Written Game Review: The Hobbit

The Hobbit (2010)

Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Designer: Reiner Knizia
Price: 280–299 SEK

So you've read everything penned by J.R.R. Tolkien at least three times, watched the Peter Jackson movies over and over, and given each of your children elven names. Naturally you're going to want Reiner's Knizia's The Hobbit published by Fantasy Flight Games, or are you?

In The Hobbit, each player takes on the role of a nameless dwarf who is escorting the adventuring hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Along the way, you will be bickering over food, magical items, experience and treasure. While the dwarves are bickering amongst themselves, Smaug is slowly heading toward Laketown.

The game is broken into four stages which end in adventure circle: Battle the Goblins, Fight the Wargs, Escape from the Mirkwood Elves and Kill Smaug the Dragon. The players have events that can build up their characters before reaching the area where they will have a series of adventures. Completing adventures rewards the dwarves with gold. Failing adventures leads to injuries, lost provisions or Smaug moving closer to Laketown. After the last adventure card from the fourth stage is resolved, the dwarf with the most treasure wins the game. However, if Smaug has moved to Laketown, everyone loses.

Events generally use a bidding system to see who gets what. Each dwarf has five cards numbered from 1–60 and choose one to bid with. When the event says "The party advances," the players advance the Bilbo figure on the playing board one space for each player (3 space, however, for a 2-player game). Each space holds a reward or curse representing experience, insight, or an accident which affect the dwarves' three stats (initiative, cunning and strength) and their provisions. 

Players bid one card on which reward/curse provided by the spaces Bilbo just moved through. The lowest bid gets the first step, the second lowest the next step and so on. Some events grant all dwarves increased abilities for free (or paid for via provisions) or offer a powerful item that is only given to one character (either the highest or lowest bid, depending on the card).

Eventually the dwarves will reach the adventure circle at the end of the stage. Then the players will take turns drawing adventures cards. Each adventure cards has a challege and a treasure reward. To complete the adventure on the card, the player must roll five special dice with axes (Strength), provisions, and a shield (Initiative) and get the required result (e.g., 1 shield, 4 axes and 3 provisions). High character stats for initiative and strength provide some automatic shields and axes. As your cunning increases you get an increasing number of reroll attempts. Provisions can be spent to help fulfill the provision requirement. In addition the player holding the Ring gets to set one die to any result.

If you succeed, you get the treasure and the adventure card is discarded. If you fail, you have to take a Smaug tile and apply the "bad stuff" (e.g., lose two provisions and move Smaug one space) and the next player can try to get the treasure. Players can pass on an adventure, but if all players fail or pass on an adventure, Smaug moves a step closer to Laketown.

There are some tactics and negotiation during the game, but in general there is little depth or immersion. Every dwarf is the same (although you could agree that players start with differing stats—maybe by giving everyone 2 or 3 points to spend however they wish at the beginning), and to me, the theme doesn't come through unless you read all the fluff text. With the right group; however, the negotiation and minor back-stabbing aspect could be very entertaining.

So what is The Hobbit? It's a fun family game. It's also a great gateway game for Tolkien fans, who think that War of the Rings and Lord of the Rings: the Card Game are too confusing. If you only like deep Euros or tense thematic adventures, you might want to look elsewhere.

Island of Wak-Wak Video Review #9—The Hobbit

Island of Wak-Wak #9 The Hobbit from TS S. Fulk on Vimeo.
My look at one of Miles's favorite games.

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Note: I had a lot of problems with the camera turning off all the time and for some reason on Marco, it didn't film what it showed on the screen (or else I was looking at the tiles and not the screen). Hopefully, things will go better next time for The Hobbit.

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Author insight: Blueprint Vocational

Why Did You Choose That Book?

Readers of Blueprint Vocational might want to understand why we included certain stories and movies. First and for most for BP Voc was the need to have exciting and engaging texts that vocational students would enjoy. Secondly they had to fit the theme of the chapter. So let’s take a closer look at each text.

Chapter 1

Free Fall by Joyce Sweeney

This novel excerpt was chosen simply because it involved a scary meeting, not between two people but between a human and a rattlesnake. This was generally considered the most tense and page-turning text in the book.

Falling Down

I couldn’t think of a better scene from a movie that demonstrates the principle “The customer is always right.” If you are wondering what happens to Bill Forster, rent the movie and watch his violent downward spiral.

Chapter 2

Until Proven Guilty by Nigel Hinton

Could my dad be a murderer? How many times have you thought that? Probably not very many. Nathan Holden probably never thought that either, but now he’ll be wondering that everyday. An interesting text that makes you wonder if anyone you know is criminal. Maybe you nice English teacher is hiding some dark secret in their closet.

Chapter 3

The Devil Wears Prada

Interviews are very nerve racking. If you say the right things, the job is maybe yours. If you come off like a baboon in the zoo, well … there’s always McDonald’s. Most of you haven’t had an interview yet, but it’s good to start thinking about what to do and what not to do. Learn from Andy’s mistakes.

Chapter 4

Trying to find a good text about advertising seemed impossible. I first thought about including an excerpt from e by Matthew Beaumont, but the texts were too difficult to follow for English 5 students. Then I happened to stumble across Canadian author Peter Seller’s “Advertising Hell.” Here was very interesting idea. So the devil comes to your ad agency and wants you to sell Hell as a tourist destination. How on Earth can you sell the devil. If you can find the out-of-print book, Whistling Past the Graveyard: Stories of Bizarre Crime and Dark Fantasy, you can read the entire story and sell how the devil traps these two hot-shot ad peddlers. This was my personal favorite text in the book.

Chapter 5

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

I studied Native American literature in the US and Canada, so I was happily surprised when Monica suggested this text. Sherman’s book poignant, humorous and insightful. I know there aren’t many (if any) Native American’s in Sweden, but Arnold’s school troubles should be familiar to any minority in Sweden. Those of you who are in the majority, might want to read this text to see what it feels like to be shut out on the outside looking in.

Extreme Measures

I haven’t seen this film, but the excerpt clearly defines a life-and-death moral dilemma. If you could save only one person which one would you choose. For some it’s an easy question for others, it’s not so black and white.

Chapter 6

Totally Joe by James Howe

This one’s mainly for the manly vehicle program guys (and gals). But everyone, no matter what your program, should think about gender roles and stereotypes. What is a boy-boy or a girl-girl? Why does our society make such stereotypes? 

Dear Nobody by Berlie Doherty

This may seem like a girl-only story, but even any guy who has heard the phrase, “My period is late,” should be able to relate to this story too. A touchy subject, but Berlie handles it well as you get to go into Helen’s confuse and bewildered mind.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian

Again! Yes, this text was the best we could find about a common situation we’ve all faced at one time or anther: to lie, or not to lie. Arnold’s getting along better with his white classmates and is even dating one. Will he still be dating her if she finds out he’s been lying?