Asmodee Star Wars: Battle of Hoth Board Game - Command The Imperial Army or Rebel Forces in a Fast-Paced Miniatures Strategy Game, Ages 8+, 2-4 Players, 30 Minute Playtime

Fnord Fjamily United States

The best of the C&C system

Star Wars: Battle for Hoth Board Game (B4H) Review. The game engine under the hood of B4H is called the Commands and Colors system (C&C), designed by Richard Borg decades ago. C&C drives a lot of other games, something like 10-15, maybe more at this point. Memoir ‘44 is perhaps the most supported and played C&C powered game. It’s one of my favorites. All C&C games operate on a few common mechanics. They’re all 2-player wargames, where each side is trying to accumulate a set number of victory medals (VPs) before the other. This is done by eliminating enemy units or taking objectives. The game boards are a hexagon grid divided into 3 sections: left, middle, and right. Before playing, you pick a scenario and set up troops and terrain according to that scenario’s setup page. There is a deck of command cards, each player draws a hand, and then take turns playing a card, activating troops, then drawing a card to end their turn. Next player does the same. Repeat until someone gets the last victory medals, game over. The command cards tell you that you can ‘order 2 units on the left flank,’ or ‘order one unit on each section,’ and many variations like this. So you don’t get to activate whatever you want; you’re limited by what card you play. Each activated unit can move a hex or two, then possibly attack. These attacks are resolved by tossing a few custom dice, trying to match the symbol of the unit you’re targeting. It’s very simple. That may be a feature or bug, depending on how you like to kill stuff in games. I think it works well. B4H is a real refinement of the C&C system. This is a big IP, and I’m not surprised they fine tuned it for speedy, action-first, thematic game play. Here is the rundown, how B4H carved a specific lane for itself. It has 2 command decks, one for each player. They’re similar, but each one has unique cards that thematically tie to either the Rebel or imperial players’s troops. In most C&C games, units are the same no matter what side they’re on. For example, infantry usually gets 4 figures per unit (think hit points). In B4H, the rebel player’s infantry units only get 3 figures. Both sides have a unique heavy vehicle: AT-ATs vs. snow speeders. They function differently, both very powerful, but in different ways. The walkers trundle forward, dealing death at range and refusing to go down no matter what you throw at them. Snow speeders are fast and deadly, but only when they’re at close range. The probe droids are agile and annoying, picking away at the rebels. You don’t get medals for killing them-even more annoying. The rebels have ion cannons that don’t give the imperial player medals, but they go down in one good hit. The command decks each have three leaders, three imperial and three rebel leaders. Luke, Leia, Vader, and Grand Moff are the ones I remember. Each leader has 3 unique cards that get shuffled into that side’s command deck before the game starts. It’s also worth mentioning that the board is shallower than most other C&C games. That puts you in firing range on turn one. There is less maneuvering than other C&C games, but already this was minimal for most of them. The game sets up quickly, owing to the amazing trays. You get one for each side. The troops are all sorted out for you into little compartments. Well, I say it sets up fast, but that’s just compared to every other C&C game. Smaller board equals less terrain hex tiles to lay out. But each unit has to be set up, so you’re setting up 30 or so figures in specific spots. That’s more setup than most board games, but probably less than most war games. The play time is right in the sweet spot - about 30 minutes for one game (plus ~8 mins to set up). But you’ll want to play again after. You’re told to switch sides, but this is a game where you get attached to your team. You’ll want to play the same side on the second play through. How does this rate for me? Get two copies, not one. The backs of the boards are printed so that you can put two together and play a huge extended battle with two sets; an epic day of gaming. So that’s 5 stars, 10/10, 100%. This game is ruthlessly honed to the best elements of C&C. It’s not *more than other iterations, it’s pared down to the best of them plus new elements that make it feel like Star Wars. I wouldn’t worry that this will go out of print. The company that produces it, Days of Wonder, is very good about 1) only producing evergreen games, and 2) keeping them in stock. But why would you wait? Buy.

Edward Pierce United States

It's Memoir 44 with lasers and land speeders

The idea to use the mechanics from Memoir 44 in a Star Wars game is pure genius. The command and colors format provides a simple easy accessible wargame; but it takes skill and experience to master. The components are well made and the cards have been designed with easy to follow instructions. Each faction has a customized storage solution and the insert works wonderful. There is a campaign mode to play in addition to the skirmish scenarios. Each faction has their own deck of combat cards including commanders that can be added. The game plays fast and on average lasts about 45 min or so; great for a shorter gaming session. While there are team options, the game shines as a 2-player game.

Daniel Swenson United States

Epic Hoth Battle in Board Game Form!

Star Wars: Battle of Hoth is an awesome tabletop experience that really captures the feel of the iconic battle from The Empire Strikes Back. The miniatures are detailed, the board and components are high quality, and the gameplay is easy to learn while still being strategic and engaging. Each playthrough feels exciting and cinematic, whether you’re commanding the Rebel forces or leading the Imperial assault. It’s fun for both Star Wars fans and board game enthusiasts, and it looks fantastic on the table. A great addition to any game night, highly recommended for Star Wars fans! ❄️⚔️

Amazon Customer United States

Great two-player game and reasonably approachable to new players

Very good and approachable two-player game, appreciate all the variability with the scenarios and campaign mode. Biggest downside is it appears the Imperium has an advantage on most of the scenarios, due in part to having an extra infantry in the group and how difficult and luck-based it is to takedown the AT-AT. But it’s still good fun, and I’d recommend swapping between Imperium and Rebels frequently to help balance this out.