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‘Friends and Foes’ - Reiner Knizia
It has been a frantic weekend at Phil’s. His wife is leading 2-1 on late nights, it has been a frantic Sunday afternoon (not least getting the Ragnar 2002 Fantasy Cricket League off and running), and Daughter #1 has chosen this evening to assume her ‘aggravating’ persona. Fortunately, everyone is ten minutes late, so the washing-up gets done and two disgruntled children are prised out of the bath. It may be the shape of things to come.
Nick has been cajoled into buying ‘Friends and Foes’, the Lord of the Rings expansion kit, and it is getting it’s first outing. Cries of ‘ooh’ as the Bree map is revealed. The principal addition to the game (other than two rather nice new boards) are the aforementioned ‘Foes’. These accumulate as you trot through even the leafy glades of the Shire (slightly discordant note – we haven’t yet left the Shire and ‘Aaargh! We’ve stumbled across the Varags of Khand, some Morgul Rats and the Olog-hai’; talk about keeping yourself to yourself!). Acquire too many foes and you’re out of the game.
Now, the trip to Bree in the book seemed to be reasonably straightforward. Dodge a few Ringwraiths, patch things up with Farmer Maggot, wander about in the fog, and ‘mines a Pint of South Farthing Bitter’ at the Prancing Pony. In this version, things are definitely tricky. Yes, the Plucky Travellers make it, but in no condition for the next leg to Rivendell. A gentle stroll this is not.
To cut a long story short, 7.40 finds the party plodding across the (new) Isengard board (rather in the manner of Scott heading across the Antarctic). There seems to be precious few spare cards around, the corruption is piling up and the Brave Hobbts are getting just a little tetchy with each other. Roger "Merry" Greenwood is plugging the ‘lets not charge around like mad things’ strategy. The other three have an almost uncontrollable urge to do just that.
"Look lads" says Roger. "There’s no rush. We’re doing alright".
Phil checks the time. 7.42 and counting.
Come 7.47 it’s game over. A string of events for which the party had no answer sweeps our Gallant Foursome into the waiting arms of Sauron. Tricky, very tricky. And does the expansion kit improve the game? Hard to say on one playing. It certainly seems considerably more difficult, but perhaps this was a particularly inept performance.
The evening now develops a slightly surreal quality. Lisa appears. Somehow milk got missed at the supermarket earlier in the day. Lisa mutters that she supposes she will have to go out and get some. Dave, though, is made for moments such as this. Off he trots while we put Game One away, and prepare for Game Two. The long-awaited debut of ‘Liberte’.
Now much has been written of this game, almost uniformly good. Phil has bought it and feels that the jury is out. Still everyone likes the idea and so it’s game on.
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