The designer of Pandemic has made a Lord of the Rings game, and it has just won an award to match. The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship, Matt Leacock's co-operative trek across Middle-earth, has been named Cooperative/Solo Game of the Year at the 2026 Origins Awards. If your group would rather beat the game together than beat each other, add this to the list.
Looking for board gamers near you? Browse local communities and find your next game night.
Find events near youPublished by Z-Man Games for 1 to 5 players (60 to 150 minutes), Fate of the Fellowship runs on Leacock's Pandemic System, the same co-op engine behind Pandemic and Pandemic Legacy. Each player steers two of the 13 heroes, lending their abilities to protect Frodo, hold key locations against the shadow and slip past the Nazgul and Sauron's ever-searching Eye. Z-Man calls it Leacock's "most mechanically-rich Pandemic System design to date", and the variety backs that up: 24 objectives and 14 events reshuffle the challenge so no two journeys to Mount Doom play the same.
A solo mode designed by Leacock himself lets you shoulder the Ring alone, but this is really a game for a team pulling in one direction. Co-op nights are the easiest way to coax nervous newcomers to the table, since nobody is getting crushed by the group veteran. Gather your fellowship and line up a game night.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeSources: Tabletop Sentinel | Z-Man Games
