I remember hearing tales of how epic the Middle-earth collectible card game was way back when my local Star Wars CCG scene was still active. As a Tolkien nerd, I’d always wanted to try it out, but one does not simply play a dead CCG.
I was super impressed with just how well it represents Tolkien’s world in game form. Much like the Star Wars CCG, lore and storytelling drive the game design. They are prioritized above all else, including mechanics and probably balance – something you don’t really see in modern games.
I mean, the game essentially requires a detailed map of middle-earth in front of you to truly appreciate the scope and possibilities of what you can do.
Open world solo mode
Later in the year, Zach shared his rules for an open world solo mode of the game. This variant re-works the game into a fun solo experience that seemed like the perfect way to finally try it for myself.
So, I ordered the pre-constructed challenge decks from a player-run web store, printed a custom map playmat (Inked Gaming), and started building decks for open world mode.
Hazard decks
My hazard decks are a mix of hazard cards from the challenge decks and singles I’ve picked up along the way to make things more interesting.
There is room for improvement no doubt, but these should be a good starting point for anyone with a limited card pool to get started with the amazing open world solo variant!
Wilderness (28)
Creature (16)
2 Lesser Spiders
1 "Bert" - Bûrat
1 "Tom" - Tûma
1 "William" - Wûluag
1 Ent in Search of the Entwives
1 Giant Spiders
1 Wargs
1 Wolves
1 Lawless Men
1 Dire Wolves
1 Hobgoblins
1 Giant
1 Huorn
1 Thunder's Companion
1 Old Man Willow
Long-event (1)
1 Long Winter
Permanent-event (4)
2 Lure of Nature
1 Despair of the Heart
1 Enchanted Stream
Short-event (7)
1 River
1 The Ring's Betrayal
1 Veils Flung Away
1 Dragon-sickness
1 Lost in the Wilderness
1 Weariness of the Heart
1 Call of Home
Coastal Seas (15)
Creature (7)
3 Corsairs of Umbar
1 Marsh-drake
1 Rain-drake
1 Watcher in the Water
1 Sea Serpent
Long-event (1)
1 Noose of the Sea
Permanent-event (3)
1 Despair of the Heart
1 Lure of Expedience
1 Longing for the West
Short-event (4)
1 Muster Disperses
1 Dragon-sickness
1 Call of the Sea
1 Drowning Seas
Ruins & Lairs (22)
Creature (11)
1 Cave-drake
1 Chill Douser
1 Lesser Spiders
1 Neeker-breekers
1 Stirring Bones
1 Wisp of Pale Sheen
1 Land-drake
1 Light-drake
1 Orc-raiders
1 Orc-warriors
1 Wild Trolls
Long-event (1)
1 Minions Stir
Permanent-event (1)
1 Lure of Expedience
Short-event (8)
1 Choking Shadows
1 Incite Denizens
1 Muster Disperses
1 Weariness of the Heart
1 Arouse Denizens
1 Call of Home
1 Chance of Being Lost
1 Greed
1 Slip Treacherously
Free-domains (16)
Creature (7)
4 Ambusher
2 Ent in Search of the Entwives
1 The Border-watch
Permanent-event (6)
1 Alone and Unadvised
1 Foolish Words
1 Lure of Expedience
1 Lure of the Senses
1 Rebel-talk
1 Stormcrow
Short-event (3)
1 Lost in Free-domains
1 Muster Disperses
1 River
Free-holds (14)
Creature (2)
2 The Border-watch
Long-event (1)
1 Times Are Evil
Permanent-event (6)
1 Alone and Unadvised
1 Foolish Words
1 Lure of Expedience
1 Lure of the Senses
1 Lure of Creation
1 The Burden of Time
Short-event (5)
1 Muster Disperses
1 Call of Home
1 Arouse Defenders
1 Incite Defenders
1 New Moon
Border-lands (23)
Creature (14)
2 Ambusher
2 Wargs
1 Abductor
1 Brigands
1 Lawless Men
1 Neeker-breekers
1 Slayer
1 Wolves
1 Crebain
1 Orc-raiders
1 Orc-warriors
1 Durin's Folk
Permanent-event (4)
1 Alone and Unadvised
1 Lure of Expedience
1 Rebel-talk
1 Longing for the West
Short-event (5)
1 River
1 Call of Home
1 Chance of Being Lost
1 Lost in Border-lands
1 Weariness of the Heart
Border-holds (19)
Creature (7)
1 Assassin
2 Sellswords Between Charters
2 Slayer
1 The Border-watch
1 Thief
Long-event (1)
1 Fell Winter
Permanent-event (4)
1 Alone and Unadvised
1 Foolish Words
1 Lure of Expedience
1 Rebel-talk
Short-event (7)
1 Incite Defenders
1 Muster Disperses
1 River
1 Greed
1 Weariness of the Heart
1 Arouse Defenders
1 Early Harvest
Shadow-lands (24)
Creature (16)
1 Barrow-wight
1 Corpse-candle
1 Dire Wolves
1 Ghosts
1 Ghouls
1 Lawless Men
1 Marsh-drake
1 Orc-lieutenant
1 Orc-watch
1 Stirring Bones
1 Wargs
1 Wisp of Pale Sheen
1 Lesser Spiders
1 Half-trolls of Far Harad
1 Orc-patrol
1 Winged Fire-drake
Long-event (2)
1 Foul Fumes
1 Worn and Famished
Permanent-event (3)
1 Despair of the Heart
1 Stench of Mordor
1 Lure of Expedience
Short-event (3)
1 Seized by Terror
1 Dragon-sickness
1 Lost in Shadow-lands
Shadow-holds (24)
Creature (15)
1 Barrow-wight
1 Chill Douser
1 Corpse-candle
1 Ghosts
1 Ghouls
1 Little Snuffler
1 Orc-lieutenant
1 Pûkel-men
1 Sellswords Between Charters
1 Stirring Bones
1 Wisp of Pale Sheen
1 Crebain
1 Orc-patrol
1 Half-trolls of Far Harad
1 Rogrog
Permanent-event (4)
1 Nothing to Eat or Drink
1 Alone and Unadvised
1 Rebel-talk
1 Doubled Vigilance
Short-event (5)
1 Stay Her Appetite
1 Tidings of Bold Spies
1 Arouse Minions
1 Weariness of the Heart
1 Incite Minions
Dark-domains (17)
Creature (11)
1 Barrow-wight
1 Corpse-candle
1 Ghosts
1 Ghouls
1 Orc-guard
1 Orc-lieutenant
1 Orc-warband
1 Orc-watch
1 Stirring Bones
1 Half-trolls of Far Harad
1 Orc-patrol
Long-event (3)
1 Foul Fumes
1 Minions Stir
1 Worn and Famished
Permanent-event (1)
1 Stench of Mordor
Short-event (2)
1 Seized by Terror
1 Dragon-sickness
Dark-holds (15)
Creature (10)
1 Barrow-wight
1 Corpse-candle
1 Ghosts
1 Orc-warband
1 Orc-watch
1 Half-trolls of Far Harad
1 Olog-hai - Trolls
1 Orc-patrol
1 The Great Goblin
1 Gothmog
Creature/Permanent-event (1)
1 Mouth of Sauron
Long-event (1)
1 Minions Stir
Permanent-event (2)
1 Nothing to Eat or Drink
1 Worn and Famished
Short-event (1)
1 Arouse Minions
There is one more hazard deck in addition to the region-based decks. Epic hazards. When rolling to determine if a hazard card is drawn, instead of using the opponent’s card draw number on the site to modify the result, I use that number + 1 as the low result that will trigger an epic hazard.
For example, if you are traveling to Moria, and roll a 4 or less for any hazard test, you draw from the epic hazard deck. Draw until you find a hazard playable at the current site/region type and resolve it!
Epic (23)
Creature (3)
1 Mûmak - Oliphant
1 Ice-drake
1 Sand-drake
Creature/Permanent-event (14)
1 Akhôrahil
1 Indûr Dawndeath
1 Witch-king of Angmar
1 Dwar of Waw
1 Hoarmûrath of Dír
1 Khamûl the Easterling
1 Ren the Unclean
1 Shelob
1 Lord of the Carrock
1 Saruman the Wise
1 Alatar the Hunter
1 Pallando the Soul-keeper
1 Gandalf the White Rider
1 Radagast the Tamer
Long-event (5)
1 Bairanax Ahunt
1 Eärcaraxë Ahunt
1 Scatha Ahunt
1 Smaug Ahunt
1 Itangast Ahunt
Permanent-event (1)
1 Balrog of Moria
When I used WordPress in the past, I always wrote custom themes. To me, the default themes always felt very rigid and uninspired. But after taking a look at the latest release, I’m finally happy to use the default theme on my personal site. Here’s why.
WordPress recently released version 5.3 “Kirk” with the new Twenty Twenty theme. Another boring WordPress core update with another boring yearly theme, right?
Not this time!
First, this is the first core theme that feels like it was actually built with the recently introduced WordPress Block Editor in mind.
Instead of providing a collection of static templates, Twenty Twenty embraces the modular approach with a simple design that enhances block content without getting in the way. The result is a design flexibility that was previously not possible.
Twenty Twenty is actually based on Chaplin, a free theme by Anders Norén who was also the design lead on Twenty Twenty.
He seems to have taken the right approach to building a default theme, and understands how to make structural design choices while still leaving a lot of room for design flexibility.
“The responsibility of a theme is to empower users to create their inspired vision by making the end result look as good, and work as well, as the user intended.”
Anders Norén
New theme, new font
Twenty Twenty also uses a brand new typeface called Inter, designed by Rasmus Andersson.
It’s a modern font family designed for sharpness and readability on screens of all sizes. It’s also optimized for minimal request overhead.
A modern font goes a long way to make all elements of the modular design looking sharp and consistent.
It’s good
All this to say, I think Twenty Twenty is a huge win for anyone still hosting their own blog or personal site.
There’s about a million ways to ‘build a website’ in 2020. But for my money, a self-hosted WordPress CMS is still one of the easiest ways to truly own your content without sacrificing modern CMS features and template design.
