Reiner Knizia, an esteemed tabletop designer with over 600 board games under his belt, will release a new Middle-earth-themed title in 2025. The Hobbit: There and Back Again was announced by publisher Office Dog Games on April 11. It describes Knizia's newest game as a "competitive adventure game where players draft dice to make pathways, collect resources, and perform actions that help them to reach their chapter goal".
The chapter-based gameplay is just one part of There and Back Again's storybook theme. Each of the game's players (one to four) plays the game on a personal dry-erase 'adventure board', which is printed to look and function like a thick children's picture book.
Speaking of stories, the chapters of the game are apparently set in eight of the most iconic scenes from J.R.R Tolkien's original novel. Office Dog Games says that includes "overcoming Trolls, Goblins, Wargs, Giant Spiders, and an encounter with the dragon Smaug".
This may sound like a narrative-heavy Lord of the Rings board game at first, but Office Dog Games promises that Knizia's "mathematical genius" will be on show. While the game is reportedly suitable for young gamers, it also apparently offers plenty of strategy, with open drafting and resource management mechanics "posing challenging puzzles". There and Back Again also promises a hard mode with increased complexity and a solo mode designed by Marceline Colangeli.
Demo games will be taking place at BGG Con Spring, and advance copies will be playable (and buyable) at Gen Con 2025. Reiner Knizia himself will also be attending Essen Spiel in October, apparently so he can sign copies of There And Back Again.
If you can't make it to any conventions this year, There And Back Again will be available at retail by Fall 2025. Asmodee currently lists copies for a pre-order price of $29.99, with a release date of September 26. The original announcement post also mentions that participating game stores will be selling the game with a custom d12 with Cirth numerals.
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