Fantasy Flight Games have just announced their latest roleplaying board game, Imperial Assault.
Set during the immediate aftermath of the destruction of the first Death Star, the main campaign offers you and up to four of your friends the chance to take part in the climactic events following.
“Victory! By destroying the Death Star, the Rebellion has given hope to a galaxy living in fear. The Empire races to recover from their crushing defeat and the loss of their ultimate weapon as the Rebel Alliance works to solidify their advantage. When an Imperial distress beacon begins to broadcast from a remote outpost on Yavin 4, a small team of elite Rebel operatives are dispatched. Their mission: to silence the signal at all costs…”
One player takes control of the Empire, while the remaining players take up arms as the Rebel Alliance and attempt to thwart the Imperials through covert espionage and tactical combat.
Both forces gain additional skills and upgrades as the story unfolds and the players level up. These upgrades can easily turn the tide of battle in favour of either side. Players can also earn credits to spend on new weapons and survival gear to help give them the edge.
As well as the main campaign, which is narratively linked by 30 missions, you can go head to head with a friend in the Skirmish missions where you both battle to gain the advantage over conflicting objectives. It’s up to you to rally your forces under the Imperial, Rebel or Mercenary flags and take to battle in these dangerous and tense encounters, whether it’s capturing a lost holocron or holding back a raiding force, the gameplay is always varied and engaging with 6 different Skirmish missions.
The board consists of 50 double-sided interlocking map tiles to give you an impressive variety of familiar Star Wars locals, from the humid overgrown jungles of Yavin 4, to the arid wastelands of Tatooine. There’s plenty of variety to mix up your adventures.
There are a number of game pieces included from Wookiee warriors and Trandoshan mercenaries, to my personal favourite, the rather imposing Imperial AT-ST. As an added bonus, two additional pieces from the Darth Vader Villain Pack and Luke Skywalker Ally Pack are included. Both packs come with their own respective side missions taking the total to 32 campaign missions and 6 skirmishes.
All sounds very cool, right? I particularly like the idea of how the Imperial player is the only one who has access to all the mission’s information, meaning the heroes never know what traps lie in store. How very Palpatine!
Imperial Assault is due for release in early 2015. If you’d like to find out more visit fantasyflightgames.com or check out their Day 2 video update from Gen Con 2014. Enjoy!