So I’m fortunate enough to have the old 2005 “deluxe” LOTR The Confrontation - wherein deluxe just meant double-sided characters and plastic stands to hold them.
The game is fantastic.
Stratego? Yes. And to be honest, I loved Stratego as a kid. But here’s what else it has:
Asymmetry: High numbers win. Shadow has stronger characters and stronger cards. It’s a blunt faction. Light has more mobility and more tech powers. Shadow will always win the first couple rounds as new players figure out how to unlock the Light side, but once you do, the interplay between power and mobility, blunt strokes and focused stabs, is really fascinating. Every game ends up telling a story - the one where Frodo endrunned around the Warg. The one where the Balrog was forced to retreat from Aragorn. Then one where the the Nazgul airdropped all the way across the board onto Merry’s head and died. The one where Boromir sacrificed himself to kill gollum.
Cards: I guess Cosmic Encounter was the first, but this was my first encounter with the “play all your cards before you can pick them up” mechanic. In addition to the Stratego higher-number-wins combat, each player simultaneously picks a card. Which could be another number (additive) or a special power - such as retreat, mutual destruction, cancel the card, etc. Cards mean that weak characters may still win battles, But you have to play your big cards and your small cards, and played cards stay face up, so your options really dwindle. The rock paper scissors here of trying to win but win efficiently, or dumping your 1 when your opponent plays their 5, is amazing.
Telegraphing: You can put two characters in one space. And other spaces have unique traits - such as the path under moria or the river that runs left to right. Frodo and Sam are more powerful together. So you put them together, right? But if you put two pieces together on your first turn, are you telling the Shadow where Frodo is? Similarly, the Balrog instakills anyone who tries to go through Moria. So Shadow plops a piece on top of Moria - is that the Balrog? If so, it’s ripe to be killed by Boromir. So you put an Orc up there to draw Boromir, but that means that Gandalf can slip through Moria unobstructed into your back lines…
Lastly, the Light side wants to attack the left side of the board so it can take advantage of the river (shadow can’t move sideways, but light can sidle down the river to get out of reach). Same Rock Paper Scissors, do I lean into that as the light and utilize the river? Or do I go right where the defenses should be less? Or are you one step ahead of me?
Anyway, it’s a much richer information space around bluffing and guessing than you’d find in Stratego.
This used to be a top 5 for me. It’s fallen just because of the old-Knizia problem, the first few moves are really hard. There’s no good move to make, everyone has a full hand of cards, there’s not information, anything you do makes you vulnerable… after a few moves the space takes shape with openings and opportunities and things get really good, but it’s always hard to get started.
Oh yeah, regarding the deluxe thing and side B characters - I haven’t gotten to them. Like Coup, the roster is perfectly chosen and to date I’d rather keep exploring it than start switching it up. But many of the side B characters are pretty interesting and I’m glad I have them.
Regarding the kickstarter: These guys don’t seem to know what they are doing. The map looks great, the character art does not, the stands look wobbly, and as noted the deluxe set may be way too deluxe. Still, I’d support anyone backing at the lower levels as the gameplay is incredible.
