Star Wars: Rebellion (board game)
Star Wars: Rebellion is an asymmetrical strategy board game created by Corey Konieczka and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2016 inspired by the Star Wars original trilogy.[1][2] Players control either the Galactic Empire, who seek to find the Rebel Alliance base and destroy it, or the Rebel Alliance, who seek to avoid detection by the Galactic Empire while attempting sabotage against the Galactic Empire.
Star Wars: Rebellion box art | |
Designer(s) | Corey Konieczka |
---|---|
Publisher(s) | Fantasy Flight Games |
Publication date | 2016 |
Players | 2–4 |
Playing time | 180–240 minutes |
Random chance | Medium (Dice, Cards) |
Skill(s) required | Strategy Card Management |
Game Overview
Star Wars: Rebellion lets players reenact the epic struggle between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. Players take control of iconic characters from the Star Wars saga, sending them on secret missions and leading troops in combat across the galaxy.
Each of the two factions has very different strategies and objectives. The Rebel Alliance is vastly outnumbered and cannot survive a head-on fight; instead, it must remain hidden and rely on subterfuge, guerrilla tactics, and diplomacy to undermine the Empire. The Rebels win the game by gaining enough support to start a full-scale galactic revolt and overthrow the Empire.
The Galactic Empire is a vast, tyrannical regime that rules many systems throughout the galaxy with an iron fist. The Imperials can easily build terrifying weapons of war in large quantities. Although their forces are many, their only chance of extinguishing the spark of rebellion is to spread throughout the galaxy, quell uprisings, and search for the hidden Rebel base. They win the game by finding where the Rebel base is located and conquering it.
Gameplay
The game is split up into 3 main phases, the assignment phase, the command phase, and the refresh phase. During the assignment phase each player, starting with the Rebel player, assigns their leaders to missions. Next in the command phase each player takes turns revealing missions or activating systems to move units. Finally in the refresh phase each player retrieves all their leaders back to their leader pool, draws two mission cards, the Imperial player draws two probe cards, the Rebel player draws an objective card, the time marker advances one, and units are deployed.
The game ends when either the Imperial player wins by conquering the Rebel base’s system or the Rebel player wins by having the reputation marker and time marker in the same space of the time track.
Components
- 1 Rules Reference and 1 Learn to Play Booklet
- 1 Game Board (split in 2 halves)
- 15 objective Cards
- 25 Leaders with Plastic Stands (12 Imperial, 13 Rebel)
- 3 Destroyed System Markers
- 2 Faction Sheets (1 Imperial, 1 Rebel)
- 68 Mission Cards (39 Imperial, 29 Rebel)
- 27 Subjugation/Imperial Loyalty Markers
- 12 Rebel Loyalty Markers
- 32 Damage Markers (24 single, 8 double)
- 1 Time Marker
- 1 Reputation Marker
- 31 Probe Cards
- 7 Attachment Rings
- 10 Sabotage Markers
- 10 Custom Dice (5 Black, 5 Red)
- 30 Tactic Cards (15 Ground, 15 Space)
- 153 Plastic Miniatures
- 34 Action Cards (16 Imperial, 18 Rebel)
Expansion
The first expansion to Star Wars: Rebellion is Rise of the Empire released in 2017.[3][4][5] This expansion focused on adding characters, units, and missions from Rogue One, the expansion also overhauled the combat system calling the new system Cinematic Combat.
Awards
The game has received multiple awards and honors:
- 2016 UK Games Expo Award for best Board Games with Miniatures.[6]
- Golden Geek Board Game of the Year Nominee
- Golden Geek Best 2-Player Board Game in 2016.[7] Winner
- 2017 Goblin Magnifico Nominee[8]
- 2016 Tric Trac Nominee
- 2016 International Gamers Award - General Strategy: Two-players Nominee[9]
- 2016 Cardboard Republic Immersionist Laurel Nominee[10]
- 2016 Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game Nominee
Reception
The game has generally received positive reviews. Ars Technica has noted that the game "has a vibrant game system at its core"[11], Polygon has described it as an "epic game, faithful to the spirit of the original films, is worth your time"[12] and BGL has mentioned that the game "delivers the most complete Star Wars experience in board games"[13]. Meeple Mountain have also positively commented that the "Star Wars: Rebellion not only fits the theme, it NAILS it".[14]
References
- Anderson, Nate (3 March 2016). "Star Wars: Rebellion review: A fully operational 4-hour board game". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- Hall, Charlie (25 January 2016). "Star Wars: Rebellion is a great board game nearly crippled by an awful manual". Polygon. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- Theel, Charlie (12 August 2017). "Rise of the Empire expands Star Wars: Rebellion in all the right ways". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- Plunkett, Luke (19 October 2017). "Star Wars Rebellion: Rise Of The Empire: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- "Rise of the Empire". Fantasy Flight Games. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- "UKGE AWARDS: Winners 2017". UK Games Expo. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- "BoardGameGeek Golden Geek". Retrieved 9 January 2018.
- "Nomination". La Tana dei Goblin (in Italian). 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- "2016 Nominees - International Gamers Awards". www.internationalgamersawards.net. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- "The Laurels: Best Immersionist Games Of 2016". The Cardboard Republic. 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- "Star Wars: Rebellion review: A fully operational 4-hour board game". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- "Star Wars: Rebellion is a great board game nearly crippled by an awful manual". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- "Best Star Wars Board Games (Reviewed Nov. 2018) - Top 10 Revealed". Board Games Land. 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- "Star Wars Rebellion Review - Corey Konieczka | Meeple Mountain". Meeple Mountain. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
External links
- Star Wars: Rebellion product page at Fantasy Flight Games
- Star Wars: Rebellion at BoardGameGeek
- Star Wars: Rebellion (Fantasy Flight Games) on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki