The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game Review

As the sanction implies, The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game plays similar your emblematic trick-taking game, with players competing to triumph hands of cards – referred to arsenic tricks – by playing and pursuing a peculiar suit that is led astatine the commencement of each round. What makes The Two Towers (and its predecessor) unsocial is that it's a purely cooperative game.

While I knew this going in, having not played The Fellowship of the Ring, I wasn’t wholly definite however this was going to enactment – but successful a fewer moments, it rapidly became clear, and I recovered it alternatively clever. In bid to progress, each quality has to win successful their respective goals, specified arsenic the Gimli subordinate being required to triumph six mountain-suited cards oregon Boromir winning 2 tricks earlier the Black Tower paper is played, and nary much afterwards. What makes The Two Towers (and the erstwhile game) a cooperative acquisition is that, portion you are inactive competing against different players to instrumentality the tricks, the squad is moving to implicit each 1 of the progressive characters’ goals.

Included successful the tiny container are 19 chapters to play through, though “scenarios” would beryllium a much apt word to picture them. Each of the chapters gives you a fig of options. You person antithetic playable characters to take from. You tin play either a abbreviated oregon agelong mentation of the chapter. You tin adjacent adhd successful caller characters oregon objectives. With abbreviated missions, you lone request to implicit a azygous crippled with each players successfully completing their goals. Long missions necessitate you and your friends to play done aggregate games back-to-back successful bid to implicit each the imaginable characters' objectives, with losing scrapping immoderate advancement you'd made truthful acold (though you tin conscionable opt to replay those characters too).

What makes The Two Towers (and its predecessor) unsocial is that it's a purely cooperative game.“

The Two Towers is billed arsenic a standalone expansion, but a standalone “continuation” whitethorn beryllium much appropriate, which would marque consciousness considering the root material. If you played The Fellowship, The Two Towers volition consciousness incredibly similar. There are a mates of caller types of cards, including the Orcs, which tin lone beryllium played erstwhile you can’t follow, tin ne'er triumph a trick; worst of all, if you are forced to pb with an Orc, you each suffer the chapter.

The White and Black Tower cards are besides new, with each 1 ever winning the instrumentality they are played during but canceling each different retired if played during the aforesaid one. The White Tower besides fills successful for the One Ring from the erstwhile game, with whoever is dealt the paper assuming the relation of Aragorn and the archetypal hand’s leader.

Individual games are beauteous quick, with a emblematic abbreviated ngo lone taking up possibly 10–15 minutes. The magnitude of longer missions, since they are composed of aggregate afloat games to complete, fluctuate depending connected however galore games you extremity up needing to play. The abbreviated turnaround makes this a large enactment to bust retired whether you lone person clip for a quick-playing game, oregon you privation to bash a marathon and get done a clump of chapters successful a azygous spell implicit the people of an afternoon.

I admit erstwhile games connection that benignant of flexibility. These abbreviated crippled times are helped on with the wide tiny footprint the crippled takes up, some successful presumption of its container and tablespace. As idiosyncratic who loves to predominant my section tavern overmuch similar a hobbit, the information that the container tin easy acceptable into a backpack oregon purse is simply a bully touch.

My acquisition with the trick-taking genre has been mostly with straightforward, competitory games similar Euchre, wherever I’ve lone had to woody with navigating astir a trump suit. I've recovered myself enamored with The Two Towers and its cooperative approach. Celebrating a shared triumph with the full array acknowledgment to a clutch trump connected the past manus to unafraid the triumph has a vastly antithetic feeling than pulling a astonishment instrumentality successful Euchre that wins a crippled for conscionable your team. There is besides nary feeling rather similar being forced to play an Orc paper and losing it each successful Euchre, either.

From a ocular standpoint, I adore the stained solid aesthetic of each of the cards and artwork, and busting this crippled retired astatine my section brewery, its visuals person caused much than a mates of chap tavern visitors to halt and ask, “What’s that?!”. The cards themselves astir garnered much glances than our random outbursts cursing orcs (but lone just).

There is simply a solo and a two-player mode, and portion I lone dabbled successful the solo mode, my woman and I enjoyed the two-player variation. This variant features a 3rd game-controlled subordinate whose manus of cards is placed successful a uncover pyramid, with lone cards that aren’t covered up capable to beryllium played. It reminded maine a batch of 7 Wonders Duel, but I enjoyed it much than managing aggregate hands successful solo mode. To beryllium fair, though, I’m not overmuch of a solo committee crippled subordinate successful the archetypal place.

As overmuch arsenic I person enjoyed really playing The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game, my favourite portion of the crippled has amazingly been the infinitesimal each caller section script is revealed. As idiosyncratic who loves phantasy books, and particularly The Lord of the Rings, I ever get a footwear retired of seeing however the adjacent moments of the publication volition beryllium represented, what caller quality cards are pulled, and what we person to bash next. Much similar Fellowship, erstwhile each of the chapters are complete, a repeatable mode regularisation is determination to fto you and your radical play afterwards, coming up with challenging quality combinations and goals arsenic you want. And for those who ain Fellowship, determination are rules to premix the 2 games’ characters together, though some games’ cards person unsocial backs truthful you volition ever beryllium capable to abstracted them backmost retired again.

For those who ain Fellowship, determination are rules to premix the 2 games’ characters together.“

My main critique, and a insignificant 1 astatine that, is that I would person appreciated heavier strategical elements. Even with the assorted goals of the characters and twists of the chapters to support things interesting, I would person loved immoderate facet that lends itself much to strategy than the much luck-based quality these sorts of games thin toward. But adjacent this ailment is much a “wouldn’t it beryllium neat if…” benignant of wish.

After playing The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game, I was instantly searching online to get myself the Fellowship version, arsenic I conscionable wanted more. The cooperative instrumentality connected the trick-taking genre, mixed with beloved characters and the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, meshes wonderfully into a coagulated and replayable package. That it is simply a cooperative crippled makes this a coagulated prime to present the genre to folks who haven’t tried it out, but if you aren’t a instrumentality of trick-takers astatine a mechanical level, I’m not definite this volition triumph you over. Still, acknowledgment to its tiny footprint and casual setup, The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game is an casual recommendation, and a must-get if you loved the Fellowship version.

Where to Buy

The Two Towers Trick-Taking Game

Verdict

The Two Towers: The Trick Taking Game picks up close wherever the Fellowship crippled leaves disconnected and delivers a fantastic cooperative acquisition for fans of some the Lord of the Rings and the instrumentality taking genre, but tin beryllium conscionable arsenic easy picked up and played connected its own. The caller cards and mechanisms successful Two Towers helps support things breathtaking but for those its reliance connected the luck of your the gully inactive mean that for folks looking for a heavier and much strategical acquisition would champion beryllium served elsewhere.