Subject: [Review] Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit

I was walking through a mall one day and stopped in a small game store
to see what was there.  Set up on one of the tables was Star Wars: The
Queen's Gambit.  It was one of the few games that on first sight, I
immediately wanted to buy.  The game looked really good, with a three
dimensional board and large, plastic armies for each side.  Besides,
it was Star Wars!    It was the first Avalon Hill/Hasbro game I had
ever seen, and it impressed my socks off.

So is this two player game worth buying?  The short answer is that if
you like Star Wars, games with them, or light war games – yes!  If
you're not a huge fan of luck, however, you might want to go somewhere
else.  Now for the longer answer….

First, a short description of game play.

Each player takes one of the two sides – Trade Federation (bad guys)
or Naboo (good guys).  The board is then set up – consisting of two
separate boards connected by a three dimensional palace, made up of
three floors held up by plastic pillars.  One of the outer boards is
the "battlefield" game board, and the other is the "space" game board.
 Then an extremely large amount of plastic figures for both sides are
set up all over the board.  On the battlefield, the Trade Federation
has a massive army consisting of many battle droids (cannon fodder),
destroyer droids (nasty), AAT's (tanks – even more nasty), and
multi-troop transports.  The Naboo player has the weaker Gungan army
made up of regular Gungans, Kaddu (cavalry), catapults (artillery),
and Fambaas (shield units).  The space board is split into two
sections.  On one, Anakin's spaceship (the hero!) is placed at the
start of a space track.  On the other, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon for
the good guys, and Darth Maul for the bad guys are placed in a small
arena that connects to the palace.  In the palace itself, which has
it's first floor extend on to the space board, and then has stairs
connecting to the other two floors – are placed piles of battle droids
and Destroyer droids for the bad guys and piles of palace guards, the
palace guard leader, and two queens for the good guys.  There is a red
queen and a purple queen:  one is a decoy, the other is real.  This is
chosen by the Naboo player at the start of the game.

Each large unit or main character has a hit point track on the game
board, on which are placed plastic discs to keep track of how much
life those units have remaining.  However, most units die after one
hit.  Each player then takes the two decks of cards provided for them
for their army – a Battlefield deck and a Palace deck, shuffle them,
place them face down into two draw piles for each player, and draw
five cards from each deck.  Game play is then ready to begin.

The entire game is driven by these cards.  Each player then places
face down in front of them four cards of their choice, in any order. 
They then take turns, starting with the first player, by playing a
card and following the actions on that card – then passing the turn to
their opponent.  The cards have a variety of actions on them.  Many of
them have two choices, so that when the card is flipped over, the
player can decide which choice to make.  Battlefield cards allow two
different things:  Either a player can move and/or shoot with a group
on the board, or affect the Anakin space track.  When a group is moved
and/or fires on the board, they use their statistics on four-player
help boards that show each unit's statistics.  For example, Gungan
warriors may move only one, attack with one gray die, have no defense,
a range of one, and one hit point.  A Destroyer Droid, on the other
hand, rolls 2 red dice for offense, 2 blue dice for defense, has a
range of two, and one hit point.   The colored dice are all different
– there are gray, red, blue, green, and gold.  Each die has a hit or
shield on several sides, with the remainder of the sides being blank. 
Whenever a hit icon is rolled, a hit is inflicted on the target unit. 
Whenever a shield icon is rolled, one hit is blocked.  Many of the
Gungan units are safe from attack as long as they stay outside inside
shields generated by the Fambaas.  However, if Federation units move
into the shield, they can target these units, bringing down the
shield.

Whoever wins the battlefield does not win the game.  Just like the
movie, it's a distraction from the main battle in the palace. 
However, for every enemy group totally destroyed, one bonus card is
won!  This allows the player to play five or more cards in the
following turn, giving them a huge advantage.  So the battlefield
cannot be ignored.
Cards are played by the Federation, putting obstacles in Anakin's
path, while the Naboo player plays space cards that move Anakin
(hopefully) past these obstacles to the mother ship.  This movement
depends solely on two six-sided dice rolls.  Once Anakin reaches the
end of this track, he destroys the mother ship, which shuts down every
droid in the game.  While this doesn't end the game, it's very
difficult for the Federation to win with Darth Maul as their only
surviving unit.

Palace cards are very similar, and allow either the Jedi units to have
a fierce light saber duel, or palace guards and droids to shoot it
out.   The Federation may be able to bring in additional units to the
palace from the battlefield, while the Naboo player can use special
window movement which allows them to travel between floors without
using the stairs.  The light saber duel is important, because the
winner(s) can come in and join the main palace battle.  The goal of
the Naboo player is to get a majority of units in the throne room on
the third floor.  The Federation has two immobile leaders in the room,
so the Naboo player must get at least three units there.  If they
accomplish this goal, the game is over.  The Trade Federation wins the
game if they kill off all but two of the Naboo units, thus preventing
a majority.  When one side achieves their victory conditions the game
is over!

Some comments on the game:

1).  Components:  If components are the main reason you buy a game,
then you have no choice – buy this game immediately!  The components
are simply fantastic!  All the plastic units are soft, malleable
plastic, so are very hard to break.  The models are also molded well,
and in a variety of colors look really good on the board.  Yes, it
would be wonderful if they were all painted, but you could a) paint
them yourself, or b) stop being so picky, you cretin!  The boards are
gorgeous, although they fold inward.  The backgrounds are nice, and
the damage tracks for each unit are very clear and easy to read.  The
three dimensional board holds up well – just make sure that you put it
together right, because it's a pain to set everything up and then
realize you put the second floor backwards.  A good jar to the table
will knock the units off the higher floors, but if the players are
careful, this shouldn't be a problem.  There is also enough hand space
between the floors to easily move the pieces.  Spaces on the board,
represented by hexes, are easily distinguished, yet have nice scenery
behind them.  The dice are nice, even though stickers must be applied
to them.  I would prefer pre-printed dice, but that's just asking for
the stars, frankly.  The box is beautiful and sturdy, like most Hasbro
boxes.  It holds all the pieces well, although I use plastic bags for
most of the components.  One thing that really impressed me about the
game was that extra components were included.  Many of the units, even
those that there were only one of had an extra mold included in the
box.  This was a nice touch and really went above and beyond. 
Overall, the components of this game are an A+.

2).  Setup:   This is a very nice touch.  It's printed on the game
board where each unit starts the game.  Not only that, but there are
four fully illustrated pages in the rule book that show and explain
where each figure should go, along with a picture of a complete setup.
 This is invaluable, especially the first time playing the game.  Once
you play the game more often, setup is extremely quick and easy.

3).  Rules:  The rule book is sixteen pages!  However, like I stated
earlier, four of these are showing setup.  One is a complete listing
of game components with a picture of each – a major plus!  Four more
pages are a detailed example of game play – something that has turned
out to be invaluable when answering questions about the game.  The
rules are very clear and extremely easy to teach.  I can teach a
beginner the game in five minutes, although strategy takes a bit
longer.  The rules have many clear, color- illustrated examples, and
are printed in a very nice layout.  We had a few questions, but they
were readily answered for us online and did not affect game play much.

4).  Strategy:  It's really hard to determine what cards are best to
play each turn.  You could concentrate on only one of four things –
but to ignore any of them will lead to disaster.  You cannot ignore
the Jedi battle, for whoever wins there will run off and join the
palace battle where they will sift the opponent like wheat!  You
cannot ignore the battlefield, for those bonus cards are such a
benefit.  You cannot ignore the space track, for it can win or lose
the game for you.  And obviously, you cannot ignore the palace, as it
is the centerpiece of the game and determines the victory.  There is a
LOT of dice rolling in this game.  I believe that it balances out. 
However, many battles will come down to pure blind luck – especially
the space track.  However, tactics and card play are very important,
and so offer a fair balance to this luck.

5).  Theme:  Whether or not you think that Episode One of Star Wars
was great or stank – this game certainly captures the theme of the
final battle.  I'm very impressed on how the designers took a movie
scene and turned it into a playable, fun game.  As the Naboo, you
really do feel pressed for time, as you must quickly win – or lose all
your units.  As the Federation, you feel a determined obligation to
rid the world of these stubborn Naboo folk.

6).  Players:  The rules explain how four players can play the game –
but it's really just a two-player game being shared by four players. 
The game really works best with two players.  It's not one I'd pull
out with my wife, but it's certainly one that I'd play with anyone who
likes any kind of light war game.

7).  Fun Factor:  This game is a downright romp in fun.  From Star
Wars phrases being shouted, to gasps when the rolls are being made, to
the joy of seeing a beautiful game being setup on your table – you
will have a blast playing this.

So, in conclusion, I really like the game.  It's fun, full of theme,
and should appeal to both Star Wars fans and light war gamers alike. 
The amount of luck produced by the many die rolls may turn off some,
but I found that it made for a light, easy game.  Star Wars, Queen's
Gambit is an excellent game and is worthy of your consideration.


Tom Vasel