Every so often, I get to review a game for Cracked LCD that completely blows me away. For me, getting completely blown away by a game means a lot more than ‘I had a good time with it’ or that my friends and I have ‘found a new favorite game we’ll be enjoying for years to come.’ Those are definitely factors in the blown away equation, sure, but the games that have a more profound impact are the ones that come along and change the way I look at game design, genre expectations, and the possibilities of play that game mechanics can represent.

In 2007, I felt this way about STARCRAFT, a revisionist approach to the multiplayer conquest game that plays—and still plays—unlike any other game in its class. In 2008, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s incredibly high level of conceptual theme and fresh approach to cooperation, competition, and interaction took me to that place again, and now, in 2009, another Fantasy Flight Games title with designer Corey Konieczka’s name on the box has done it again. This time, it is MIDDLE-EARTH QUEST and Mr. Konieczka shares designer credits not only with Tim Uren but also with Fantasy Flight’s owner and founder, Christian Petersen.

MIDDLE-EARTH QUEST emerges as quite a surprise because the title likely brings with it a number of expectations to anyone remotely familiar with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (or Peter Jackson for that matter). However, contrary to these expectations this is not a game like many others before it that puts players in the figurative shoes of Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee. Nor is it an epic retelling of the exploits of the Fellowship of the Ring and the major events that brought the Fourth Age to an end, as recounted in the modern classic WAR OF THE RING. Instead, MIDDLE-EARTH QUEST offers players a chance to create their own stories concurrent with the events described in the classic trilogy. The game is about what might have gone on elsewhere in Arda as the Ring quest labored on—in fact there are hardly any hobbits in it at all- after all, they were a rather retiring people not prone to adventure.

Two to four players can play MEQ, and the game supports the range completely with a few variations. Expect about an hour per player, more if you care to savor the richness of the flavor text describing the events and situations that occur throughout the game, complemented with quotations from the Tolkien canon. It’s all worth reading out loud. It is a cooperative game with a single antagonist, and of course that antagonist is Sauron.

The other players each take on the role of an original hero whose songs have never been sung in Middle-Earth until their appearance in this game. Each is equipped with a special ability, a unique deck of action and combat cards, and a number of skills that can be increased throughout the game. The Shadow player has at his disposal the powers of darkness: fell minions, foul perils, and malicious corruption. The dichotomy between the Hero players and the Shadow player is extreme and absolutely critical to the conceptual success of the game. Effectively, the heroes play a completely different game than Sauron with an entirely different turn structure, process, strategies, and possibilities. There are almost no points of common mechanics outside of the combat system, and to watch two completely different games function in tandem is breathtaking to anyone interested in how games work as authored, artistic creations.

Each side of the conflict starts the game with a secret, overall mission card that lays out a long term goal that should serve as a framework for any strategies and tactical decisions that develop over the course of the game. There are five different missions for each side, so there is definitely variety in terms of agendas. Simply attaining the goal of the mission is not enough to win the game, however. There are four story markers that move along a track every turn. Three of the markers represent Sauron’s principal strategic foci- the hunt for the Ring, military conquest, and the spread of corruption and dark influence. The fourth marker represents a barometer of how well the hero players are keeping up with and countering Sauron’s progress. The story track serves as a timer, and when a marker reaches the finale, the endgame is triggered. If one side is “dominant”, meaning their marker is ahead of the opposition then they become eligible to win if their mission goal has been met. Otherwise, the game can end in a one-on-one showdown with the Ringwraiths.

Moving these story markers along is Sauron’s prime task in the game. This is accomplished by playing story cards that indicate a certain location on the board where a particular event is occurring, such as Saruman’s betrayal at Isengard. Some story cards might require certain preparations, such as having minions or influence in a specific place. But when a story card is in play, it continues to move markers every turn so the impetus is on the heroes to earn favor by visiting various personalities and accomplishing tasks so that they may travel to the site of the story and spend favor markers to discard the story card. And of course Sauron must try to prevent this from happening by leveraging his lieutenants, minions, and other dark forces against the hero’s best efforts.

The Sauron game is very much a resource management affair that calls for surprisingly deep planning, obfuscation of agendas, bluffing, and brute force. Every turn, Sauron gets to take two actions (three in a four player game) from a limited menu, with successive actions resulting in reduced effect until the fourth of a set of action markers is placed. Influence markers can be placed in a Shadow pool (which acts as a control for when certain cards can be played), to strengthen Shadow strongholds, or to extend influence from shadow strongholds and make locations more perilous for wandering heroes. Minions can be moved around the board, including heavies such as the Mouth of Sauron and the Witch-King of Angmar. The minion action also allows the Shadow player to place a random monster token on the board face down- which may actually be a bluff to dissuade heroes from optimal action. The third possible action is a card draw to bring new Shadow and Story cards into hand, essential, since card play is a key mechanic for the Shadow player. Balancing these actions and choosing where to spend effort and energy is critical to Sauron’s success.