It’s difficult to say what’s more exciting, a new game with a fresh setting and approach, or one built upon the gleaming DNA of a predecessor. Star Wars: Battle of Hoth certainly owes much of its appeal to Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, but it also bears an obligation to the classic World War II board game Memoir ’44. Publisher Days of Wonder has effectively taken that 20-year-old design and used it as a retrofitted vehicle to facilitate the most iconic Star Wars land battle on film. The results of this experiment are a lithe and approachable board game focused on dramatic action and brisk play.
Pitching this as Memoir ’44 reskinned to Star Wars is accurate. Original designer Richard Borg returns, enlisting the help of Adrien Martinot to adapt the hex-and-miniatures wargame to this beloved sci-fi series. This uses the same back-and-forth system where players take turns playing cards and then activating units. The framework is simple to grasp and it’s effective in establishing constraints, limiting which troops you can maneuver and attack with each turn. This models the chaos and uncertainty of control and command during conflict, but it also forces tough tactical decisions. All in all, it’s a smart system that elicits drama with minimal overhead.
Each player has their own dedicated faction deck. On your turn, you play a single card from your hand which denotes one section of the board. The map is divided into thirds, including the left flank, center, and right flank. In addition to indicating one of these areas, it also lists a certain number of units in that area you can activate. Activated units move and then activate by chucking small pools of dice. It’s exceedingly straightforward and intuitive. What’s delightful is in how it restricts you at inopportune times, such as not allowing you to act on the right flank when your infantry squads are getting pounded and need support. Furthermore, you don’t know what cards your opponent is holding, mimicking a fog of war element, so it’s difficult to gauge where the counterattack and aggression will come from next turn.
This is a scenario-driven game with a hefty 17 total missions. Victory is decided by whoever hits a certain victory point threshold first, with the bulk often coming from destroying opposing units. One quirk of this system is that units do not lose combat effectiveness as they degrade, and a victory point is not scored until they’re entirely vanquished. This abstraction may annoy those seeking realism, but it’s an effective device for stoking drama.
Some of the most interesting moments in the game are when you’re forced to decide whether it’s worth it to play a less efficient card but one which allows you to activate that Snowspeeder squad as it’s hanging on by a thread. If you wait another round or for a more potent option, it may be too late and your unit could be gone. This works both ways, as you will often want to target portions of the battlefield that are weak, especially if you believe your foe will retreat one of their softened units and seek cover. Timing is important.
The dice system is smooth. You chuck a certain amount based on your unit and the range to the target. Generally, attackers hit harder the closer they are to the enemy. When rolling, you’re looking for either the symbol of the unit type you are attacking – such as infantry and vehicle – or a universal hit which affects all units. Damage is tracked by removing miniatures, allowing for quick upkeep and only a modicum of maintenance that is mostly frontloaded during setup.
Asymmetry between the factions only just crosses the threshold of meaning. Empire infantry has an extra health, showing their increased numbers in the assault on Hoth. Snowspeeders move fast but they only hit hard if they’re close. Probe droids are difficult to hit but fragile. AT-ATs are menacing, laying down a substantial three die attack up to three hexes away, and also requiring a special confirmation roll when receiving damage to destroy them. This highlights one of the games’ both positive and weak traits in that it’s extraordinarily swingy.
While there is a certain level of decision making, randomness has a large effect on the game’s outcome. The cards you draw and rolls you make are very important. There are precious few ways to mitigate the die rolls, such as seeking cover for defensive bonuses, so much of the experience is determined by the fickleness of luck. This aspect is even more prominent than in Memoir ’44 and its other spinoffs, as the battlefield here is shrunken. While this is a positive in that you are in the action immediately, it’s also a concern in that it limits your ability to maneuver and outposition your foe. Instead, it seems like you’re side-to-side, ready to unload your cannons immediately.
It’s obvious this experience was carefully crafted with intention. The smaller board and limited unit variation allows for a very quick experience with a suggested age range of 8+. Battle of Hoth absolutely is a hit with the younger crowd, and it will succeed at introducing those younglings into the genre of wargaming. This doesn’t mean it’s a failure for those wanting something more robust.
As has become trendy lately, this game includes what feels like a few small expansions. Each side has three leaders that may optionally be included in any scenario. You choose one of your three leader options, such as Han Solo or Vader, and then shuffle their trio of special cards into your activation deck. These add some neat effects and desired variance.
While the scenarios are somewhat diverse, they often feel as though they’re just modified setups of a standard pitched battle. Occasionally you have to control certain positions or focus on different areas of the board, leading to few surprises. However, there is an expanded option which adds a substantial amount of richness to the experience. Included in this base game are two full-blown campaigns which feature branching scenarios based on which side wins, as well as incremental upgrades that influence future sessions. There is also an abbreviated narrative which follows along with the prescribed Hoth storyline. As a method of play, this is actually a pretty neat framework that adds some oomph while not detracting from any of the core systems.
This penchant for including expanded content is an approach that can be directly correlated to similar behavior found in crowdfunded titles. Tossing in expansion content immediately to add perceived value is a common philosophy now, and we are seeing it occur in direct-to-retail games with increasing frequency. This works particularly well here, as it enhances the game’s replayability and fills out the experience for long-term engagement.
It’s important to note that this is primarily a two-player experience with one person fielding the Rebels and another the Imperials. As it says on the box, it can go up to four players, but this mode of play is unsatisfying and best ignored. It accomplishes this by splitting each side and dividing it between two players. There’s simply not enough there for a meaningful tactical game to emerge, and it ends up feeling more staid and sluggish than the standard duel format. I could see this serving the purpose of teaching a small group of inexperienced gamers, such as young children, but that use-case is limited.
While designer Richard Borg has used the core system of Memoir ’44 across numerous titles from various publishers, there’s an interesting aspect to Days of Wonder taking this classic game and reshaping it with the Star Wars property. It’s a signal of this game transitioning to a younger pop culture focused audience. The infatuation with World War II is primarily found in older generations, with Star Wars existing as a more universal influence. The popularity of this setting is the biggest weight behind the design, and it’s a cultural nod towards something more omnipresent and attractive.
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth is ultimately, exactly what I expected. It’s a solid design built upon a sturdy pre-existing foundation. Care and attention to detail is evident, as the setting comes alive despite the game’s simplicity and high level of abstraction. This will certainly garner a large number of fans, and they should be excited to see that this is listed as the first in the Galactic Battles series. This indicates there will be more titles coming. There are plenty of options such as the battle of Endor, the skirmish on Naboo, and even perhaps heading to space with the large-scale assault on the Death Star II.
