The Inside Scoop on Gaming

"Dude, Darth Maul would so kick Vader's ass." "No way, Vader would just Force Choke him, then throw a 500 pound piece of set dressing at his head." "Your both dumb, Yoda would curb 'em. One at a time or two-on one, wouldn't even matter."

Geeks have been having this same argument or one very similar probably since around 1977. The Star Wars Epic Duels board game gives 2-6 players ages eight and up to hop into the driver's seat and play out some famous knock-down drag-out brawls, as well as some that never came to be, or never could be. While the game might not ever settle these geek debates, it's long on fun.

WHAT YOU GET: 1 special movement die 31(!) plastic pawns representing the various main and supporting characters. 12 31 card decks, one for each character, plus 6 quick-referance cards 2 double-sided mapsheets represinting 4 different battle locales (Genosian Arena, Kamino Platform, Bespin Carbon Chamber, and Emperor's Throne Room) 12 damage track sheets a bunch of damage counters

HOW IT PLAYS The first thing you'll note about the game is the ease of play. My 7 and 12 year old neice and nephew were comfortable playing it on their own after a few turns. When I introduce it to seasoned geeks, it takes the briefest explanation and showing them a sample turn to let them know all they know. The objective of the game is simple: kill the other guy(s) main character, and keep your own alive. After a few games you'll start to pick up some of the nuances of each character's deck.

There are several variation of play, but the gameplay is fundamentally the same. Each player controls one main character (such as Yoda, Luke, Vader, or Fett) and one or two supporting characters (Leia, Chewie, a pair of Clonetroopers/Stormtroopers/Battledroids).

During a players turn they roll the movement die which indicates a number betwen 2-5. The die will indicate whether they move one character, or all of their characters up to the indicated number of spaces. The maps are fairly small, and do get a bit crowded with more than three or four players.

After moving, the player is allowed two actions, which include attacking, playing special cards, or drawing a card. Characters with a blaster symbol on their damage track sheet may target within a direct horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line (but not through other characters from either side.) Those without need to get "up close and personal" to attack ajacent characters. Actions all hinge on the cards in your character deck.

The 31 card deck has three types of cards. Combat Cards, Power Combat Cards, and Specials. Combat cards are the basic cards used to attack and defend and have an attack and defense value printed along with a depiction of which character can use them. A combat card with Chewie's mug on it isn't usable by Han, for example. Combat cards are used for attack and defense. Typically those with the highest attack value are used during a players turn to attack, those with high defense values are held on to to defend, sensibly enough. Most combat cards range from 1 to 5 in attack and defense values, and cards that have a high value for one have a comparatively lower score in the other. "Mooks" typically have cards that have Attack/Defense values of 3 or less.

To attack a player takes an action to declare the attack and plays a combat card facedown. The targeted character has the option of using a combat card to defend against the attack. The attack value of the card is compared to the defense value, and the character attacked suffers the difference, if any, in damage.

Power Combat Cards work in the same general way as combat cards, with enhanced effects. They may have either attack values and effects, defense, or sometimes both. Some Examples: Yoda's "Serenity" has a defense value of 15 and allows him to draw a card, Vader's "All Too Easy" has an attack value of three if blocked-- twenty (enough to kill any character in one blow) if not, and Darth Maul has the attack cards "Sith Speed" and "Super Sith Speed," which allow him to attack without spending actions.

Special cards allow you to spend actions to do various things including "signature moves" like Vader's "Choke" and Jango Fett's "Wrist Cable," some also include deck management and denial functions. For the most part they are fairly evocative of the character they belong to and "feel right," even if they grant powers not explicitly shown in the movie (Yoda's "Force Lift" for example, allows him to levitate characters in the air, preventing them from acting or defending themselves.) The "balance" of cards allows for some pretty wild swings of fortune, which I like. Rather than take a "safe" approach and give everyone same-y decks, each character has a few cards that can do some dramatic stuff, all in different ways.

The game is pretty fast. The two-action limit greatly increases the tension, as there's a lot of deliberation as to whether it's best to attack, or to fill one's hand to increase tactical options. One complaint levelled at the game is that the inclusion of some supporting characters spoils the "duel" feel, but the game mechanics make them little more than a brief annoyance in most games. They typically have quite a bit less health than the mains, and there are special cards in a lot of the decks that brutalize supporting characters without the possibility of defending themselves. In most games I've played they rarely last past turn 2 or 3(particularly droids and troopers), depending on which characters are dueling.

With the 12 different characters included, there's a great deal of replayability. The cross-utility of the figurines for tactical combat in your SWRPG has been mentioned elsewhere, and I concur. There's nothing not to like about this game, particularly if you're getting that added utility. 31 figures at 65 cents a pop, and you get a pretty cool game for free, if you look at it that way. The simple and basic mechanics of play lend themselves easilly to special scenarios and "house rules" (12-man free for all on the big battlemat, anyone??) The game is even infinately expandible, and I would gladly buy expansion packs with new arenas, pawns, and decks, were MB to take this route.

I'd definately rate this a "must buy" at this price for any fan of Star Wars and fast-playing tactical games.

Star Wars Epic Duels
Star Wars Epic Duels Playtest Review by Andrew on 02/06/02 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 5 (Excellent!) Fast, furious, and fun Star Wars action with an extremely high value-for-dollar ratio. Product: Star Wars Epic Duels Author: N/A Category: Board/Tactical Game Company/Publisher: Milton Bradley Line: Cost: 19.95 Page count: Year published: 2002 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Andrew on 02/06/02 Genre tags: Fantasy Science Fiction	"Dude, Darth Maul would so kick Vader's ass." "No way, Vader would just Force Choke him, then throw a 500 pound piece of set dressing at his head." "Your both dumb, Yoda would curb 'em. One at a time or two-on one, wouldn't even matter." Geeks have been having this same argument or one very similar probably since around 1977. The Star Wars Epic Duels board game gives 2-6 players ages eight and up to hop into the driver's seat and play out some famous knock-down drag-out brawls, as well as some that never came to be, or never could be. While the game might not ever settle these geek debates, it's long on fun. WHAT YOU GET: 1 special movement die 31(!) plastic pawns representing the various main and supporting characters. 12 31 card decks, one for each character, plus 6 quick-referance cards 2 double-sided mapsheets represinting 4 different battle locales (Genosian Arena, Kamino Platform, Bespin Carbon Chamber, and Emperor's Throne Room) 12 damage track sheets a bunch of damage counters HOW IT PLAYS The first thing you'll note about the game is the ease of play. My 7 and 12 year old neice and nephew were comfortable playing it on their own after a few turns. When I introduce it to seasoned geeks, it takes the briefest explanation and showing them a sample turn to let them know all they know. The objective of the game is simple: kill the other guy(s) main character, and keep your own alive. After a few games you'll start to pick up some of the nuances of each character's deck. There are several variation of play, but the gameplay is fundamentally the same. Each player controls one main character (such as Yoda, Luke, Vader, or Fett) and one or two supporting characters (Leia, Chewie, a pair of Clonetroopers/Stormtroopers/Battledroids). During a players turn they roll the movement die which indicates a number betwen 2-5. The die will indicate whether they move one character, or all of their characters up to the indicated number of spaces. The maps are fairly small, and do get a bit crowded with more than three or four players. After moving, the player is allowed two actions, which include attacking, playing special cards, or drawing a card. Characters with a blaster symbol on their damage track sheet may target within a direct horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line (but not through other characters from either side.) Those without need to get "up close and personal" to attack ajacent characters. Actions all hinge on the cards in your character deck. The 31 card deck has three types of cards. Combat Cards, Power Combat Cards, and Specials. Combat cards are the basic cards used to attack and defend and have an attack and defense value printed along with a depiction of which character can use them. A combat card with Chewie's mug on it isn't usable by Han, for example. Combat cards are used for attack and defense. Typically those with the highest attack value are used during a players turn to attack, those with high defense values are held on to to defend, sensibly enough. Most combat cards range from 1 to 5 in attack and defense values, and cards that have a high value for one have a comparatively lower score in the other. "Mooks" typically have cards that have Attack/Defense values of 3 or less. To attack a player takes an action to declare the attack and plays a combat card facedown. The targeted character has the option of using a combat card to defend against the attack. The attack value of the card is compared to the defense value, and the character attacked suffers the difference, if any, in damage. Power Combat Cards work in the same general way as combat cards, with enhanced effects. They may have either attack values and effects, defense, or sometimes both. Some Examples: Yoda's "Serenity" has a defense value of 15 and allows him to draw a card, Vader's "All Too Easy" has an attack value of three if blocked-- twenty (enough to kill any character in one blow) if not, and Darth Maul has the attack cards "Sith Speed" and "Super Sith Speed," which allow him to attack without spending actions. Special cards allow you to spend actions to do various things including "signature moves" like Vader's "Choke" and Jango Fett's "Wrist Cable," some also include deck management and denial functions. For the most part they are fairly evocative of the character they belong to and "feel right," even if they grant powers not explicitly shown in the movie (Yoda's "Force Lift" for example, allows him to levitate characters in the air, preventing them from acting or defending themselves.) The "balance" of cards allows for some pretty wild swings of fortune, which I like. Rather than take a "safe" approach and give everyone same-y decks, each character has a few cards that can do some dramatic stuff, all in different ways. The game is pretty fast. The two-action limit greatly increases the tension, as there's a lot of deliberation as to whether it's best to attack, or to fill one's hand to increase tactical options. One complaint levelled at the game is that the inclusion of some supporting characters spoils the "duel" feel, but the game mechanics make them little more than a brief annoyance in most games. They typically have quite a bit less health than the mains, and there are special cards in a lot of the decks that brutalize supporting characters without the possibility of defending themselves. In most games I've played they rarely last past turn 2 or 3(particularly droids and troopers), depending on which characters are dueling. With the 12 different characters included, there's a great deal of replayability. The cross-utility of the figurines for tactical combat in your SWRPG has been mentioned elsewhere, and I concur. There's nothing not to like about this game, particularly if you're getting that added utility. 31 figures at 65 cents a pop, and you get a pretty cool game for free, if you look at it that way. The simple and basic mechanics of play lend themselves easilly to special scenarios and "house rules" (12-man free for all on the big battlemat, anyone??) The game is even infinately expandible, and I would gladly buy expansion packs with new arenas, pawns, and decks, were MB to take this route. I'd definately rate this a "must buy" at this price for any fan of Star Wars and fast-playing tactical games.