Sauron, subtitled "The Battle for the Ring, S.A. 3434", is a licensed board wargame published bySimulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates the battle betweenSauron and theLast Alliance of Elves and Men mentioned in the fantasy novelThe Lord of the Rings byJ.R.R. Tolkien.
Sauron is a two-player wargame that deals with the battle as the Second Age ended between an army of monsters led by Sauron, and the Last Alliance led by the heroesElendil,Isildur andGil-galad.[1]
The game, packaged in a ziplock bag or a folio, comes with
Both forces meet on the Plains of Dagorlad, and engage in combat using alternate turns. The winner is the player who completely destroys the other army.
In 1976, SPI was granted a license by the Tolkien Estate to produce wargames based onThe Lord of the Rings.[3] SPI subsequently produced three wargames in 1977:War of the Ring,Gondor, andSauron. The latter was a game designed by Rob Mosca, with graphics byRedmond A. Simonsen and cover art byTim Kirk. SPI also packaged all three games into aboxed set titledGames of Middle Earth. This proved to be one of SPI's bestsellers, debuting at Number 1 on SPI's Top Ten list four months before publication based on pre-orders alone. Following its release in November 1977,Games of Middle Earth remained SPI's bestselling game for almost two years.[4]
In Issue 17 ofThe Space Gamer,David James Ritchie was disappointed in bothGondor andSauron, writing, "They are adequate, but nothing more. Yet this lack of excellent is a cheat. Those who buy these games will do so because of the familiarity with the Tolkien mythos. They will expect the same impact from these games as was present in the books. They will not find the same degree of experience".[1]
Writing for the Dutch games review siteCasus Belli, Frank van den Bergh called bothSauron andGondor "clearly lesser games" compared toWar of the Ring. Although he admitted, "they are fun games that offer many possibilities," van den Bergh concluded, "These games are only recommended for the devoted Tolkien fan."[5]
In Issue 16 ofPhoenix, Ed Merryweather found that the use of sorcery by the Dark Forces allowed the game to stay balanced, saying "this is what gives the game its sheer superbness in my eyes." He concluded that the game was "a good pitched battle, balanced and lots of fun."[6]