The Lord of the Rings - Journey to Rivendell © 1983 Parker Bros.
The goal of the game is get from Hobbitton to Rivendell in as short a time as possible. As you make your journey to Rivendell you will be pursued by the deadly Nazgul (Ring Wraith), who will attempt to kill you and take the ring. Along the way you can meet various characters from the book, each character will help you in a special way. Although you can simply run straight for Rivendell without exploring the rest of the game, it makes the game rather short and boring. The game much more enjoyable if you attempt to follow the path laid out in the book. This means stopping over in Bree, finding all the various hidden characters, and not using the ring. While the game ending is exactly the same, your enjoyment level (and points) will increase dramatically.
If you reach Rivendell, the screen will flash colors, a tune will play, and your final score will be shown.
Model PB5950
An unreleased prototype.
Lord of the Rings was never released due to two different parties owning the rights to the characters. Tolkien's son owned one set of the rights (to the books), and some company owned the other set of rights (movies, games, and action figures). Parker Brothers was able to get permission from one group, but not the other so the project stalled.
An unused fence graphic was found in the code.
A prototype box also exists.
Programmer: Mark Lesser
Game's ROM.