On April 20th, Fantasy Flight Games released their Lord of the Rings Card Game. The game itself appears to be something new and exciting in the world of card gaming. It is not a Collectible Card Game (like Magic: The Gathering or Pokemon), nor is it a static card game such as Poker. Fantasy Flight is calling it a “Living Card Game.”
The game begin with a 226 card core set that allows two players to cooperatively tell new and exciting adventures in Middle-Earth. In the future, Fantasy Flight will be releasing monthly 60-card expansions (called Adventure Packs) to the game. These will be fixed sets, and the players are not required to constantly buy packs searching for a particular card – but instead they can choose new adventure packs at their leisure and change the game the way they choose to!
In addition to this innovation in card games, the cards themselves offer a feast for the eyes. The art appears to be all new and original, though I could not find information confirming or denying this in my search.
The first of a 3-part cycle of Adventure Packs (Shadows of Mirkwood) is already listed on Fantasy Flight’s website. They are The Hunt for Gollum, Conflict at the Carrock, and A Journey to Rhosgobel.
