serves as an ominous reminder of the ever-growing threat.
“… we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it when we started. But I suppose that’s often the way… I used to think they were things the wonderful folk in the stories went out and looked for… but that’s not the way of it for the tales that really mattered” – Sam
As the Fellowship, you will traverse these familiar lands using the depicted paths, and courage and stealth to aid you when you cross dangerous regions. You’ll also need to call on your allies for aid. You’ll muster ally troops to defend havens, including the Shire and Lorien, capture enemy strongholds like Moria and Isengard, and fight against the ever-growing horde of shadow forces. It will take strategic use of all of your character’s special abilities, and everything else you’ve got to defend Middle-earth, and not lose all hope.
“There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world” – Gandalf
Fate of the Fellowship is truly a love letter to The Lord of the Rings. It’s not often that I feel like I can say that the theme and mechanics of the game feel truly integrated, with each supporting the other in ways that enhance the gameplay experience. All of the details feel well thought out, and each element, from the Barad-dûr dice tower down to the facts on the player cards, really brings the theme to life.
“There never was much hope”, [Gandalf] answered. “Just a fool’s hope, as I have been told.”
Despite the heavier complexity of the game, turns don’t feel overwhelming, as each player’s turn follows the same basic structure and actions. For those who have played the Pandemic system, the game structure will feel similar. The main differences to be noted are the objectives, which replace the diseases to be cured, the way the shadow deck (the equivalent of Pandemic‘s infection deck) works, and how the shadow troops (viruses in Pandemic) spread. Thankfully, the heavy theme integration makes these new mechanics feel intuitive and simple to execute (in theory… achieving the objectives can be so, so difficult, but incredibly satisfying when you do).
“I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.” – Frodo
I really enjoy cooperative games that feel almost impossible to beat, and leave you wanting to play just one more time, because you’re sure this will be the time that you conquer the game. I felt this in Pandemic, but Fate of the Fellowship has this feeling in spades. You truly feel the despair and hopelessness that the Fellowship felt as the darkness spread across the lands. And yet, throughout, there are also plenty of moments of hope, just like in The Two Towers, when Gandalf the White appears in the west with reinforcements. If you have played Pandemic and you’re looking to level up in complexity, or perhaps you are a fan of Lord of the Rings, then Fate of the Fellowship is well worth checking out.
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