Star Wars: Imperial Assault
Imperial Assault casts you and your friends into the climatic events following the Death Star’s destruction above Yavin 4, and offers two full game experiences within the Star Wars saga.
60m - 120m
2 - 5 Players
Ages 14+
alenen
1st plays: This is a refined version of the Descent 2.0 system with a better theme. I really wanted to like Descent, but the hand of take-that cards always felt jarring, and the long turns caused it to drag a bit. Threaded actions and less gotcha's speed up the game and make for a positive experience. I do wish there were more Jedi/Sith though. 2nd plays: We played this multiple times in one night, and the campaign was interesting, each scenario was different, and not quite the frantic pace of Descent. It's still a race to complete objectives, but slightly less so, and still a very tight margin for error.
ajpl
Where X-Wing drops you into the cockpit of iconic Star Wars snubfighters and Armada puts you in command of entire fleets, Imperial Assault takes you right down to the adventures on the ground that are so central to Star Wars. Both sides are incredibly fun to play, with the ragtag band of heroes earning experience and accomplishing missions while the Imperial player deploys all the might of the Empire to stop them. The box is also two games in one, and the skirmish ruleset is nothing to sneeze at.
adamken47
The only game that I have painted the miniatures for. That should show how much I enjoy it. The joy of Star Wars distilled in a box. Many adventure games and dungeon crawlers can become over-full of book-keeping and die-modifications, to the point in which it can feel exhausting. Some players greatly enjoy this aspect of gaming. However, it just wouldn't feel right to have a Star Wars game with the same sort of barrier to entrance. I think Fantasy Flight has done a wonderful job of streamlining the dungeon experience and creating a game that heavily suggests the feeling of a Star Wars skirmish. The amount of gameplay and longevity is also incredible, supporting a campaign mode with enough story and progression to feel depth, as well as a fast-paced skirmish mode that is great for little one-offs. The support for the main game, through miniature expansions, is also admirable and the amount of content you receive in cards and skirmish scenarios justify the price and show that Fantasy Flight is creating win-win situations for the company and for fans.