Gaming in Middle-Earth

[Alatar]

US Beta is probably already open, but this may be of interest to EU folks

EU Stress Test Event this weekend!

This weekend sees the first European LOTRO Stress Test, which will officially open the Beta Program to the wider public for the first time. We'll be sending out thousands of invitations to players to come and join the game this Saturday and Sunday (13th and 14th January) in a unique opportunity to test the service to its limits…and beyond.

As a bonus for those players that are lucky enough to be selected to join in, we've decided to allow those accounts continued access to the Beta Program right up until it ends! So make sure you create your account and log in this weekend and if you're lucky you'll be able to take advantage of this offer.

To sign up for the beta program and to try your luck at getting into this weekend's stress test go to www.lotro-europe.com/beta. Good luck!

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Oh, and you get to paint them .

While this was originally movie-based, they have added many purely book characters. A certain someone will be happy to hear that Tom and his wife Goldberry were not left out

Games Workshop had a very large display area at The Gathering of the Fellowship in Toronto in January '03. They were also selling the metal figurines. I had purchased, and painted, a large number of figurines back in the mid- and late-1970s when I was a teenager. I added to my collection that weekend by purchasing the Tom Bombadil Barrow-downs set. (The figures are still in the box, unopened.)

Tom appears to be modeled primarily after Pauline Baynes' depiction that accompanied the "Adventures of Tom Bombadil" poems. I say "primarily" because while Tom has a beard sans mustache, he's a bit rounder than the slim figure that Ms. Baynes drew. Goldberry isn't modeled after any depiction that I'm familiar with.

[truehobbit]

The small town where my family lives had a big tabletop games gathering this weekend in the castle above the town.
Not sure if anyone here has heard of it, it's a yearly event. It's the first time I've heard of it - I'm not into tabletop, but the fact that this takes place in my ancestral hometown, so to speak, is pretty cool, I think.

Here's a link with some pics - the text is only in German I'm afraid:
http://www.tabletop-hdr.de/Usertreffen- ... 582.0.html

hdr = herr der ringe = lotr

They had Alan and Michael Perry as guests - I've never heard of them, but it says they are popular British miniature artists, and I guess that means the event is becoming international, which encourages me to post about it here.

[Alatar]

You might be interested in the Mithril Miniatures from Ireland also.

The Shire to the Barrow Downs range has both Goldberry and Tom astride Fatty Lumpkin

http://mithril.ie/LR/PriceList-3.htm

The 54mm Range also has a different Tom and Goldberry

http://mithril.ie/LO/index.html

The Barrow Tomb Vignette makes a nice addition

http://mithril.ie/Vignettes/mv376/index.html

[Alatar]

Excellent article on the history of gaming in Middle Earth!

http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/23/641477 ... ideo-games