Quick Play Sheet

Round Sequence Three Player: Sauron – Saruman – Alliance Two Player: Evil – Alliance

Player Turn Sequence

1 Building Build new armies
2 1st Movement Move any or all pieces
3 Attack Make any or all attacks possible
4 2nd Movement Move any or all pieces

Movement Distances in hexes

2 Hobbits Dwarves Gondor Sauron Army of the Dead
3 Ring Bearer Rohan Fangorn Man-Orcs
4 Aragorn Saruman
6 Gandalf Nazgul

Combat Results Table for Battle of the Ring

Type of Armies
Terrain Type Ordinary Ordinary Elven Elven
Attacking attacking Attacking attacking
Ordinary Elven Ordinary Elven
A D A D A D A D
7
8
8 9
ON Open Ground 9 10
2 9 10
2 10 11 2
3 10 11
11 12
11 12
12
12

8
9
2 9 10
2 10 11 2
Into Fortress OR Across River 3 2 10 11
3 11 12 3
4 11 12
12
12

2 9
2 10 2
3 2 10 11
Into Fortress AND Across River 3 11 12 3
4 3 11 12
4 12 4
5 12

Dice: 2D6 A attacker eliminated, D defender eliminated

 Battle of the Ring
Introduction:
This is a game for two or three players, designed to simulate the wars illustrated in the book “Lord of the
Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien. This book has been described as ‘a sort of science fiction, a fairy story, a saga’ but
whatever objectives you like to use ‘spell-binding’ is probably the most appropriate. It’s a book to be enjoyed
by people of all ages. If you haven’t read it yet, we urge you to do so; you are almost certain to become
another ardent fan of the world of Middle Earth. We hope this game will whet your interest. Don’t miss
SPI’s eagerly awaited game of the book either, due out later this year. (1977)

The board covers the area of Middle earth, and all the major peoples mentioned in the book are included.
However, since the literature on this particular war is obviously limited, the emphasis has been placed on
speed of play and enjoyment, rather than on attempt to mirror the book. Nevertheless, the game includes
the possibility of all the major battles mentioned in the book. A simple live or die combat table is used with
no retreats, and zones of control and supply have no part in the game.

Player Forces
For three players forces are as follows:

Sauron: All Orcs armies and the Nazgul

Saruman: All Man-Orc armies and Saruman
Alliance: All other pieces

For the two players: Sauron and Saruman are counted as one force

Preparation for Play

The Sauron player places 25 Orc armies, 1 on each of the hexes marked with a red star or a red crown,
(Harad, Dol Guldur, Minas Morgul, Barad Dûr) and the Nazgul piece on the hex marks with N. The Saruman
player places 10 Man-Orc armies, one on each of the hexes marked with a black star, and the Saruman piece
on Isengard.

The Alliance player places 2 Hobbit armies, one on each of the Shire hexes marked with a blue triangle; 3
Dwarvish armies, one on each of the Lonely Mountain and Iron Mountain hexes marked with a blue square
or crown; 6 Elven armies, one on each of the six yellow hexes; 6 Rohan armies, one on each of hexes marked
with a blue circle or crown; 8 Gondar armies, one on each of the hexes marked with a blue star or crown;
the Aragorn piece on the hex marked with A; the Gandalf piece on the hex marked with G rune ; the Fangorn
piece on the hex marked has Fangorn; the two Armies of the Dead on the Paths of the Dead; finally, the
Alliance Ring Bearer is placed in the Shire on the hex marked with R.

When the game begins the triangles, squares, circles, stars and letters on the hexes can be ignored; they are
only relevant to setting up the game.

Player Objectives
Sauron to possess the Ring in Barad Dûr.
Saruman to possess the Ring in Isengard or for Saruman to occupy the same hex as the Ring.
Alliance to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom.
In the two-player version the ‘Evil’ player must possess the Ring in Barad Dûr in order to win.

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Republished with Consent of Martin Edwardes © Copyright 1977. All Rights Reserved
 Battle of the Ring
Order of Play
In any round the players have their turns in the following order: Sauron, Saruman, Alliance (or simple Evil,
Alliance in the two-player game). In any turn the player conducts the following operations: Building phase,
build new armies, 1st Movement Phase, move any or all pieces; Attack Phase, make any or all attacks possible;
2nd Movement Phase, move any or all pieces.

Stacking
The stacking limit is one army or character piece per hex. The only exceptions to this are Fangorn, which
Gandalf or the Ring bearer can enter while the Fangorn army is also present; the Paths of the Dead, in which
the two Armies of the Dead start the game stacked, and which Aragorn can enter while the Armies of the
Dead are already present.

Building Phase
No nation has any builds in the first round. In all subsequent rounds the Alliance may build one Dwarvish or
one Hobbit new army, one Rohan new army and one Gondor new army; Saruman may build two Man-Orc
armies. In the second round Sauron may build one new Orc army, in the third two new Orc armies, and in
the fourth and all subsequent rounds three new Orc armies.

All army builds must be made on the appropriate crowned hexes or on the Shire (see below), i.e. Mordor
may build on Dol Guldur, Minas Morgul, Barad Dûr and in Harad; Saruman may build on Isengard and the
Shire if it is in his possession; Gondor may build on Dol Amroth or Minas Tirith; Rohan may build on Edoras
or Helm’s Deep, the Dwarves may build on Lonely Mountain or the Iron Mountains; the Hobbits may build
on the Shire if it is in their possession.

To be built upon, the crowned hex or Shire must not be occupied by any army or special piece of any kind.
If an enemy piece has occupied the crown hex in the past and it is now empty, this crowned hex can be used
for building by its original owner, even though he has not re-occupied it. A nation cannot build on another
nations crowned hex at any time (except for the Shire) even if the two nations are being played as one force,
if a nation cannot build because its supply centres are occupied then these builds are lost; they cannot be
accumulated from round to round.

The Shire is a special ‘crowned’ hex being capable of supplying builds to either the Hobbits or to Saruman,
depending upon who is in possession. It starts the game in the possession of the Hobbits, and it continues
in their possession even when unoccupied until one of Saruman’s pieces has entered it and remains there
at the end of a Movement Phase. To regain it the Alliance player must occupy it in a similar manner. Only
the Hobbits or Saruman can make builds in the Shire; no other nation may, even if they capture it. However,
if a third nation does occupy the Shire, he must on withdrawal, state which of the two, Saruman or the
Hobbits, now owns it.

Character pieces and Elven pieces cannot be rebuilt if lost. A nation cannot have more armies on the board
than there are pieces to represent those armies. If a nation is eliminated it can return to the game if one of
its crowned hexes its left unoccupied.

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Republished with Consent of Martin Edwardes © Copyright 1977. All Rights Reserved
 Battle of the Ring
First Movement Phase
A player may move as many or as few of his pieces as he wishes, there is no restriction to the number of
pieces that can be moved (except for Fangorn army and the Armies of the Dead). Each piece has, however,
a limited movement ability in each movement phase as follows:

Armies of Gondor, Sauron, Dwarves and Hobbits: up to 2 hexes, Man-Orcs, Rohan, (including the Fangorn
Army) and the Ring Bearer: up to 3 hexes. Saruman and Aragorn: up to 4 hexes. Gandalf and the Nazgul: up
to 6 hexes. The movement allowance is on each piece for convenient reference.

A piece may not move over an opposing piece unless permission is given, although they may move over
friendly pieces at any time. No piece may cross or occupy mountain hexes or hexsides, or sea hexes, or
forest hexes, or the Entwash. Movement is not restricted when entering or leaving fortresses or crossing
rivers. While there is an Elven army remaining no pieces except those given permission by the Alliance player
may cross or occupy Elven hexes. In addition, the Ring Bearer may only occupy each of these hexes for two
rounds before moving out; and once the Ring Bearer has left that hex it can never return, although it may
still occupy other Elven hexes for two rounds each. When all the Elven armies have been destroyed the
Elven hexes become ordinary hexes.

The hexes of Moria, Isengard, Fangorn, the Paths of the Dead and Mount Doom are all special hexes and can
only be occupied by certain pieces.

Attack Phase
To attack, the attacking and defending armies must be in adjacent hexes not separated by a mountain
hexside. Pieces in Elven hexes and Isengard can attack and be attacked as on ordinary hexes. It is not
possible to attack or be attacked by piece in Mount Doom, Fangorn, the Paths of the Dead or Moria. Each
piece can only attack once per round, but a piece can be attacked many times in one attack phase. The
attacking player states which piece of his is attacking which opposing piece and rolls two dice. He consults
the combat results table according to the position of the defending piece (the position of the attacking piece
is unimportant) and the strengths of both attacking and defending pieces.

A defending piece can have one of four positions: it can be on open ground, i.e. only a normal hexside
separating defending piece from attacking piece; it can be in a fortress: it can be across a river from the
attacking piece; or it can be in a fortress that is also across a river from the attacking piece (Cair Andros and
Dol Amroth).

A piece can have one of two strengths; Ordinary and Elven. Some pieces (the Elven armies, the Fangorn
army, Gandalf and the Nazgul) have an Elven strength all the time, while some (Aragorn, Gandalf, Saruman
and the Nazgul) can give Elven strength to ordinary armies on adjacent hexes. Gandalf and the Nazgul can
give Elven strength to any friendly adjacent pieces (including Saruman and Aragorn), Aragorn can only give
Elven strength to Gondor armies and the Armies of the Dead, and Saruman only to Man-Orc armies.

The combat rules table gives in the appropriate box, two sets of numbers. If the die roll is equal to a number
in the ‘D’ column the defender is eliminated, if equal to a number in the ‘A’ column the attacker is eliminated.
If the die roll is equal to no number in either set, there is no result.

Second Movement Phase

This is conducted in exactly the same way as the first movement phase.

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Republished with Consent of Martin Edwardes © Copyright 1977. All Rights Reserved
 Battle of the Ring
Special Hexes

Moria
This hex can only be occupied by Gandalf. However, when Gandalf is in occupation any Alliance piece can
move from one side to the other, counting Moria as one hex. The pieces of Saruman and Sauron can only
pass through when Gandalf is not in Moria but must have permission when he is. If Alliance pieces have
passed through Moria in a Movement Phase Gandalf must remain on the hex at the end of that phase.
When in Moria Gandalf cannot attack or be attacked and cannot give Elven strength to adjacent ordinary
armies.

Isengard
Isengard can only ‘normally’ be occupied by Saruman or Man-Orc armies, but pieces on it can attack and
be attacked as on an ordinary hex. However, when the Fangorn army is activated it moves immediately
to the Isengard hex and destroys its special status making it an ordinary hex. Saruman can still use it as a
build centre if he recaptures it, or if it is left empty, but it cannot regain its invulnerability to invasion.

Fangorn
Fangorn is occupied by the Fangorn army at the start of the game, which cannot attack or be attacked
while in Fangorn. The Fangorn army is activated by the Ring Bearer or Gandalf moving on to the Fangorn
hex and ending the Movement Phase there. When this happens the Fangorn army moves immediately
across the mountains to Isengard. It destroys any piece that is on the hex and turns it into an ordinary
hex. Thereafter the Fangorn army has Elven strength and can attack and be attacked. Once destroyed it
cannot be rebuilt. The piece that activated the Fangorn army must leave Fangorn as soon as an empty
hex is in movement range, after which the hex is closed to all pieces. When in Fangorn Gandalf cannot
attack or be attacked and cannot give Elven strength to adjacent ordinary armies.

The Paths of the Dead

This hex is occupied by two Armies of the Dead at the start of the game, which cannot attack or be
attacked while in the Paths of the Dead. These armies are activated by Aragorn moving into the hex from
the North or South, and ending the Movement Phase there. In the next Movement Phase Aragorn and
the two armies must leave through the South or be destroyed. Thereafter the hex is closed to all pieces
and the Armies of the Dead behave as ordinary Gondor armies, except that they cannot be rebuilt.

Mount Doom
No piece except the Ring Bearer can occupy or move across this hex. When the Ring Bearer reaches this
hex the Alliance player has won.

The Ring Bearer

The Ring Bearer is a special piece and has no attacking or defending strength. However, it cannot be
destroyed (except in Mount Doom) but can change hands several times in a game. To capture the Ring
simply move the capturing piece onto the same hex as the Ring Bearer, remove both Ring Bearer and
capturing piece and place the Ring Bearer of the capturing player on the hex. An escape move of 3 hexes
can be made after the capture, regardless of the Movement Phase.

Designed by Martin Edwardes, with assistance from Brian Burt, Peter Walschmidt, and others.
© Copyright subsists with Martin Edwardes of 75 Disraeli Road, Forest Gate, London E7. March 1977

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Republished with Consent of Martin Edwardes © Copyright 1977. All Rights Reserved
 Battle of the Ring
Game Board and Counters
The origin game board and counters that were printed in the very first issue of the ‘The Wargamer’ magazine;
published in 1977 were of a simple hand drawn design. The new game board remains true to the original
layout, but both board and counters have had a facelift.

Gandalf the Grey Nazgul

Unique Character Piece Unique Character Piece
Move 6 Move 6
Remove when eliminated Remove when eliminated
Elven gives Elven to Any Friendly Elven gives Elven to Any Friendly
Aragorn Saruman the White
Unique Character Piece Unique Character Piece
Move 4 Move 4
Remove when eliminated Remove when eliminated
Ordinary, gives Elven to Gondor Ordinary gives Elven to Man-Orcs
Gondor Orcs
Army Piece Army Piece
Move 2 Move 2
Rebuild maximum 12 Rebuild maximum 30
Ordinary Ordinary
Rohan Man-Orcs
Army Piece Army Piece
Move 3 Move 3
Rebuild maximum 8 Rebuild maximum 16
Ordinary Ordinary
Elves Fangorn
Army Piece Army Piece
Move 2 Move 3
Remove when eliminated 6 Remove when eliminated 1
Elven Elven
Dwarves Army of the Dead
Army Piece Army Piece
Move 2 Move 2
Rebuild maximum 8 Remove when eliminated 2
Ordinary Ordinary
Hobbits Sauron Ring Bearer
Army Piece Unique Piece
Move 2 Move 3
Rebuild maximum 4 Remove when objective is reached
Ordinary No combat capability
Alliance Ring Bearer Saruman Ring Bearer
Unique Piece Unique Piece
Move 3 Move 3
Remove when objective is reached Remove when objective is reached
No combat capability No combat capability

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Republished with Consent of Martin Edwardes © Copyright 1977. All Rights Reserved
 Battle of the Ring
The following are an explanation of the hexes and hexside features of the game board.

Clear Hex Fortress and River Hex

Impedes attack value

Mountain Hex Elven Hex

Impassable Can’t be entered without permission
when all Elven pieces are eliminated
the hex becomes a normal hex

Forest Hex Alliance Ring Bearer

Impassable Starting location
Afterwards a build hex for Hobbits or
Saruman, dependant on who has it
in their possession
Sea or Lake Hex Gandalf the Grey
Impassable Starting location
Afterwards a clear hex

Special Hex Aragorn

Denoted by Orange Border Starting location
NOT the colour of the hex Afterwards a clear hex
Can only be occupied by specific
pieces
River Hexside Nazgul
Impedes attack value Starting location
Afterwards a clear hex

Mountain Hexside Alliance Build Crown

Impassable Starting symbols afterwards a clear
hex

Fortress Hex Sauron Build Crown

Impedes attack value Starting star afterwards a clear hex

Saruman Build Crown

Starting star afterwards a clear hex

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Republished with Consent of Martin Edwardes © Copyright 1977. All Rights Reserved