This is a board game published by Fact & Fantasy Games, evidently another individual designer putting out his own creation as a spare-time venture. The copyright is in the name of Richard Jordison. Here begins what promises to be a rash of board games based on the battles and campaigns described in the fantasy works of J.R.R. Tolkien (THE HOBBIT, and the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy - if you haven't read them, do so; you won't regret it!).

The game is not boxed, but wrapped in plastic and mailed in an envelope. The "board" is 11"x17" on ordinary, thin paper and in black and white only. The rules are in a 16-page (counting covers) 5 x 8 1/2" booklet, offset printed, photoreduced typewriting. The unit counters are uncut, printed on three little blocks of colored posterboard. The situation simulated (for those who haven't read Tolkien, or who don't remember the incident) is an assault on an ancient fortress in a narrow mountain gorge.

The defenders are a small part of the army of the Kingdom of Rohan, led by their beloved king, Theoden. The attackers comprise a large force of men and orcs (large goblins) in the service of Saruman, a renegade wizard. The map and game mechanics seem to simulate the nature of the battle. as described by Tolkien, quite well. The game is on a fairly tactical level. Each unit counter represents an indefinite number of either archers or swordsmen.

Each type has its uses. There are also ladders (for scaling the walls) and bombs (for forcing gates). There are a number of special rules defining the effects of the walls, the tower, and a road and a stream that pass through them. Various levels of victory are attainable, via 4 point system.

It is a unique and well-presented little game and you would not have to be a Tolkien fan to understand and appreciate it. However, to me that is the game's major drawback - the lack of any particular Tolkien flavor to the game. As a game about assaulting stone walls and towers it's pretty good. though. It is available for $3 from Fact & Fantasy Games, P.O. Box 1472 Maryland Heights, MO 63043 or from Louis Zocchi and Associates, 1513 Newton Drive, Biloxi MS 39532. The same publisher announces plans to produce three more games in the near future: two more on Tolkien subjects and one concerning the siege of a medieval castle.

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