GO WEST, YOUNG JEDI! WEG Board Games still have the Force

Review by R. Lee Brown

     Imagine for a moment you're in charge of Rogue Squadron. No, not just a single fighter, with the ability to just give orders to wingmen, like in X-Wing Starfighter Simulation from LucasArts Entertainment. I'm talking commanding the entire squadron, giving orders, picking the targets, controlling the flight paths of every ship. Sound intriguing? Then let's up the ante. Let's throw in the control of multiple squadrons of ships, from A and B to X and Y-wings, including the venerable Millenium Falcon.

     Or you can mastermind the Imperial strategy and dictate the manuevers of a fleet of TIE fighters, TIE bombers, TIE Interceptors, Darth Vader's TIE Interceptor Prototype, even multiple Star Destroyers. In addition, Boba Fett enthusiasts can pilot Slave I on either side of the battle, and throw in several Pirate Pinnaces to boot. If this sounds like a game you just can't wait until Christmas to have, then the Force is with you. Its not a video or computer game (although one can only hope that similar battle strategy will be included in LucasArts upcoming Star Wars: Rebellion game); no, this is a board game called Star Warriors, and not only is it already out but it, like several other board games from West End Games (WEG), has been out for years.

     Star Warriors was one of the first games released by WEG when they procured a licensing agreement from Lucasfilm back in 1987. In addition to the Star Wars Role-Playing Games for which they've become so renowned, WEG also published a series of boxed board games that covered the events from the three Star Wars films, including Assault on Hoth, Rogue Squadron's very first "official" appearance. Two pamphlet games from WEG, Starfighter Battle Book and Lightsaber Dueling Pack also allowed gamers their first chance for head-to-head Star Wars starfighter combat, long before the technology was available for LucasArts Entertainment to create X-Wing and TIE Fighter.

STAR WARRIORS

     Before I ever saw the Star Wars RPG, I remember spying Star Warriors. This is way back in 1987 (has it really been TEN years?), and having enduring a four year absence of any manner of Star Wars merchandise, I descended on Star Warriors like Luke's damaged ship down to Hoth. Described as "Ship to ship combat in the Star Wars universe come to life," Star Warriors was a "highly-detailed combat game" played on a 22" x 34" full-color space map marked out in hexagons. It also came with a 48 page detailed rule book and 220 game pieces; that's right TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY pieces, including EIGHTY ships, THIRTY-SEVEN asteroids and THREE Star Destroyers. As for the other ONE HUNDRED pieces? They are markers to keep track of the various attributes of EACH ship on the board.

     The players have to be concerned with "scenarios" and "ship mixes," i.e. the win conditions and the number and type of ships each side can use, ostensibly to keep the battle "fair." As the tactician for your squadrons of starfighters, you have to out-think your opponent, out-guess the drift of asteroid fields, and out-fly and out-shoot the enemy ships. Star Warriors had the first comparative list of ship speeds, manueverabilties and flight capabilities that I had ever seen published in the Star Wars universe (although the chart in the WEG Star Wars Sourcebook proved a little more comprehensive.) This game was indeed fun to play.

     It was also a lot of work. The "high-detail" aspect of the game meant keeping track on paper of dozens of statistics per ship, remembering the proper order of gameplay and frequently cross-referencing the handy, but information-packed Stand-Up Reference Card. EACH of your ships, per turn, can jink, bank, roll, accelerate, overturn, overspeed, overdecelerate, and more, besides targeting, firing, snap firing, pinpoint firing and angling the shields (where applicable.) The end result is ofttimes an encounter lasting five to eight hours or more per scenario.

     When it was released, those fans enamored of War-based Strategy games instantly loved Star Warriors. Those without quite so much patience found themselves becoming fidgety as the battle wore on; this game did not reflect the high-speed, action sparkle that defined the Star Wars movies.

     The sometime cumbersome gameplay disqualifies Star Warriors for the casual Star Wars fan, and practically eliminates the potential for family play. HOWEVER - West End rectified those shortcomings with a set of boxed games based on the each movie of the Trilogy. And the first of those games was based around Rogue Squadron's first official battle.

ASSAULT ON HOTH

     "On the ice planet Hoth, Rebel Snowspeeders face off against Imperial Walkers in a climactic baffle. Replay the battle from The Empire Strikes Back." So reads the promo from WEG for Assault on Hoth. Although played out on a hex-based game map like Star Warriors, this game almost completely does away with stat-based strategy.

     Designed for two players, one Rebel, One Imperial, Assault on Hoth (1988) recreates Rogue Squadron's defense of the Rebel Evacuation of Hoth. The Imperial Player commands up to five All-Terrain Armored Transports (Walkers or AT-ATs), All-Terrain Scout Transports (Chicken Walkers, or AT-STs), Light Snowtroopers (armed with blaster rifles), and Heavy Snowtroopers (armed with the tripod cannon they set up to fire upon the fleeing Millennium Falcon). Troops can be carried aboard the Walkers and dismounted at will. The Rebel Player commands Rogue Squadron (consisting here of only up to eight Snowspeeders), plus Light and Heavy Troopers and strategically placed Laser Towers. Additionally, one of the Rogue Speeders can be designated "Luke Skywalker," garnering that ship extra abilities if the player chooses to use "Force Points."

     The goal of this game is quite simple: the Rebels must evacuate the planet before the Imperials destroy the shield generator. The Imperial Walkers advance relentlessly toward the generators while the Rogues desperately try to hold them off, much less destroy them. However, the movement of this game is designed much differently than in Star Warriors. Here, there are "Action Cards" that describe particular actions that units may take. A Player can only move or take an action when a card displaying action for his units is turned over (the deck is shuffled, so events are random - it doesn't matter who turns over the card.) Such cards as "Walkers Move or Fire" and "Snowspeeders Move, Fire, or Harpoon" control the flow of events.

     Some of the "Action" cards require a card draw from the "Event" deck. The Event Deck holds all of the main cards... five "Transports Away!" cards turned over win the game for the Rebel Player. Other events include reinforcements, automatic hits, repairs and the like.

     As in TESB, snowspeeders can destroy Walkers via harpoon and tow cables, but the speeder must be alongside the Walker and hope that the "Harpoon" card is turned over and that the proper dice roll is accomplished. The dice in Attack on Hoth are not your standard six-sided dice; these dice feature two sides with a lightsaber, two sides with a helmeted Vader face, and two blank sides. Attacks and defenses are resolved by rolling a certain number of these dice - the Rebel side is looking to roll sabers, the Imperials, obviously, want to roll Vaders.

     This game plays a lot breezier than Star Warriors; most games can be completed in less than a few hours. While the card-draw movement makes the strategy less controllable, the randomness adds a certain excitement to the game. One doesn't have to be a great strategist to play this game (although it doesn't hurt) and while non-Star Wars fans aren't likely to be "into" this game, it can more easily be played by more members of the family.

     While these games, and the other ones listed below, are no longer in production, it is still occassionally possible to get your hands on them at the larger comic book and fantasy shops. The prices aren't outrageous, the games are portable, and the replayability factor tops the charts.

Title	Description	Players/Difficulty	WEG Item #	ISBN
Star Warriors	Boxed boardgame	Solitaire: Medium	40201	0-87431-0709
Assault on Hoth	Boxed boardgame	Solitaire: Medium	40203	0-87431-090-3
Escape from the Death Star	Boxed boardgame	1 - 4 players	40207	0-87431-10S-X
Battle for Endor	Boxed boardgame	Strictly solitaire*	40206	0-87431490-X
Lightsaber Dueling Pack	Two-flipbook set	Two player game	40010	0-87431-088-X
Starfigher Battle Book	Two-flipbook set	Two player game	40011	0-87431-092-X

(R. Lee Brown spends his every waking hour writing and editing ECHO STATION, a condition that worries his landlord when rent is due. The only breaks he takes are to check his Email at Screenwriter@compuserve.com)