Overview

The Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation is an asymmetric two-player strategy game of hidden identities, inspired by Stratego. The Fellowship player must guide Frodo to Mount Doom in Mordor while the Sauron player tries to either kill Frodo or move three evil characters into the Shire. Characters are hidden from the opponent, and each has unique special abilities.

Components

• 1 Game board (Middle Earth map with regions)
• 18 Character tiles (9 Fellowship, 9 Sauron) — double-sided for classic and variant games
• 18 Plastic character stands (to hide tiles)
• 18 Combat cards (9 Fellowship, 9 Sauron)
• 8 Special Cards (for variant play)
• 18 Character tokens (for Draft variant)
• 2 Reference sheets

Setup

1. Fellowship player takes 9 Fellowship character tiles, places them in light stands (picture facing them, hidden from opponent).
2. Sauron player takes 9 Sauron character tiles, places them in dark stands.
3. For the Classic game, use the side showing the One Ring symbol.
4. Each player takes their 9 Combat cards.
5. Fellowship player places all 9 characters in the four Shire regions (any distribution).
6. Sauron player places all 9 characters in the three Mordor regions and Minas Morgul.

Turn Structure

The Fellowship player always goes first. Players alternate turns.

On your turn, you must move one of your characters forward one region:

• Fellowship: Moves toward Mordor (generally left to right / downward on the board).
• Sauron: Moves toward the Shire (generally right to left / upward).
• Characters move along connecting lines between regions.
• You cannot move a character into a region already occupied by a friendly character (except the Shire and Mordor).
• No more than one character from each side may occupy a region at once (except starting regions).

Battle

When a character moves into a region occupied by an opponent’s character, combat occurs:

1. Both characters are revealed.
2. Both players simultaneously choose and play a Combat card.
3. Add the character’s strength to the combat card’s strength.
4. The character with the lower total is defeated and removed from the game. Ties defeat both characters.
5. Before resolving, apply any special character abilities.
6. After combat, the surviving character (if any) remains in the region.

Actions

Character Abilities (Fellowship - Classic)

Character	Strength	Ability
Frodo	1	Must reach Mount Doom to win; retreats instead of dying (once)
Sam	2	If with Frodo, Sam is killed instead of Frodo
Pippin	1	May retreat instead of fighting
Merry	2	No special ability
Legolas	3	No special ability
Gimli	3	No special ability
Aragorn	4	No special ability
Gandalf	5	Defeated after fighting; removed from game regardless
Boromir	0	Both characters are killed in battle

Character Abilities (Sauron - Classic)

Character	Strength	Ability
Shelob	5	No special ability
Balrog	5	Defeated after fighting; removed from game regardless
Witch King	5	No special ability
Black Rider	3	No special ability
Warg	2	No special ability
Orcs	2	No special ability
Saruman	4	No special ability
Flying Nazgul	3	May move to any region
Cave Troll	1	No special ability

Note: Character abilities vary significantly between Classic and Variant games. See rulebook for full details.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Fellowship wins if: Frodo enters the Mount Doom region.

Sauron wins if:

• Frodo is killed (removed from the game), OR
• Three Sauron characters reach the Shire.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Retreat: Some characters (like Pippin) can retreat instead of fighting. The retreating character moves back one region.
• Mountains: Certain mountain regions (like Caradhras) restrict which characters may enter.
• The Tunnel: A side path connecting certain regions that avoids combat.
• Gandalf and Balrog: Both are removed after any combat they participate in, regardless of outcome.
• Boromir: Mutual destruction — both characters die.
• Sam protecting Frodo: If Sam is in the same region as Frodo when Frodo would be defeated, Sam dies instead.
• Variant Game: Uses the reverse side of character tiles with entirely different characters and abilities.
• Draft Game: Players select characters from either Classic or Variant sets.
• Special Cards Variant: Adds 8 special power cards for additional strategic options.

Player Reference

Victory Conditions: | Side | Win Condition | |——|————–| | Fellowship | Frodo reaches Mount Doom | | Sauron | Kill Frodo OR get 3 characters to the Shire |

Combat Resolution: Character Strength + Combat Card Strength = Total. Lowest total loses.