Excellent review! Glad that you talked about both games that come in the box, since quite a few reviewers seem to forget or ignore the Skirmish game (and the FFG Organized Play that will be based around it.) and they fixate on the Campaign game.
Hey Joel, what are your thoughts on the Legends of the Alliance app for solo action with this game? Also, thanks for the review. I've got some Amazon gift cert monies burnin' a hole in my digital wallet and looking at this game.
Here is that tile diagram from BGG if anyone is looking for it. files.geekdo.com/geekfile_download.php?filetype=application%2Fpdf&filename=Imperial+Assault+Tile+Chart.pdf&filecode=qokgnsv5pf&validationcode=2e2803fdc0d942316480409a8602f1be
I have a question about imperial reinforcements. Is the threat accumulated through the mission the only way to bring back troops? Or every time its the imperial player turn he gets to bring back one unit back. I ask this because I have played Descent 2.0 and at times there are issues with Overlord reinforcement. Heroes can easily kill multiple enemies at once for having the ability to attack twice. As an Overlord player it gets frustrating at times when you can only bring back 1 monster per turn if you are getting annihilated. Only way I will buy this game is if the imperial player is stronger than the heroes, in terms of troop reinforcement. If troops are expendable, I hope that they can easily be reinforced. It is hard playing as the bad guy when its 4 heads vs 1.
Yes. This is "fixed" in IA. The two most notable changes (one you point out). 1) Imperial Player acts after every Rebel, not after all of them. 2) The Imperial player generates threat every round based on how far along the campaign you are. There are some other details. But, we are close to 50/50 in our games.
Messing around sounds fun and all, but did they remove the permanent rewards for winning a mission from Descent? You're saying that the overall performance doesn't matter in the finale of the game?
Oh no. Sorry if that wasn't clear. You still get XP and credit and sometimes mission specific rewards. I think I talked more about that during the game overview. What I meant at the end was, "If you lose three missions in a row, it's nowhere close to the end of the world."
Playing it through like an ongoing story sounds interesting. I don't think I could get it running though for some of the reasons you stated that makes it difficult with board game groups. Just curious but I see you have the role playing game Edge of the Empire on your shelf. Ever get to play that? If I'm going to commit to something ongoing with a storyline I think I'd rather play the role playing version but this game is certainly more accessible to most people.
great video. I'm very interested in this game, campaign sounds interesting but the skirmish is what I'm looking at. I'm a big fan of miniatures games, so would you recommend this game for someone who wants to collect the minis and build a skirmish force?
100% That's mostly how I've played it. We finished the main campaign and it was great. But, my favorite is setting up a skirmish force. My imagination can fill in the story. It fills a niche that other 1v1 games don't fill for me. At least a board game. It's really a great little minis game.
thanks for the speedy reply, that's what I was hoping to hear! Do you think they will continue to release minis for this and any idea how its doing in terms of tournaments? do you think it has potential to be big like xwing?
That's funny you should ask that. They literally just released three more minis today. Obi-wan, Greedo, and a character from Rebels. They've been steadily releasing stuff since the game came out. I know there is some organized play that happens but it's not anywhere close to as big as X-Wing. They do support the game at larger events and have a World Championship etc...
thats great to hear, I'm not a competitive player, im more casual but its always nice to see games doing well and being taken seriously in competitive play. in terms of star wars skirmish games, would you recommend Xwing over this? Personally i prefer characters over spaceships but prefer miniature games over board games so its a touch choice
I personally prefer characters over "ships" as well. If you want to be competitive in any way or at least find games at your FLGS, then X-Wing is the way to go. I think most folks who play minis, favor 40K, Warmachine, AoS, etc... over Imperial Assault :)
Good review. I'm glad that it will work with players dropping out from mission to mission. I'm disappointed that I will probably never get a chance to play as a rebel since it's my game and I'll probably have to run it.
This was one of the favorite games played during our New Year Eve Gaming Marathon. I think 3-4 scenarios were run until 3:00 am.
Really enjoyed this more detailed review. Keep up the good work!
"The Return of the J. Eddy"
Excellent review! Glad that you talked about both games that come in the box, since quite a few reviewers seem to forget or ignore the Skirmish game (and the FFG Organized Play that will be based around it.) and they fixate on the Campaign game.
Star Wars: Imperial Assault Review ua-cam.com/video/PsCBJpyHOck/v-deo.html
Hey Joel, what are your thoughts on the Legends of the Alliance app for solo action with this game? Also, thanks for the review. I've got some Amazon gift cert monies burnin' a hole in my digital wallet and looking at this game.
For me, it’s “ok” with the app. At this point I prefer playing it as a 1v1 skirmish game.
Here is that tile diagram from BGG if anyone is looking for it.
files.geekdo.com/geekfile_download.php?filetype=application%2Fpdf&filename=Imperial+Assault+Tile+Chart.pdf&filecode=qokgnsv5pf&validationcode=2e2803fdc0d942316480409a8602f1be
Awesome. Thanks for the link!
I have a question about imperial reinforcements. Is the threat accumulated through the mission the only way to bring back troops? Or every time its the imperial player turn he gets to bring back one unit back. I ask this because I have played Descent 2.0 and at times there are issues with Overlord reinforcement. Heroes can easily kill multiple enemies at once for having the ability to attack twice. As an Overlord player it gets frustrating at times when you can only bring back 1 monster per turn if you are getting annihilated.
Only way I will buy this game is if the imperial player is stronger than the heroes, in terms of troop reinforcement. If troops are expendable, I hope that they can easily be reinforced. It is hard playing as the bad guy when its 4 heads vs 1.
Yes. This is "fixed" in IA. The two most notable changes (one you point out). 1) Imperial Player acts after every Rebel, not after all of them. 2) The Imperial player generates threat every round based on how far along the campaign you are. There are some other details. But, we are close to 50/50 in our games.
Messing around sounds fun and all, but did they remove the permanent rewards for winning a mission from Descent? You're saying that the overall performance doesn't matter in the finale of the game?
Oh no. Sorry if that wasn't clear. You still get XP and credit and sometimes mission specific rewards. I think I talked more about that during the game overview. What I meant at the end was, "If you lose three missions in a row, it's nowhere close to the end of the world."
Playing it through like an ongoing story sounds interesting. I don't think I could get it running though for some of the reasons you stated that makes it difficult with board game groups. Just curious but I see you have the role playing game Edge of the Empire on your shelf. Ever get to play that? If I'm going to commit to something ongoing with a storyline I think I'd rather play the role playing version but this game is certainly more accessible to most people.
I have half-a-mind to break out a campaign for Edge, with the minis and maps from Imperial Assault :)
great video. I'm very interested in this game, campaign sounds interesting but the skirmish is what I'm looking at. I'm a big fan of miniatures games, so would you recommend this game for someone who wants to collect the minis and build a skirmish force?
100% That's mostly how I've played it. We finished the main campaign and it was great. But, my favorite is setting up a skirmish force. My imagination can fill in the story. It fills a niche that other 1v1 games don't fill for me. At least a board game. It's really a great little minis game.
thanks for the speedy reply, that's what I was hoping to hear! Do you think they will continue to release minis for this and any idea how its doing in terms of tournaments? do you think it has potential to be big like xwing?
That's funny you should ask that. They literally just released three more minis today. Obi-wan, Greedo, and a character from Rebels. They've been steadily releasing stuff since the game came out. I know there is some organized play that happens but it's not anywhere close to as big as X-Wing. They do support the game at larger events and have a World Championship etc...
thats great to hear, I'm not a competitive player, im more casual but its always nice to see games doing well and being taken seriously in competitive play. in terms of star wars skirmish games, would you recommend Xwing over this? Personally i prefer characters over spaceships but prefer miniature games over board games so its a touch choice
I personally prefer characters over "ships" as well. If you want to be competitive in any way or at least find games at your FLGS, then X-Wing is the way to go. I think most folks who play minis, favor 40K, Warmachine, AoS, etc... over Imperial Assault :)
Good review. I'm glad that it will work with players dropping out from mission to mission. I'm disappointed that I will probably never get a chance to play as a rebel since it's my game and I'll probably have to run it.
where can I buy this game locally?
Where are you located?
El Paso Texas
Sapok ry You can buy it online, but it should be in your local game stores I would bet.
Great job Joel.
Great review, Joel.
Thank you sir. It's a great game. Not as good as the Justin Bieber Kissing Game, but close!
Drive Thru Review Well, nothing is as good as the Justin Bieber Kissing Game, really.
nice review, concise and thorough. this game looks dope!
Jordan S Thanks. I appreciate it!
Good job Joel!
Excellent review really love this game so much fun thanks 😊
I always knew Joel had a 'dark side' ;-)