Well this is interesting.
Fantasy Flight is putting together a galaxy spanning asymmetric struggle for freedom. There’s not a lot out there but they’re really playing up the different approaches the Empire and the Rebellion take.
Oh and if you’re worried about this just being a board game there’s always this little thing from the past:
Tom M
LITTLE THING how dare you
Well, that looks like something I absolutely need to own. Yup.
Dont let your death star anywhere near fighters without cover. 1 fighter blows the damn thing up.
So it has little plastic toys that will let Fantasy Flight price it at $150. And of course, it will be shortly saddled with Fantasy Flight’s usual money-grubbing expansion bloat.
But otherwise, yeah, that looks pretty cool and I probably want it. I wonder how much it’s just repurposing Freedom in the Galaxy, which was a grand strategic Star Wars boardgame, but without the Star Wars license.
-Tom
It was funny. Freedom in the Galaxy was the first thing to come to mind. Lucasarts’ Star Wars Rebellion was the second.
Tom M
I hope this is like a streamlined version of Freedom in the Galaxy, because that is something I’ve wanted for years. I liked the concept of FiTG, but it was too insanely long and complex for me to enjoy.
I’m sure it was, in 1979. And in 2015, it’s this Rebellion thing that’s too insanely long and complex to enjoy.
I guess FFG has their audience, but when I see these games I think, “There’s another thing that tons of fanboys are going to buy because the box seems to promise the fulfillment of all their fantasies, but which will maybe get two plays (the first one with a few rules played erroneously) and then will hit the shelf when the next fantasy arrives.”
…
Am I too cynical?
Yes
Also yes.
Who’s designing this? I suppose it’s too much to hope for Volko Ruhnke…
I would have been cynical about this too, but after playing Forbidden Stars, FFG is back on my radar. My wife is totally on board with it too, which kind of blows my mind. Aside from the minis, the usual FFG component clutter actually seems pretty manageable here. That said, I really hate those little card sizes that they use, even though I understand their purpose (to save table space). I’m also curious to see how the heck this could be played with more than two players…
And Tom, I think the MSRP is $100, pretty standard for FFG big box games nowadays.
According to the box cover, Corey Konieczka.
This looks like it could be fun, and the setup doesn’t seem to allow for as much FFG bloat as the other Star Wars releases. Maybe an expansion to add the periods before or after the rebellion? I do know this will be added to my collection when it is released.
Those lucky guys over at Shut Up and Sit Down got a crack at this while Fantasy Flight was hosting their tournaments. What I heard in the SUSD report continues to get me excited for this game.
First of they invoked War of the Ring, good so far. The way the Empire has the military advantage and the rebellion is playing a delaying action is very reminiscent of the weaker fractured free peoples trying to mobilize and put up a fight while the ring bearers make their way to Mount Doom. Just like in War it seems the rebellion can do well militarily but the odds are stacked against that. I don’t know if the SUSD guys are aware of Freedom in the Galaxy but SUSD described a mission card system that seemed close to the missions heroes go on in Freedom in the Galaxy. Maybe Corey has that in his catalog, anyway I like what I’m hearing.
There’s more; including a probe deck that handles the hidden rebel base in interesting, with potential for bluffing on both sides; ways. It also looks like I’ll probably be happy with one expensive box and expansion will not really be prominent and hopefully nonexistent.
Tom Mc
Another preview from Fantasy Flight:
There’s some more solid stuff on victory conditions. Also, the hidden rebel base mechanism looks pretty neat and gives both sides hidden information to use against each other is explained a little more here.
Tom M
Fantasy Flight has kept up their preview week with an article a day. I’m still in on the game. I don’t know if will be up to the level of War of the Ring but I’m still eager to see how this pans out.
Fantasy Flight also had this in their Twitter feed:
We sent a copy of Star Wars™: Rebellion to @AngryJoeShow- so he streamed first playthrough on Twitch: Twitch #tabletop
I don’t know who this Joe guy is but a Twitter feed of some random dudes faffing about while the game is on the table? Come on Fantasy Flight you’ve got so many better places to send a copy. Here’s my address… ;)
Tom M, who wouldn’t pollute the Internet with insufferable twitch streams.
Angry Joe belongs to the new breed of game journalism: entirely independent, uses costumes and green screens for entertainment, reviews often skew highly positive or highly negative, uses memes only long time viewers will get, and has more viewers then the Democratic Party Debates.
I’m pretty sure he’s also an idiot, but I could be wrong. I just don’t like him since he accuses game developers of being lazy. A bad game is a bad game, but I highly doubt the people actually working were skipping out early on Fridays to go fishing or something.
They were probably only working a couple hours overtime each day, rather than pulling constant all-nighters and weekends for his gratification. Lazy.
This game needs to be out as a computer game as well!