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Fantasy Flight Tabletop Star Wars Gaming

Discussion in 'Star Wars: Video/Tabletop Games' started by Admiral Petty, May 17, 2016.

?

What's your favorite type of tabletop game?

  1. Board Games

    2 vote(s)
    6.7%
  2. Card Games

    1 vote(s)
    3.3%
  3. Miniatures Games

    6 vote(s)
    20.0%
  4. Role Playing Games

    13 vote(s)
    43.3%
  5. I can't choose, I love them all!

    8 vote(s)
    26.7%
  1. Admiral Petty

    Admiral Petty Force Sensitive

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    I just wanted to point out that for those of you who enjoy tabletop gaming from time to time, Fantasy Flight Games has been killing it with their Star Wars games these days. Me and my friends have been playing the Edge of the Empire RPG and enjoying it greatly. I've also enjoyed both Star Wars Armada and Star Wars Imperial Assault with my friends as well. At this point they pretty much have all the bases covered as far as Star Wars tabletop gaming goes.

    They have 2 Card Games

    Star Wars: Empire vs. Rebellion (the simpler option)

    Star Wars: The Card Game (more in depth)

    3 Miniatures Games

    Star Wars: X-Wing (starfighter based combat)

    Star Wars: Armada (fleet and capital ship based combat)

    Star Wars: Imperial Assault (ground based combat)

    A Board Game

    Star Wars: Rebellion

    Lastly, an RPG split into 3 different(but compatible) lines focusing on different parts of the Star Wars experience

    Edge of the Empire (focusing on the seedier and less civilized edges of the SW universe)

    Beginner Game Box

    Age of Rebellion (focusing on the conflict between the Rebellion and the Empire)
    Beginner Game Box

    Force and Destiny (focusing on force sensitive characters and adventures)
    Beginner Game Box

    The Force Awakens Beginner Game Box(set around the time of TFA, uses same rules as other three)

    I haven't tried them all of course, but the ones I have tried I have enjoyed a great deal.

    For the RPG I would recommend starting with one of the Beginner Game boxes as they are great for easing you into the game and its mechanics, plus they come with the dice and plenty of useful tokens, maps and character sheets. I was initially intimidated at the prospect of trying an RPG due to all the numbers and mechanics involved, but the narrative way the dice are used with symbols that have narrative effects rather than numbers really helps and gives the game a narrative feel like the movies. Me and my friends enjoyed the Beginner Game so much that I upgraded to the Core Rule Book for Edge of the Empire and we haven't looked back.

    For the miniature games, I've really enjoyed both Armada and Imperial Assault so far, but I would caution that those two lines are a little more in depth with their rules and setup. X-Wing is the simplest to pick up and play from what I've heard, it also has the biggest following.

    Pricing

    I would recommend crosschecking the prices of any game you're interested in online rather than paying list price, as most times you can get a significant discount that way. The three sites I most frequently buy from are Amazon, Miniature Market and Cool Stuff Inc. Some of these games definitely represent a higher initial price investment, so you may want to try some of the cheaper options first. X-Wing definitely has the cheapest starter option for miniatures and the Beginner Boxes are a nice cheap way to try out the RPG to see if you like it before buying a Core Rule Book.

    In case anyone was wondering, no, I am not being paid to advertise for Fantasy Flight Games ;). I have just really enjoyed their Star Wars offerings with my friends and wanted to share with you guys here on the forums.

    I'll probably periodically update this post with new information and resources over time as well :).
     
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  2. BamBoosle-8

    BamBoosle-8 Force Sensitive

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    Have you seen on The Star Wars Show that Fantasy Flight went to Lucas Film to show the games to the staff?

    I love Fantasy Flight. They have great games
     
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  3. Admiral Petty

    Admiral Petty Force Sensitive

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    Yeah I saw that, always nice to see FFG getting some love.
     
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  4. Lazarus Dei

    Lazarus Dei Tree Dodger Extraordinaire
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    @Admiral Petty - Have you played Rebellion? I've just had the game bought for me and don't know much about it yet. If it plays anything like FFGs brilliant Battlestar Galactica board game it should be good.
     
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  5. Admiral Petty

    Admiral Petty Force Sensitive

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    Nope, haven't played that one yet, but it's on my wish list ;). Being as how it's by FFG I have no doubts about its quality though :).
     
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  6. Cole

    Cole Force Sensitive

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    Just got the Edge of the Empire Beginner Game. I can't wait to get into it. I'm getting a little burnt out on D&D, and the dice system for EotE looks very cool. Fantasy Flight really knows how to do dice.
     
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  7. Admiral Petty

    Admiral Petty Force Sensitive

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    Yeah, the dice system they came up with is great. It really enhances the gameplay and the narrative, often in exciting and humorous ways. The fact that even successes can have disadvantages and failures can still result in advantages makes each dice roll more exciting and cinematic.
     
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  8. Cole

    Cole Force Sensitive

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    Yeah it seems like it can lend itself to a Star Warsy feel very well.

    Like Han failed his "charm" check to convince Greedo to let him go, but got an advantage to lead Greedo into a long Bad Guy speech, leaving him open to the sneak attack.

    It seems like its going to be a challenge, running the game, always having to be on my toes. ready for the story possibilities that crazy rolls and bring on. I think I'm going to have to rely on my players a lot more than usual for that part of it.

    Another cool thing that I'm looking forward to is that I'm way more familiar with the SW universe than say the Forgotten Realms or Ravenloft or any of the other fantasy settings. And I think that's probably true for most. Everything in SW is so tangible and (dare I say it) practical, that even players not familiar with SW can catch on and understand.
     
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  9. Admiral Petty

    Admiral Petty Force Sensitive

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    Yes indeed, it makes for some fun games, each dice roll is full of interesting possibilities. Once you get the hang of it your players should be handling and describing the successes and advantages while you as the GM handle the failures and disadvantages. My group is always giddy with excitement for each week's game session.
    picard_jiggle-21476.gif

    Here in a bit I'll post some great GM aids and sources that I've found to be helpful.
     
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  10. DarthSnow

    DarthSnow Sith in the North
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    My father-in-law recently got this game and has loved it. I have yet to play it, but I will take his word for it- he has played thousands of board games. At least. Haha. It's a bit longer than just a casual board game, I want to say probably at least 4 hours for your first play, but lots of fun! I'll have to check back in once I finally get to try it out.
     
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  11. Cole

    Cole Force Sensitive

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    So I ran the EotE Beginner Game for two of my friends. And it was super cool! They were a Wookie Hired Gun and a Droid Doctor. The doctor droid was all prim and proper and appologizing to the enemies constantly. And the Wookie was super emotional the whole time. They had very exciting street chase and get-away. We got through the Beginner game in one session. It was great. Highly recommended if you like RPGs and Star Wars! (or just one or the other)
     
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  12. DarthBubba

    DarthBubba Rebelscum

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    Imperial Assault is fantastic. The boards and the miniatures are well-made, and the rules are simple enough that I can play it with my 7 year old son. Looking forward to trying out the RPGs!
     
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  13. Star Dude

    Star Dude Jedi General

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    Unfortunately, my group got stuck somewhere in the middle of the free-to-download EotE beginners adventure of the black sun a while ago as 50% of the group voted for an RPG pause. They had something like a RPG burnout after a World of Darkness Marathon before, switch of system came to late I guess.

    But everybody agreed that the Fantasy Flight Games dice system and the real team corporation, including the GM, really got things rolling. Those (dis)advantages influenced how the story was proceeding for good. And everything went time faster as in other systems.
     
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  14. Bligh

    Bligh Rebel Official

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    Hi Guys, my friends and I really want to play a Star Wars themed tabletop game of some sort - ideally an RPG but this isn't vital. I love the look of Edges of the Empire!

    The only problem is that ideally it needs to be 6-8 players. Our default board game tends to be Risk but we want to move on. Can anybody recommend anything?
     
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  15. Cole

    Cole Force Sensitive

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    You COULD play one of the Fantasy Flight RPGS (Age of Rebelion, Edge of the Empire, or Force and Destiny). They're all the "same" game, just different aspects and styles: i.e. the Military, Scum and Villainy, and Force stuff.

    6 players is a pretty big party, and you can run into a few issues with a big party. 1) everything usually takes longer. 2) It's harder for the GM to make sure everyone has something to do in game. That said, I've played in games with 6 players and had a blast. I would suggest the EotE Beginner Box or the Age of Rebellion Begginer Box. Both have 6 pre-generated characters and a short adventure, and an extended adventure (PDF on the FFG website). And it comes with the special dice you need to play the game. Its a great way to get introduced to the game to see if your group likes it. Its about $25. Also, hopefully someone in your group has at least some GM experience. If not, the beginner box adventures have very easy to follow instructions on how to run the game, and the adventures teach the GM and the Players how to play AS you play the game. Pretty cool.

    As far as other SW tabletop stuff goes...maybe X-wing. I've only ever played 2 player, But it seems like, if you had enough models, you could have some interesting battles with tons of players. But thats an game that can get pretty expensive...

    Edit: I wouldn't go for the Force and Destiny Beginner Box. I ran through it, and felt that the adventure was not up to par with the other two. It felt way more D&D-ish. And didn't really have the Star Wars feel, in my opinion. I'm sure the game, itself is better, but I just didn't care for the Beginner Box.
     
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  16. Bligh

    Bligh Rebel Official

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    That's really good to know, thanks mate. In regards to EotE; I swear the description on Amazon said it was a total of 5 players though? Or is 6 the maximum? I apologise if I'm being silly.
     
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  17. Cole

    Cole Force Sensitive

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    I'm guessing 5 is the suggested number (1 GM, 4 Players). However, I ran the beginner game with 6 players (7, including me as the GM) and it went just fine.
    All of the pre-generated characters have a short backstory included to tie them all into the adventure, which is pretty cool.
    There are 4 pre-gens in the box. And there are 2 downloadable pre-gens and a longer sequel adventure for the box here:
    https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/star-wars-edge-of-the-empire-beginner-game/

    So that would get you 7 players (a GM, and 6 Player characters).
    --- Double Post Merged, Sep 22, 2016, Original Post Date: Sep 22, 2016 ---
    Alert! I just looked on Amazon and the EotE beginner game is going for $45-50 dollars right now! Don't pay that! It normally only costs $25 -30 dollars, which is a good deal. I would wait and see if the price comes down, or look around at some game stores or other web stores. I think maybe FFG is out of stock at the moment or something.

    However, it looks like the Age of Rebellion Beginner Game box is appropriately priced on Amazon. I haven't played through that one, but I've heard it's comparable to EotE, as far as the quality of the adventure goes. The same situation for the AoR Beginner game. They have 2 more pre-gens and a longer adventure on their website.
    https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/star-wars-age-of-rebellion-beginner-game/
    Theyre under the Player Resources tab.

    Age of the Rebellion is, thematically, all about the Rebel Alliance. So it's more millitary based, and I'm assuming all your characters are Rebels.
     
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  18. Bligh

    Bligh Rebel Official

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    That answers my question perfectly! Thank you so much mate. I think 7 players would be perfect.

    Well I'm based in the UK and I can pick it up for £21.77 which comes to just under US$30.00. I think I'm going to go for it.
    --- Double Post Merged, Sep 23, 2016 ---
    UPDATE: I just ordered it. :cool:

    Thanks again for all your help mate! I'll keep you guys updated when we play this.

    May the Force be with you
     
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  19. Cole

    Cole Force Sensitive

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    Awesome! Have fun!
     
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  20. cawatrooper

    cawatrooper Dungeon Master

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    Technically, Rebellion is classified as a miniature game, since FFG doesn't have the license to make Star Wars board games. But yeah, it's still totally a board game, just with a ton of minis.

    Rebellion is great, and so is Imperial Assault. Believe it or not, Imperial Assault is actually a lot easier to learn. Darth Bubba said his seven year old could play it, and I'm not too surprised at all! Looking to get into X-Wing or Armada next.
     
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