Featured Image Credit: New Line Cinema
Topics: The Lord Of The Rings, Board Games, TV And Film
It’s been a lacklustre couple of years for The Lord of the Rings amid The Rings of Power’s absence.
We’re on the precipice of a major comeback though.
The Rings of Power’s third season is expected later this year, with the franchise then returning to the silver screen with The Hunt For Gollum in 2027.
Stephen Colbert is co-writing The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of the Past, plus it's rumoured that Kingdom Come Deliverance studio Warhorse Games may be working on a major Lord of the Rings RPG.
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Alongside all of this, there’s an exciting new tabletop game in development.
Lord of the Rings: Ascension is coming to Gamefound later this year, and the deckbuilder plans to adapt the entirety of Lord of the Rings’ main trilogy.
You may already be familiar with Ascension, which exists separately from the Lord of the Rings IP.
It’s a deckbuilding card game created by Justin Gary of former Magic: The Gathering fame.
It’s available both physically and digitally via storefronts like Steam; players must use runes to collect powerful heroes and attacks as they fend off various monsters and threats.
Lord of the Rings: Ascension is due to be a physical offering, adapting the formula to recreate the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
Playable for one to four players, Lord of the Rings: Ascension, as spotted by Comic Book, is set to land on Gamefound later on in 2026, where fans can back the project and secure their copy.
You can complete a round of the game in around 30 to 60 minutes, so it’s not a tabletop RPG that’s going to demand several days' worth of commitment.
Players will “adventure through Middle-earth across three interconnected Ascension sets”.
“The fate of the world hangs by a thread. Will you rally the Free Peoples—Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and Hobbits—or turn toward the Shadow of Mordor?” the synopsis teases.
“Recruit heroes, acquire powerful cards, and shape your strategy as you build your strength, all while confronting the quiet, ever-present pull of The One Ring.
“The game is fast to learn and difficult to master; each choice carries weight, and the path to victory is never without cost.”
Already, a brief glimpse has been dropped of several of the character cards including first-looks at Samwise, Gollum, Gandalf, and Legolas - and the artwork is top-notch.
Given that Lord of the Rings: Ascension is yet to go live on Gamefound, there’s nothing in the way of pricing or a release date.
It does appear that each film in the trilogy will be represented by a different Ascension set, so assumedly, you’ll need to buy those separately or bundled.
It’s definitely a project to keep an eye on.
There are plenty of Lord of the Rings plans in the pipeline, even if they do all seem to require a tad more time in the oven.
Remain patient everyone. Good things are coming.
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