Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth expansion sounds the Horn of Gondor

Fight the forces of Sauron across the kingdoms of Gondor and Rohan in Spreading War, the latest expansion for The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth.

Set across the realm of men, Spreading War sees players embarking on a new campaign that focuses around protecting both Gondor and Rohan from the orcs, uruk hai and other enemies threatening the land. There are fifteen scenarios within the campaign, alongside 18 double-sided tiles depicting the two respective kingdoms and six new playable characters.

Included amongst this band of brave heroes is the human warrior Boromir - Captain of the White Guard and member of the Fellowship - who is prepared to defend his homeland against the invading armies, alongside the brave hobbit Calaminth Took, elven archer Renerien, dwarf Dwalin and horseback fighter Freahild.

Also featured within the expansion is Beorn, a shapeshifter whom Bilbo and company met during their adventures to The Lonely Mountain. Whichever player chooses the forest-dwelling fighter will have the power to turn into a mighty great bear, swapping Beorn’s character sheet and miniature for that of the bear’s. As a bear, Beorn has the ability to shrug off some rather damaging attacks, whilst being able to deal out some devastating blows himself. However, Beorn cannot use his usual equipment and items in his bear form, including his Beast Tongue power - which enables him to perform more actions after scouting ahead.

Players will need to utilise their heroes’ respective abilities well if they want to successfully defend Gondor and Rohan, as the enemies they’ll face present a formidable threat. Alongside the usual mercenaries and dark forces, players will have to overcome the likes of Fell Beasts and even the enormous Oliphaunts - gigantic elephants wearing armour. Eventually, the players will uncover the mastermind behind the attacks on the kingdoms of men and halt the spread of war.

The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth is a co-op board game for one to five players based on the fantasy novels written by JRR Tolkien. In the game, players take the role of familiar and fresh-faced characters within the world of Middle-earth and attempt to complete a variety of different scenarios. As they move throughout the world, the players will lay down tiles to represent the map, as well as engage in both exploration and combat.

As an app-assisted game, players use the Journeys in Middle-earth companion app to interact with story-beats and make decisions regarding what they want to do. Using their characters’ abilities and equipment, players will be able to fight against enemies and attempt any combat encounters to survive as a group.

Besides publishing Journeys in Middle-earth, Fantasy Flight Games is also responsible for releasing The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game, as well as the unique deck game Keyforge.

Spreading War is yet to receive an official release date, but will be available at a retail price of $79.95 (£57) and will require a copy of Journeys in Middle-earth to play.