And Back Again board game was prepared by Mikolaj Sobocinski during AUM and NIU Global Game Jams in 2023.
The game can be found on GGJ web site --> And Back Again.
The idea for making the game came after re-watching The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings films, and after looking at the map of the Middle-Earth for days.
reference map of the Middle-Earth downloaded from the One Ring web site
Imagine the distance that Frodo and Sam covered in “The Lord of the Rings.” They rode, rowed, and walked for around 1800 miles which translates to nearly 3000 km… That is an extremely long distance. So imagine that – Frodo and Sam had to make that journey, albeit on a shorter route, one more time on their way back to the Shire!
This is where the main plot of the ringer bearer ends, but the story lingers on. In book VI, Frodo, Sam, and the remaining members of the Fellowship of the Ring pay their respects to late king Theoden in Edoras, travel to Isengard, Rivendell, meet Saruman on the way, just to reach the Shire in the state of disarray. And they must live through another adventure, the main story of the Lord of the Rings to many a reader. They struggle to save their homeland without the supernatural, to save their own souls from omnipresent despair and hatred.
This game gives you an opportunity to take your own path from Minas Tirith and reach the Shire at your own pace. Just do not linger on the road for too long lest Saruman’s forces overtake the Shire.
