Sun, Fun and Hobbits

Today was a pretty good day. It was warm and sunny, so we got outside to conquer some things that needed doing (cleaning gutters, picking up sticks, etc), Moses got some walking done and I even got over to Wal-Mart to get some errands done. With a nice warm breeze coming in the windows this afternoon, I decided that while Jenn worked on her shop , I would play a solo game of Lord of the Rings, which I've mentioned before in my Top 5 Boardgames.

Since LotR is effectively a solitaire game played by a group, it isn't difficult to play solo. So, I set up the game with Frodo and Sam headed off to drop the Ring into Mt. Doom. Things went very smoothly as the hobbits crept through Moria without so much as causing the Balrog to turn over in his sleep. After recuperating in Lothlorien, the two then faced the perils of Helm's Deep. (I know that in the books and films, Frodo and Sam never came anywhere near Helm's Deep. However, they might have come that way if they had stuck with Aragorn and gone to Minas Tirith instead of heading off to Mordor.)

Helm's Deep proved very challenging, and as the Uruk-Hai attacked, the Eye of Sauron was drawn thither, and he moved quite a bit down the Corruption track toward the hobbits, and they, in turn, moved up the track towards the Dark Lord. But, a judicious allocation of resources allowed the hobbits to escape and venture on towards the Pass of Cirith Ungol and Shelob's Lair.

Things seemed promising as the hobbits encountered Faramir, gaining some aid from him and were guided on their way by the treacherous Gollum. However, it wasn't long before Sauron advanced even more, perhaps sensing the presence of the Ring nearing his realm. Sam, unable to take the strain, fell into darkness and was destroyed. Alone, Frodo moved onward, and though he gained more ground, was unable to recover from the loss of his faithful Sam. Shelob attacked and Frodo finally fell as well. Recovered by Gollum, the Ring quickly found its way back to its dark master.

And so, I lost. Made it nearly halfway through the Shelob's Lair board and onto Mordor. But, all in all, a good way to spend a quiet afternoon.