The Hunt for the Ring is the next Lord of the Rings game from the creators of War of the Ring

War of the Ring is widely considered to be of, if not the, best Lord of the Rings tabletop adaptation around, so it gave us no shortage of excitement to hear that two of the game’s creators are working on a new sister title set in Middle-earth.

The Hunt for the Ring will follow Frodo’s journey from the Shire to Rivendell as told in opening novel The Fellowship of the Ring, attempting to avoid the dreaded Nazgul (Ringwraiths) along the way. As in the book, the game will be divided into chapters, the first focusing on Frodo’s initial travel from the Shire to Bree and the second switching mechanics as players draw cards to move the group of hobbits to Rivendell, reflecting their new leadership by Strider/Aragorn. Players can save their progress in-between the two chapters and continue later on.

Unlike War of the Ring’s sweeping strategy, Hunt for the Ring will be a hidden movement game, as Frodo tries to resist the corruption of the Ring. To help, War of the Ring co-creators Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello have formed their own fellowship with the lauded designer of Letters from Whitechapel, Garibaldi and Mister X, Gabriele Mari.

Hunt for the Ring will be published by Ares Games, which said it considers the title the third instalment in its War of the Ring trilogy following War of the Ring and The Battle of Five Armies, which applies the mechanics to the climatic conflict in The Hobbit.

It’s not clear when the game will be out – but with this year marking the 80th anniversary of Middle-earth’s creation and The Hobbit’s publication, hopefully it won’t be a long wait.