Council of Elrond

Dear meccg aficionados,

This section will be about the Arda Game. For those who have not heard the many enthousiastic rumours in the community yet about this great alternate way of playing meccg: The Arda Game is a multiplayer shared deck game format, that allows for a casual game of meccg with a group of friends. It combines the good features of a non-constructed (or sealed) game, like improvised play and unexpected turn of events, with exciting new features, like trading resources with your fellows. As a relaxed and social game format it is an ideal side-event at major meccg gatherings like Lure or Worlds. Just ask those who've been to Worlds Antwerp or Lure IX and be sure to hear great stories.

The basic Arda rules can be found here (below), and new versions will always be updated at this section, as well as other Arda goodies to make the game more enjoyable.

Now, the game is essentially easy to play, but that does not mean we have stopped the development process. Any remarks, experiences, wishes, or ideas for improvement are welcome still, that's also what this section is for. No matter how crazy those ideas might seem, we want to hear them! Suggestions for an Arda Drinking Game have actually been going around....

So, have fun playing Arda Games, and help us make the format even better.

Frodo (aka Joe Bisz)
Thorsten the Traveller (aka Eric Dane)

After some good number of Arda games these last 2 years, I've updated the Rules file, as well as simplified the expanded world card ideas (I will update the pdf with the cards accordingly in the near future).

All in all Arda proves to be a pretty solid game format, not too many changes have been made, and it's a great success at every tournament.
Many people use their own variants, that's ok, though I'm not a fan of all those variants (obligatory minor item play, playing hazards clockwise each player, at random discarding of Roving characters etc.)

The most noteworthy change added to this rules file: the ring special item deck, it proves a good addition.
Also, passing hazards only reduces the hazard limit if the limit was more than 2 at the start of m/h phase. It seems small buff companies are also very good in Arda games, not just in regular tourneys. We might even think about removing this hazard limit reduction altogether, as hazard play is often difficult. Last Lure Holger scored 25 MP in 3 turns, kudos to him, but that's not Arda style, we'd like the fun to last a bit longer. For the Basic game 20 MP minimum to call the council is kept, for the Expanded World game 25 rather.

so, check it out, let me know if something is amiss, and enjoy your arda games!

Eric

Thorsten the Traveller wrote:We might even think about removing this hazard limit reduction altogether, as hazard play is often difficult.

I like the idea. I'll give it a shot in my next Arda game.

We played a 3-player ARDA game last night, without the hazard limit reduction. I didn't make a big difference IMO, just a small theat increase on the companies.

Hi,
congrats to all Hobbits who helped create and improve the Arda game format - I discovered it at the Lure and it was a pleasant surprise.
Now, I know how to tackle the issue of demoing the game to young Hobbits who play a lot of LCG and other games.
The rules file v5 is causing format issues (MS Office 2003), so it would be great to post it again in .pdf or rtf. Thanks for your efforts!

Somehow I was able to view the corrupted contents of the version 5 Arda rules file. I think I used a document viewer on my DroidX and saved it in another format that I could read on my PC without error. I won't post the file, just suggesting a way to view the currently-available file.
Thank you to those who put the Arda rules together. I haven't made the time to actually try a game, but it is on the list of things to do during a weekly game night.

Kosmo wrote: The rules file v5 is causing format issues (MS Office 2003), so it would be great to post it again in .pdf or rtf. Thanks for your efforts!

Can't open it with libre-office either.

I've added Arda Rules 5.1
no major rules changes, but added a few of the suggested home rules from other threads to Expanded World, as well as some visible teasers, and overall slight editing/upgrading.

I deleted 4.0 and 5.0 from the thread, both downloaded 250+ times, let's see where this will end
older versions available upon request

I haven't play any arda game yet...

Thank you for posting the newest Arda rules. I plan to build an Arda deck and see if I can get some new players interested in the game.

For your information:

Ryan Steuve, a bgg user, posted a new variant of arda rules. It's actually a simplification. It looks great. If you're interested, you can get more information here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/14370327