Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth is basically a reskin of the 7 Wonders 2-player board game

A new board game based on The Lord of the Rings series will basically be a reskin of the two-player title 7 Wonders Duel.

Teased in a Facebook post made by the Asmodee France account earlier last week, it has been revealed that the upcoming board game from co-designers Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala will be based on gameplay mechanics from the 7 Wonders series.

In an Instagram post by the official Asmodee USA account - Asmodee being a huge tabletop company that distributes board games across the world - it was confirmed that the previously teased board game will be The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth, a title based on the iconic fantasy book series by JRR Tolkien. The board game will take place within the setting of Middle-earth and will include, according to the social post, “powerful alliances, iconic travel and, of course, The One Ring.”

Beyond this, the Instagram post confirmed that the Lord of the Rings game will be a “competitive strategy game” that will feature “7 Wonders mechanics.” The image provided within the post depicts a game box for The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-earth, with the box’s spine showing that the game will support up to two players.

7 Wonders Duel is a spin-off from the family board game 7 Wonders, which has players competing to develop their own ancient civilisations. A board game for two players, 7 Wonders Duel takes place over the course of three ages, or rounds, will players gaining the cards they need to acquire necessary resources or to develop aspects of their respective societies.

Unlike in the original 7 Wonders, players do not draft their cards from various hands of cards that they pass around the table. Instead, players play cards from a collection placed in front of them at the start of every round. Cards can only be gained if they are uncovered by another card, with the option to either build whatever is listed on the card, discard it for more coins or use it to build one of their civilisation’s four wonders.

Resources required to do this can be purchased from the bank or acquired from the cards placed in front of players. Whenever a resource is used to build a structure, its cost is increased for the building player’s opponent. Constructing will gain players points or bonuses that they can use in the pursuit of one of the game’s possible victory conditions: either by advancing a player’s military marker towards their opponent’s capital, gaining six different science symbols or having the most points by the end of three rounds.

Bauza and Cathala are the original co-creators of 7 Wonders Duel, with Repos Production - the company set to publish The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth - having published both 7 Wonders and 7 Wonders Duel.

The Lord of the Rings: Duel for Middle-Earth is set to be released sometime this Autumn.