This little gem offers all those Lord of the Rings fans out there a little bit of 2 player action. These games can be great when you just can't get a group of friends together for something bigger.
The game is loosely based on the system used by Stratego. Each side has 9 units at its disposal and once placed their identity will be hidden from the enemy. Only by attacking a unit will its identity be revealed and the combat resolved. The game comes with a mid sized board that is beautifully illustrated and shows a total of 16 lands. The forces of good and evil have 6 each and they are divided in the middle by 4 additional lands in Moria, The Misty Mountains, The High Pass and the Gap of Rohan. Each player must place all of their units in their 6 starting lands. Each player places 4 units in Mordor or The Shire (based on which side they are playing) and the remaining 5 are placed in each of the 5 remaining lands (1 per land) on their side of the board. Each side then takes their sides set of cards. These consist of combat cards and special power cards. Play can now begin.
The Confrontation is essentially a game of bluff and double bluff. Each unit has a special power that can give them some type of advantage, or break a standard rule, if used in the right situation. For example the Balrog will destroy any unit trying to pass through Moria if it is waiting in that land. The Witch King can attack sideways (not normally alllowed), so surprise attacks are possible. Legolas instantly defeats the Flying Nazgul if they do battle. I could go on but you get the idea.
The aim of the game should be fairly obvious to LotR fans. If Frodo reaches Mordor then the game is won for the fellowship. If Frodo is killed or 3 Sauron units reach The Shire then the forces of darkness will rule the day.
On to the combat. When two units clash they reveal themselves to each other. Next the character's text is read and this may sometimes result in an automatic defeat. If this is not the case then a battle takes place. Each character has a combat strength clearly labelled on the unit. Each player must choose a card from their hand and add this number to the unit's combat strength. The highest combat value will defeat the enemy, whilst a draw results in mutual death. Whenever a card is played it is discarded and cannot be used again until all the cards in a player's hand have been used. When this happens all the used cards come back into play. The Power cards are very powerful but the trick is that several of them can counter the cards of the enemy. This adds to the bluff element of the game as players cannot afford to play their special powers and have them cancelled out or wasted on a battle they could have easily won with a lesser card.

This is definitely one of the better 2 player games on the market. It looks fantastic and the game play is intricate enough that each game will play very differently based on how the players set-up their forces and how they use the powers at their disposal. The time to play is also spot on for a 2 player game. Great for early teens and up!