Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game Review

Star Wars is a global phenomenon. Since the acquisition of rights by Disney, the fan base has split into several camps. Whether they love it, hate it, or are indifferent, Star Wars remains a powerful brand that serves as a foundation for countless merchandise, stories, games, and entertainment. When it comes to board games, the quality and gameplay of titles branded with Star Wars have always been a bit of a rollercoaster. You can graft almost any game system onto such a complex universe, and many Star Wars-themed games have been created over the years. However, the rights for tabletop and card games were acquired some time ago by Fantasy Flight Games, now part of the board game giant Asmodee. And they do whatever they want with the brand.

Quite a few Star Wars tabletop games have been released by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). From highly-rated titles like Star Wars: Rebellion and Imperial Assault, through decently rated games like Star Wars: Outer Rim or Star Wars: Destiny, to various wargaming titles, and I could go on. A strong brand doesn't make a good game, but fortunately, most of these titles are well-integrated with the Star Wars theme, gameplay included.

The latest release from FFG is a game with the straightforward title Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game. Before deckbuilders start cheering for a new TCG, let me clarify that this game has absolutely nothing to do with building custom decks. Or rather, it does, but as a built-in game system known from many other titles, starting with Dominion and ending with Ascension or Star/Hero Realms.

The game was designed by Caleb Grace, who took various ideas and systems from different games to create a mix of interesting mechanics. It is fun, but unfortunately, it suffers slightly from a higher element of luck (more on that later). Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game is a pure duel, and although it allows for a 2v2 variant with two copies of the game, I believe four players would rather reach for more interesting multiplayer board games. Even though this variant is said to be quite good as well.

How to play?

The rules are quite straightforward and simple, and fans of deckbuilding systems will feel right at home. One player plays as the Rebel Alliance, and the other, “surprisingly,” as the Imperial forces. Each player gets their own deck of starting cards, which are essentially the same, and a deck of bases from which they choose a starting planet. The goal of the game is to destroy 3 of the opponent's bases (or 4-5, depending on how long you want the game to last). The Imperial base starts as Lothal, and the rebel scum begins on Dantooine. Between the two players, six cards are laid out from a vast galactic market where players can hire new units, pilots, starfighters, capital ships, bounty hunters, or well-known heroes from the Star Wars universe.

The game is not very complex and takes about half an hour. Players have 5 cards available each turn. They take turns playing cards to gain resources for purchasing, power for attacking, card abilities for deck thinning, or sabotaging the opponent. They use resources to buy cards from the market, gradually adding them to their deck. As they cycle through these cards, they become stronger and stronger because the cards complement each other. The goal is to build a better deck than your opponent and destroy their bases as quickly as possible. The catch is that certain cards (aside from neutral ones) belong only to your faction; the Empire will never hire Chewbacca, and Darth Vader cannot become a good guy fighting for the Rebels.

The Force is also represented in the game as a tracker showing who currently has the Force on their side and who has a better chance of using their card abilities. The strategy of both factions is asymmetrical. For example, the Empire has more firepower, while the Rebels are better at sabotaging the Imperial player's hand and have more advantages in using the Force. By playing capital ships, players can block incoming attacks and protect their current base. Attacks can also be directed at cards in the galactic market to sabotage the opponent's goals. Once you lose a base, you simply move elsewhere, just like in the source material, and choose a new base with different abilities based on the current situation. The first player to destroy 3 (or 4-5) of the opponent's bases wins immediately.

In the system itself, I see the most influence from Star Realms, which the game draws from the most. Destroying bases reminds me a lot of the recently released Radlands, and the entire system of card abilities and deck thinning goes back to the aforementioned forefather of all deckbuilders – Dominion.

It has a dark side of the Force, too…

The game does have its flaws. If no cards from your faction appear in the galactic market, you are often forced to take neutral cards (if any are available), destroy the opponent's cards, or hire pilots and wait for the market to refresh. I played four games, and twice I had nothing to choose from. For the Rebels, it's not such a big problem because they still have enough mechanics to at least sabotage the Imperial hand, but the Empire is only half an Empire without its strong units and gets beaten up just like in the movies. This element, where both players don't have equal opportunities, can be frustrating, and even though the situation can turn around, the game never really reaches epic heights. After all, I think the Empire has it a bit harder because it doesn't have as many resources and often has to rely on neutral cards until it strengthens up and acquires powerful units and ships. Unfortunately, by that time, rebel units might be camping in the market, and you have to remove them to refresh the selection. Maybe we were just unlucky. After all, there is quite a lot of luck in the game. And for a game played over a beer at the pub, it's not like you're looking for crazy emotional depth.

The theme works nicely. The cards are traditionally very well-designed, and the iconography is essentially the same as what FFG has been using for its Star Wars games for years, making it easy to understand what's going on. The rules are simple, clear, and basically, if you've already played Star Realms or similar games, you can start playing immediately. I recommend playing the extended version to 5 winning bases, which stretches the game by about 15 minutes, but at least you'll see your painstakingly built “engine” in action and get some acceptable satisfaction from it.

Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game is a nice duel game that is accessible to everyone, not just fans. The game is fully localized, and anyone can learn it. If you don't mind a higher share of luck, which you can work with, and you know how to account for bad luck, then it's the ideal game for you – even more so if you love the black-and-white world of Star Wars.

author Honza Kohoutek