Over the years there have been a lot of Star Wars board games, ranging from the reskin of Monopoly (in all the guises that takes) to starship battles in Star Wars: X-Wing. Recently, my son and I have really enjoyed Star Wars: Outer Rim, travelling around taking on smuggling, bounty hunting and a whole array of things to win the game. And it’s fun, no question, but I always wanted something a bit more.
My game group meet about once a month to have an entire evening of playing a game and this year there has been one game that none of us can stop playing, that every time the question comes up of what we should play, it’s unanimous, Battlestar Galactica. A rare (often called grail) game that I was very fortunate to get my hands on that we have fallen in love with. Games take between three and six hours, so it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. But what makes this game so unique and special? It’s the cinematic feel, the narrative that follows throughout the game to create experiences that are truly memorable. Each of us can discuss every single game we have played of Battlestar Galactica, from the events we have to endure, to who the Cylon’s were, to if we ever reached Kodal. It feels more than a game, it feels like you are living through the story. This is what I wanted from a Star Wars game, something like Battlestar Galactica that was both memorable and cinematic.
Looking into Battlestar Galactica, I found the designer to be a man named Corey Konieczka. A man, who strangely enough, had co-designed Star Wars: Outer Rim, Star Wars: Destiny (which we adored) and also Star Wars: Rebellion. Star Wars: Rebellion had come onto my radar because of its rating. On Board Game Geek it is ranked the sixth best thematic game of all time, and the eighth best game overall; I mean that’s one very high rating! What had always stopped me from exploring it further was it was a game that took four hours, and it was only for two players, meaning it would just be my son and I who could play it (ok, technically there’s a four player option but looking into it everyone says this is a two player game). When I found out it was the same designer as our beloved Battlestar Galactica, I knew the time had come to find out what all the fuss was about. Could this be the Star Wars game I had always wanted?
After watching a few “how to” videos on YouTube and finding a night with endless hours, I got to work on setting the game up. Make no mistake, this game is big! Our whole dining table was taken up with not one, but two boards, that combine to give a view of a galaxy far, far away. But what a view! The game board is incredible, with locations from the first two trilogies and even Mandalore and Ilum from the wider television series. I hadn’t even begun to play the game and I was already getting the sense that this was something else entirely. With the map done, I started to get the units ready; miniatures of some of the crew ships, vehicles and people in the Star Wars universe. All of them look incredible, from the rebel troopers and stormtroopers all the way to the super star destroyers and Corellian corvettes. They really help to bring you into the galaxy and feel like you are commanding the forces of either the Rebels or Imperials. Once everything was set-up (and I had the Star Wars soundtrack playing in the background) – my son (Charlie) and I were ready to go.
Each player picks a side, either Rebels or the Imperial. Charlie had no qualms about being the Empire and why would he? On the starting board he already had Star Destroyers, AT-ST’s, troopers, not to mention a Death Star! As I surveyed my forces, they were, well meagre. A couple of ships and troops. I mean I don’t want to sound down or anything, but I looked at the starting forces and I felt the pressure was on. But then again, is not that the point? The Rebels are not brilliantly equipped, they are fighting against a much more powerful force, the tactics they do use have to be vastly different to that of the Empire that can use brute force. I better also mention how you win the game. As well as setting everything up, the Rebels have to choose a base that will be a hidden base (I chose Ilum). Very simply, the Rebels have to keep their base secret and safe until time runs out (which can change depending on completed objectives) while the Empire has to try and find the base and destroy it. Through the course of the game, the Imperial player receives probe cards (because of course they’ve sent probe droids out) that tell them where the Rebel base is not, limiting their search parameters.
We had not even actually started a turn at this point, yet the theme of the game was coming through strong and true. Charlie and I were marveling at the design, how it all fitted beautifully with the Original Trilogy, how it all felt like Star Wars. It was the same feeling we got when playing Battlestar Galactica. Each of us began with our starting hands and leaders, leaders who we could assign to do tasks or to move our troops around the galaxy. It all started quite simply while we found our footing and then combat started to erupt!
We had battles on Kashyyk and Rodia, with the rebels taking a little ground but then losing it as my son brought star destroyers in (I only had a couple of X-Wing’s!). We had the Empire subjugating planets to increase their ship and troop production while I desperately tried to get more ships to try and combat star destroyers and Death Stars! Each turn we revealed new leaders who we were both familiar with, at one point I drew Wedge Antilles who led Rogue Squadron on a mission to Geonosis against Darth Vader, blowing up some of my son’s ship production (I admit it – I cheered). My son then got his revenge by capturing Han Solo, meaning I had to make a rescue attempt. Every so often, Charlie and I would be planning our moves or moving our troops, humming to the music that was playing in the background, both of us with a wide smile on our faces.
Things finally came to a head when my son found the base. Thankfully, I had a card to move the Rebel base, but my son came into attack with Vader and his Death Star. Now we realised after the game, that the move my son made he couldn’t have done at the time, so the Rebel base would have moved, and my son graciously admitted I would have won, but at the time we were so into the game we had not realised our mistake. So, my son came in with his Death Star and I had an X-Wing – an X-Wing and a card that let me try and blow up a Death Star. Unfortunately, I am no Luke Skywalker and after three – yes, three! – attempts at shooting a proton torpedo down a small thermal exhaust port (it’s harder than it looks), the Death Star was still standing and blew my small Rebel base on Ilum to asteroids. The Empire had won!
Did either of us care that we got the rules wrong for our first play through? Of course not, there are a lot of rules here to learn and it can seem very daunting for a first game. But after a couple of rounds, the rules flow perfectly, everything makes sense, the iconography is clear, and you can get really stuck into the best bits that this game has to offer. What I’m hoping is coming through this review is the theme, because that was what made this so enjoyable. Every card, every leader, made it feel like we were playing through the films, like we were the heroes (or villains) trying to stop the other. It’s the same story but with our own little twist to it. So, Han was captured by Boba Fett and not put into carbonite, the Rebel base was on Ilum not Yavin, it was still the story we knew with our own unique differences. This is exactly the Star Wars game I wanted and the look on my son’s face told me he had absolutely loved it. It was an experience, one that had taken us three hours, but we felt like we had played Star Wars.
Talking after, Charlie and I said there were many similarities to Battlestar Galactica in the design, obviously because of both being designed by Corey Konieczka. It is clear that he has a real love for this franchise (and for that matter Battlestar Galactica) and understands how to bring this cinematic feel to a game. Charlie and I are both eager to play again, but this time as the other side as we both feel that will bring a whole different style of play and game for the other. Added to that, there’s also an expansion, with more ships, more leaders with a lot of focus on Rogue One, sounds perfect (particularly with Andor out). Having looked for the perfect Star Wars game, I think I can say my hunt is over. This is a game on an epic scale that creates a Star Wars feel like no other, no wonder it is so highly regarded by gamers and fans. It was what the best board games do, create a memorable experience that you want to replay again and again. If anyone ever asks for a recommendation, after one play, this is definitely the top of my Star Wars list. If you game and love Star Wars, this needs to be added to your collection.
