Table of Contents
Top 10 Best Star Wars Board Games in 2024 - Ranked and Reviewed
With the recent release of the Mandalorian TV series, everyone seems to be talking about Star Wars. The upsurge in popularity and new fans has meant that every second day there is a new licensed Star Wars product released on the market and board games are no exception.
Over the last few decades, hundreds of Star Wars board games have been developed and sold. Some of these are complete flops, while others are some of the best and most notable board games available.
It can be hard to tell which is which, so I have decided to write this article about what I think are the best Star Wars board games and why.
These are games that are not only super fun to play, but also ooze the Star Wars theme and will appeal to all different types of players – from the casual gamer to the hobbyist.
Whatever type of game you are looking for, if you are a fan of Star Wars and love playing board games – there will be a game that is perfect for you in this list.
The Best Star Wars Board Games in 2024
1. Star Wars: Rebellion
Players: 2 – 4 (really only 2)
Duration: 3 – 4 hours
Star Wars: Rebellion is a gigantic board game of massive proportions! The first thought I had when the game arrived from Amazon was “This box is HUGE!” and when I opened it up, it was obvious why.
The game is played on not one, but two boards, comes with over 153 miniatures, eight different decks of cards, 25 leader standees, 3 ‘destroyed system’ markers, 7 attachment rings and 10 custom dice.
If you can’t tell by now… the game is going to be very DEEP. But if you are a hobbyist gamer who loves an epic campaign, then this game will not disappoint.
Rebellion is loosely based on the Star Wars video game of the same name, requires a large amount of table real estate and a little over 3 hours to play.
Gameplay
While the sheer number of game components and size of this game can be rather intimidating, the gameplay of Rebellion is actually deceptively simple.
The game is focused around the epic conflict between the Empire and the Rebellion during the Galactic civil war.
Players battle each other as one side takes control of the Empire while the other plays as the Rebel Alliance. Players need to command ships, strategize troop movement and maintain reputation among different star systems in order to win.
Play takes place in rounds which are tracked on the board. The win condition for the Empire is to locate and destroy the secret Rebel base while the Rebels goal is to increase their reputation and win the hearts and allegiance of different star systems and races of the Galaxy to then overwhelm and defeat the Empire.
The game is asymmetrical in that the Empire heavily outnumber the Rebels in fire power, whereas the Rebels have a kick start to their reputation.
While Rebellion is a very deep and intricate game, when you boil it down there are really only two major gameplay systems – Characters and combat.
Each player gets to control certain leaders, which are iconic characters from the original trilogy. As the game progresses more of these leaders become available to both sides.
Players need to strategically move their characters around the Galaxy, each trying to complete their own missions and objectives to further the cause of their side.
On a given turn Darth Vader may travel to Corellia to supervise the production line of the Star Destroyer while Princess Leia visits Mandalore on a diplomatic mission to gain support for the Rebellion. Additional characters can then be moved to oppose them. A quick role of the dice determines if they succeed or not.
As the Rebel player you get control X-Wings, T-47 Speeders and leaders like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo.
On the other hand, as the Imperial player you get to maneuver huge Star Destroyers, Death Stars and legions of Stormtroopers as well as iconic characters such as Darth Vader.
Star Wars: Rebellion is a tactical and strategic game which means it is not fast paced. Patience is rewarded as players wait to play out a surprise attack or pull off that ‘one move’ that will gain them an advantage in the game.
As time passes the Rebels slowly edge closer to victory as the Imperial Army seeks to find clues that take them one step closer to discovering the hidden base.
Bottom Line
Star Wars: Rebellion is an amazing thematic board game that is perfect for the hobbyist who likes tactical strategy games.
The game pace can be quite slow and it requires a pretty hefty time commitment. But the size of the game and the detail is spectacular – it really feels like you are in the Star Wars universe.
The feeling of being able to out think and trap your opponent is one of the best feelings.
I will say one thing – the game is best enjoyed with another Star Wars fan. If you are playing with someone who is familiar with, and a fan of the Star Wars universe you will find yourselves becoming deeply immersed in the game!
Pros
- Massive scale board game with highly thematic game components
- Component quality is top tier
- Suited for the tactical board game hobbyist
- Star Wars theme is brilliant
Cons
- Not for board game newbies
- Very long set up and game time
- The game is very deep and will take a bit to get used to
2. Star Wars: Imperial Assault
Players: 2 – 5
Duration: 120mins
Star Wars: Imperial Assault is THE BEST dungeon crawl style Star Wars board game. In fact it is so good I’ve even included it in my list of the top 10 best dungeon crawl board games over all.
The game is a Star Wars reimplementation of the bestselling game Descent: Journeys In the Dark and utilizes the mechanics of the game with the Star Wars theme painted over top of it perfectly.
Imperial Assault takes place in the civil war between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance after the destruction of the death star.
One player plays as the Empire while all the other players play as the Rebels. The game is super fun and in my experience is even enjoyed by people that aren’t HUGE Star Wars buffs!
Gameplay
The game comes with two modes of play – a quickplay arcade style game or a campaign mode. For this article I will be focusing on the campaign mode, which has more of the story elements from the Star Wars universe and includes player progression.
At the start of the game players need to choose which player will play as the Galactic Empire and verse the rest of the players who will play as Rebels.
Once decided players get the choice to play as one of their favorite characters from the Star Wars movies, with each character having its own special abilities and unique traits (e.g. The Storm Troopers ‘re-roll’ dice mechanic).
Throughout the game players need to work their way through mission objectives – the objectives of the Rebel players will be in stark contrast to the Empire player as their goal is generally to make the Empire player fail their mission and vice versa.
Upon completion of a mission – both sides are given resources they can use to level up their characters and buy weapons etc – with the side who won the mission objective receiving a bonus.
All missions in game are linked thematically to one another. The game follows the format of ‘If the Rebels win then the next mission is X otherwise it will be Y’ – so you get a constant flow and the game feels connected.
The game components are high quality, and like Descent – the dungeon tiles are hugely detailed and feature beautiful artwork.
Like all dungeon crawl board games – the game is about immersion and the experience you have while playing and Star Wars: Imperial Assault nails it!
Bottom Line
The character and mission progression mixed with the theme, beautiful components and map tiles makes Star Wars: Imperial Assault a deeply engaging and immersive game. It really is an amazing dungeon crawl experience and is one of the best Star Wars board games available.
Pros
- Really cool miniature pieces
- Two game modes
- Quality tiles, cards and dice
- Plays a lot like Descent – if you love descent you will love this game
- Battle mode can be played solo
Cons
- Long play time
- Can be a bit unbalanced at times – not as bad as other games
3. Star Wars: Legion
Players: 2
Duration: 60mins – 120mins
If you love miniature skirmish style war games like Warhammer or Infinity. Then Star Wars: Legion is the game for you.
The game is as much about getting the miniatures perfectly painted, terrain dioramas set up and coming up with the perfect army list as it is about actually playing the game.
A huge part of Star Wars: Legion is about collecting – and I’ll be honest, my miniatures from the game spend most of their time on display in my office rather than being played with!
Star Wars: Legion is the most aesthetically detailed Star Wars board game there is. Period.
Gameplay
The game is solely focused on ground battles within the Star Wars universe. Each player takes on the role of a commander in the Rebel Alliance or Galactic Empire ground forces.
Unfortunately to play the game competitively you will need to invest a bit of money in the game to get a decent army. The starter set includes 33 models, made mostly of troops like Storm troopers, some vehicles and the 2 commanders – Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.
The game is, like most miniature based war games, board free so and is played with a typical ruler-based play. This allows you to create custom made terrains and take your gaming any direction you like.
Want to fight a desert style battle on Tatooine or a jungle battle on Naboo? The choice is entirely up to you and is only limited by your imagination.
The game uses a command and control style mechanic where, if you are familiar with Fantasy Flight Games, have elements of uncertainty whereby it hides each players system of orders (which is the entire backbone of the game).
The game is broken down into six rounds, each round consisting of players alternating unit activations.
At the beginning of each round, players each select a command card which will dictate which player gets to activate first and which specific units they can choose to activate (all other units will activate randomly).
Units that are activated are able to carry out two actions such as movement, attacking or acquiring an aim token.
Attacking and defending in game are determined by dice (a quick note here… the number of dice [3] that come with the starter set just is not enough – additional expansions and dice will need to be purchased).
There are many different and sometimes complex rules that come with the game, such as a line of site mechanic which requires multiple steps to determine who can shoot which units, at what range, and with which weapons as well as a system of suppression which dictates how troops can move when they are under fire.
However, overall Legion is very intuitive, and for a miniature style skirmish game – is actually beginner friendly compared to some others (albeit probably not so friendly on your wallet).
The game is an absolute masterpiece. The gameplay is fun and fine-tuned, but the real boon to this game is the miniatures – they are incredibly detailed and once painted, look incredible with their minimalist Star Wars aesthetic.
Bottom Line
Star Wars: Legion is a skirmish game through and through. What it lacks in campaign and story, it makes up for in beautifully detailed and themed Star Wars miniatures.
As a skirmish game, the rules and actual game play are intuitive and fine-tuned and is actually great to play – even for beginners.
Pros
- Detailed and highly thematic miniatures
- Great for miniature war game newbies
- Great minimalist Star Wars aesthetic
- Gameplay is intuitive and well thought out
Cons
- Requires more than just the basic starter set to play
- No board – players need to create the landscape for play
4. Star Wars: Armada
Players: 2
Duration: 120mins
Star Wars: Armada is a 2 player Star Wars capital ship combat game. It is based on the hugely popular Star Wars: X-Wing game which appears later in this article. Unlike X-Wing, which focuses more on dog fighting, Armada is more comparable to an all-out space war…. And it’s epic!
The game is to capital space combat as Star Wars: Legion is to ground based combat – it has a starter set and additional ships you can buy with hugely detailed and perfectly pre-painted miniatures such as the Star Destroyers, MC30c Frigates, TIE Fighters and even ships such as the Millennium Falcon.
The game is all about maneuvering your ships, keeping your enemy in your sites and staying out of theirs.
Gameplay
Star Wars: Armada is a miniature war game at heart, albeit a bit different than other skirmish games in that you are fighting with large ships in space as opposed to troops on the ground– so things like movements and attacking are handled a bit differently.
The core set (which is just an entry set to the game) includes a maneuver tool, a range ruler, six command dials, nine attack dice, 130 cards/tokens, ten unpainted squadrons and 3 pre-painted capital ships (Victory-Class Star Destroyer, Nebulon-B Frigate and the CR90 Corellian Corvette).
However, to really play the game the Wave I and Wave II expansions are recommended as they come with the Imperial Class Star Destroyers and Mon Calamari Cruisers.
Like all miniature war games, Armada is played on a table top surface and due to complexity is limited to a 2D plane – meaning shields and guns are fixed into place on ships (Front, rear, left and right).
This means that each ship in the game is unique and has its own weaknesses and strengths with some having favorable gun layouts and shield positions that can ward off attacks from certain angles. These differences mean a large amount of the game comes down to strategy and thinking ahead on how to position your ships to pack the most punch against the enemy.
In general, the Rebel ships feel a bit like glass cannons, they pack a huge punch and can maneuver agilely around the battlefield, but any retaliation means they will quickly be destroyed. Imperial Star Destroyers on the other hand have strong hulls but only deal huge amounts of damage when firing head on.
All ships have different speeds for flight, turning abilities and defensive capabilities. This means you need to be thinking about ship position of all your troops at all times during the entirety of the game.
Star Wars: Armada is a game about planning and momentum. There are 6 rounds each game, and players need to strategically arrange their ships movements and attack plans and follow through each round. Due to the speed of the ships and the ability to see the momentum and direction they are traveling, Armada allows you to plan ahead and get excited about moves you will play out not now, but 30mins plus into the game!
Combat in the game is handled with dice. Dice are rolled depending on which guns the attacker is using (forward, rear etc) and defenders need to use defensive tokens to attempt to soften the blow but deflecting damage to shields or negating hits entirely.
The game can feel a bit slow, but there is always something to do and there are enough options available to turn around even the direst of situations on the table. Combat is quite long and drawn out, however it thematically fits the Star Wars theme – as these are massive ships fighting a war.
Bottom Line
With table top miniature games, there is always a fine balance between being tactical and strategic. In Star Wars: Armadas case, Fantasy Flight has nailed it.
Armada is a game that is as much fun to play as it is to look at. While the cost can be enough to put some people off, what you get in terms of miniatures and attention to detail is worth it and for some players the game experience is unbeatable.
Pros
- The game comes with pre-painted ships ready to play out of the box
- Perfect balance of tactical and strategic play
- Smart use of maneuverability of ships and fire power
- Highly detailed collectible ships
Cons
- High price point
- Wave I and Wave II expansions really required to play
5. Star Wars: X-Wing 2nd Edition
Players: 2
Duration: 30mins – 45mins
Star Wars: X-Wing is a miniature dogfighting combat game focused on the conflict between Rebel X-Wings and Imperial TIE fighters.
The game is similar to Armada but is very quick to play and feels like a supercharged arcade version (much like the dog fights in the movies!).
In this article I will look at the 2nd edition of the game. Overall the 2nd edition improves on the first A LOT, with a revamped turn structure that makes the game a lot smoother.
Gameplay
Star Wars: X-Wing is a miniature tactical space combat game. What this means is like Armada, you control a squadron of ships (either X-Wing or TIE fighters) and need to out maneuver and out think your opponent to emerge victoriously.
The game, unlike other miniature based war games, is on the light side of difficulty. Some miniature games (like Legion) can take a bit of getting used to. X-Wing on the other hand feels very intuitive and almost plug and play.
Each ship you control is able to be customized with different weapons, upgrades and pilots. These customizations add different perks and abilities to the different ships and allows strategic play to really shine.
The game is played in turns with each turn having 4 phases:
- Maneuver – this is handled through pre-set templates. During the maneuver phase of the game players use their ‘Maneuver dials’ to secretly select the upcoming moves of all their ships. The dials are rotated to the move the ship will make then placed face down so the opponent cannot see.
- Movement – Players reveal their movement choice and move their ships. The order of movement is controlled by pilot skill level. The players use their template to measure exactly where the ships move without the need to measure anything – Simple!
- Action – Each ship is able to perform one combat action each round. These actions are all based on the ships capabilities and range from locking onto targets, turning ‘missed’ dice rolls into ‘hits’ and even ship specific moves like the TIE fighters barrel roll.
- Fight – Each ship then fires at one ship that’s within their firing arc. Attacking is carried out by rolling attack dice (equal to the ships attack value). The defender does the same with its defense value. If hits outweigh the defenders evade icon – damage is dealt to the ship.
These rounds continue until one side is completely wiped from the board.
X-Wing is a brilliant take on a Star Wars board game. It is a perfect miniature game for novices and is quick to play.
Like Armada, the miniatures that come with X-Wing are pre-painted and are ready to play right out of the box.
Bottom Line
Star Wars: X-Wing is a great arcade style miniature dogfighting game. The game really does feel like you are in a dogfight with non-stop action – there really is no down time.
The quality of the ships and the movement revamp with the second edition of the game makes X-Wing one of the best in class miniature games for casual and hobbyist board gamers alike.
Pros
- Fast paced gameplay with no downtime
- Great for novices
- High quality game components
Cons
- Gameplay is MUCH better with expansions
- Can be expensive if you start collecting
6. Star Wars: Age of Rebellion RPG Beginner Game
Players: 2
Duration: 30mins – 45mins
Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Beginner Game is a table top roleplaying game that is perfect for beginners to RPG style games.
The game comes with a rule book designed specifically to spoon feed new players how to roleplay in the Star Wars RPG universe and walk you through each step, so that when you decide to experience the core gameplay of Age of Rebellion Core you will be more than prepared.
While the game is aimed at beginners to prepare them for Age of Rebellion Core, the game itself is standalone and is a lot of fun. It even comes with downloadable add on adventures should you complete the ones included in the box.
For those just getting in to RPG gaming. This game is the perfect introduction. It will ease you into the game and guide you step by step as you and your allies explore the Star Wars universe.
Gameplay
Everything you need to play Age of Rebellion Beginner Game is included in the box, there is the rule book, pre-made characters, XP character sheets, 14 custom dice, 9 destiny tokens and a map of the base and one outside area.
Like all RPG’s there is the requirement of a game master who will be tasked with the job of keeping the story rolling smoothly and guiding the team to make decisions in a fair and unbiased way.
In the first scenario, players take on the roles of Rebel soldiers on a mission to infiltrate the Empire’s ‘Whisper Base’ hidden in the jungle of Onderon. I won’t go into too much detail so as not to spoil anything, but the scenarios are well thought out and a lot of fun to play – even for veteran RPG gamers.
The pre-generated character sheets included in the game give each player a choice of characters such as an engineer, pilot, soldier or spy, all with a very rich and detailed background as well as hints of how to progress the character as you move through the story.
The character sheets are incredibly well designed and for novice gamers are very practical.
Unlike, the core game and other popular RPG’s, Age of Rebellion Beginners Game stories are a bit more rigid and linear. This is done on purpose though to stop players from straying too far from the story and to keep players focused while they learn.
I can understand that for experience GM’s this is probably frustrating, but for those learning the ropes it is just fine.
Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Beginners Game portrays itself as one thing: to introduce novice RPG gamers to the world of Star Wars RPG gaming, and it does that incredibly well.
Bottom Line
Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Beginners Game is an excellent introduction of table top RPG games in the Star Wars universe that holds your hand through every step of the process.
The game sets players up perfectly to move on to the core rules and experience the FULL game and all it has to offer.
The learning process is done in a step by step manner, and feels smooth and seamless without players (or the GM) ever feeling overwhelmed.
Pros
- Great narrative for role playing in the Star Wars universe
- Perfect game to introduce beginners to the Star Wars RPG universe
Cons
- Not suitable for experienced role-players
- Scenarios are a bit linear and restrained
7. Star Wars: Destiny
Players: 2
Duration: 30mins
Star Wars: Destiny is a game that is a mash up between a dueling trading card game (like Magic: The Gathering) and board game style dice rolling.
The game is played with a starting deck of 30 cards that contain a number of hero characters, resource cards and special abilities. The goal is to use your deck to duel your opponent and reduce their heroes to zero.
The starter decks come in two flavors – the Dark Side version with Kylo Ren, or the Light side version with Rey.
The game has a TCG collector’s vibe to it, with the ability to improve the cards in your starter deck with cards from booster packs which are sold separately. Each booster pack comes with 5 additional cards and 1 dice.
Gameplay
Each player starts the game with their own deck of cards (the other player needs to purchase their own deck).
These decks can either be the premade starter decks, or a custom deck made with booster cards (there are rules included for how to do this).
Each game of Destiny is divided into rounds, with each round having two phases:
- Action Phase – players take turns on an alternating basis and can either:
- Play one of their cards from their hand;
- Resolve a dice;
- Use a cards special ability;
- Discard a card to reroll any dice;
- Claim the battlefield and end the round.
- Upkeep Phase – Players gain 2 resources, discard any cards left in their hand and draw 5 new cards.
A player wins the game once the opposing player runs out of heroes to play or has no more cards left in their hand or deck.
The game is very quick and depending on your deck building ability can become super deep and competitive.
A lot of the fun of the game is around the deck building component and collecting the cards. If you are lucky enough to find the perfect combination of cards in the booster packs for your deck build, you can find yourself in a strong position to dominate your opponents.
Bottom Line
Star Wars: Destiny is a fast-paced duelling card game that is easy to pick up and lots of fun to play.
The Star Wars theme is very prominent with both the cards and the custom dice that come with the game.
Destiny is perfectly suited to the Star Wars fan who also loves collectible trading card games.
Pros
- High quality cards and dice
- Gameplay feels unique and new with the dice/card game hybrid
- All cards are thematically tied back to the Star Wars universe
Cons
- Collectible card game model might not appeal to some
- Huge number of cards if you wanted to collect them all
8. Star Wars: The Card Game
Players: 2
Duration: 30mins
Star Wars: The Card Game is a two-player living card game (more on what a living card game is below) where players build their own decks and battle against each other.
Like most Star Wars games, in Star Wars: The Card Game one player plays for the dark side and the other player plays for the light.
The game is unique in the fact that it introduces specific factions that players are able to control.
On the light side you have the option of playing as the Jedi, Rebel Alliance or spies and smugglers. On the dark side you can choose between the Sith, Imperial Navy or Scum and Villainy.
The aim of the player fighting for the dark side is to advance their ‘Death Star Dial to 12’ while the goal of the light player is to interrupt 3 Empire objectives before the Dial reaches 12.
Living Card Game (LCG): A living card game is much like a trading card game (TCG). The difference however, is that all cards purchased in decks and booster packs in an LCG are known ahead of time. With a TCG, the cards remain hidden until the packs are opened. This can mean with a TCG many duplicate cards can be found and some ‘rarer’ cards harder to obtain, whereas with an LCG, you know which card you are purchasing.
Gameplay
The core set of Star Wars: The Card Game comes with 240 cards. These are broken down into objective sets which are 6 cards made up of 1 objective card and 5 command cards dedicated to that objective.
To create a player deck, a minimum of 10 of these objective sets need to be combined. Each objective is unique and the ones you choose to make up your deck will depend on your strategy, affiliation and preferred play style.
Decks can either be premade from the starter set or can be completely customised with booster packs – where the deck is completely unique.
In order to keep things nice and organised, each card has a number on the bottom that correlates to the objective set that it is a part of.
The card break down of the starter set is as follows:
Light Side:
- 7 Rebel Alliance objective sets;
- 7 Jedi objective sets;
- 1 smugglers and spies objective set;
- 4 Neutral objective sets;
- 3 Affiliation cards (one for each faction); and
- 3 Force cards.
Dark Side:
- 7 Imperial Navy objective sets;
- 7 Sith objective sets;
- 1 Scum and Villainy objective set;
- 4 Neutral objective sets;
- 3 Affiliation cards (one for each faction); and
- 3 Force cards.
The game is relatively simple to play, however there are unique aspects and nuances to it that are better explained in a video:
Bottom Line
Star Wars: The Card Game is an awesome two player card game. After I got a hang of how to play the game (and by that I mean got dominated by my friends for a few hours), I found myself spending hours creating and re-creating decks.
The game is really fun to play, and being a LCG, deck building doesn’t break the bank. The rules are relatively straightforward and once you understand them you can find yourself playing for hours.
Star Wars: The Card Game has the perfect mix of theme, mechanics and deck building customization and is one of the best LCG’s I’ve ever played.
Pros
- High quality cards and artwork from the movies
- Great mechanics for a card game
- LCG – so you know what you are buying
- Fantastic deck building experience
Cons
- Requires at least 2 starter sets to realise games full potential
9. Risk: Star Wars Edition
Players: 2 – 4
Duration: 30mins – 45mins
There have been many attempts in the past to combine Star Wars and other classic board games – Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Battleships… they’ve all been done before. Nothing much was added to these games except for a painted over theme and the same underlying game. That was however until Risk: Star Wars Edition.
Risk: Star Wars Edition does not feel like a classic game of Risk… and that’s not a bad thing. The game has taken the classic game of Risk and completely redefined it for its Star Wars version.
The game is set around the battle at the end of Return of the Jedi where the Rebels are battling the Imperial fleet to destroy the Death Star. Players are kept under constant pressure with the clever use of the side boards which in a way act like countdown timers. This not only adds to the immersion of the game, but put an end to the dreaded long play time of classic Risk.
Gameplay
Risk: Star Wars Edition is set around the huge battle at the end of Return of the Jedi. The board is split in 3 with a main board in the center and 2 side boards (which form to resemble a TIE fighter).
The first side board is focused around the Rebels on Endor as they try to take down the shield generator that is protecting the Death Star.
The second side board has Luke trying to rescue his father Darth Vader (spoiler!) while Vader and is trying to convert Luke to the Dark Side.
Finally, in the center the main conflict is taking place where the Rebel ships are fighting off the Imperial ships, trying to buy time for the shields to be taken down so that they can destroy the Death Star.
Players in the game are split, with half playing as the Rebel Alliance and the other half playing as the Empire.
Players need to focus on not just one, but all battles in order to be victorious.
At the start of the game players are each dealt a deck of order cards dependent on which team they are on. These cards determine what a player can do on their turn and which battle it effects on the board.
At the start of a round all players draw three order cards from their deck and place them face down in front of them. These cards will be played in the order they were drawn – from top to bottom.
On a players’ turn they will flip over their first order card and choose one of three actions written on the card. Once this has been completed, the opponent does the same. This alternates until all order cards have been played.
Orders affect each of the boards differently. Order cards for the center of the board with the Death Star, allow players to move their ships to different areas of the board and attack the enemy (via dice rolls).
Orders for the shield generator side board allow the Rebels to advance along the assault track and for the Imperials to slow them down. Again, this is resolved via dice rolls, but there are certain actions that can be taken to sway these dice rolls in the favor of either team (i.e. Storm Trooper tokens which increase the dice value the Rebel players must roll to be successful).
In Luke vs Vader side board, the order cards directly impact the duel that is occurring between Luke and Vader. If the Empire players manage to kill Luke, they are awarded 3 bonus order cards. If Luke is able to kill Vader, the Rebels are awarded 3 bonus order cards…. However, if Luke is able to redeem Vader, then the Rebels are awarded 5 bonus cards!
Now you can see why you have to pay attention to all areas of the board to win the game!
The win condition for the Rebels is to take down the shield generator and destroy the Death Star and the win condition for the Empire is to destroy all Rebel ships before this happens.
Bottom Line
Risk: Star Wars Edition is a unique take on the classic Risk board game that is an absolute success. The game doesn’t feel like Risk, and that’s not a bad thing.
The game is thematically tied to the epic battle at the end of Return of the Jedi perfectly and it does a brilliant job of creating the suspense and tension of the battle as you try to fight all 3 battles simultaneously.
Pros
- Easy and fast set-up
- Perfect for new board game players
- Great Return of the Jedi theme
Cons
- The boards are a bit flimsy
- Contrary to its namesake, this is not Risk (Also a pro)
- Some elements of luck with dice rolls
10. Trivial Pursuit: Star Wars - The Black Series Edition
Players: 2 – 4
Duration: 30mins
Trivial Pursuit: Star Wars – The Black Series Edition is a quiz game that asks players questions about the Star Wars universe. The game is a great way to challenge friends and find out once and for all who the biggest Star Wars fan is (I am a huge fan… and I struggle with a lot of the questions).
The black series of the game includes 1,800 questions about all the classic movies as well as The Force Awakens.
There are 6 different categories of questions including: ‘The Cantina’, ‘The Force’, ‘Heroes, Villains & Scoundrels’, ‘The Saga’, ‘A Galaxy Far Far Away’ and ‘Hyperspace’.
Gameplay
There is not much to say here. The game is played like any trivial pursuits game. Players are asked questions one by one. The first player to collect all 6 wedges for each category above and answer the final question correctly, wins the game.
Bottom Line
Trivial Pursuit: Star Wars – The Black Series Edition is a brilliant quiz game to test players knowledge of the Star Wars universe.
For die hard fans like myself, it is a great way to learn about the franchise and certain areas in the films you may have overlooked. There are plenty of questions in the box and they all vary in difficulty.
The game is a brilliant way to play a quick, light-hearted Star Wars game.
Pros
- Black Series Edition includes The Force Awakens
- Over 1,800 questions
- Great way to test Star Wars knowledge
Cons
- On multiple play throughs you may get same questions
- Some questions are quite challenging
- Not a deep board game experience
Final Thoughts
There you have it. A list of what I believe to be the top 10 Star Wars board games currently available.
I tried to pick a mix of board games that would appeal to all types of gamers, from the hobbyist, the role-player to the casual gamer who only has half an hour for a quick game.
Over the years there have been hundreds of Star Wars branded board games released. It can become pretty overwhelming trying to decide which ones are worth it and which ones are a complete flop.
I hope I have helped shed a bit of light on some of the better Star Wars games available and aided you in choosing the perfect Star Wars game for you!
May the force be with you!
