On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the premiere, Empire Strikes Back , we have prepared a special list for you. Star Wars has many board interpretations, a collector’s card game, a few battleships, clones of Monopoly , Strate and Risk . Which of them is the strongest force?
Star Wars: Rebelia
At the beginning, the most extensive game about the fate of a distant galaxy. Star Wars: Rebellion puts us in the middle of the action of the old trilogy.
We stand face to face on opposite sides of the Empire-Rebellion conflict. As commanders of each camp, we give orders to characters known from the Saga, move troops and take control of the planets.
Before starting the game, the Rebel player secretly designates one of the planets as the base’s hiding place. In order for an Imperial player to win, it is necessary to find and destroy it. The rebellion wins when it resists long enough.
Star Wars: Rebellion is a game of hide and seek on a galactic scale. We recruit troops, build ships and defensive structures, develop technologies, sabotage, take hostile commanders, destroy planets with a beam from the Death Star.
Additionally, individual characters have their own personal goals that allow them to play out movie events or change the course of a well-known story.
The game is very well published, with a lot of figures, a huge board, richly illustrated cards, and it is dripping with atmosphere. For Star Wars fans who are not afraid to spend 3-4 hours on a complex game – a must-have.
You can only stick to the combat system, which can be very random. Fortunately, the add-on improves on this aspect.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes
We still expect momentum, but on a smaller scale? I recommend the skirmishes in the game: Empire Attacks . It is a one-against-many game in which one player directs the Imperial forces while the rest divide the rebel team among themselves.
The standard way to play is in the campaign mode. It is a series of interconnected missions, between which we can develop characters (or strengthen the army in the case of the Empire). Each mission is a different tactical map where Rebel heroes must complete a goal before they are overwhelmed by the infinite forces of the Empire.
Empire Strikes in campaign mode gives you the impression of being in an RPG session. Heroes have their own special features and unique equipment, and gain experience. The Imperial player plots and defeats successive enemy forces, trying to stop the bolder plans of the players. However, the game is all about history. Unfortunately, some missions seasoned with a pinch of poor throws can be very difficult for Rebel players to complete, and in these cases the Imperial player must skillfully let go for everyone to have a good time.
The second possible mode of the game is skirmish, in which two teams from the pool of available figures compete without a storyline. In both modes we will meet characters from the Saga, especially if we invest in add-ons, which are plenty.
If the confrontation mode is something for you, I recommend that you also get interested in a full-fledged battle game from the world of Star Wars – Legion .
Star Wars: X-Wing
What if we want to shoot ourselves in outer space? There are two answers: the Armada , which I haven’t had much contact with, I only saw its scale and momentum, and the more accessible X-Wing .
X-Wing is played on the level of fighting groups of fighters (although of course there are also larger battles). As part of the pool of points, we choose the party, ships, their pilots, equipment and start the fight. This takes place on the surface of the table, where we measure the movement with special measures. Plastic ship miniatures are pre-painted, so the game looks good on the table.
Tail sitting, flank attacks, tight maneuvers, dodges, hooks, torpedoes, robots, lasers – this game has everything you could ask for in space combat.
X-Wing works well as a home game for quiet players, but is starting to shine as a tournament game. Each point must be used optimally so that our “schedule” of ships is as strong as possible. This is only a starting point, because tactical skills and knowledge of tricks decide to win.
Star Wars: The Outer Rim
This time we will play the role of mercenaries performing missions for the one who pays the most.
We choose a character (yes, there is Han Solo), one of the two ships, we fly into space and try to get as many fame points as possible. We will receive these for completing missions consisting in delivering goods to the right place or finding specific people (commonly known as head-hunting).
In the meantime, we buy new ships and equipment, gain crew members, flee or fight patrols – all on the modular title map of the galaxy’s Outer Rim.
The Outer Rim under a thick layer of climate is actually a pick and delivery game that is close to the economy games. Fans of rolling with handfuls of dice may be disappointed – after a few games the descriptions on the cards start to repeat and it becomes more and more difficult to obtain the “wow” effect.
If, however, we expect a pleasant game with a lot of replayability (the combination of pilots, crew, equipment is plenty), given in the Star Wars setting , with many known characters and events, we will definitely not be disappointed.
Carcassonne: Star Wars Edition
Finally, something that many people know in the classic version. Instead of building castles, roads and monasteries, Carcasonne: Star Wars explores asteroid fields, trade routes and planets.
The gameplay is again based on adding tiles, placing your men and collecting points for closing areas. In this version, however, we will find … cubes that will be used to fight for influence.
In the Star Wars version, there is no peasant equivalent, and therefore no scoring points for the areas of outer space touching the asteroid fields. Each player has a specific faction whose symbols appear on the tiles – if we occupy the asteroids with their symbol, we will get additional points. Monasteries work a bit differently – that is, here: planets – for which you can fight. And that’s it – the fight. During the conflict, both sides roll the dice and compare the highest values, the loser pawn returns to the owner.
The changes introduced in this version of Carcassonne refresh the title. The ability to capture points and a certain dose of randomness prevent the leader from feeling safe. It adds emotions to the game, unfortunately sometimes also negative.
If we are looking for a proven formula with a small catch, combined with a light atmosphere of Star Wars, Carcassonne: Star Wars will be perfect.