Let’s Table This - Session Report: Imperial Assault

It’s been ages since I’ve blogged, but I’m back, baby. Those of you who have gotten to know me (and don’t want my existence scrubbed from the Internet) will likely recall that my love of board games is deep.

December is typically board game month for me, which means that I read up about games, buy them, and sometimes never play them. They are my collection of potential stories just waiting for my kids to get a little older so they can be told.

One of my latest acquisitions is already seeing its tale unfold, though. I’ve got Star Wars fever, and the only cure is… 

Star Wars: Imperial Assault is a blend of what Fantasy Flight does best. The game features great-looking minis just begging to be painted, rich, thematic Star Wars flavor, and modular maps to keep things fresh from session to session. The approach to reconfigurable maps is one of the elements that makes Imperial Assault stand out.

Unlike other games with modular layouts, Fantasy Flight opted for a puzzle-like system instead of basic square tiles. This creates blends of indoor and outdoor settings, tight corners to navigate for line of sight, and tactical opportunities to exploit.

There are two different modes right out of the box. There’s a skirmish game that allows players to build their forces for one-off games. But we’re playing the campaign, which has replay value out of the box thanks to a side mission and branching story set-up.

We’ve only played the tutorial thus far to get a handle on the mechanics. I’m playing the DM role as the Empire. Paul, my five-year-old son, is handling the Rebel heroes. We’ve opted to stick with four heroes (the game can be scaled for two or three also). Four gives him more tactical options, but also ensures that if his sister ever wants to play, she can jump in for a session and control a couple of characters.

The Rebel heroes are all original characters. However, through campaign side missions, they can unlock the ability to bring Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and other allies into the fray.

As the Empire, I also have some notable characters at my disposal down the line. The base game allows for Darth Vader, IG-88, a Royal Guard Champion, and General Weiss on his custom AT-ST. Boba Fett is part of the first mini-expansion, Twin Shadows, so if you’re a Fett Fan, that’s where you’ll find him.

The purpose of the tutorial is simply to explain the basics of dice pools, character activations, and abilities. It’s straightforward, with low-impact win conditions. The Rebels take the day if they slaughter the Imperial forces (three Stormtroopers, an officer, an E-Web turret, and a probe droid). The Empire takes the victory if it defeats a single hero or activates two terminals in the base.

The Imperial forces are fodder. Paul wiped out my Stormtroopers with ease thanks to his Wookiee hero Gharkhaan. He nearly obliterated my probe droid, too. In fact, he was one decision away from cinching a victory.

Each turn consists of a back-and-forth between players. Each gets to pick one unit or connected group to activate and perform two actions. These include moving, attacking, interacting with a door or terminal, or resting. Heroes can attack twice, other characters are limited to one (barring a special ability that says otherwise).

Without getting too much into the weeds, weapons are connected to specific sets of dice that include symbols for damage and "surge." The latter of these is used to trigger special weapon abilities like increasing accuracy, penetrating defenses, or simply doing more damage. 

The defending player also has specific dice to roll. Symbols on these can cancel attacks, surges, or completely dodge the assault.

Heroes have significantly more hit points and abilities than the Imperials, but the Empire has a number of units that come in groups, like three stormtroopers per deployment card. 

Paul took an early lead, as I walked him through how to use his optional abilities and calculate line of sight, accuracy, and die rolls. Since I wasn't going to be able to defeat a hero, I opted for a blitz.

I floated my droid past his defenses to activate the first terminal. With only one hit point left, it was surely going to be destroyed before it could make it to the second terminal on the following turn.

Instead, Paul chose to activate a different hero and killed my officer. Immediately after his turn, I pointed out that I had won and he saw the mistake immediately. Despite his loss, I’m thrilled that he realized the tactical error. That’s a huge step for him, and bodes well as we enter the campaign.

I won’t go into the details of setting up side missions and campaign flow yet (partially, because I’m still reading up on things to make sure I understand). I’m going to try and update my blog with session reports as they happen, though.

If you’re interested in learning more about Imperial Assault, we named it one of the best tabletop games of 2014. You can also check out Fantasy Flight’s website and BoardGameGeek, both of which are great resources.