While their gameplay may differ, what the best Lord of the Rings board games all share is their ability to bring the places, characters and stories of Middle-Earth to life on the tabletop, whether it’s through cinematic grandeur or immersive storytelling. From the smallest hobbit to the greatest mountain-dwelling dragon, every inch of Middle-Earth has been covered by one game or another - it’s just a case of finding the one that’s right for you. In motion, War of the Ring plays a bit like a souped-up version of Risk, with players rolling dice to determine their available actions and resolve battles between miniatures on the large map board. Cards can be played to call upon allies and trigger events - many of which pay homage to memorable moments from the books, making this easily the most faithful Lord of the Rings board game you can experience as a diehard fan. Almost 20 years after it first hit tables, Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game continues to have a dedicated following among Tolkien fans and wargamers alike, with its detailed models, in-depth rules and epic battles some of the best Lord of the Rings gaming around. And what better time to re-listen to the audiobooks of the original novels than while you glue and paint your collection?

Or Lord of the Rings Warhammer, as everybody actually calls it It's Warhammer, but it's Lord of the Rings - what else is there to say? | Image credit: Games Workshop Hunt for the Ring takes a unique approach to Tolkien’s stories, foregoing epic battles and exploration of Middle-Earth for a tight, tense game of hide and seek. One player controls Frodo, who must sneak his way across the board without being detected by the other player’s Nazgul. The sheer variety of Lord of the Rings board games means there’s a tabletop retelling of the fantasy epic to suit everyone. Prefer the cooperation of the Fellowship of the Ring as they make their way to Mordor? There’s a game for that. Prefer the sweeping battles between huge armies of The Two Towers and Return of the King? There’s a game for that, too. Prefer to poke around in parts of Middle-Earth that you haven’t seen before with characters outside of the familiar faces? Yep, you can do that too.Travel across Middle-Earth in an app-powered adventure Journeys in Middle-Earth offers a light roleplaying experience, guided by a companion app. The living card game has been expanded by a number of expansions and even a revised core set over the years, resulting in an enormous wealth of adventures and customisation for players to dive into, spanning both familiar faces and locations from Tolkien’s books and brand new content original to the game. As one of the most recent Lord of the Rings board games to hit the tabletop, Journeys in Middle-Earth features a companion app that serves as a game master for players during their adventures, controlling the behaviour of enemies, popping up events and allowing for interactions with the world similar to app games such as Mansions of Madness. Like rewatching the Extended Trilogy, War of the Ring isn’t short - expect to spend at least a handful of hours playing, and longer if you’re new - but it’s worth the time and effort it demands. If there’s one Lord of the Rings game to rule them all, this is probably it. If your favourite scene in Fellowship of the Ring is the bit where Frodo and his Hobbit companions flee the Ringwraiths on their way to Rivendell, Hunt for the Ring is the Lord of the Rings board game for you.

Once you get past the walking, talking trees (sorry, Ents), magical rings and armies of ghosts, The Lord of the Rings boils down to a timeless tale of good versus evil. The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation puts this head-to-head battle at its heart in a straightforward but deeply strategic two-player game. The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game ventures outside of the familiar tales of Bilbo, Frodo and the other heroes of Tolkien’s work in a co-op card game set between the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. When two pieces meet, they enter combat, using a combination of their fighting value and special ability to gain the advantage. For example, Frodo may slip away to an adjacent space using the One Ring’s invisibility. As well as the unique powers of the pieces themselves, each player can use cards from their hand to boost their unit’s strength dn trigger other effects. Dicebreaker is owned by Gamer Network Limited, a ReedPop company and subsidiary of Reed Exhibitions Limited.A Lord of the Rings version of the classic board game Risk: Lord of the Rings relocates the classic game of global conflict to the fantasy world of Middle-Earth. The Lord of the Rings is less thematic than some of the other Lord of the Rings games on this list, but it’s no lesser as a result. The tense co-op challenge stands up more than 20 years after it first released, making for an enjoyable retelling of Frodo’s journey - if you can make it to the end, that is. The Confrontation’s gameplay is somewhat similar to classic strategy game Stratego, with players unable to see which of their opponent’s nine pieces - in this case, the various characters of The Lord of the Rings - is on which space, representing the different locations across Middle-Earth. Taking its miniature designs directly from the Lord of the Rings - and later, The Hobbit - films, the Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game also draws heavily from the older Warhammer Fantasy Battle rules. Players control the forces of Middle-Earth, typically divided into the Free Peoples (that’s elves, dwarves, Gondor and Rohan and so on) and Sauron’s minions, as they clash over battlefields in the fantasy world. Avoid Ringwraiths as sneaky Hobbitses - or chase down the Ring-bearer as the Nazgul Hunt for the Ring is split into two different chapters, and can be played as a prequel to War of the Ring.