As Gen Con approaches, we want to be transparent about where The Lord of the Rings: Fate of the Fellowship™ is regarding availability at the event and the shipping of direct pre-orders for our US customers (including hobby retail).
In response to damages found in copies of the game in other regions, it came to our attention that our factory did not properly pack the game based on our specifications. Due to the extra space in the box to store the constructed dice tower, packing paper should have been included to keep components from shifting in transit. Because this packing paper is missing, many of the oversized cards experienced creasing and bends.
To provide players with the quality gaming experience Z-Man Games is known for, we will be delaying the US release until we have a solution in place for replacing these damaged cards. Our team is actively working with our factory to expedite replacement components.
Gen Con will still have a limited number of copies available for sale each day, as well as ticketed events and demos at booth 1109. Each copy sold at Gen Con will have been hand-inspected by the Z-Man and Asmodee USA team to ensure no damages, then resealed with clear stickers (for those inspected on site) or rewrapped (for those inspected at the US warehouse).
We appreciate your patience and understanding and will provide a global solution for damaged cards as soon as possible.
