Become a bounty hunter in Star Wars: Bounty Hunters

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… and only the wise know what happened next. Many films, series, and games of varying quality have been created about the history of the Skywalker family and beyond. For years, the Star Wars franchise has offered enthusiastic geeks endless entertainment and ways to invest their hard-earned credits while enjoying adventures across the various planets of this stellar universe.

If you're tired of just passively watching your favorite heroes on screen and are still saving credits for your own lightsaber to get in on the action, you can try a game where you'll meet plenty of familiar faces. If you also enjoy shuffling cards, you shouldn't miss the card game Bounty Hunters.

In this game for 2 to 6 players, you become a bounty hunter, tracking down targets across the galaxy to earn victory points and a few extra credits. You don't have to just cheer for the Mandalorian anymore; you can experience firsthand how challenging it is to hunt down your targets without losing too much in the process. Because it's not just the Force that needs to be kept in balance, but your victory points as well.

The whole thing is refreshingly compact – inside the modest box, you'll find the rules and 4 decks of cards: green for targets, red for bounty hunters, blue for contracts, and gray for droids (the market). It wouldn't be complete without a pile of credits, and to make gameplay easier, there's a reference card and a scorepad. It's also great that the packaging is eco-friendly – no plastic wrap, cards wrapped in paper, no wasted space, and very compact.

How does it all work?

Set up all the cards according to the clear diagram in the rules – create 4 decks based on card type and keep the credits within reach. For your first game, it's good to designate a Guildmaster (the player who most recently watched a Star Wars film) to coordinate other players using the reference card – everyone plays simultaneously, so it's easy to get lost. Once players are familiar with the rules, this role is no longer necessary.

At the start, everyone draws one card from each deck – keep them hidden from other players. Each round, everyone draws one card simultaneously from any deck they choose. Then, pick one of the five cards in your hand: either play it (place it in front of you) or sell it (discard it to the pile on the other side of the draw deck of that color and take one credit). Pass the remaining four cards to the player on your left and take the ones passed to you from the right. Once everyone finishes these steps, a new round begins.

Each player manages their own encounters. First, choose a target for your encounter (any green card you like, whether for its point value, potential extra rewards like credits, or just because you want to hunt Chewie) and attach attack cards to it. These can be red bounty hunter cards or droids.

It's important to align the cards so their numerical values are visible. When the attack card values match or exceed the target's value, the target is captured; flip the card sideways so everyone can see which targets are taken. It's a shame there's no explanation for the color-coded values on the cards you're matching, but it doesn't make the game any less fun.

You can have multiple targets laid out in front of you and add attack cards as you see fit. Think ahead and don't just balance your encounters with red bounty hunter cards – they are free to play, but they become negative points at the end of the game. That's why all the local hunters recommend scouting the gray droid cards; they cost credits, but they won't sabotage your final score with negative values. Even if you don't have enough credits for a droid, don't hesitate to lay the card down and "reserve" it (place it sideways). Once you have enough credits, you can activate it in a later round and add it to the necessary encounter.

Besides droids, the gray deck contains plenty of equipment crate cards – if you collect and activate enough of these, they can earn you extra victory points on top of your captured targets.

Additionally, blue contract cards can grant you victory points. You can leave them out for a simpler game, but I find them a welcome addition. There are several types, giving players extra points for specific targets or combinations of targets and crates.

When someone captures their fourth target, the end of the game is triggered. This player takes a credit bonus and a contract card, which they activate immediately (if multiple players trigger this simultaneously, they all get the bonus). Then, finish the current round and play two more full rounds, during which you can capture more targets and gain more points.

Finally, tally up the hunt results. Use the included pad to record points for captured targets. Everyone counts points for activated crates, and the player with the most crates gets a 5-point bonus. You'll get more points for completed contracts. However, all the bounty hunters you used during your hunt will count as negative points. After summing these values, the player with the highest score wins. In case of a tie, the player with the most remaining credits wins. Congratulations, if that's you, you can declare yourself the best hunter in the galaxy!

Final Summary

If you're a Star Wars fan, want to play something fast-paced, and don't want to spend all day on it, the Bounty Hunters card game is a clear choice. I was personally surprised by the simplicity of the rules, even though you still need to think about your strategy to win. The card drafting method is also pleasantly different – in other card games, you usually reduce the number of cards you choose from, but here you appreciate the chance to pick from five every time, and with a bit of luck, if you want more cards from your hand, they might come back to you later. The fact that everyone plays simultaneously is also welcome, especially with more players. There's no downtime, and everyone stays engaged.

If you're not a huge expert on the SW universe, it's a pity you won't recognize many of the characters you meet on the cards – but that can be fixed by watching the great animated series Rebels. And let's be honest, thematically, Bounty Hunters hits the bullseye, or rather, the gray zone – we've already tried playing for the good or bad guys on more epic battlefields like Star Wars Rebellion, so why not spice up your game night with this quick dive into moral ambiguity? In the words of a classic… This is the Way!

author Jana Mrkvicová