What of the Rebellion?

"The Rebel Alliance is too well equipped. They’re more dangerous than you realize."
     –General Tagge

Do you like Star Destroyers, Death Stars, and Jedi? Do you like X-wings, TIE fighters, AT-AT Walkers, and dramatic battles for the fate of the galaxy? Of course you do!

Star Wars™: Rebellion has been out for scarcely more than two months, but it has been hard at work during that time, staking its claim as the definitive "Star Wars in a box" gaming experience. Still, it could hardly earn a reputation for presenting a faithful and powerful take on the Galactic Civil War if there were not a number of battles—a LARGE number of very big and tremendously impactful battles.

Immediately after the game's release, we encouraged you to share the reports of your battles during Rebellion: Week One. You did, and we inspected that data for any potential weaknesses. We found very few… apart from a small thermal exhaust port that has a shaft leading down to the main reactor.

There were, nonetheless, a few things that showed up on our technical readouts that we decided we could improve, so we did. Designer Corey Konieczka provides clarification to a number of your questions—and introduces some errata to clean up a few edge-case scenarios—in the game's official FAQ (pdf, 3.7 MB).

Beyond these, however, your games revealed tremendous balance between the two sides, Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance, despite their hugely asymmetrical starting positions and objectives. They revealed hotly contested battles fought around the globe, filled with exploded planets and Death Stars. And, most importantly, they revealed your true feelings about the game's epic Star Wars-themed gameplay.

An Official Star Wars: Rebellion FAQ

What changes did Corey make in the FAQ? Just a few modifications that ensure the game remains the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.

As Corey points out, the response to the game has been overwhelmingly positive, and there is no call to change anything that is not already broken:

"Over the past month and a half, I have been overwhelmed by the positive response that Star Wars: Rebellion has received. Our team started crafting this game eighteen months ago, and it is very rewarding to see that all our hard work has paid off.

"Since the game's release, I’ve been carefully collecting and collating rules questions. While many of the questions I've received are addressed in the Rules Reference book, there have been a few minor points of confusion. In addition, our super fans have found some rare and strange situations that are not directly covered in the rule books.

"To address these situations, I have created an FAQ document to answer the most frequently asked questions.  

"Thank you so much for your support!"

The Results from Rebellion: Week One

Meanwhile, if you still wonder whether or not this is the game you're looking for… we are happy to report the results of our Rebellion: Week One campaign. In the days immediately following the game's release, we allowed players to report the results of their battles, and we were overwhelmed by novels' worth of gameplay stories from around the globe.

At the event's close, the Galactic Empire managed to retain a hold on the galaxy, but only just by the slimmest of margins. The Galactic Empire won just under fifty-one percent of all reported games, while the Rebel Alliance had fought valiantly to win just over forty-nine percent.

Meanwhile, even though players had scattered their Rebel bases all over the galaxy, more of them had been placed on Dantooine than on any other planet. Tatooine was a close second, and Ilum and Ryloth stood as two of the more surprising systems to see heavy representation.

While the results of leader recruitment do not account for the popularity of such leaders as Leia Organa, Mon Mothma, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine, they do show that players recognized the importance of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo by recruiting them to the Rebel Alliance more often than they recruited any of the other leaders. On the Imperial side of things, Boba Fett edged out all of the various admirals and generals, apparently owing to his reputation for success. Admiral Piett ranked second, largely thanks to his tactical acumen in space battles.

Week One also saw the destruction of countless planets, chief among which was Kashyyyk. Fittingly, Alderaan was destroyed more than any of the other planets, but all in all, it was a dark time to be a Wookiee.

Realizing that they could not afford to allow the destruction of even more planets, Rebel players responded by blowing up as many Death Stars as they could. The destruction of a Death Star is no small matter, so we received many reports of the drama inherent in the Rebel ace's final approach… the roll of the dice… and… the miss! Followed by a miraculous second attempt and a direct hit!

All told, we saw 568 Death Stars destroyed, and many of them resulted in the final two reputation points that the Rebel players needed to score to inspire the galaxy to rise up and resist the Empire.

Finally, we posted updates of your battles throughout Week One and watched as states, provinces, and nations were subjugated by the Galactic Empire or liberated by the Rebel Alliance. Players commented on how much these maps looked like political heat maps, and of course they did… Star Wars: Rebellion is a game of Galactic Civil War waged across a massive galaxy by two sides with opposing ideological viewpoints. You will find more than battles in your matches; diplomacy, subterfuge, and sabotage all play their parts as well.

The results of the Galactic Civil War as they appeared in North America at the end of Week One.

The results of the Galactic Civil War as they appeared in Europe at the end of Week One.

What You Said About Star Wars: Rebellion

Still, for all that the numbers showed us about how balanced and engaging the game can be, the highlight for those of us at Fantasy Flight Games was being able to read what you wrote about your experiences. What did we find as common themes? The epic nature of the gameplay, the last-minute gambits taken to claim victory, and the way the game was bursting with classic Star Wars themes. And, of course, many of you shared the full arcs of your games, demonstrating how they transformed your decisions at the table into an engaging narrative.

While it was no simple matter (we had to read through more than a novel's worth of hundreds of responses), we selected a few, representative quotes:

"My nine year-old loved it and stayed invested in the game for the entire four-plus hours of play. He did good… Well done, FFG."
     –Nevada

"Amazing game… soaking in Star Wars theme. Big hats off to the FFG team who put this together."
     –Alberta

"With two players and two spectators, the Rebel player wouldn't let the spectators see where the base was to make sure they didn't accidentally give the location away. One then said, 'I bet it's on Dantooine,' (it was) and the Imperial player responded with, 'No way. It's too obvious. He'd never do that.'"
     –Ontario

[The highlight was] "…capturing Mon Mothma and holding her hostage on Sullust for three rounds, then freezing her in carbonite after interrogation. Oh, and blowing up Toydaria and unleashing a Super Star Destroyer. Aaand everything else. Absolutely love it!"
    –Europe

"A thrilling game that came down to the last turn."
     –Michigan

"The Imperial player was at the turn where he could Superlaser blast the Rebel base, but the Rebel player played Death Star Plans. He did not have One in a Million but managed to roll the success naturally, and that two points of reputation gave him the win right before the blast went off! What a way to end the game! I wasn't even mad as the Imperial player—more superbly impressed! Great game, FFG!"
     –New Jersey

"We played our first game yesterday. Loved it. In our game, the Empire captured Luke, whom Han then rescued only to find himself taken by Boba Fett and Vader as a consolation prize. The Emperor figured a Han in hand was good enough and turned him to the dark side (I'm assuming with gossip about Leia & Lando, or—ew—Leia & Luke). Dark Han was a useful tool for the Empire on missions going forward. On the military and political front, the Empire had two Death Stars, but fell one turn short of destroying the base on Dantooine after being faked out to head for Nal Hutta—which the Empire blew to smithereens just for not being the Rebel stronghold. The Rebel fleet there was also wiped out by two Super Star Destroyers and other ships, but it bought the Rebels crucial time to shift some more systems' sympathies and move their reputation to a victory threshold. It was a great first game nail-biter."
     –Pennsylvania

"Chewie kept running Sabotage missions, so out of pure spite, the Empire blew up Kashyyk."
     –Minnesota

"Great Time! Best board gaming experience ever."
     –Tennessee

Not Too Late to Play Your Part

"The Force will be with you… always."
     –Obi-Wan Kenobi

Rebellion: Week One has come and gone, but there is still time for you to play your part in the Galactic Civil War. The Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance are fighting desperately for the fate of the galaxy, and the results are still too close to call. But the next battle might finally tip the scales forever in one direction or the other. Where will it fall?

Head to your local retailer today to pick up your copy of Star Wars: Rebellion, download the FAQ, and take matters into your own hands!