The Road Goes Ever On
After eighteen months,the design was finished and delivered to the publisher. But the design process continued. Nine months later, in October 2000, the game was released into the market. One year later, in October 2001, came the first expansion, Friends & Foes, with two new scenario boards and an entirely new game element of 30 foes. Exactly one year later, the second expansion, called Sauron, let a player take the role of Sauron and actively lead the dark forces against the hobbits. Today, the Lord of the Rings Board Game is available worldwide in 17 languages, with sales of over one million copies.
Reiner Knizia was born in Germany and now lives in the United Kingdom designing award-win-ning board games and card games. His past lives include being a professor of Mathematics and a Director of Strategic Planning in major German banks. Reiner is one of the most prolific and respected game designers working today, with more than 200 published games and several books on games and design. Games include Lord of the Rings, Taj Mahal, Safari, and Lost Cities.