Bought this game a few weeks ago but finally played it. It’s a sandbox game where you play as a Smuggler, Bounty Hunter or other Rogue and make your way through the Star Wars Galaxy running jobs to gain fame. The first one to ten fame wins.
Some pros:
The theme is great. It feels like you are playing Mandalorian: the game but at the same time it is also fun if you aren’t super well versed in Star Wars. For example, my wife hardly knows Star Wars but also enjoyed the game (funny side note: Boba Fett is a playable character in the game. When I described him to her it was, “He’s basically kind of like The Mandalorian”. I’m sure if he knew I said that I would be disintegrated ).
The game is almost a role playing game crossed with a board game and the more you lean in the more fun it will be.
The components are great and it looks very impressive on the table. You see the galactic map and all the ships and you just want to dive in.
Some cons:
There are a lot of cards and reading and the text is very tiny.
There is also a lot of signage in the game that can be hard to remember.
The abilities don’t seem perfectly balanced. For example we played Han Solo vs Lando. Lando’s special ability to reroll a die seemed much stronger than Han’s which was to be able to fly extra spaces. But you can mitigate this by hiring crew or buying equipment to shore up your weaknesses.
Over all the game was fun, especially for Star Wars fans but even if you aren’t.
I played this for the first time last weekend. Really liked it! It’s very similar to the Firefly boardgame, but much more streamlined. Not having to worry about crew moral, fuel, and spare parts makes the game move a lot faster. My first game, I played Han Solo, got the Millenium Falcon, and then got the last two points I needed by completing the Kessel Run job. So, that was just about perfect.
It does have a solo option. There is an AI deck that plays an AI player’s turn. I didn’t try it but the reviews are positive.
I would say with two players the game is roughly 90 minutes to two hours. Add more time for more players.
I think if you help them with the cards and strategy they should be okay. Even better if they are a big Star Wars fan and probably will recognize much of it on sight.
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