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Hey everybody. Im kind of out of my area here (usually i lurk 40K) but I was wondering if i could steal your attention for a second. I played a VERY quick demo for lotr when it first came out and it seemed alright. My roomate is a rings NUT! Was trying to drag her into tabletop. Since nobody at my lgs plays rings, figured I post here and cross my fingers.

1: Its it an easy game to pick up? I have a decent gaming background so I dont see any problem here, but she hasnt played a thing. Is it going to be completely frustrating, or is it around the same as fantasy (about)?

2: Does the starter box (Mines of whatever) have everything to keep us busy a while? Or is it one of those, "Heres one mission to get you hooked" like all the other starters.

3: Since Im placing an order for it, what else should I pick up with the starter? Like I said, they dont carry it around here and I would hate to wait for another right away.

Any help you can give would be appreciated. Thanks

I can only speak for #2, but it is indeed a 'one mission to get hooked' type thing. There is not a huge amount of replayability in the boxed set and the forces are quite unbalanced so you'll need some evil heroes and good troops to balance it a bit more.

1) Yes, I would say it's quite easy to pick up, the Mines of Moria box set does explain things quite well, and goes through the rules step by step. It does take quite a bit longer than 40k/fantasy though (hence the small point values), as its heroics centered and all models move and pretty much roll indervidually. Aside from that, its very similar.

2) The starter box comes with a small rulebook, which contains 1 proper scenario in it, as well as the tutorial scenarios to get you started. Aside from that, you may have difficulty stretching it to more than a few proper games.

3) This really depends what sort of person she is, if she obscesses about the heroic bits of the book and film, and cheers whenever something awesome happens (like me lol) then get a few warriors of gondor/rohan and relevent command (captain and banner, possibly additional hero). Also consider getting some cavalry (helms deep scene). Alternatively, she could be the sort of person who points out what evil could have done better in the films and secretly wishes they won. If this is the case, get a goblin command and some goblin warg riders (or even a balrog!) to compliment what you got in the mines of moria. Whichever you choose it will need an enemy to fight against, so get a few boxes of good and evil for her to play against.

I hope this helps, good luck getting her started!

Regarding the boxed set, it comes with something like 5 missions - each is harder than the last. The first one uses the fewest rules possible to get you started. The second adds some, and by the time you get to the final scenario (Balin's Tomb), you will have learned everything in the basic game.

The advanced rules are included as well.

So how much fun can you get out of this boxed set?

Well, I'd get your friend involved in the painting and modeling aspect - this could occupy many happy nights. Why not watch LOTR while painting?

Re: Scenarios - on top of the scenarios given to you with this boxed set, you can always design your own. Remember, terrain can completely change a battle, so you can spend time building and modeling your own.

Last point - I like to think of Mines of Moria as being like a Chess Set. That never changes, but Chess is fun every time you play it with infinite possibilities.

And of course, if you and she LOVE it, you may enjoy picking up an extra model here and there and add to the fun! Dwarves or a Balrog or other Moria-Type models might be obvious choices for expanding the set. There is also a scenario book you can buy which is focused on Moria (assuming this is a favorite theme of yours).

And if you don't love it, well, you'll have gotten your money's worth after playing through all the scenarios and painting the models anyway - after all, going out and seeing a movie is $20 right there, so if you get 3 nights of fun out of it, you're all set.

OH - and finally, you won't need to buy anything else other than the starter - with the possible exception of paints and glue. The set is self-contained and has everything you need in order to start playing.

Thanks everybody. I appreciate the input. Ill let you knwo how it goes

I'm a long time 40ker that switched to LotR when I lived in Omaha. The 40k crowd was pretty unsavory and all of my gaming group were LotR guys.
I find it to be, once you really get involved a much better game than any I have ever played on table top. The heroes have an effect on the battlefield
in a real way even if they aren't combat monsters. Combat rules are better skirmish style than the rest I have tried. Each army can (even in tourneys)
ally prolifically to make some really interesting lists.

Suggest you and roommate pick up more than just Mines of Moria to start - The rulebook will be a good primer to show you what's out there. Remember
no squads, you can pick one small hero from multiple lists and bring any number of whatever you have the points for in each.

Uruk-hai and Dol-Amroth tend to play (forgive the metaphor) much like space marines for 40k. Good beginner army because they are skilled, good armor,
and good choices in almost every aspect of the list (heroes, warriors, cavalry, etc).

Great game. Hope you enjoy it.

Yes, LotR is very easy to pick up. And like others have and will say, if she isn't content, just buy stuff to compliment the two forces.

Evil: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landingArmy.jsp?catId=cat1580061&rootCatGameStyle=

Good: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/listProducts.jsp?catId=cat1580054

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/landingArmy.jsp?catId=cat1580057&rootCatGameStyle=

Remember, this is just my opinion of armies to compliment with.