This game is based on the public domain game "Mau Mau", which is basically the same as "Crazy Eights", but it has some twists: There is always a location card active providing an ongoing special rule (the location will change several times during a game), and the One Ring card is not played to the discard pile, but in front of a player and can be stolen by other players. Being the ring bearer will give you points at the end of the round, but it can hamper you during the round, so it's a bit of a risk. This set can be combined with the Mordor set. Or each can be played on their own. The two are not just reskins of each other. They actually have different rules (while sharing the basic Crazy Eights mechanism). The covenant formed around Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn was known to have discord, and in Herr der Ringe Mau Mau: Freie Völker you can determine who in the group has the final say.