I own both the hard copy and the PDF e-book version of this game... because, in my humble opinion, it is that good.

I have been playing role-playing games for over twenty-five years. I have playing and "game-mastered" over two dozen systems, including Dungeons and Dragons (from the Basic and Expert boxes in the early 1980s through Fourth Edition), Palladium, Talislanta, Arcanum, Legend of the Five Rings, Pathfinder, and many, many non-fantasy RPGs (ex. Star Wars WEG--Saga Edition, FASA's Star Trek, Call of Cthulhu, Top Secret S/I, World of Darkness). I have watched gaming companies and their brands rise and fall. I have seen many rule sets and noted their perks and flaws.

Given my vast experience, I must say that this is probably my favorite system to date.

I really like the process of character creation. It involves a few simple choices by the player. The character's stats come together quickly. But it also has enough diversity to allow, for example, an entire party of Hobbit Farmers to be a diverse group of characters. And you'd be surprised what a single Hobbit Farmer is capable of, let alone a group. Of course, if farming isn't your thing you have a vast array of choices when it comes to Cultures, Backgrounds, and Callings (i.e. the Class and Race of this game, if you prefer).

Keep in mind that this set focuses on The Hobbit and the region of Middle-earth known as Rhovanion, the Wilderland between the Misty Mountains and The Lonely Mountain. Thus you have only a small choice of Cultures to ponder, from the men of Dale to the followers of Beorn or Radagast the Brown, as well as the Dwarves of Lonely Mountain, the Elves of Mirkwood, and the Hobbits from the Shire (which is a long way from here, but occasionally a Hobbit wanders from home seeking adventure). Future sets will focus on events and locations further west into the lands more closely associated with The Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, with a little tweaking, you could invent stats for these Cultures using this core set.

As a Lore Master (i.e. the Game Master), I find the rules very easy to learn. They can be daunting at first, but experience playing the game helps with the learning process. The adventure included with this game helps teach the Lore Master and the players the major rules involved with the game. I recommend it as a starting adventure for any new group. Skill resolution and combat are very slick. You roll a number of success dice equal to your rank (i.e. dots) in a skill, plus a unique Fate die, and total up the result. There is a fixed target number, occasionally modified by the Lore Master. Plus the custom dice included with the game have special runes that modify the success or failure result of the roll. Combat involved a series of stances. If you are turned off by grids of one-inch squares, five-foot steps, and attacks of opportunity (i.e. the combat system of D&D/Pathfinder/D20), this is a refreshing change.

Most importantly, the rules exist to support the story and the role-playing, not dominate it. The Lore Master can decide to change the frequency of required rolls during a game. The focus is really on the story and immersing the group into Tolkien's world. This notion of story over rules seems to be lost in many modern role-playing games, which involve sets of massive tomes of rules just to play. This game is not "rules-lite", just "rules-simple" if you will. If one wished, one could add a set of house rules to add to the complexity of the game. As for myself, as a full-time employee, husband, and father, I appreciate a game that has rules simple enough to play with on the fly yet effective enough to still tell a convincing story through role-playing.

My only complaint is that while the game "requires" custom dice, the dice themselves are not available separately for purchase at this time. Thus my group of five players and myself must share a single set or use a standard D12 plus six D6 dice and remember the special rules of the dice (i.e. the runes). For example, using a standard D12, an 11 is the Eye of Sauron and the 12 is the Rune of Gandalf. While this won't matter to experienced players, those individuals just learning the rules may find it difficult to remember everything. If your group plans to run a campaign of this game, I highly recommend ordering some blank D12s and D6s and making your own custom dice.

This lone complaint would rate this game a 4.5 out of 5. However, given how excellent this game is, I have no issues with rounding up to a 5. This is easily justified with the overall value of the product. For $60 retail, which is a bargain before even considering a discounted price for the e-book, you get an entire set of rules to play and run the game, two poster maps, custom dice, and great artwork throughout the product. The Adventurer's map of the Wilderland is a beautiful art piece. This is a solid RPG that is an excellent addition to any gamer's library. If you love fantasy RPGs or Tolkien's work, this is a must-buy.

Note: Not to take any business away from DriveThruRPG, but do yourself a favor and buy the hard copy IN ADDITION TO the e-book. The art alone is worth the extra money, and I usually don't buy RPG books for their art. The posters are really nice too.