Description
Stolpa - Trick-Taking Game (original title The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – Trick-Taking Game) takes you through the second part of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 18 chapters, from 19 to 36. It is the sequel to The Fellowship of the Ring with chapters 1 to 18, but you can also play it without it. You play together: you all win or lose at the same time.
How to play Stolpa - Trick-Taking Game
The game uses classic trick-taking rules, familiar from card games such as Tarock: everyone plays one card, you must follow the suit of the first card played, and the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. Each chapter sets which characters you play. Every character has their own goal, for example winning enough tricks or certain cards, while Boromir must not win any more tricks after a certain point. The player who gets the White Tower card becomes Aragorn, and the others choose their characters after looking at their cards. The White Tower and the Black Tower each win any trick, unless both fall into the same trick, while the orc cards never win a trick. You are not allowed to talk about the cards in your hand.
When all the cards have been played, the round ends. If every player has met their character's goal, you have completed the chapter and move on to the next one. If anyone has failed, you all lose and replay the round.
Why you'll love it
- The story of The Two Towers unfolds over 18 chapters, each of which brings new characters and rules.
- Because you can't talk about your cards, you have to work out what the others need from the cards they play.
- The chapters are short, so you can play several in one evening and continue next time.
- The game was nominated for the Dutch Nederlandse Spellenprijs 2026 award for best advanced game.
Who is Stolpa - Trick-Taking Game for
The game is for one to four players aged 10 and up, and one chapter takes about 20 minutes. Players like it best with four. The rules include special variants for two players and for solo play. The difficulty is moderately easy, but the chapters get harder and harder. It is a good fit for Tolkien fans and lovers of trick-taking games.
What might you not like?
Because you can't talk about your cards, the group sometimes has to work quite hard to figure out what the others intend. You don't play the chapters in random order, so the game comes alive most when you play them in sequence with the same group.
What's in the box
- 37 cards in the main deck (hills, mountains, forests and shadows 1–8, 3 orcs, the White Tower and the Black Tower)
- a chapter 19 card and 4 character cards
- 96 cards for chapters 20–36 in two sealed packs
- 6 rules summary cards
- 11 wooden tokens (the White Tower and the Black Tower, 4 stars, the ring and 4 burden tokens)
