Lucky for us all, S and B spent almost two hours this weekend playing Lord of the Rings The Boardgame with daddy and defeated Sauron, destroyed the ring and kept the world safe for hobbits everywhere.

This is one of hubby's favorite board games, not only because he liked Lord of the Rings but because it's just a good game (for an excellent review, see this site). It's actually a cooperative game where all the players are working together to defeat Sauron. Each player is one of the hobbits - B was Frodo, S was Sam, and hubby was Merry - and they venture through Moria, Helm's Deep, Shelob's Lair and Mordor together aided by other members of the Fellowship through cards along the way. They begin the game a certain distance away from Sauron (the original Dark Lord!) on the scoring track and as events unfold, Sauron creeps closer and closer to them. One of the hobbits holds the ring and if he is overtaken all is lost. The game is actually pretty tough to win with most parties eventually being overcome by Sauron. But although the boys did have some tense moments, they caught some lucky breaks and made it all the way to Mount Doom to toss the evil ring into the volcano.

Note this is not a Dungeons and Dragons-style role-playing game, although there is some die rolling and characters do have some special abilities. Still it's all card and decision based. It is complex though, requiring an adult to help negotiate the difficult choices. There is, however, an excellent kids' version for folks with younger kids. Oh and for the ladies, unfortunately it's not a movie tie-in game, so sorry, no Viggo Mortenson or Orlando Bloom pics on the cards or anything!

The eye of Sauron is upon you. But don't worry, S and B are looking out.