Games for the Lord of the Rings

Video Games

• Two video game companies held the rights to publish "Lord of the Rings" video games. EA had the rights to the movie versions, while Vivideni Universal had the rights to the books. EA's games are headlined by "The Battle for Middle-Earth" series, a trio of strategy games which allow players to fight the War of the Ring from various sides. Their other games include "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" (both based on the movies of those names), "The Third Age" (covering events unseen in the movies), and "Tactics" (a combat game featuring characters from the films). Vivendi Universal's "Lord of the Rings " games include "The War of the Ring" (a real-time strategy game similar to "The Battle for Middle-Earth"), "The Hobbit" (covering the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings" in which the player takes the role of Bilbo Baggins), and "The Fellowship of the Ring" (covering events in Tolkien's first book). Because they're based on the books rather than the films, the graphic design differs considerably from those in the movies.

Board Games

• Board games based on "The Lord of the Rings" often attach the property to classic games of the past. "Risk: The Lord of the Rings," "The Lord of the Rings Monopoly" and "The Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit" all present variations of standard play using characters and settings from the films. Fantasy Flight Games has also produced a "Lord of the Rings" board game with an original set of rules, as well as a board game based on "The Hobbit" and several expansions for their core "Lord of the Rings" game: "Friends and Foes," "Sauron" and "The Confrontation." Like Vivendi Universal, Fantasy Flight only has the rights to the books, so the graphics don't resemble the characters from the film.

Role-Playing Games

• Iron Crown Enterprises released a table-top role-playing game based on "The Lord of the Rings" in the 1980s. With the advent of online role-playing, Turbine, Inc. produced an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing game) set in the world of Middle-Earth. ICE has since gone out of business, but the online game continues to thrive with regular expansions and customers.