Published Oct 27, 2026, 6:00 PM EDT

Sam covers TV, movies, games and books at Polygon, making recommendations about what to watch and play while interviewing actors, writers, and designers about their work. She has spent 15 years working as a journalist and critic, with bylines across numerous publications including IGN, GamesRadar+, The A.V. Club, The Verge, and Windows Central.

The Return of the King Trick-Taking Game releases in February

A new Lord of the Rings game is making players cry

Image: New Line Cinema

There have been an enormous number of tabletop adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings , but few capture the story so well and in such an accessible fashion as Bryan Bornmueller’s The Lord of the Rings Trick-Taking Game . A version based on The Fellowship of the Ring was published in 2024, and it sees players work together with limited information to fulfill missions based on the book’s biggest moments.…