Re: WotR - How SPI made The War of the Ring.

[Rick <rick_ww@lightspeed.ca>]

Hi Craig, all.
	I’m a bit of an expert on this game, and I’ve read about 
how the game was built.


	The designers did a first draft of the rules, the basic scenario 
& set up.  So then under the SPI system, the game was given to 
a ‘developer’ who organized playtests and was supposed to fine 
tune the game.

	The game had to be produced quickly, they needed the 
X-mas sales, having spent the money for the licence.

	But the developer, DIDN’T WRITE DOWN HIS CHANGES!

	So after a number of weeks they went to him for the final 
rules, etc. and found that the game was barely more advanced 
as when he started on the game.

	They sat down and slammed out the rules.  The game was 
put together as fast as possible.  A number of oversights and 
silly mistakes were made.  (One example, attacking at 2:1 was 
worse than attacks at 1:1 for the attacker.)

	Really, the surprising thing is that the game rules were as 
solid as they are.

	The game was put together, there were a couple playtests, 
and they shipped it.

	SPI made some nice fantasy games before and after The
War of the Ring, but it was by no means their finest work.


	On Board Game Geek, I’ve made a set of house rules which 
do a very nice job of fixing the game (if I do say so myself), and 
now that TLoU is done, I’m planning to do a character expansion 
(A free print and play), for the game.

	I’m quite fond of the game and have played it many times.
But that said, I’m very aware of the game’s limitations, and errors.

	Warm regards, Rick



> On Oct 21, 2021, at 11:10 AM, Craig Barber <craigwbar@comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> Hi Rick;
> 
> Yup, those were the exact points I thought made it a decent choice!
> 
> ;)
> 
> (I should've mentioned, he wanted to play with his kids.  Also, it fit with the level of units he was looking for.  And yeah, you're right, the maps and mechanics were a bit bland.  At that time I think maybe the SPI gang were just coming around to fantasy and wanted to keep it as grognard as possible?   Any old SPI folks on this list who can tell us about the WotR design process?)
> 
> Warm regards, Craig
> 
> 
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