Back Again

Concerning Children (and Hobbits)

In a borough in London there lived a child. This particular child grew up with books–many books–for his father believed that children were, in fact, the best judges of children’s literature. This child was none other than Rayner Unwin, and young Rayner’s father was in the business of books. Enjoying stories of many kinds, Rayner found himself as one of his father’s chief manuscript readers. Who better to critique adventures, novels, fantasies, books than a member of their intended audience? Yes, there was nothing for it. A ten-year-old child was the best person for the job.

It was in the fall of 1936 that ten-year-old Rayner wrote his review of The Hobbit manuscript. His father, Stanley Unwin, had already been in the business of publishing books for more than twenty years at this point, and he paid Rayner a shilling for each of his reviews.

Children know what they like. They know what is “good” and what is “bad” to them from a very young age. That is all that’s really needed for a book review, and children are fully qualified, if not overqualified, to give their opinions. Young Rayner’s authentic, sacrosanct honesty ultimately encouraged his father to publish Tolkien’s The Hobbit, without which readers may have never been introduced to the world of Middle-earth.

Indeed, Bilbo himself needed his inner child awakened by Gandalf! A little encouraging push was all he needed to remember the fantasies and desire for adventure he had as a young hobbit. As Gandalf recalls in “The Quest for Erebor”, Unfinished Tales:

I remembered how he used to pester me with questions when he was a youngster about the Hobbits that had occasionally ‘gone off,’ as they said in the Shire. There were at least two of his uncles on the Took side that had done so.

Like Stanley Unwin, Gandalf saw that child-like characteristics could be an asset. Often overlooked and dismissed by others, both Bilbo and children share a remarkable ability to see the world through the lens of pure and honest simplicity–plain hobbit-sense–with a dash of “Took” sprinkled in with the Baggins.

Without this review by a ten-year-old we wouldn’t have The Hobbit, our beloved Living Card Game, or A Long-extended Party. Maybe reading a book or playing a card game can invite us to experience the childlike sense of adventure latent in all of us, even the stodgiest of Bagginses. So don’t be afraid to leave your pocket handkerchief and your hat behind once in a while. Allow yourself to be late for dinner and experience J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in a new form.

Announcing The Hobbit Community Scenario

“I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”

“I should think so — in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

At Con of the Rings 2024, A Long-extended Party will present The Hobbit, a free, community-created scenario for The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. This standalone scenario can be played cooperatively by 1-4 players. Each attendee will receive a printed copy. The full public release of the scenario will follow in mid-October.

In The Hobbit, players will be able to experience the entirety of Bilbo’s journey with Thorin’s Company from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain. Players will fight trolls, play a game of riddles, escape from dim caverns and spider-infested forests, hitch a ride on a barrel, confront the dragon Smaug, and fight in the Battle of the Five Armies all within one fast-moving adventure.

At each stage of the journey, players will be faced with specific challenges that, if completed, will grant special boon cards to help them along their journey. However, be warned, should players fail to complete the tasks before them, there will be consequences as well. Players must have the cunning of a master burglar to complete the scenario while collecting as many boons as possible.

The scenario takes place across six stages, each representing a key moment in the story. At the beginning of the scenario players will reveal a unique two-sided Adventure objective that will drive their progress through the quest. Players will create a unique encounter deck for each quest stage that will set the stage for what is to come. In each quest stage, often after a round of play, the Adventure objective will be flipped to reveal a Plight objective with a unique challenge for players to complete. If players are successful, a Boon card shared by all players awaits them. If not, they must face a punishing Resolution effect before advancing. If players can complete the quest with at least ten boons in play, they gain the title of Master Burglar, giving any hero version of Bilbo Baggins a boost in future adventures!

(Note that the special setup timing on Master Burglar is when “starting heroes” are put into play, so it will only work with printed heroes, and not with ally versions of Bilbo Baggins that are later made into heroes through Messenger of the King)

In order to succeed, players will need to build a versatile deck capable of slaying giant trolls and fighting off venomous spiders as well as making enough progress to flee goblin-infested caverns and flaming woods. All the while unique challenges will present themselves such as playing a game of riddles, sneaking by the fierce dragon Smaug, and having to carefully choose which parts of a player’s board state get packed into barrels to escape the elvenking’s dungeons.

More than a Fourteenth Share of Responsibility

Included in this pack are two unique contracts to allow for new approaches to deckbuilding: Thorin’s Company and Beyond the Original Bargain.

Thorin’s Company has no deckbuilding requirements. Provided your deck isn’t already running a contract, simply put it into play. It is unique, and can only be used in scenarios featuring Bilbo Baggins from the Baggins sphere (that is to say The Hobbit Saga scenarios and this community scenario), but it allows one player to get a jump start in the game by putting into play two allies from the top 13 cards of their deck. Much like Bilbo, you can begin your adventure with an unexpected party of adventurers!

The second contract, Beyond the Original Bargain, is a new player card that can be used in any scenario. It allows for two contracts to be used simultaneously, greatly expanding the variety of decks players can build. Have you always wanted to build a Fellowship of heroes that share a Bond of Friendship? Now you can! You can also use it to add Thorin’s Company to a deck that’s already running a contract. Just mind your threat!