Sometimes all you want is a nice relaxing night at home in the Shire. But sometimes 13 uninvited dwarves and a giant wizard show up and take over your dining room. And while that might not make for a fun night for Bilbo Baggins, it sure does make for a memorable moment for everyone else. Now you can experience that messy musical meal with the new The Hobbit: An Unexpected Party board game.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Party is the “fast, fun, action-based” new family tabletop game (ages 10 and up) from Weta Workshop. Enlisting two to four players and lasting 40 to 60 minutes, the game takes place during the opening scenes of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. It’s the moment when thirteen Dwarves arrive “unannounced at Bag End much to Bilbo’s dismay,” kickstarting what proves to be a life-changing journey for the Hobbit. The game also features fantastic artwork from senior concept artist Daniel Falconer, who worked on Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy.
Weta Workshop
An Unexpected Party lets players “step into the Dwarves’ shoes” to try and earn points by performing lines of the song, “The Things Bilbo Hates.” As they move around Bag End, they collect items and “generally make a mess of the place.” However, they have to be careful not to push Bilbo too far. Even Hobbits can only handle so much. Everything ends when either all 15 lines of the song are completed or Thorin arrives. The player with the most points at the end (a.k.a. “who did the best job arousing Bilbo’s curiosity and shaking up his sheltered life”) wins.
“We wanted to show the lighter side of Tolkien’s world—those humorous, light-hearted moments where you fall in love with the characters just being themselves, no battlefield in sight,” said Daniel Falconer in a statement. “The impromptu Dwarf feast at the beginning of The Hobbit is the perfect embodiment of that.”
Weta Workshop
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Party features…
–In-world gameplay and authentic artwork by The Hobbit senior concept artist Daniel Falconer
–Game design by NZ board game designers Ian Luxmoore and Jarratt Grey (Endeavor)
–Open Edition
–Asymmetrical gameplay
Weta Workshop
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Party comes with…
–1 x Bag End Playing Board
–15 x Character Standees with Stands
–21 x Curious/Furious Tokens
–1 x Supply Bag
–26 x Item Tokens
–13 x Dwarf Cards (63mm x 88mm)
–30 x Party Cards (63mm x 88mm)
–11 x Bag End Cards (63mm x 88mm)
–60 x 1-Point Tokens
–15 x 2-Point Tokens
–4 x Player Boards
–1 x Rulebook
The game is available for pre-order now ($39.99 U.S.) and will ship September 2020. Not only should the game make for a fun night, it’s something to do when uninvited guests stop by. Board games are a lot more enjoyable for a host than watching people throw dishes around while singing about how angry you are.
Featured Image: Weta Workshop
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