Top 10 Star Wars Board Games in 2023
Legendary Tactics
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These are, imho, the BEST 10 Star Wars board games in 2023. I’ve included a range of Star Wars games from simple light ones, to heavy strategic masterpieces. I’m focusing on enjoyable games, thematically relevant mechanics, and the overall quality of the game. Please add your own top 3 Star Wars games in the comments in case I’ve got it wrong, or if there’s one that I’ve missed. Now get out there, get gaming, and be legendary.
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#starwarsrebellion #starwarsboardgames #legendarytactics
0:00 Top 10 Star Wars Board Games
0:48 10 – A Big Fat Fleet Level Miniatures Games
1:43 9 – Win the Millenium Falcon!
2:30 8 – Pocket Sized Game
3:01 7 – The Living Game
3:42 6 – Retro Star Wars
4:22 5 – Pick Up and Deliver
5:07 4 – Spaceship Level Dogfights
5:45 3 – It’s NOT Gloomhaven
6:39 2 – It’s NOT Risk
7:46 1 – The Absolute BEST Star Wars Game
04.02.2024
Glad to see Assault On Hoth
3:16 Star Wars LCG is my #2 SW pick, and in my top 20 of all time. We have all the cards. It’s OOP now, but still a solid play.
When I heard him say he didnt include Legion because he already had 3 other better miniature games on the list I became very skeptical. Fortunately, you didnt put Shatterpoint on here above Legion haha.On a side note, X-Wing is my favorite. But I love Legion, Armada, and X-Wing.My favorite board game is Imperial Assault.
Totally agarre on Star Wars Risk edition. That games feelsnlike the end of Rotj.
Great list. I needed that and I learned something.I think the new Star Wars The Deckbuilding game will easily be in the Top 5 Rebellion is also my favorite Star Wars Game too. I'd love to know if you have tried any of the expansions I worked on the Table Top Simulator?They under the Ultimate Edition version on TTS
Number one better be Star Wars rebellion…
When playing Star Wars Risk Black Series be sure to use the official errata the developer posted to BGG.
Agree with alot of your list,
for me:
10) Imperial Assault
9) Star Warrior from WEG, the OG of Star Fighter combat part of the SWRPG
8) Battle of Hoth
7) Star Wars Risk Clone wars edition
6) Star Wars Legion, it is a more streamlined Imperial assault
5) Star wars Risk Black edition
4) Star Wars Outer Rim
3) Sabbacc, the more "grownup version of the Han Solo Card Game
2) Queens Gambit by Avalon Hill, ALMOST worth what it costs
1) Rebellion, Duh! 🙂
"Star Wars: Rebellion" is clearly the masterpiece of all SW-related tabletop games. I would personally include on my list "Star Wars: Destiny," the dice-based collectible card game. The fascinating combos one could create, the added excitement of dice management, the classic character combos. It's a wonderful game which was cancelled just as it was about to enter some game changing territory. What we got was already very memorable and very, very fun.
I've run 4 Canadian nationals for X-wing. It's too bad AMG has ruined the game and antagonized the player base.
I have been playing Star Wars The Clone Wars recently and I personally like it slightly better than Rebellion. I have only played Rebellion at 3 player though so I may need to give it another try.
Assault on Hoth! Haven't seen that in a long time 🙂
If we're going old school, one of my early favorite Star Wars games was Escape from the Death Star (1977 I think), thought it doesn't really hold up well today.
Another early favorite was the Starfighter Battle Book, a take-off on the Ace of Aces WW1 dogfighting books.
Overall a solid list, hard to empirically quibble with the order… (though I might have the Risk game lower on my list 🙂 )
My list would definitely include the West End Games Star Wars RPG (granted, not a board game, but home to some of my favorite gaming experiences of all time)
Have to give a mention to the fabulous and out of print Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit. Had so many amazing plays of this incredible game before selling it for a pretty penny 🙂 thanks for the great videos!
I will admit I was very skeptical about SW Rebellion. It is highly ranked on multiple board gaming websites, but I chalked it up to Star Wars fans and its IP. I was blown away by this game. It genuinely is a well-designed game that feels like you are playing out an original Star Wars movie.
Great topic.
Have you played Rebellion with the expansion? It's an amazing upgrade for an already amazing game. 100% recommend
Star Wars is love. Star Wars is life.
Star Wars Rebellion is still the only game I sprung for a 3rd party insert for. I even got more dice, just to have less passing dice back and forth across the tables when playing. I wish FFG would make extra dice available… I had to get them from someone parting out the game on ebay. Really amazing game… and definitely the best Star Wars game ever made. My #2 is probably Outer Rim.
Thanks for making this list. I share much of your same picks.
My go to crown jewel is still the Decipher CCG, basically due to storytelling
I think a lot good old games are missing. And X wing is nothing like Wing of Glory… the dogfight It is dull and predictable and the game is decided only by choosing the right cards, not by manuvering.
Here's my list:
10) Star Wars Villainous
9) Star Wars Epic Duels
8) Risk: Star Wars Edition
7) Star Wars Outer Rim
6) Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Pandemic System)
5) Star Wars Armada
4) Queen's Gambit
3) Star Wars Rebellion
2) Assault on Hoth: The Empire Strikes Back (West End Games)
1) Star Warrior (West End Games)
On of the best Star Wars games is Freedom in the Galaxy from SPI/Avalon Hill. I know it's technically not a proper Star Wars game, but it's as close as you can get without the IP.
It has a very interesting scale. You're both conducting the war/rebellion on the strategic level while simultaneously following individual characters (just like the movies!).
Oh, have you tried Star Wars Destiny? I found it very enjoyable for a competitive card game with an interesting use of dice. For me the con is really that is a TCG and getting the extra cards is an addictive commitment.
You mentioned that Armada isn't higher because of the price. Agreed. It's costly. So is X-Wing, Imperial Assault, and even Star Wars: The Card Game. Where I disagree is that I'm of the view that games should be rated on how good the actual game is (i.e. how much you enjoy playing it), regardless of other factors — like price, ability to get to the table, length of play, etc.
That being said, Armada, Imperial Assault and Rebellion are in my top five games of all time, not just Star Wars. (I like Armada better than X-Wing, even though I have infinitely more X-Wing –insanely so.) Outer Rim is also in my top ten. As I haven't played the others you mentioned, I'm not qualified to comment on those.
EDIT: I also think Star Wars Destiny is a great game. Though, like any collectible game (X-Wing, Armada, TCG), it can run into money. And while I haven't had an opportunity to play it yet (impossible to find PC's locally), "Edge of the Empire" RPG is excellent. I know RPG's are not technically considered board games.
Sad, no epic duels?
I want something like Marvel United but for Star Wars or small Skirmish Game with expansions
Been looking for a good star wars game for my club and Rebellion lokks pretty sweet. But what about Destiny and tje new deck builder? Honorable mentions i assume?
Why the Hell isn't there a Clone wars expansion for Rebellion??
Wow no Star Wars duels??
In a top 10 you should include the queens gambit, it plays similar to the star wars risk game with having multiple simultaneous battles going on, yet is much better at it! Another good boardgame is the battle for endor, its in the same range as assault on hoth with very similar tactics and tense gameplay. Empire vs rebellion really doesnt deserve a spot on this list. For card games deciphers star wars tcg is much better than star wars the cardgame
What I would love to do some day is play Rebellion on one table and Armada, Xwing and Imperial Assault on another for Rebellion's combat.
1: Miniature Battles
2: Rebellion
3: Sebacc (WEG, the original more adult version)
4: Armada
5: Outer Rim
6: Star Wars: Customizable Card Game (CCG)
7: X-Wing
8: Battle for Hoth
9: Star Warriors
10: Epic Battles
Honorable Mention: Queen's Gambit and Imperial Assault which I haven't played but look fantastic. Loopin' Chewie for being a great young kid's game.
I would really suggest taking a look at Star Wars: Miniatures Battles (1991 or the 1993 edition which was updated to match SW: The RPG 2E) and Star Wars: Star Warriors both of which were published by West End Games and can be played intertwined with the Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. Now, it should be mentioned, if you're putting these at larger scale they can take a long time to plan an army because you have control over their compositions to a degree no other such game has and manages it in decent terms. Miniatures Battles is arguably one of the greats for war games and severely underappreciated, better than Legion, while Star Warriors is X-Wing's older brother. One of its great features is that integration with The RPG, which has over 100 expansions you can draw from, and you can find an archive of those over on starwarstimeline(dot)net(slash)Westendgames. If you like Battle for Hoth you'll probably enjoy these, as well as Battle for Endor which is a solo game very similar to Battle for Hoth though not quite as good. Miniatures Battles can be played with any 25mm or 1/72 scale figures, intended for 6-60 figures.
I prefer the original Sabacc, which was released with the Crisis on Cloud City expansion of Star Wars The RPG. You try to get as close to 23 or -23 as possible, with an Idiot's Array as the ultimate hand being a 0 with a 2 and a 3 of the same suite. There are house rules that can vary it up as well like changing how the field works or making the Idiot's Array a little more common by allowing the 2 and 3 to be different suites. It's essentially a mix of blackjack with poker. The die roll adds a good chunk of interesting choices by forcing you to choose on risk or slowcook your opponent, or hope for that hand shuffle, and with the way you can put cards aside in the field so it isn't affected by random chance that offers more strategy. It's a really solid mix and well thought out method. I'd put that pretty decently high, maybe 5th or so. I would genuinely put it as comparable to the classic card games. I even grabbed up the brass coin bits from the old special 1997 Monopoly to add a bit more theatrics to the betting portion alongside the credits from Outer Rim and a few other things I've collected over the years.
Fun fact, TONS of the EU and the names, places, and species in Star Wars come from the old WEG RPG expansions. It was massively impactful in shaping Star Wars and a very impressive system in just the sheer scope and design integration. It was before my time but it's a golden age of content.
I should further note Star Wars: The Customizable Card Game, or Star Wars CCG. 1995-2001 by Decipher Inc., but still being maintained with virtual cards since 2002 by a committee of avid fans. The best card game Star Wars has.
I'd also put Armada much higher. I like the impact, the slow plodding nature, the strategy, and of course, I get to throw my anger triangles at filthy rebels. I do so love Star Destroyers, and I really like that there's a bunch of EU content being brought in with it. I also love the way ship compositions can play into each other, like how I can use an Interdictor to supply infinite shields to other ships including a Victory that uses shields to put extra damage down. That said, X-Wing is pretty great too. Armada is actually pretty affordable as far as miniature games like these go. It's a little pricier than some but compare it to something like Warhammer.
I unfortuantely haven't gotten the chance to play all of my Star Wars boardgames. I also really need to get Rebellion and Imperial Assault still as boardgames.
In Star Wars Risk as Rebel player you can ignore Vader and space battle and focus on the shield and then destroy the Death Star. You win.
The Clone Wars is a game derived from the pandemic system. But oh boy, it us the definitive prequel game.
Missions are episodes from the show. And it us heavily yhematic, and components are beautiful. Just like pandemic, it us a casual game, unlike Rebellion. But it really has the feeling of the show.
In Star Wars, vilkains are deadly in the original trilogy, while in the TV show vilkains harassed Jedis and made their life tough. This is reflected in this game. You defeat a villain and suddenly the villain reappears and harasses you.
If you are an advanced gamer, BGG forum has variants. But if you want a casual game, this is refreshing. If your kids watched Clone Wars, they will love this game.
The final mission takes pkace where these villains were defeated. Dooku on Coruscant, Grievous in Utapau, etc.
This one and Rebellion are the best. I am putting aside the tactical games when I say do. Those are a different beast.
Enjoyed your list and your enthusiasm for the IP really shines through 🙂 I've just purchased a second-hand SW Risk Black Series from eBay and am counting the days until it arrives!
The expansion improves an already solid system. Now you can do more things. You have units that you wished in the base game, and combat allows a bit more player control. I see it as a must have.
To me, The Clone Wars is second in my list after Rebellion.. All tactical games are expensive. So you buy a base game and you need to spend lots of money and as time passes, it is hard to find. These two games are a full game in a box. I find expansions to be like DLCs. I prefer a full game in a box.
I like miniatures, I do not like deckbuilding games.
I keep looking for someone who includes Star Wars Miniatures. I played that game probably twice a week for seven years. Anyone else ever played minis?
My top 2 right now are Star Wars: Clone Wars (a pandemic-like) and Star Wars: The Deck Building Game, both are really unique takes on classic formulas with a distinctly star wars flavor, and surprisingly, I actually think they significantly improve upon the already great original games they're iterative of (pandemic and star realms). SW:C is my go to if people want to co-op, SW:TDBG is the go to for pvp.
I really want to get into Rebellion cause everyone says how great it is, but my play group sees that 3-4 hour play time and laughs in my face. I'd say for my group an hour is the upper end of how long a game can last before people start to lose interest and engagement, with the sweet spot for length probably being in the 30-45 minute range, so it might just be that I don't have the right play group for the gameplay experience of Rebellion which is sad, as this isn't the first video I've seen that says how good it is, but it is what it is.
I don't see anyone mention Star Wars Talisman. Is it not good??
We need mor legion players 😂🎉
So… where does "Star Wars: the Clone Wars" rank now?
I started with Star Wars: Epic Duels! A simple straight forward game to play with ur kids and adults alike! If you can find it, grab it!
Star Wars: The Deck Building Game (2023) not being on this list is a travesty, easily a top 3 SW game
Great video 🙂 Where would you put SW Deck building? 🙂
What? No Hoth Ice Planet Adventure Game?