Bilbo's party opens 'Tolkien by Chapter,' and viewers want all 62
The first chapter of The Lord of the Rings got its own video, beside a sneak peek with board game designer Rob Daviau and Shadow of Mordor on Switch 2.
Nerd of the RingsStory of Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
A Long-expected Party - LOTR Ch. 1 | Tolkien by Chapter
A usual day on Nerd of the Rings brings in around 155,000 views across the whole back catalog. Lately it has been running a little busier than that, close to 190,000, and the channel took in just over a million views in seven days.
The upload with the biggest crowd starts a new project. "A Long-expected Party - LOTR Ch. 1 | Tolkien by Chapter" goes through The Lord of the Rings one chapter at a time, beginning with Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday. The description introduces the book's first villains as the Sackville-Bagginses, and the video leans on a small gallery of Tolkien art, from Alan Lee and John Howe to Ted Nasmith and a sketch by Tolkien himself. It passed 100,000 views within the week. The comments are mostly one request: do every chapter, in order. One viewer has already counted the videos still to come, others are calling dibs on A Conspiracy Unmasked and The Council of Elrond, and a few linger on Bilbo's farewell gifts and the moment he lets the Ring go.
Two other uploads went up. Rob Daviau, the co-founder of Restoration Games and a designer behind Pandemic Legacy, dropped by for a sneak peek at The Lord of the Rings: The King's Gambit. Then came a test of Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War on Switch 2. That one started slowly but is now drawing more daily views than either of the other new videos.
The real workhorse is older. "Life of the Witch-king of Angmar | Tolkien Explained," five weeks old, has passed a million views and still pulls in more each day than all three new uploads combined.
Among books and reading channels, Jack Edwards and Audible are having very big weeks, while fellow Tolkien channels Tolkien Untangled and Men of the West are running about at their usual pace.
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What viewers say
Which chapters?
*ALL OF THEM!!*@t_k_blitz4837See it on YouTubeI just love Bilbo's very poignant gift-giving.
@paulbricklerSee it on YouTubeThis video is so peaceful & honestly a great respite from the chaotic world today. And in a way, you captured the essence of the chapter Tolkien delivered all along. “The comforts of home”. Thank you!
@MiddlearthsSee it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on Nerd of the Rings right now
- Channel
- Nerd of the Rings
- Subscribers
- 1,300,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 1,023,931
- Videos published this week
- 3
- Video published
- September 26, 2026
- Video views so far
- 109,240
- Views on its first day
- 52,632
The numbers
Here is how Nerd of the Rings' week looks in figures.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which game did Rob Daviau co-design that launched the legacy style of board games, with its first season in 2015?
Rob Daviau co-designed Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 with Matt Leacock, and it came out in 2015.
