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Lord of the Rings LCG is going digital !!!

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 8:51 pm
by CardGameGeek
It's a trend lately, and Fantasy Flight recently closed a deal with Asmodee to get, I guess/hope, all the games lineup to digital version.

It looks like Lord of the Ring LCG will be the first of the line and even better news, at least for people with few time available like me, it will start with single player only feature while in Early Access on Steam :D

You can read some more here if you want and take a peek at some of the Game's screenshots.

If you want to see bigger images, just right click and open them in a new tab :wink:

Re: Lord of the Rings LCG is going digital !!!

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 2:10 am
by Theo
I think this has been in Early Release for a month or two. Any reviews from MECCG players? The reviews from the physical LCG players seem not great, but I guess it is still Early.

Re: Lord of the Rings LCG is going digital !!!

Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2018 3:40 am
by Kjeld
I've played both the tabletop LotR LCG and now the digital LCG, so I have some basis for this review.

1. The digital version is NOT a direct port of the tabletop version. From the graphic design to the game play to the cards themselves, all is quite different. There are, of course, some common elements, but it's really best to think of these as two separate games.

2. The currently available digital content is very limited (especially when compared to the tabletop game). There are only 8 heroes right now (I think the TT version has 100+), and the player card pool is fairly small. Also, there's only one campaign of five quests. So it's really difficult to assess how the game will develop.

3. The game is fun to play, but there are serious questions as to it's long-term hold on players' attention. There are some major issues with the game balance -- there is basically one very powerful strategy that gets you through all five available quests, even on 'hard' mode. This is because all five of the quests feel very similar in terms of how Sauron plays (the AI isn't the brightest bulb) and how you make progress. Basically, it feels like you just need to establish early control over the board (which frankly isn't too hard) and then you cake walk the rest of the way, rinsing and repeating the same basic plays. This is a bit jarring for veterans of the TT game, which has a well-earned reputation for creative game design that throws players major curveballs and upsets previously dominant strategies.

4. There is no co-op yet, and no ETA on when it will be available.

5. The game is pay-to-play, to a certain extent, though it is possible to earn your way to a larger card pool and expand the available quests by playing a lot and getting high scores (though right now the scoring system is both imbalanced and actually broken).

6. The core set cards seem to have lost some of the thematic flair which makes the TT version great. A lot of the cards feel fairly generic (there is literally a "Warrior Sword", for example). This could just be a symptom of these being the initial core cards -- perhaps more theme will come in as the game develops.

7. The voice acting, however, is really good and thematic!

8. The UI is so-so. There are some glaring problems (e.g. a terrible game log/history, no explanatory pop-ups when you hover over a card or keyword, very difficult to make out attachments, etc.), but other aspects of it are very pretty and intuitive. Hopefully they'll iron out the problems soon, but time will tell.

Anyhow, those are my initial takeaways for now. I'd say it's a fun way to spend a few hours messing around with the available quests (they take 20-30 minutes each), but I wouldn't necessarily go into expecting something incredible (yet). You could easily wait on this until it's clear that the devs will fix the problems, or settle for a buggy, imperfect product.

Re: Lord of the Rings LCG is going digital !!!

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:57 pm
by Theo
Noticed that this is half off until April 10, and it looks like they've done three major content additions since the original. I'll think I'll pick it up and try to write my own review before the sale ends.

Re: Lord of the Rings LCG is going digital !!!

Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:19 pm
by CDavis7M
I have played the digital game. First thing to know is that FFG already disolved FFInteractive, the developer of this game. This happened a few months back when they downsized other divisions as well. So the game is no longer in development and is no longer going to be receiving updates. For that reason, I would not bother. I guess it's $10... I don't know... only if you're really curious.

https://www.dualshockers.com/fantasy-fl ... e-closing/

Overall, the digital game really is a 2.0 of the physical game. It simplifies a lot of the mechanics while still retaining the most important ones. It also is just a lot easier to manage since the computer does everything. The game is also quicker and nice for pick-up-and-play gaming. But this also means that the game is a whole lot less complex. Deck building is also simpler. This is a good thing and a bad thing -- but if you like MECCG and the LotR LCG then I'd assume it's a "bad" thing. This digital game is definitely not a replacement. It's different and still fun in it's own right.

There is a "mobile game" aspect to it in that you can replay quests with different companies to get rewards, or you can pull off tricks for rewards. And you unlock cards overtime. If you read some early reviews, note that FFI long since removed the more egregious "mobile game" aspects.

I'm pretty bummed about it but the game just wasn't doing that well.