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Lord of the Rings: Game One / The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure

Produced by: Beam Software
Distributor: Melbourne House (Lord of the Rings: Game One) and Addison-Wesley (The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure)
Author: Philip Mitchell, et al.
Year: 1985
System: ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Amstrad PCW, BBC B, Dragon (Lord of the Rings: Game One) and Apple II, MS-DOS, Commodore 64, Macintosh (The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure)
Type: Illustrated text adventure (BBC and Amstrad PCW versions have no illustrations)
Covers: The Fellowship of the Ring
Distribution: Commercial, Beam Software now allows its distribution as freeware, although permission would techincally be needed from The Tolkien Estate as well
Availability: Out of print, some versions downloadable (see below)
Licensed: By the Tolkien estate

Lord of the Rings: Game One and The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure are actually the same game with two different titles. There are also some other minor differences between the two, such as different graphics and slight variations in the documentation. The game is in two parts and Lord of the Rings: Game One also includes a beginner's game. Both versions were sold with a paperback edition of The Fellowship of the Ring.

Lord of the Rings: Game One came first and was probably only distributed in Australia and Europe. The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure, on the other hand, was only distributed in North America.

The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure is the second of The Tolkien Software Adventure Series.

Lord of the Rings: Game One has also been released as part of The Tolkien Trilogy.

This game should not be confused with the action adventure The Fellowship of the Ring which is in development by Sierra On-Line.

Personal evaluation: This is one of the worst games I have ever played. Slow, totally lacking respect for Tolkien's works and the "graphics" are horrible. Play it once or twice for a good laugh.

Alternative covers

The cover on top of this page is the original cover for Lord of the Rings: Game One. The two above were used for The Fellowship of the Ring Software Adventure upon its US release. The one to the left came first.

Screen shots

These are actually the corresponding pictures from the same location in the ZX Spectrum and MS-DOS versions.

Net resources

See also