The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth rules – how to play and how to win

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth quick rules

The goal

One player is the Fellowship of the Ring, the other Sauron, over three chapters. There are three ways to win, and each one ends the game at once: complete the Quest of the Ring, gather the support of six different Races, or be present in all seven regions of Middle-earth.

Your turn

Sauron begins, then you take turns. Each chapter, 20 cards form overlapping rows. On your turn, take an available Chapter card (one no other card covers) or a Landmark tile. Play the card by paying its cost, or discard it for Coins: 1 in chapter 1, 2 in chapter 2, 3 in chapter 3. Then flip any face-down cards that became available.

Paying for a card

Some cards cost Coins, returned to the reserve. Most require Skills (Ruse, Strength, Courage, Knowledge, Leadership), which come from your Grey cards and aren’t spent. Each missing symbol costs one Coin. From chapter 2, a card whose chaining symbol you already own is played for free.

The card colors

Grey cards give Skills, Yellow cards give Coins. Blue cards move your character along the Quest of the Ring track, Green cards show a Race symbol, Red cards place Units. Purple cards, in chapter 3 only, offer maneuvers: move your Units, remove an enemy Unit or make your opponent lose Coins.

The Quest of the Ring

The Fellowship moves Frodo and Sam toward Mount Doom, while Sauron moves the Nazgûl chasing them. Each Ring symbol on a Blue card moves you one space, and reaching a Bonus space gives its effect. If Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom, the Fellowship wins; if the Nazgûl catch them, Sauron wins. The Nazgûl move along with Frodo and Sam: the gap can only shrink.

Races and alliances

There are six Races: Elves, Ents, Hobbits, Humans, Dwarves and Wizards. Six different symbols on your Green cards win you the game. Two matching symbols reveal the first two Alliance tokens of that Race, and you keep one. Once per game, three different symbols reveal one token of each of those Races, and you keep one.

Units, Fortresses and conflicts

You’re present in a region if you have at least one Unit or a Fortress there. Placing Units where enemy Units are triggers a conflict: each side removes one Unit until one side has none left. A Landmark tile takes your whole turn: pay its Skills, plus one Coin per Fortress already placed, and put a Fortress in its region, with no conflict. Present in all seven regions, you win.

The end of the game

The game ends as soon as a player meets one of the three victory conditions. If nobody has by the time the last chapter 3 card is taken, the player present in the most regions wins. On a tie, the victory is shared.

Beginner traps

Watching only one victory: your opponent can win in three ways, sometimes in a single turn. Forgetting that taking a card frees the ones it covered: check what you’re offering. And neglecting discards: they earn Coins and deny the card to your opponent.

Allies

With the Allies expansion, each player secretly draws three Ally cards and gets a Power token; more tokens are gained on face-down cards. Once per turn, on top of your action, one token reveals an Ally and applies its enter effect; later, two tokens apply its exit effect, and it leaves the game. The victory conditions don’t change.

How to win The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth

No points

The game has no points: you win with one of the three instant victories, or on regions at the end of chapter 3.

Faction

The Fellowship of the Ring or Sauron. Sauron begins the game.

Instant victory

Quest of the Ring (Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom, or the Nazgûl catch them), Support of the Races (six different symbols) or Conquest of Middle-earth (present in all seven regions).

Regions where you are present

Only if nobody has won by the end of chapter 3: a region counts if you have a Fortress or at least one Unit there. The most regions wins; on a tie, shared victory.

Example ending

The last chapter 3 card is taken with no instant victory. Emma, the Fellowship, has Units in 2 regions and Fortresses in 2 others: 2 + 2 = 4 regions. Jake, Sauron, is present in 3 regions. Emma wins, 4 regions to 3.

Common mistakes

• Counting a region twice when you have both a Unit and a Fortress there: it counts once.
• Forgetting Fortresses when counting regions: a Fortress is enough to be present.
• Breaking a tie on regions: the victory is shared.
• Playing on after an instant victory: the game ends at once, even mid-chapter.

How to set up The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth

Setup takes about 5 minutes. Add the Allies steps if you play with the expansion; chapters 2 and 3 are laid out during the game.