The game of Lord of the Rings is very fun and enjoyable, as you all probably know by now. When the game first came out, you might have just gotten some cards to play the game with friends or for fun on the side. But now as you've gotten more serious about the game, it is time to take it to the next level, the official tournaments. For a first time card player that has never experienced a sanctioned tournament, it may be a nerve-racking ordeal, but they shouldn't be feeling that way. Sure you want to win and be the best out there, but there is a lot more to it than that. This article is going to detail what a player should expect going to his or her first Lord of the Rings sanctioned tournament.

The first thing to do is find where a tournament is occurring near you. A good place to get this information would be Deciphers official site, decipher.com. You can look up tournament listings and local Riders of Rohan; these guys are the product champions of the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game. You can get their e-mail address off of the site and get information from them on local tournaments. Once you find a tournament, you can get ready to play.

To play, you need to construct a deck to bring with you; this is going to be your weapon as you go through the tournament. Many websites allow the posting of decks to get reviews and what not on your deck so you can play the deck that you think is best. You also want to make sure that if there is any entry fee to the tournament that you bring that with you, you don't want to go then find out you can't play because of that. You may feel nervous about going to your first tournament and hoping that you do well and fit in with everyone there. I don't believe you have to worry about this, tournaments are a more serious level of play, but they are just as fun as playing cards with your friends at school. You also don't have to worry about fitting in with the other players, you are all gathering at the tournament to play the same game, so you already are fitting in.

Most tournaments play a set amount of games of around five for Lord of the Rings, but it all matters on the number of players that are present for the event, in the case of a large amount of players, there will be more games than usual so there will be more definitive winner of the tournament. In the case of a few players, the amount of games will be less. There will not be a large amount of games for a small amount of players because players will end up playing each other more then once. Once all the players arrive, it will be time to start playing.

Going in to a tournament, you want to make sure that you know the basic rules and a little more. Some things to bring with you are the official rulebook and the most recent FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). This can be obtained, again, at Deciphers official site. If you do not bring these with you, do not worry, the tournament director will be there to help with any questions or concerns you could have during a game.

At the tournament, you will learn that each game has a time limit of 45 minutes. The scoring of each game is required to determine a winner of a tournament and the other rankings; a winner of a game gets 3 points for a full win (a win within the time limit) and 2 points for a modified win (a win when the game goes the full 45 minutes), the other player will get 1 point for the loss. When time is called, there are certain methods for determining the winner. The first thing is finding the player furthest along the adventure path, if both players are tied, you go on to who has the least burdens on their ring-bearer, if both players are still tied, you see who has the least amount of characters in their dead pile, if that is still tied, you go to the least amount of total wounds on their fellowships. It usually will not go further than that.

After playing the full amount of games, the rankings in the tournament will be called out. If you don't hear your name near the top, don't worry, the main thing is that you had fun. At most tournaments, every player gets a prize though, so you don't walk away empty-handed. Though just having the experience of playing in the event is enough to walk away with. Also, you'll meet a lot of new people and make a lot of friends at tournaments. What is the next step from here? Find out when the next tournament is!

After going to your first tournament, it would be great to post a report of how everything went here on DeckTech. Reading other reports can give you ideas of other decks, and how other players play around the world, and we sure would like to here about your area. And remember, HAVE FUN!