Star Wars: Rebellion (board game)

Last updated
Star Wars: Rebellion
Star Wars Rebellion (Board Game) Box Art.png
Star Wars: Rebellion box art
Designers Corey Konieczka
Publishers Fantasy Flight Games
Publication2016
Players2–4
Playing time180–240 minutes
ChanceMedium (Dice, Cards)
Skills Strategy
Card Management

Star Wars: Rebellion is an asymmetrical strategy board game designed by Corey Konieczka and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2016. The game's setting is inspired by the original Star Wars trilogy. [1] [2] Players control either the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance. Each player pursues a different path to victory, with the Galactic Empire playing seeking to find the Rebel Alliance player's base and destroy it, while the Rebel Alliance player attempts to avoid detection by the Galactic Empire and sabotage their efforts. The game received highly positive reviews and won numerous awards.

Contents

Game Overview

Star Wars: Rebellion lets players reenact the "epic conflict" between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. [3] Players take control of various prominent characters from the Star Wars saga, sending them on secret missions and leading troops in combat across the galaxy.

The two factions have 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

Each game round is split up into three 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 Rebel player moves their reputation marker towards the time marker by completing objectives.

If, usually during the command phase, a system contains both Rebel and Imperial units in either the ground or space arenas, then combat takes place until both arenas contain only one side's units. Combat involves rolling dice to determine hits, and playing tactic cards to perform additional actions in attack and in defense.

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

Expansion

The first expansion to Star Wars: Rebellion is Rise of the Empire released in 2017. [5] [6] [7] 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. The expansion was nominated for the 2017 Golden Geek Best Board Game Expansion. [8]

Awards

The game has received multiple awards and honors:

Reception

The game has received positive reviews. Ars Technica has noted that the game "has a vibrant game system at its core", [1] Polygon has described it as an "epic game, faithful to the spirit of the original films" and "is worth your time" [2] and BGL has mentioned that the game "delivers the most complete Star Wars experience in board games". [14] Meeple Mountain have also positively commented that the "Star Wars: Rebellion not only fits the theme, it NAILS it". [15] As of January 2022, Star Wars Rebellion is ranked among the top ten games on BoardGameGeek, with a mean rating of 8.4/10 according to 26,000 ratings. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-wing fighter</span> Fictional fighter craft

The X-wing starfighter is a name applied to a family of fictional spacecraft manufactured by the Incom Corporation and later the Incom-FreiTek Corporation from the Star Wars franchise. Named for the distinctive shape made when its s-foils (wings) are in attack position, the X-wing was a class of starfighter used by the Rebel Alliance in their conflict with the Galactic Empire. It made its theatrical debut, as the T-65B model, in Star Wars (1977) as the spacecraft piloted by Luke Skywalker and the Red Squadron when Luke destroyed the Death Star. The starfighter featured extensively in the Star Wars original trilogy and in the Expanded Universe that followed, and has been merchandised as a variety of toys and models.

<i>Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance</i> 1999 video game

Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance, also known as simply X-Wing Alliance, is a space simulation video game, the sequel to both Star Wars: TIE Fighter and Star Wars: X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. X-Wing Alliance presents the story of the Azzameen family, a family of space traders. The player assumes the role of Ace Azzameen, the youngest of the Azzameen children, juggling military duty as a fighter pilot for the Rebel Alliance, and allegiance to his family, flying larger heavily armed freighters for the family business, amid a bloody family feud and in the larger context of a galactic civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4X</span> Genre of strategy-based video and board games

4X is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and includes both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay generally involves building an empire. Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of military and non-military routes to supremacy.

<i>Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds</i> 2001 video game

Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is a real-time strategy video game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by LucasArts. It was released in November 2001. An expansion pack, Clone Campaigns, was released on May 14, 2002, adding two new factions and campaigns. Later that year, both Galactic Battlegrounds and Clone Campaigns were released in a box set, Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds Saga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Days of Wonder</span> Board game publisher

Days of Wonder is a board game publisher founded in 2002 and owned by Asmodee Group since 2014. Days of Wonder distributes its games to 25 countries. It specializes in German-style board games and has branched out to include some online games. Days of Wonder has published games in several languages including English, Dutch, French, German, Russian, and Greek. Days of Wonder was co-founded by Eric Hautemont, Mark Kaufmann and Yann Corno.

<i>Star Wars: Empire at War</i> 2006 real-time strategy video game

Star Wars: Empire at War is a 2006 real-time strategy video game developed by Petroglyph Games and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Set between Episode III and Episode IV, it focuses on the fledgling struggle between the Empire and the Rebels. It uses Petroglyph's game engine Alamo. In October 2006, an expansion titled Star Wars: Empire at War: Forces of Corruption was released. On May 31, 2014, online functionality, including network multiplayer and wireless chat, was discontinued after Glu Mobile's purchase of GameSpy and the subsequent shutdown of all game servers. As of September 1, 2017, the multiplayer has been re-enabled on the Steam version as well as workshop support being added.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twilight Imperium</span> Science-fiction themed board game

Twilight Imperium is a strategy board game produced by Fantasy Flight Games in the genre of science fiction and space opera. It was designed by Christian T. Petersen and was first released in 1997. The game is in its fourth edition (2017), which has large changes over previous editions. It is known for the length of its gameplay, and its in-depth strategy.

<i>Star Wars: TIE Fighter</i> 1994 video game

Star Wars: TIE Fighter is a 1994 Star Wars space flight simulator and space combat video game, a sequel in the Star Wars: X-Wing series. It places the player in the role of an Imperial starfighter pilot during events that occur between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race for the Galaxy</span> Card game

Race for the Galaxy is a card game designed by Thomas Lehmann. It was released in 2007 by Rio Grande Games. Its theme is to build galactic civilizations via game cards that represent worlds or technical and social developments. It accommodates two to four players by default although expansions allow for up to six players, as well as solo play. The game uses iconography in place of language in some places, with complex powers also having a text description. While appreciated by experienced players for being concise, some new players find the icons difficult to learn and to decipher.

<i>Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game</i>

Star Wars: X-Wing is a miniature war game designed by Jay Little and produced by Fantasy Flight Games that was released at Gen Con during August 17, 2012. It features tactical ship-to-ship dogfighting between various types of starfighters set in the fictional Star Wars universe. The game is said to be easy to learn and quick to play taking anywhere between 15 and 60 minutes from first set-up to battle's end. Each round both players give all their ships movement orders without knowing what their opponent is doing before resolving these orders while trying to shoot down enemy craft. On May 1, 2018, FFG announced X-Wing Second Edition, to be released on September 13, 2018. Although the physical models are transferable, an entire new set of rules, templates, and markers have been produced and are available through a new core set, waves, and conversion packs.

The Star Wars Roleplaying Game is a tabletop role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe, first published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2012. It consists of different standalone cross-compatible games where each one is a separate themed experience. The sourcebooks support games set from the Clone Wars era to the original Star Wars trilogy era; there is limited support for the Star Wars sequel trilogy era. Since 2020, the game line has been maintained by Asmodee's subsidiary Edge Studio.

<i>Lords of Waterdeep</i> Board game

Lords of Waterdeep is a German-style board game designed by Peter Lee and Rodney Thompson and published by Wizards of the Coast in 2012. The game is set in Waterdeep, a fictional city in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. Players take the roles of the masked rulers of Waterdeep, deploying agents and hiring adventurers to complete quests and increase their influence over the city.

<i>Mansions of Madness</i> Flight games

Mansions of Madness is a tabletop strategy game designed by Corey Konieczka and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2011. Players explore a locale filled with Lovecraftian horrors and solve a mystery.

<i>Freedom in the Galaxy</i> Science fiction board game published in 1979

Freedom in the Galaxy, subtitled "The Star Rebellions, 5764 AD", is a space opera board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1979.

<i>Azul</i> (board game) Abstract strategy board game

Azul is an abstract strategy board game designed by Michael Kiesling and released by Plan B Games in 2017. Based on Portuguese tiles called azulejos, in Azul players collect sets of similarly colored tiles which they place on their player board. When a row is filled, one of the tiles is moved into a square pattern on the right side of the player board, where it garners points depending on where it is placed in relation to other tiles on the board.

Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition is the second edition of the miniature war game designed by Jay Little and produced by Fantasy Flight Games that was first announced on May 1, 2018, with the first release on September 13 of the same year. On November 16, 2020, Atomic Mass Games announced that it would be responsible for X-wing and its two sister games, Legion and Armada.

Roll for the Galaxy is a dice game of building space empires for 2 to 5 players. Designed by Wei-Hwa Huang and Tom Lehmann, it was published by Rio Grande Games in 2014. Player dice represent their empire's populace, whom the players use to develop new technologies, settle worlds, and trade. It is a dice version of an older board game Race for the Galaxy.

<i>Space Empires 4X</i> Science fiction board wargame

Space Empires 4X is a 4X science fiction board wargame developed by Jim Krohn and published by GMT Games in 2011. It has received two expansions: Close Encounters (2012) and Replicators (2018), with a third one, All Good Things, in development.

<i>Roll Player</i> Famtasy board game

Roll Player is a euro-style board game designed by Keith Matejka and published in 2016 by Thunderworks Games. In the game, players compete to design the best fantasy adventurer, through dice rolling and card drafting mechanics.

References

  1. 1 2 Anderson, Nate (3 March 2016). "Star Wars: Rebellion review: A fully operational 4-hour board game". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Hall, Charlie (25 January 2016). "Star Wars: Rebellion is a great board game nearly crippled by an awful manual". Polygon. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Star Wars: Rebellion". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  4. ↑ "Star Wars Rebellion". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ↑ Theel, Charlie (12 August 2017). "Rise of the Empire expands Star Wars: Rebellion in all the right ways". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Plunkett, Luke (19 October 2017). "Star Wars Rebellion: Rise Of The Empire: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Rise of the Empire". Fantasy Flight Games. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "2017 Golden Geek Best Board Game Expansion Nominee | Board Game Honor | BoardGameGeek". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2022-01-24.
  9. ↑ "UKGE AWARDS: Winners 2017". UK Games Expo. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "BoardGameGeek Golden Geek" . Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Nomination". La Tana dei Goblin (in Italian). 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  12. ↑ "2016 Nominees - International Gamers Awards". www.internationalgamersawards.net. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  13. ↑ "The Laurels: Best Immersionist Games Of 2016". The Cardboard Republic. 2017-03-21. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  14. ↑ "Best Star Wars Board Games (Reviewed Nov. 2018) - Top 10 Revealed". Board Games Land. 2018-10-12. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  15. ↑ "Star Wars Rebellion Review - Corey Konieczka | Meeple Mountain". Meeple Mountain. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.