Hobbit Deck Building Game

I played the LOTR version of this game with some friends while on holidays a few weeks back. My wife and I liked it so much that we decided to buy the Hobbit version before our weekend away was through. The Hobbit version is slightly different than the LOTR counterpart. I like that the player cards are now a permanent card rather than just a card that cycles through your deck. The Archenemy process is a little different too and I'm undecided after a handful of games which I prefer. I agree with some of the other reviews that the loot cards were not well marked and took flipping through the deck several times before realizing they were actually artifact and maneuver cards with Level 1 or Level 2 Loot marked in fine print. the loot and archenemy cards should have been wrapped together separate from the main deck or at the very least images of each level of loot card in the manual for reference to avoid confusion. That being said, it was only a few minutes of frustration before figuring it out.Having very little experience with deck building games, I have no real basis for comparison, but I enjoy the game and also look forward to integrating the expansion that we picked up. Games seem to average around an hour and a half and play well with 2, 3 or 4 players. Strategy each game proves to be fun and varying depending on the player card you start with and the early path cards that turn up. I highly recommend this game for any fans of the hobbit movies that want to try a deck builder as a beginner, it is quick to pick up after a couple of hands. If the impossible mode cards are as unforgiving as the LOTR ones it's also for the intermediate crowd and beyond.

I ordered this for my boys and our family for Christmas. We love strategy games and we love "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" movies and books. This game surpassed my expectations. It is such a fun game! It takes a while to play if you are playing with all 4 people (at least 1.5 hours to 2 hours). It is different from the Lord of the Rings games by the same company. Instead of defeating different arch enemies throughout the game, you will defeat the same arch enemy up to 3 times each and each time the arch enemy is defeated you receive a loot card to put into your deck. (The loot cards each have a special ability to help build your deck.) I personally like this way of playing. It is more relaxed. I like that each game is different and unique. We have all 4 and we like each one for different reasons. We even meet with some home school friends of ours every Monday after school at a local coffee house to play one of these games together. (The only thing I would change is for the number of players to go up to 6 instead of 5 because one of us always has to sit out or play on a team.) It is always different and therefore it never gets boring. I love to play this game!

We have purchased all four LOTR deck building games now, plus several additional copies for friends. It's easy to learn (less to track than Dominion or Ascension), easy to set up, and takes about an hour. Our kids (8/10/12) and adult friends love it, we can scale from 2-5 players easily, and there's just enough randomness that anyone can win (although skill helps). This particular version has a few minor tweaks that make it feel more like a Hobbit troop than a Fellowship, like a flood of low-cost Ally cards and enemies that take multiple rounds to defeat.And the price is amazing. I cringe when our kids shuffle our 7 Wonders or Race For The Galaxy cards, because the cards are unique and the games are expensive to replace. With this game being less than half the price of those others, replacing it isn't as big a worry. The price fluctuates; watch for it to drop below $10 if you have time to wait.

When this product arrived the box as well as a lot of cards were damaged. All cards were present which is the only reason this isn’t 1 star.

Was really excited since this game looks like a lot of fun. Was very disappointed when we opened it Christmas day and found out our box was missing cards (no loot cards) and Cryptozoic wasn't open again till January 5th with probably a long wait for replacement cards. Will update when they're open with their response.UPDATE:Got the rest of the cards right away.This game is so much fun and is very addictive.Life Hack: travel version is a zip lock bag and the instructions. We've loved sharing this with extended family (who have now all purchased a copy too). The expansions are wonderful as well so check them out.

i would give this 4.5 stars only because there are cords that are called "Loot" cards that are supposed to be pulled out. Crypto didn't do a good job of making sure the loot cards were properly labelled. the loot cards are specific cards since they need to go under the arch-nemesis. when sorting out the cards, there are 4 loot cards mixed with the Artefact cards and 4 loot cards in the Manuevers cards. other than that, it was easy to learn if you know other Crypto Deckbuilders and is a solid addition to any deckbuilding collection.

Even though there was just one review and it said missing cards I still purchased this. Upon opening I looked immediately for the loot cards to see if I too was missing them. I found them eventually intermingled and wrapped with the whole deck of cards It should be a 4.7 for the way the cards were wrapped. On the right hand side under the picture it will say "level 1 loot" or "level 2 loot". The level 1 loot cards are blue artifacts and the level 2 loot cards are brown maneuvers. I found it easier once I knew what I was looking for because they are the only artifacts that cost 9 power and the only maneuvers that cost 11.I could write a full review if any one wanted with any requested pictures but right now I'm at work and figured I'd clear up the hidden loot cards that should have been not mixed with the other maneuvers and artifacts.

Warning: The picture is for the the wrong game. What's shown is the deck building game.