How hard is this game to teach someone who is not at all into board/card games? I have a friend whose gaming expertise/interests are limited to games he plays with his kids (Candyland!)…he is a Star Wars fan….would he get frustrated with this?

This game is probably the easiest and quickest to pick up on of any of the LCGs. And I have played all 6 of them. Just have him watch the videos and then start playing.

Concur it is easy to learn. I read through the rulebook first, but picked up my first games with ease. The mechanics are easy enough to understand as well.

I also agree that the game is fairly easy to pick up.  The tutorial video FFG produced is excellent, and the gameplay itself is mostly straight forward.

Don't be intimidated by all the tokens and moving parts: the game is actually quite easy, as others have said. Granted, I speak with 10+ years of experience playing various CCGs, so my brain is well-attuned to the kind of thought process inherent in learning them, but almost everyone I have shared the game with, both players and non-players alike have been able to pick it up after one or two playthroughs. I also recommend the video tutorial that runs through the gameplay in 20 minutes; if you can follow that, you should be okay. 

The game is easy to teach especially if you incorporate the videos that have been done as others have mentioned.

His learning curve though may be of some difficulty especially if he isn't familiar with card games. 

A good rule of thumb would be to take it easy on him for the first 20 or 30 games or so, until he starts to recognize how the cards synergize with each other and develops some play strategy of his own.

It's easy to teach someone the game, and it's somewhat easy to learn it; but keeping them engaged and involved tends to be a balancing act.

Good luck!

My friend has played ONLY standard playing card games (poker, spades, etc). I taught him the game in 45 minutes, and he played 'closed hand' within two turns. We've now played two games, and I'd say he's 90% of the way to full understanding. We're learning nuances now like Action Windows and the Art of the Edge. All games have been played over multiple beers as well. Who knows how fast he would have learned straight sober.

That said, the last card game I taught someone was Decipher's Star Wars CCG, which was a Herculean task, and one where a newbie takes much longer to become competitive.

Dr. Kenobi said:

This is definitely true. SWCCG has a significant learning curve associated with it; but it sure is a great game.

Easy to teach the broad concepts, but, for someone who has a limited history with competitive card games, there will be a big learning curve until they are truly playing competitively (e.g., familiar with all of the various rules debates and clarifications, complete memorization of the timing chart, noticing complicated synergies and being able to think many moves ahead, etc.). 

I would have to agree that this game is easily the easiest card game I've played, and I'm not much for TCGs/CCGs.  Since it is Star Wars, I thought i would give this card game a go . . . this time.  I really like the idea of the "Objective Sets" -- where you deal with a set of cards, instead of each card individually.  I'm not much of a micromanager.  I also like the fact that you and your opponent have essentially the same cards -- no surprises.

I don't think I'll play competitively, but I do plan on getting all the "Force Packs".  The main reason being, you can glean what's in your opponent's Command Deck by seeing what objectives are in play at that moment.

SteveSpikes said:

This and Netrunner are my first forays into the LCG world (though I did play some Magic and the WotC SWTCG).  I have to say this game is about as simple as it gets in terms of game play and mechanics, which made me worry about the long-term replayability of this game.  But after a few plays I've come to realize there's a delicate strategy involved balancing the cards you keep and the ones you play.  Flood your play area with units and you're unlikely to have anything to win the Edge.  Play too little and you'll find yourself with too few units to defend your objectives.

I'm enjoying the play and I highly recommend this to any card player and especially to Star Wars fans.