Battle of Five Armies

Ares Games is becoming a household name for quality and great games. This is a simplified version of War of the Ring, but is still unique that it is its own game. This game is dripping with theme, 1 player controls the free people, and the other is the shadow player. There is a couple different win conditions for both sides, if the Free People can bring Beorn into the game before the shadow player has at least 6 points the free people win, if the fate track reaches 15 free people win, If Bolg gets eliminated Free People win. If Shadow player gets 10 pointa and controls front gate they automatically win, or if they have 10 points at the end of a round they win. The shadow army is racing to take control of settlements and free peoples fortifications, and trying to get Bolg into play through combat and card play. This is an amazing miniatures game set in the hobbit universe. All the key characters are here, and each is very unique from each other. If you want to see a complete game in action, Ricky Royal has a play through on his youtube channel, he shows all aspects of the game and explains the rules in a very entertaining way. We give this game a 10-10, this is the most amazing game I have played in awhile, and can't wait to what Ares Games releases next.

If you liked the War of the Ring board game this is awesome too. Has a great fast paced tactical gameplay, great quality pieces and board. The game balance seems fair, haven’t played too many games yet but neither side seems to be overpowered. There were no missing or damaged pieces. It’s a really fun game made a great Christmas present, happy I got it.

Hard-to-find game came promptly and in perfect condition. Great price. Packaging was impressive and arrival exceeded my expectations. 5 star seller.

This can be described as a streamlined version of War of the Ring. It plays in a shorter time but the gameplay is very similar. Players take actions with using an action die augmented by cards just like WOTR. The map is specific to one area

This is one of the best board games I have ever played. It does the license credit and is also fun in it's own right. I like how it makes both sides fun to play. I also like how the games's mechanics mimic the actual events of the battle yet allow each play through to differ even though the structure is the same. However the play time they list is completely wrong. The first time I played it the battle lasted for 5 hours not including set-up time and reading the instructions. It was lots of fun though and really fast paced. My later playthroughs usually last from 2-3.5 hours so that first one was probably just learning the game.

Good game but it was sent in shrink, no packaging to protect it from shipping. Ended up getting a damaged box.

Another excellent game from the makers of "War of the Ring"! This is a slightly simpler (and quicker) scaled-down version with many of the same game mechanics. Seems fairly well balanced after our first couple of play-tests :) Strictly two-player, with high quality game components, and fairly straightforward and comprehensive rules. This is a good game to introduce Tolkien fans to wargaming and serves as an easy pick-up game for old grognards like myself.

If you like War of the Ring, this is a pretty safe bet. Covering just one battle it's not as all-encompassing as War of the Ring, but it uses the same dice, most of the same miniatures, and even some of the mechanics. WotR fans will be able to step into the game pretty quickly. What I like most about it is that it doesn't take so long to play.