The destiny of The One Ring, and the fate of Middle-earth itself balances upon the decisions you make in The Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict, a new strategic dice game set in the rich world created by J.R. Tolkien. Take control and command both The Shadow and the Free Peoples armies as you strategically draft dice, take secret actions and compete for victory.
A new way to battle in Middle-earth
This highly strategic board game for 2–4 players pits you against your neighbors as you simultaneously command both The Shadow and The Free Peoples forces, waging war on the players to your left and right. Armed with a full-size dry-erase book and eight custom dice, you’ll recruit iconic allies of Light and Shadow, including Gandalf and the Witch-king, to shift the balance of power in your favor.
The game delivers a gritty, modern twist on the roll-and-write genre, transforming it into a contested battlefield where timing and foresight are everything. By weaving together dice drafting, hidden movement, and resource management with high-stakes, real-time PvP tension, it challenges players to strategize, bluff, and outmaneuver one another in a relentless circle of conflict (see what we did there?)
The balance of Middle-earth is in your hands.
While players compete against each other, they also must choose whether to save or doom Middle-earth, favoring either The Shadow or The Free Peoples in their strategy. This thematic pillar empowers players to shape the destiny of Middle-earth on their own terms, ensuring that no two sessions unfold the same way, and fueling the replayability by inviting players to approach each run with fresh ideas, bold strategies, and entirely new outcomes.
“From the first moment I played Stephen and Geoff’s prototype I was fascinated with playing both the good guys and the bad guys at the same time. The amount of wonderful tension Circle of Conflict can deliver with just a roll of the dice and locking eyes with your opponent is such an impressive feat,” says designer, Bryan Bornmueller.
Meanwhile, the hidden-movement mechanic asks players to mask the location of their own Fellowship while hunting down their opponent’s on the map portion of their player board, a clever nod to the cat-and-mouse tension that drives Tolkien’s story. It doesn’t just complement the battles happening around the table, but rather deepens them, layering in additional strategy, and sharpening the tactical stakes at every turn.
Experience it first at GenCon 2026
The Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict is set to release in November of 2026, but fans can get an exclusive first look earlier in the year at GenCon where it is set to make its debut with a limited pre-release at the show.
For players craving rich strategy, tension, tactics, and cinematic clashes across the table, this is a conflict you won’t want to miss.
Your friends at the table,
