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Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders
2013
Rules assistance for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with saved question history.
Rules assistant for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders is an expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game released in 2013 for 1–2 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by MJ Newman and Caleb Grace and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Cooperative Game.
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About the game
"I have sometimes thought of going away, but I imagined that as a kind of holiday, a series of adventures like Bilbo’s or better, ending in peace. But this would mean exile, a flight from danger into danger, drawing it after me." –Frodo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring Step into the beloved fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien, journey out of Bag End, and avoid the fearsome Nazgûl as you accompany Frodo on a desperate journey while the fate of all Middle-earth hangs in the balance! The Black Riders Saga Expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game introduces three new scenarios that allow you and your friends to directly relive Frodo's travels and challenges from the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring. Meanwhile, five hero cards and thirty-three player cards (three copies each of eleven individual cards) offer players a wealth of deck-building options for strategies built around Hobbits. New Boon and Burden cards ensure your actions have consequences, while a new Easy Mode allows you to tailor the game to your individual play style and skill level.
Editions
- The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders – A Saga ExpansionENFantasy Flight Games2013
- Le Seigneur des Anneaux: Le Jeu de Cartes – Les Cavaliers NoirsFREdge Entertainment, Fantasy Flight Games2013
- Der Herr der Ringe: Das Kartenspiel – Die Schwarzen ReiterDEFantasy Flight Games, Heidelberger Spieleverlag2013
- Il Signore degli Anelli: Il Gioco di Carte – I Cavalieri NeriITFantasy Flight Games, Stratelibri2013
- Władca Pierścieni: Gra Karciana – Czarni JeźdźcyPLFantasy Flight Games, Galakta2013
- El Señor de los Anillos: El Juego de Cartas – Los Jinetes NegrosESEdge Entertainment, Fantasy Flight Games2013
Designers
Publishers
- Edge Entertainment
- Fantasy Flight Games
- Heidelberger Spieleverlag
- Galakta
- Stratelibri
Questions and answers
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders supports 1–2 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders is 60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders has a complexity rating of 3.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Novel-based. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Cooperative Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders are: MJ Newman and Caleb Grace. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game – The Black Riders as an expansion for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game to use it. Check that your edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.