New Line/courtesy Everett Collection
Published Oct 13, 2026, 3:00 PM EDT
Tom Wilson is a Gaming Features Writer at Screen Rant. Over the past five years, Tom has worked as the Editor-in-Chief at The Game Crater, as a Staff Writer for GamingIntel, a List Writer at TheGamer, and, of course, as a Senior Writer at ScreenRant. Tom has experience writing reviews, guides, news, and features, and has been responsible for teams of writers, training them and editing their work.
Tom graduated with a Masters in Multimedia Journalism, and has since gone on to build up his portfolio of games journalism work.
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The Lord of the Rings has always been well suited to spin-offs and follow-ups, owing to the expansive nature of its world, a consequence of J. R. R. Tolkein's devotion to fleshing out Middle-earth's lore. Fortunately, assorted companies have seen fit to capitalize on this, delivering a handful of adaptations and spin-offs that have, for the most part, excelled in much the same way as Tolkien’s original books and vision did.
While further televised and big-screen adaptations have not had quite the same effect, the tabletop and occasional video game spin-offs do typically resonate with fans, somehow successfully adapting the massive scope and scale of either the original adventure or merely the world of Middle-earth itself with aplomb. Now, adding to this storied lineup of excellent titles is a brand-new Lord of the Rings project titled Hope & Despair that looks set to continue the series tradition of excelling in the world of tabletop gaming.
One of the greatest Lord of the Rings games is not a video game adaptation, but rather the tabletop card game, War of the Ring. It beautifully recreates the adventure of Frodo and the Fellowship as a competitive card game based on the 2004 board game of the same name. Released in 2022, the card game sees players split into two teams: the Free People and the Shadow. Naturally, the Free People must help Frodo reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, while the Shadow attempts to destroy Middle-earth and corrupt Frodo.
The card game variant of War of the Ring is a far more accessible and faster-paced game than its predecessor, offering the same strategic gameplay and faithful adaptation while streamlining a lot of core components. Largely as a result of said streamlining, War of the Ring: The Card Game has proven to be a smash hit and has, naturally, gone on to receive numerous expansions. Chief among them is the upcoming Lord of the Rings release, Hope & Despair, that brings a wealth of new content to the game.
Hope & Despair, which is set to release later this month (October 2026), adds a whole new mechanic to the game in the form of Story cards. These are a new type of faction card that remain on the board once played and provide passive buffs and effects throughout the rest of the game. The expansion, which costs $24.90 and adds 54 new Story cards, as well as 40 Story counters and dedicated Shadow Bot cards to enhance the solo play side of the game.
You can pre-order the Hope & Despair War of the Ring expansion from the official Ares Games website. In doing so, you'll also get a two-card promo set as an added bonus. Of course, it goes without saying, but you'll need the base War of the Ring: The Card Game in order to use this new expansion.
Fans of the game will absolutely want to check this new Lord of the Rings product out as soon as possible, and newcomers should take it as a sign to try out the base War of the Ring game for the first time, as it truly is one of the best LOTR releases in quite some time.
Created by J.R.R. Tolkien
Movie(s) The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
First Film The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Cast Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt
TV Show(s) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
English (US) ·