The downloadable English rulebook for The Two Towers: Trick-Taking Game presents a story sequence numbered 19–36 and divides it into two parts. This guide explains how to use that structure without reproducing chapter text or spoiling each objective. The game is standalone, so you can begin at Chapter 19 even if you have never played the earlier Fellowship game.
How many chapters are there?
The publisher’s current product page describes a 17-chapter game. Its publisher-authored English rulebook says 18 chapters and numbers them 19–36, which is 18 consecutive numbers. We cannot reconcile the marketing copy with the booklet; use the chapter cards in your copy as the final check for your edition. Our chapter ranges follow the downloaded English rulebook checked October 4, 2026. This discrepancy should not be turned into a claim that an expansion is missing.
Part 1: Chapters 19–28
Chapter 19 teaches the initial 37-card deck: four suits at ranks 1–8, three Orcs and two Tower cards. The White Tower holder takes Aragorn; the chapter also requires Boromir. Later Part 1 chapters change the available characters, goals, deals and sometimes the deck or an event. Some introduce a tuck setup action: move a card facedown below your character, outside your hand and follow-suit duties, until you return it. Other event text can alter timing, so apply the printed card over the generic trick rules.
Chapter 22, for example, has a Fangorn Forest modification with Forest ranks extending beyond the starting deck’s normal 1–8. Chapter 27 requires a specific Tower interaction in its chapter notes. These examples show why a one-size-fits-all setup would be misleading; they are not an exhaustive chapter solution list. Keep later story cards in their intended order until you reach them.
Part 2 begins with Chapter 29
The rules change the basic deck by removing one rank-8 card from each of the four suits and all three Orcs, then adding five Rings and two Weariness cards. The White Tower is set aside for the opening Tower event. Frodo and the 1 of Rings become central to the setup. Later events can change exactly which cards and roles are used, so follow the current chapter card before dealing.
Rings have their own lead and trick rules; the 1 of Rings can choose to win a trick even against a Tower. Weariness cards can only lead; if one must be played while following, the chapter fails. This reverses part of the instinct learned from Orc disposal in Part 1. Read the strategy guide for how to rethink trick tempo across the two parts.
Short chapters, long chapters and retries
A short chapter asks the table to meet the selected characters’ goals in one round, including the starred required roles. A long chapter uses multiple rounds to complete the roster of characters; required roles are selected every round. A deal can be replayed if the group fails under the rulebook’s chapter procedure. Check the chapter card’s own victory line before choosing roles, since not every chapter has the same end condition. The box includes ribbon markers so a group can stop and resume the story later.
What is The Road Goes Ever On?
This is the rulebook’s optional replay mode after the story. It uses the stated subset of character cards, rebuilds the deck as in Chapter 19, always includes Aragorn, and randomly selects additional characters: eight for two or three players, or twelve for four. It plays as a long chapter, giving you varied goal combinations instead of rereading the campaign in order. Check the mode page for the eligible cards and player-count procedure.
Do you need The Fellowship of the Ring box?
No. Office Dog calls The Two Towers standalone, and all normal Two Towers chapters use this box. The optional Road Goes Ever On mode can include certain characters from The Fellowship of the Ring: Trick-Taking Game if you own it; that compatibility does not turn the earlier box into a prerequisite. There is no separate Two Towers expansion described by the current product page or the rulebook we checked. If you are shopping, distinguish this 2026 cooperative card game from other Tolkien games with similar names.
Explore this game: Overview · Rules · Strategy · Solo and two players · Chapters and replay modes.
Sources and scope: Office Dog’s English rulebook (PDF, publisher-authored copy) and Office Dog’s product page, checked October 4, 2026. Follow the chapter and event cards in your copy for exceptions. Examples and planning advice are editorial analysis of the published rules, not a claim of firsthand testing.