Middle-earth: The Wizards
Encyclopedia
Middle-earth: The Wizards is a collectible card game
based upon the characters, places,
and events detailed in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy works The Lord of the Rings
and The Hobbit
. The game was designed by Coleman Charlton, produced and marketed by
Iron Crown Enterprises
(ICE) and manufactured by Cartamundi
(Belgium
).
The cards used in the game feature original artwork by a multitude of artists, many of
them longtime Tolkien illustrators such as John Howe, Ted Nasmith
, Angus McBride, et al.
The game features a unique style of play wherein the players (from 2-5) alternate playing
the "good" and "evil" forces of Middle-earth
. Each player implicitly takes on the role
of one of the five Istari (Wizards) of Middle-earth
: Gandalf
, Saruman
,
Radagast
, Alatar, or Pallando. In the course of the game, players employ
cards representing characters (e.g. Dáin, Aragorn
), items (e.g. Nársil, Palantír of
Osgiliath) and places (e.g. Carn Dûm, Rivendell
) in an attempt to acquire a certain
amount of Influence points and thus win the game (by gathering enough Influence to rally
the Free Peoples and defeat the Dark Lord). The game is ordered by phases, such as the
movement phase, hazard phase (wherein the opposing player(s) try to thwart or hinder the
current player's actions), site phase, etc. There are 5 types of cards used:
The game was also somewhat unique in that in was one of the first CCGs to employ dice as
a mechanism of the game in addition to the cards.
The rules designated the region cards to be used in order to track a company's
movement (from site to site). The region cards used would determine the types of hazard
cards the opposing player could play -- for example, certain creature hazards could only
be "keyed" to Deep Wilderness (two or more wilderness regions), but other hazards could be
played independently of region type, or in the case of corruption cards, even if the
company didn't move at all. Many players chose to forego actual "playing" of the region
cards in preference of simply telling their opponent which regions (and region types) their
company had moved through to reach its destination.
A player's characters could be removed from the game primarily in two ways:
Nearly all items in the game gave 1 or more corruption points, and thus each player had
to balance the utility of acquired items against the possibility of losing a favored
character (and all of that character's items) to corruption.
The game enjoyed a successful run, which included a number of expansions:
Iron Crown Enterprises
orchestrated tournaments in which players competed for fun and
sometimes small prizes (such as a facsimilie of the One Ring
). ICE
eventually lost the rights to produce games based upon The Lord of the Rings
, and
production of the game ceased, though it remained popular for quite some time afterwards
both in the U.S.
and in Europe
.
Collectible card game
thumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
based upon the characters, places,
and events detailed in J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy works The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
. The game was designed by Coleman Charlton, produced and marketed by
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises was a publisher of role playing, board, miniature battle, and collectible card games.ICE was incorporated in 1980 shortly after the principal founders graduated from the University of Virginia...
(ICE) and manufactured by Cartamundi
Cartamundi
Cartamundi, also called Carta Mundi, is a Belgian company, based in Turnhout, that produces and sells board games, card games, collectible card games, packages and playing cards through its manufacturing and sales subsidiaries...
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
).
The cards used in the game feature original artwork by a multitude of artists, many of
them longtime Tolkien illustrators such as John Howe, Ted Nasmith
Ted Nasmith
Ted Nasmith is a Canadian artist, illustrator and architectural renderer. He is best known as an illustrator of J. R. R. Tolkien's works — The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....
, Angus McBride, et al.
The game features a unique style of play wherein the players (from 2-5) alternate playing
the "good" and "evil" forces of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. Each player implicitly takes on the role
of one of the five Istari (Wizards) of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
: Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
, Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
,
Radagast
Radagast (Middle-earth)
Radagast the Brown is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is one of the Istari or Wizards who were sent by the angelic Valar to aid the Elves and Men of Middle-earth in their struggle against the Dark Lord Sauron...
, Alatar, or Pallando. In the course of the game, players employ
cards representing characters (e.g. Dáin, Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
), items (e.g. Nársil, Palantír of
Osgiliath) and places (e.g. Carn Dûm, Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
) in an attempt to acquire a certain
amount of Influence points and thus win the game (by gathering enough Influence to rally
the Free Peoples and defeat the Dark Lord). The game is ordered by phases, such as the
movement phase, hazard phase (wherein the opposing player(s) try to thwart or hinder the
current player's actions), site phase, etc. There are 5 types of cards used:
- Character cards (including each of the five Wizards)
- Resource cards
- Hazard cards
- Site cards
- Region (movement) cards
The game was also somewhat unique in that in was one of the first CCGs to employ dice as
a mechanism of the game in addition to the cards.
The rules designated the region cards to be used in order to track a company's
movement (from site to site). The region cards used would determine the types of hazard
cards the opposing player could play -- for example, certain creature hazards could only
be "keyed" to Deep Wilderness (two or more wilderness regions), but other hazards could be
played independently of region type, or in the case of corruption cards, even if the
company didn't move at all. Many players chose to forego actual "playing" of the region
cards in preference of simply telling their opponent which regions (and region types) their
company had moved through to reach its destination.
A player's characters could be removed from the game primarily in two ways:
- killed (by a strike from an attacking creature)
- corrupted
Nearly all items in the game gave 1 or more corruption points, and thus each player had
to balance the utility of acquired items against the possibility of losing a favored
character (and all of that character's items) to corruption.
The game enjoyed a successful run, which included a number of expansions:
- Middle-earth: the Dragons
- Middle-earth: Dark Minions
- Middle-earth: Lidless Eye (allowing the player to play the evil forces opposed to good)
- Middle-earth: the White Hand
- Middle-earth: Against the Shadow
- Middle-earth: The Balrog
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises was a publisher of role playing, board, miniature battle, and collectible card games.ICE was incorporated in 1980 shortly after the principal founders graduated from the University of Virginia...
orchestrated tournaments in which players competed for fun and
sometimes small prizes (such as a facsimilie of the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
). ICE
eventually lost the rights to produce games based upon The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, and
production of the game ceased, though it remained popular for quite some time afterwards
both in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.