The War of the Ring Online Campaign
Encyclopedia
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
's annual summer campaign for 2005. The campaign was named after the eponymous War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
in J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's 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 was the first to feature the The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game
The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game
The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game , and often referred to by players as Lord of the Rings, is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop . It is based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, and the book that inspired it, written by J. R. R...
as its wargaming system. The campaign allowed registered participants to play miniature wargames
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
using special "regional rules" for any one of thirteen regions 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....
, and to submit the results to the campaign website. The results were then added up on the website, contributing to the overall result of the campaign.
The campaign was launched on 1 June 2005 and lasted 14 weeks (or 92 days). There were 3007 registered participants, and 27239 games were submitted. Although based in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the campaign was open to all countries and was promoted in Games Workshop hobby centres worldwide. The campaign also received coverage in the monthly magazine White Dwarf
White Dwarf (magazine)
White Dwarf is a magazine published by British games manufacturer Games Workshop. Initially covering a wide variety of fantasy and science-fiction role-playing and board games, particularly the role playing games Dungeons & Dragons, RuneQuest and Traveller...
and the fortnightly Battle Games in Middle-earth, and Games Workshop released the special "Gimli on Dead Uruk-hai" miniature to promote the event.
Structure
The campaign system was designed by Mathew Ward. Based on the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, the only two sides were "Good" and "Evil", who contested thirteen regions set in Middle-earthMiddle-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....
: Eriador
Eriador
Eriador is a large region in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth. In the Second Age, and possibly much earlier, it was largely forested, but the Dúnedain felled most of the forests to build ships. Much of it was encompassed in the early Third Age by the kingdom of Arnor, which...
, Angmar
Angmar
Angmar is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's continent of Middle-earth.-Synopsis:Angmar was founded in in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the evil Lord of the Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar"...
, Iron Hills
Iron Hills
The Iron Hills are a fictional range of mountains in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. They are remnants of the Iron Mountains of the First Age and are located east of the Lonely Mountain in the northeastern part of Rhovanion and the northwest of Rhûn. In the Third Age, they are home to a...
, Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
, Misty Mountains
Misty Mountains
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
, Dunland & Isengard
Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron fortress" In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress....
, Lothlórien & Fangorn
Fangorn forest
Fangorn in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium, was a forest located in the fictional world of Middle-earth and was the home of the tree shepherds, the Ents. It was named after the oldest Ent, Treebeard or Treebeard after it. Tolkien did, however, state that there was confusion about the two...
, Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
, Rhûn
Rhûn
In the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhûn was a large region of eastern Middle-earth. Rhûn was the name used for all lands lying east of Rhovanion, around and beyond the inland Sea of Rhûn, whence came many attacks on Gondor and its allies during the Third Age of...
, Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
, Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
, Harad
Harad
In J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy legendarium, Harad was the name for the immense lands south of Gondor and Mordor. Called Haradwaith from the people who lived there, it literally means "South-folk", from the Sindarin harad, "South" and gwaith, "people"...
and the Fellowship Path
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
. Each day, registered participants could submit the results of a tabletop battle-game played using special "regional rules" for any one of these regions. The website's "War Room" was updated each weekday at 10:00 GMT, and showed where each side was leading. At the end of each week, the wins would be tallied and "Victory Points" would be awarded to each side to determine who was winning over all.
There was also an internet forum for each side on the website, where participants could discuss strategies for swinging the regions in their side's favour. These were moderated by Steve Hammatt, who was at the time forum moderator on the main Games Workshop website. Hammatt assisted the running of the campaign both by making announcements and answering player's questions, and by passing on player feedback to the campaign organisers. There were also two "player created strategy groups" formed mid-campaign, the Alliance of Light and the Dark Council, who received particular mention and thanks from Games Workshop in White Dwarf.
Games Workshop also introduced the "Wrath of Umbar
Umbar
Umbar is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. It was a great haven and seaport to the far south of Gondor in Middle-earth.'Umbar' was a name—of unknown meaning—given to the area by its original inhabitants...
" Roadshow, with custom-built corsair
Corsairs of Umbar
The Corsairs of Umbar were a fleet of Men of Umbar in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, allied to Sauron in his war against Gondor.-Literature:...
models and gaming boards being brought to various cities in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Progress of the campaign
professionals".
The number of miniature wargames played in a single week peaked at the end of Week 9, with both sides submitting approximately 1400 victories each. At the end of Week 11, Evil came to within two points of the Good side. In Week 14, the last events of the Wrath of Umbar Roadshow were run in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
, Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
and Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
; while the week was also characterised by "spectacular results" for Good in Mordor and Morannon. The outcome was a narrow overall victory of 145 Victory Points for Good and 142 for Evil.
Results
At the end of the campaign, there were 3007 registered participants, while results from a total of 27239 battle games played were submitted. Gondor was the most popular region for input, with 10327 games recorded. The highest peak of any region in a single week was an attempt to take Rohan from Evil in Week 9, with the results of over 650 tabletop games submitted. There was also an unprecedented rush for Good to retake Mordor in the final week, with Mordor and the Fellowship Path attracting the most games in that period.When the Campaign formally ended on 8 September, there were 27239 games recorded in total. The Iron Hills had remained an undefeated stronghold for Good, with 67% of games there being Good victories. Evil's strongest bastion was in Angmar, with 59% of games being Evil victories. Good had emerged the victor with 145 Victory Points (Evil had 142).
Aftermath
The campaign received a positive response, both in participation and comments by mail. Alessio Cavatore, one of the designers of The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game and a contributor to White Dwarf, described the campaign as a "fantastic rollercoaster", with a "perfect ending" in a "highly climatic [sic], breathtaking, neck-and-neck result!"Later in 2005, Games Workshop ran a similar, smaller War of the Ring campaign based in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. However, this was nowhere near the scale of its UK counterpart (with only 100 games recorded in Gondor, for example) and was ignored by many who viewed it as a "watered-down" version of the original. In December, Alessio Cavatore hinted that Games Workshop might eventually run another online campaign for The Lord of the Rings:
There has been no official sequel event to date. However, the Dark Council went on to run an unofficial "Campaign of LoTRs" with Cheeseweb; while a campaign was run by The Last Alliance website and another was in development on The One Ring. The Dark Council itself was ultimately closed in summer 2007 after a long period inactivity.