I don't think committing a unit to the force means they are dedicated to the ways of the force or something, but rather that they are working for the cause of the force away from the front lines.
Regarding the Star Wars "feel," I think it takes a while before you understand how the mechanics reinforce the theme. The mechanics are unusual and take the focus off of the theme at first, but eventually as the mechanics fade into the background, you start to feel like the Rebels or the Empire.
I agree. At first, I didn't like the sound of the mechanics. Now though, I couldn't imagine the game being any different. It takes a few play throughs.
Tom, you really, REALLY need to play the other LCG from FFG, and also Legend of the 5 Rings.
If you had played these games you wouldn't call this a "solid game" but a mix-matched gaming mechanics from these other games.
I play Game of Thrones over this game any day of the week… heck, I even play Magic The Gathering over this! 😛
I'm not a fan of the artwork.
Sure, there are cool cards but others… man, the new Imperial Navy objective with Darth Vader deflecting laser shots… that's silly!
While I agree with you Tom on the theme issue "It works without the theme" I think if you think the other way around the theme works quite right with the cards. Many card abilities and powers are straight out of the movies. ex. how Leia get caught as a hostage, red five being a objective damage dealer, Wedge being support reinforcement and also an Ace pilot. They all make sense. The other problem how different units can attack objectives not canonically related to them can be explained this way:
Attacking an objective is not just one skirmish. Its the struggle to complete an elaborate military scheme. All the units represent battalions of soldiers and vehicles fighting for the same cause. If it would not be this way then one photon torpedo unit could destroy Death Star single handedly, if it were just the final assault that counts. My opinion is that the game works without the theme, but the cards are not just names with different abilities they represent their movie counterparts well.
Tom really needs to find another name for games where you can construct your own customized deck prior to a game, because these are not "deck-building games." At least not in the same sense as Thunderstone or Dominion. Maybe it's just me, but I think this would be really confusing for some people looking for one or the other.
I completely agree. Game of Thrones and LOTR are much better LCGs than this game. Fantasy Flight is borrowing from too many of these other games of theirs with this one.
I think you missed one of the cooler aspects of the game, the fact that you draw up to your reserve value each turn combined with Edge Battles leads to some of the best hand management gameplay I've seen and help to offset the luck of the draw factor!
"Dumping" your hand on an edge battle to dig in your deck in addition to the fact you can discard once a turn gives you a lot more control than most CCG's not to mention create some really intense games.
The reason the theme isn't there is because this game borrows heavily from the Game of Thrones LCG and the Call of Cthulhu LCG. While I wasn't a big fan of the latter, it did have some mechanics I thought were very creative. But that's why you probably felt like it would be easy to re-skin this game as something else. Honestly I don't think any of the Fantasy Flight LCGs have a really deep theme to them, except maybe LOTR, but that feels more like a dungeon crawler than a LOTR game.
He didn't say it was a deck-building game, he said the game had deck-building. That's true, the game does have deck-building, it just doesn't have the "deck-building" mechanism.
Hey Tom, Have you played the original SWCCG? I'm curious how this compares to that one. The one thing I loved about the original SWCCG is the fact all you needed were the cards. No tokens, no dice, no need for any kind of counters. The games was completely card based. I'm disappointed that this CCG is not this way
The game is very fiddly. Tokens GALORE!!! However, I play with a variant rule that many people seem to like. It's simple: tapped cards (ie turned sideways) count as having a force token on them. A tapped card with a force token is therefore focused twice. Since most of the time you aren't adding more than one force token to a card, it really helps cut down the fiddliness of the game.
I agree, after you get more playthroughs, you will see how well the mechanics reinforce the theme. They did a fantastic job of making the rebels feel out gunned, yet able to pull off miraculous comebacks. Meanwhile the Empire feels massive and oppressive. The attacking of objectives are very much in line with the feel of the movies (getting the transports off Hoth, taking the shield generator down on Endor, etc). Then of course, playing the light side watching the Death Star tick up is intense!
I think your points nail it for the most part Tom. I wrote a pretty critical review on BGG and now that the chapter packs have been released I really like the way the game is going. I still hate some of the abstract battles though.
I like Fantasy Flight's LCG more than any previous Star Wars themed card game, that includes Decipher's & Richard Garfield's CCG. The game is simple, but mastering the subtlety of the game has a steep learning curve. The Balance phase is overlooked by those focused on destroying objectives. I love edge battles because the bluffing. The mechanics remind me of the Legend of the Five Rings, but after playing the game many times, I feel the theme. The Trench Run card can destroy the Death Star dial
Personally I was disappointed by some cards which seemed broken in the starter box. I was able to play the entirety of my hand on turn one and get a huge field advantage. The most notable cards I hated were the objectives that allowed you to discard cards to lower the cost of expensive vehicle units.
what you said at 4:24 is wrong. the Dark Side player doesnt win after he destroyed the third Light Side objective. The dark side player only wins when the death star dia lreaches 12. It's just that the dial advances eversytime an light side objective is destroyed. so the imperial player may win after he destroyed the frist ,second, third or even fourth objective.
That shows you haven't played this game much. The objectives you mention are terrible! If you are pitching a lot to play a ship, you'll be a sitting duck when the other side attacks. Play your Devastator. All I have to do is hit it with two tactic icons. And bam, it's out of the game essentially.
Being able to defend against a Wampa with a Corellian Corvette actually sounds like a hilarious positive: "Sir, their cannons are loaded with Wampas!" "Throw a Corvette in their path!"
Hi Tom, is it possible you can do an updated review with all the current releases of expansions. I love star wars and I am on the verge of buying this but would love your opinion on where it stands now before I pull the trigger. Does anyone else know if you can play this solo?
I miss the Decipher CCG Star Wars. That had an interesting concept on battle, resource economy, and statistical balance. For example the main Characters were powerful and in the rare tier but their destiny value (which was used in place of dice or coin flips) were 1. So if you took the main cast to include Adm Akbar and the Falcon odds are you would only draw 1s for your destiny. The best deck design, a trooper deck.
I play this game because it's much better than the Decipher one but it's also disappointing. FFG's LotR's game is really immersive and narrative and you really feel like you're playing through a story. I wanted that for this game. It's not close enough to an RPG to me. And it would have been so easy to do it, too.
a little comment not about a game, but video itself. guys, I love your review videos, there are realy profesional and comprehensive and so on, but one thing I truly hate, is the moment when you throw all box conent on one big pile of chaos, it just makes me twitch and nervous that you are treating beautifully produced elements really bad 😛 I know it's stupid but remember, board (and card) games have feelings too
The best card game I have ever played is Snakes and Hawks. Here is a link to see the game for yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bcOlBn9TsA.
This game is great, I'm just a little frustrated that you need multiple sets to be competitive.
Fantastic game. I can't get enough of it.
I don't think committing a unit to the force means they are dedicated to the ways of the force or something, but rather that they are working for the cause of the force away from the front lines.
Regarding the Star Wars "feel," I think it takes a while before you understand how the mechanics reinforce the theme. The mechanics are unusual and take the focus off of the theme at first, but eventually as the mechanics fade into the background, you start to feel like the Rebels or the Empire.
Omg tom all that separating.
I agree. At first, I didn't like the sound of the mechanics. Now though, I couldn't imagine the game being any different. It takes a few play throughs.
You said you were a new trilogy fan. A wampa beating a corvette is TOTALLY believable in the new trilogy. 😛
To me, this all sounds needlessly complicated
xwing does it better methinks though …
Tom, you really, REALLY need to play the other LCG from FFG, and also Legend of the 5 Rings.
If you had played these games you wouldn't call this a "solid game" but a mix-matched gaming mechanics from these other games.
I play Game of Thrones over this game any day of the week… heck, I even play Magic The Gathering over this! 😛
I'm not a fan of the artwork.
Sure, there are cool cards but others… man, the new Imperial Navy objective with Darth Vader deflecting laser shots… that's silly!
This is one game that will benefit from expansions.
While I agree with you Tom on the theme issue "It works without the theme" I think if you think the other way around the theme works quite right with the cards. Many card abilities and powers are straight out of the movies. ex. how Leia get caught as a hostage, red five being a objective damage dealer, Wedge being support reinforcement and also an Ace pilot. They all make sense. The other problem how different units can attack objectives not canonically related to them can be explained this way:
Attacking an objective is not just one skirmish. Its the struggle to complete an elaborate military scheme. All the units represent battalions of soldiers and vehicles fighting for the same cause. If it would not be this way then one photon torpedo unit could destroy Death Star single handedly, if it were just the final assault that counts. My opinion is that the game works without the theme, but the cards are not just names with different abilities they represent their movie counterparts well.
Tom really needs to find another name for games where you can construct your own customized deck prior to a game, because these are not "deck-building games." At least not in the same sense as Thunderstone or Dominion. Maybe it's just me, but I think this would be really confusing for some people looking for one or the other.
I completely agree. Game of Thrones and LOTR are much better LCGs than this game. Fantasy Flight is borrowing from too many of these other games of theirs with this one.
I think you missed one of the cooler aspects of the game, the fact that you draw up to your reserve value each turn combined with Edge Battles leads to some of the best hand management gameplay I've seen and help to offset the luck of the draw factor!
"Dumping" your hand on an edge battle to dig in your deck in addition to the fact you can discard once a turn gives you a lot more control than most CCG's not to mention create some really intense games.
And yeah, this game needs a big expansion.
The reason the theme isn't there is because this game borrows heavily from the Game of Thrones LCG and the Call of Cthulhu LCG. While I wasn't a big fan of the latter, it did have some mechanics I thought were very creative. But that's why you probably felt like it would be easy to re-skin this game as something else. Honestly I don't think any of the Fantasy Flight LCGs have a really deep theme to them, except maybe LOTR, but that feels more like a dungeon crawler than a LOTR game.
He didn't say it was a deck-building game, he said the game had deck-building. That's true, the game does have deck-building, it just doesn't have the "deck-building" mechanism.
Unless you haven't played either of those and you love this game because it FEELS like Star Wars.
OBjectives.
Hey Tom, Have you played the original SWCCG? I'm curious how this compares to that one. The one thing I loved about the original SWCCG is the fact all you needed were the cards. No tokens, no dice, no need for any kind of counters. The games was completely card based. I'm disappointed that this CCG is not this way
agreed
I think you're pronouncing objective incorrectly. Or maybe it's my ears.
Yes it did! Even though the rules were a little bit of a pain to decipher at first, it was/is still a great card game
I agree that it takes a couple of plays to get a good feel for this game, but I think it's very good and thematic.
The game is very fiddly. Tokens GALORE!!! However, I play with a variant rule that many people seem to like. It's simple: tapped cards (ie turned sideways) count as having a force token on them. A tapped card with a force token is therefore focused twice. Since most of the time you aren't adding more than one force token to a card, it really helps cut down the fiddliness of the game.
I agree, after you get more playthroughs, you will see how well the mechanics reinforce the theme. They did a fantastic job of making the rebels feel out gunned, yet able to pull off miraculous comebacks. Meanwhile the Empire feels massive and oppressive. The attacking of objectives are very much in line with the feel of the movies (getting the transports off Hoth, taking the shield generator down on Endor, etc). Then of course, playing the light side watching the Death Star tick up is intense!
The original Star Wars CCG has yet to be beat. Seriously this game is interesting however it is not even close to the original.
I think your points nail it for the most part Tom. I wrote a pretty critical review on BGG and now that the chapter packs have been released I really like the way the game is going. I still hate some of the abstract battles though.
16:36 … tickles your goat?
I kinda want to see a jawa sith master now…
I like Fantasy Flight's LCG more than any previous Star Wars themed card game, that includes Decipher's & Richard Garfield's CCG. The game is simple, but mastering the subtlety of the game has a steep learning curve. The Balance phase is overlooked by those focused on destroying objectives. I love edge battles because the bluffing. The mechanics remind me of the Legend of the Five Rings, but after playing the game many times, I feel the theme. The Trench Run card can destroy the Death Star dial
Tickles your goat…lol
great review, I love star wars, just made my own fan made trailer for episode 7, and I hope they add episode 7 cards in 2015
I never understood how a ground unit can attack and a space unit can defend either…
Thats so true! A friend of mine and me were even starting to make sounds when vehicles got blown up. It's awesome!
Personally I was disappointed by some cards which seemed broken in the starter box. I was able to play the entirety of my hand on turn one and get a huge field advantage. The most notable cards I hated were the objectives that allowed you to discard cards to lower the cost of expensive vehicle units.
what you said at 4:24 is wrong. the Dark Side player doesnt win after he destroyed the third Light Side objective. The dark side player only wins when the death star dia lreaches 12. It's just that the dial advances eversytime an light side objective is destroyed. so the imperial player may win after he destroyed the frist ,second, third or even fourth objective.
That shows you haven't played this game much. The objectives you mention are terrible! If you are pitching a lot to play a ship, you'll be a sitting duck when the other side attacks. Play your Devastator. All I have to do is hit it with two tactic icons. And bam, it's out of the game essentially.
PHENOMENAL !!!!! hAHA
Being able to defend against a Wampa with a Corellian Corvette actually sounds like a hilarious positive: "Sir, their cannons are loaded with Wampas!" "Throw a Corvette in their path!"
Hi Tom, is it possible you can do an updated review with all the current releases of expansions. I love star wars and I am on the verge of buying this but would love your opinion on where it stands now before I pull the trigger. Does anyone else know if you can play this solo?
I miss the Decipher CCG Star Wars. That had an interesting concept on battle, resource economy, and statistical balance. For example the main Characters were powerful and in the rare tier but their destiny value (which was used in place of dice or coin flips) were 1. So if you took the main cast to include Adm Akbar and the Falcon odds are you would only draw 1s for your destiny. The best deck design, a trooper deck.
I play this game because it's much better than the Decipher one but it's also disappointing. FFG's LotR's game is really immersive and narrative and you really feel like you're playing through a story. I wanted that for this game. It's not close enough to an RPG to me. And it would have been so easy to do it, too.
So what do you think of the game now Tom, now that there are a lot of expansions out?
a little comment not about a game, but video itself. guys, I love your review videos, there are realy profesional and comprehensive and so on, but one thing I truly hate, is the moment when you throw all box conent on one big pile of chaos, it just makes me twitch and nervous that you are treating beautifully produced elements really bad 😛 I know it's stupid but remember, board (and card) games have feelings too
So Did the game ever become "great?"
Best LCG type card game ever.