Star Wars: Rebellion Review - The Original Trilogy Strikes Back
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- čas přidán 7. 07. 2024
- Hello there! Shelfside reviews Star Wars Rebellion, the board game which brings the epic battlefront between the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance right to your tabletop! Through the game's clever use of theme and gameplay mechanics, players will command ships and troops as either the Empire or the Rebels, each with their own unique win conditions! As always, this conflict comes to life atop game night tables with tons of miniatures and components to populate notable Star Wars planets like Hoth, Tatooine, Naboo, Coruscant, Dagobah and many more!
The galaxy's planets are an amazing set piece to fly your cruisers, death stars, and destroyers, as well as fight with notable figures like Chewbacca, Han Solo, Vader, Leia, Luke, Palpatine, Boba Fett and so much more! But ultimately, the deciding factor to see if the Empire ultimately rules the galaxy is if they find and destroy the hidden rebel base. No matter which cards are played, dice results shown and faction ends up winning, it'll be a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
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Table of Contents:
Intro - (0:00)
Overview - (0:25)
Pros - (1:51)
Cons - (19:11)
Recommender Score - (24:04)
Ashton's Personal Score - (29:20)
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Stuff Used:
Clash Defiant by Kevin MacLeod
Link: incompetech.filmmusic.io/song...
License: filmmusic.io/standard-license
#boardgames #starwars #tabletopgaming - Hry
A commenter just pointed out that you can only score one objective for rebels during each combat and refresh phase! So this means that the rebels can't drop -as- many objectives cards as noted in the video, but they can still drop a lot sequentially in one round if they happen to win multiple battles. Overall, this mostly removes the nitpicks with rebel objectives! -Ashton
The first rule of Rebellion is you will probably get rules wrong. XD
You also missed that the amount of dice in the box is also the max that can be rolled in a single turn of combat, even if you have enough units that would make you roll beyond those 5 or 10 dice.
You are gonna be as big or bigger than SU&SD! Keep it up! Love the channel!
By far my favorite three board game chanels (In no particular order and out of different reasons):
-Shelfside
-Shut Up & Sit Down
-No Rolls Barred
I’ve been following you guys for a while now and I’ve really enjoyed your content and style.
But this review and War of the Ring really showed me how good you really are.
You come across as really balanced people, so in turn, your observations and insights carry that much more weight for me.
Well done, please keep it up. I’ll gladly become a patron once I’m back in employment.
Shut Up And Sit Down....you have competition.
Oh man, really appreciate this comment. SW: Rebellion and War of the Ring took a really long time to play and review, so glad to see how much its helping people :) Thanks for all the positive words! -Ashton
Such a great review.. talking about real challenges that most reviewers don't even mention.
Thanks Steve! The learning was DEFINITELY up there for my friend and I on this one, it is our 'go-to' joke when talking about hard to learn games, even though War of the Ring learning leaves this in the dust from my experience ahaha -Ashton
fantastic well-rounded review
You are really good at these reviews.
My first game of rebellion I blew up yavin so I could prove I was better than the empire from the movies. The rebel base was on yavin...
Supposedly the expansion streamlines the combat a fair bit and makes it much more enjoyable.
It does. Plus it adds ships and characters from Rogue One.
Yes, but the leaders suck thematically, for example Jabba is an imperial leader
Heard the same, that the expansion is a must have for the game to fix combat.
Won't ever go back to playing w/o Rise of The Empire. It's so good.
The base game combat is excellent. The expansion makes the combat different. Not better or worse. Though some people prefer it for some reason. I think it’s fine.
Another fantastic review, thank you.
Great review as always, keep up the hard work!
In our games the secret rebel base can be on only 2 places: On Ilum or not on Ilum. (We have some history with that f... planet. :D )
thanks! Hiding the secret rebel base is one of the best parts of the game :) I remember reading online that someone hated another planet, Naboo, so he would just death star laser it every game no matter what ahaha -Ashton
Really informative and entertaining video. The long length didnt drag at all. Keep up the zany content hehe
Hey! Awesome that you got a lot out of it, thank you! More content coming your way :) -Ashton
I found printing out the reference cards on the Esoteric Order of Gamers site very useful, especially for adding the expansion. And the Zen Bins organizer trays are great and fits the expansion in core box as well.
awesome- yeah I've had great experiences with Esoteric Order of Gamers aids in the past. Will have to look into it again. Cheers! -Ashton
WOW... Great video dude, which is packed full of strong, fun story-telling production values, that are very informative, and entertaining. Well done sir, well done indeed.
cheers man, this maintains its epicness whenever I play :) -Ashton
We need that EXPANSION review,
ahahaha ohhh man.
I already wanted this but you've made me even more interested.
Awesome game, awesome review! Love your content overall!
hey thanks! Hope you found the right sleeves for SanGuoSha too! -Ashton
What a COOL review. Thanks! I own that game because everywhere i look, its hyped everywhere. Best 2 player best epic blabla. I never made to play it yet hence. So i cant tell if you are "right" for me. But i hesed your critics and now i understand even more. Thanks!
glad that you liked it! Hope this review helped you to decide whether or not to take the plunge -Ashton
Thank you, well explained, great work with this video
cheers! Love this game a lot, glad to share it -Ashton
Put the cardboard rings on the standees from the top.
Suppa duppa review ! Ty sooo mutch - fun as usual !
Hey thanks!! Glad you loved it! -Ashton
That is the coolest aspect of this game. The fact that battles are a means to an end and the end can be achieved by war but also by missions and special projects and character interactions and by acquiring secret information and bluffing. It’s so much more than a typical war game.
agreed! Awesome game -Ashton
Star Wars Rebellion is my FAVOURITE Board Game, with the expansion of course.
great pick! Base game is currently top 5 for me, but I still only like to play rebels. Will have to check out the expansion one day -Ashton
@@Shelfside Played this a ALL the time (and still play this) with my Sister and EVERY conversation goes; “that might be my rebel base but it’s not so don’t go there”.
P.S. My favourite faction is the Empire but I love the Rebel Alliance too.
@@xtro9296 game is so massively replayable! Should try the empire again one day once I'm more comfortable with everything -Ashton
Have you played with the expansion yet? If so, please enlighten us with your thoughts!
So pretty much your standard Fantasy Flight game. It sure looks good though. Also you guys should be commended on playing outside with masks on in the winter. That sure takes commitment.
I didn't mention in the review, but this game is designed by Corey K, who has made a ton of FFG games, like BSG, so totally get what you're saying there. And the masks help keep you warm in the cold! -Ashton
At one point Rebellion was my favorite game. It's since been replaced by both Imperial Assault and Armada which, along with Dice Masters, comprise my current top four -- although, I am always eager to play any of them, my preferences alter from time to time. Of course, the one advantage Rebellion has over those other three is that at least it won't drain away every cent you have trying to create and build new lists.
big Star Wars fan I see! I have yet to even exhaust Rebellion base game, and at some point will definitely pick up the expansion for more replayability!
Armada looked extremely cool but the price tag was super intimidating bahaha -Ashton
Great game! ALMOST captures the excitement of its PC namesake.
23:00 techincally I believe you can only play one status phase objective per turn
Great catch! Just looked it up, and yeah only one objective can be played during each combat and each refresh phase. So the Rebel scoring isn't as bad anymore! Thanks, I'll add a pinned comment now :) -Ashton
Will you try Dune War of Arrakis? It'd be interesting to see what you think of it in comparison to this.
My family played the team version. My mom played the construction of the new death star on the rebel base. We knew it was there. I couldnt do anything she had final say on it
holy snap, we have yet to play the team version, but I've always thought that that type of constuction would be hilarious. Was it dagobah? -Ashton
Giving 7/10 after first playthroughs is more than enough. This game shines with expansion since it solves combat issues without introducing much more complexity. 🙂 I believe you owe this game another go with expansion.
oh man, its tempting to buy the expansion for sure! It's just that my friend and I want to keep playing this base game because we feel like it has so many mind games we haven't quite touched yet. I think I'll get to the expansion eventually! -Ashton
I saw your review of Twilight Imperium and I can see that this game shares lots of elements with that game. I really would love to play TI but we are only 2 players as we cannot convince anyone alse in the family to play tabletop. Not gonna happen, so TI for 3 to 6 players becomes mission impossible unless we find a way to "automate" 4 players as NPCs.
Having said that. I have the patience to play long games. And I love Star Wars OT. So Rebellion is my best choice. You did not like to play empire and I understand. I do not have a problem with it.
Last time I played this game, I turned Princess Leia to the dark side.
This game has been sold out in Canada since the pandemic and when it was available at Amazon, they were gouging people selling it for almost twice the price.
FFG has been horrible at shipping products to Canada.
I doubt it's a FFG problem. Board game companies ship to distributors and the distributor ships to stores. Flying Frog Productions is another company I follow and almost their whole catalog is in print but you can't find them almost anywhere. There are just so many board games now distributors will often never order a second wave
Clean that fish tank and I'll be a patron
a bold proposition, looks like I have some work to do this weekend! -Ashton
How about reviewing Eclipse 2e?
That's on the list to review after things settle down with the virus! Will really need to dedicate some time to that one ahaha. -Ashton
Loved this video. How did you like the new tmnt board game
Thank you! I haven't actually played any tmnt board games ever ahaha. -Ashton
The Imperial two player experience is lore accurate in the sense your plans may get ruined due to sheer bureaucracy. Uncoordinated 2 Empire players can replicate peak Imperial incompetence we see in other pieces of media.
I like this game but not as much as war of the ring. Great review
Sitting down and marathoning lotr and star wars were staples of my childhood ha
Would the expansion solve the combat phase problems?
The combat phase definitely does get faster, but that's after many many hours of gameplay overall. Hope someone here can shed more light on the expansion though, I haven't gotten the chance to pick it up! -Ashton
Do you think you'll get a chance with the expansion sometime?
there's a chance! Have to see if time and my wallet permits ahaha. The Rogue One theme certainly interests me too. -Ashton
Would love to hear your impressions of the expansion.
Still have to play the base game again :) Been itching to play the rebels and see if I can take courscant ahaha -Ashton
@@Shelfside looking forward to it especially with your sweet new table
@@mauliksharma it fits pretty well on the table! Just have to combine the center boards, the Kashyyk region gets slightly overlapped but no problemo in gameplay. Base game has been a serious blast when we played it a couple days ago! -Ashton
@@Shelfside well here’s to hoping that your first review of the new year is rise of the empire. Glad the base game is still enjoyable.
Can you make a video on Battletech? I like your enthusiasm.
No plans as of yet, but thank you! Will remember Battletech -Ashton
@@Shelfside Be adviced that Battletech can be as simple or complex as you want. There are 2 sets of rules. Classic is the original ruleset from the 1980s which has internal damage micromanagement and location damage and you can fire weapons individually and mechs can fall and pilots may get hurt and mechs can overheat and bad things have when they overheat. But all that comes at the expense of time. With advanced rules, you have terrain rules, so you can get stuck in mud or have slippery rocks and you can fall to a river with rapids and be dragged by it. and also atmospheric rules, from bug swarms to electromagnetic interference. Advanced rules allow many cool things, but again they come at expense of time. So for many people it could be crunchy. It is played on a hex map.
There is an alternate ruleset called Alpha Strike, that eliminates internal damage and location damage and weapon selection and heat management, turning it into a more arcadish game. But it helps those who do not have too much time and those who do not have lots of patience. It is played on a diorama and you need a bigger table.
To me the scenarios that are portrayed in the boxset rulebooks are not particularly interesting as they are more like plain skirmishes. There is a rulebook about the famous Battle of Tukkayid and you need the corresponding Tukkayid maps, that take the game to another level. Terrain can damage or destroy your units. And campaign rules are asymmetrical and with objectives and sometimes time limits. And the system it uses makes you not to have the same experience twice. You could use the Tukkayid maps if you only have those. But it allows to randomize using maps from Beginner box, A game of armored combat box and Cla Invasion box. It also allows to randomize forces from all the boxsets, plus the 21 forcepacks with miniatures. So you will never have the same battle twice.
And I have not played combined arms with infantry, and land and air support vehicles. These will come in the next kickstarter.
Anyway I guess you will need to decide what you will review. Player experience is different depending on what you use.
"for all the minis in this game this is not a mini's game where the imperials and rebels just slug it out turn after turn across space systems"
They need to make a Clone Wars version. So players can slug it out turn after turn across space systems.
But where also,
"the leaders will ultimately do the heavy lifting in this game"
Doing missions, leading forces, planning battles, building alliances across factions, exposing plots, conducting secret r&d, creating and finding vulnerabilities, arrest political control, performing infighting for net gain, knocking out or recruiting key figures, using and betrayal for big payoff, epic leader duels for major shifts, fighting for dominant control of the force.
A game that can balance and weave wins on the battlefield, key secret plans, and the control or corruption of forces to turn the tide.
Turn Anakin, pull Jar Jar's strings to take the Galactic Senate, Order 66 the Jedi, choke out Padme, knock Yoda off a flying dais, take care of the Separatist Council allies, then cram Darth Vader bits into a ventilator suit. Game over.
Unlimited power!
ahaha agreed that a clone wars version would be awesome! Would love to play Jar Jar binks :)
For now, this has shot up to one of my favorite games of all time! -Ashton
@@Shelfside
It should be pretty straightforward to mod into a Clone Wars. Or really any other era of Star Wars. Just need to swap out ships/characters/maps/theme. It would be a lot of work (probably grabbing 3d model files from video games for the ships), but seems like the kind of thing a mode community would dig.
Also, can even shift it to a non-SW theme pretty easy. Battle Star Galactica version, Game of Thrones, Dune, The Matrix, Harry Potter, etc.
I only ever played it once. Seemed like a game that requires studying up on what all the cards do. Got squashed by a veteran using huge swing card effects I didn't know about. Guess the same happens in lots of card games.
It also felt weird to not be able to just have a big war. But I get it, it's just a different game than the ship pieces first seem to coney.
Of course, could mod it into a big war game, maybe though an alternate-universe "Vader does recruit Luke" Empire Civil War takes place (Vader+Luke vs. Palpatice+Leia?) and then you just run Empire A vs. Empire B fights (with maybe Rebel units added to each side).
1. Star Wars Risk is actually pretty cool - because it isn't Risk.
2. The expansion adds Rouge One characters and vehicles.
3. I didn't think the combat system from the expansion improved the combat. It is a bit more predictable, and it adds mind games, but it makes timing important (but not explained very well), which drags out combat even longer.
4. One of the few good things about Fantasy Flight losing the Star Wars license is that there will be no change that we will get a God-awful Disney Star Wars sequel trilogy expansion.
When are you gonna check out eclipse second dawn for the galaxy? That game is just perfection it’s so good lol
we'll get there! one day... after covid... after PoK... X) -Ashton
@@Shelfside oh sorry this was before I new how busy u where so I don’t expect that you do it right awaybut great to see you knew it existed and thanks for answering :)
@@bastianvillebro6420 ahaha was just randomly scrolling and saw this comment. We'll get to it eventually! -Ashton
@@Shelfside sounds awsome :) and thanks for replying
The author of Rebellion is the same of Twilight Imperium.
do you ever have heat in your home?
ahaha sometimes. nah rarely -Ashton
Had to like the video for the game being like your Ex comment. got me deep.
For all that this game is and has, you should have at least given it a 9 🧐
31:00 Talking about ex gf, then saying decide to swap sides, took me a second to click that you were not saying you decided to date men now.
ahaha that was not the intention, but I could see how it could be interpreted in that way. The imperials... yeah that did me dirty no more playing that side though x) -Ashton
24:28 Says super star destroyer, shows Death Star :0
Good review tho ha
aha yeah, I just thought the mini for the death star under construction was more fitting to show the game's awesome mini detail. Good catch! Thanks for the feedback :) -Ashton
You guys should do a review for Cthulhu Wars...
Break out your wallet 😈
I dare you
oh man, $200 MSRP!!? I'll have to save up :) -Ashton
Best game ever made
I've been playing it more and more recently... it grew on me SO much. May break my top 10, so many awesome nailbiting moments with different strategies all the time! -Ashton
@@Shelfside this is one of those games that REALLY grows on you. Though it’s really great out of the box as well. Once you get about thirty games the game becomes a whole new thing. There’s a pretty big online scene for this game on discord via TTS.
Also get the expansion if you haven’t. A lot of people like the new combat, and there are one or two cars tweaks as well as new units and more objectives that make things like Hidden Fleet more useful.
23:05 - I think that rebels can use only one objective during fight or refresh phase (it is in rule book).
yep! Thanks for letting me know! This still doesn't change the score :) -Ashton
Thank you for your replay. I just start to play first game and there is a lot of stuff I am no sure about. As Rebel player I cant believe that Imp gets soo much resource - by just move.
What happen when they subjugat a planet with one resource - do they use it or not (I know that where there are 2,they use only left icon). And there is a lot of simmilar stuff ;)
@ I haven't played the game in a while, but yep, the imperials definitely get a lot of resources. As the Rebels, I just remember putting pressure on them through sabotage and loyalty missions. Remember, the rebels have the advantage of time on their side, so the imperials can't just tunnel in on getting resources :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside Thank you soo much! For me it sucks to play rebels :) Next time I will try to destroy rebel scum with Imp :)
08:42 Spoilers!
25:57 Actually in base game leaders can die. There is action card Noble Sacrifice that lets Rebels sacrifice Obi Van to gain reputation point. There is also Objective card Return of the Jedi that allows you to kill Vader or Palpatine if they lose a combat in Luke Skywalker's system. Expansion also adds third and fourth way to kill a leader with advanced tactics card called Confrontation. Rebels can use that card to eliminate Empire's leader if Rebels kill all ground units in that combat round. 😉 Also, Empire has a mission Make an Example that can kill captured leader and throw him in Sarlacc pit 😃
yep, good catch! It should have been worded: "leaders never die through regular game mechanics". The Return of the Jedi and Noble sacrifice are great cards to really spice up the game. And now I have more of a reason to get the expansion! -Ashton
@@Shelfside I had my doubts on getting the expansion since I wanted to play base game as much as possible before paying more for already expensive game. However, in my opinion this expansion is not an expansion...let me elaborate. It is actually a fix of the base game. With 40+ games already played I can say that playing with expansion is the only way I want to play this game.
@@imeprezime4239 and there goes my next paycheck ahahaha! Thanks for all the intel, will def have to get it soon. -Ashton
Awesome game rulebook is terrible. Our first game took 5 hours and I think we played wrong
Any more i just head to CZcams and have the game explained to me rather than try and decipher a rule book, which for a game like this always ends up feeling more like a code book than rule book.
As much as I love this game, I have to agree with you on this. I find the Rapid Mobilization card to be particularly troublesome as there are some further set of instructions found on the rulebook which are not found on the actual physical card. I believe most players initial playthroughs would be painful experiences. The game does reward repeated plays though as the hi-level meta in this game is really enjoyable.
Game is complex, with lots of rules. This game shines after several plays since by then you will catch most of rules. In my opinion BEST game for 2.
@@imeprezime4239 I liked playing 2 v 2
@@Forza1988 Glad you liked it, however my opinion was rather opposite. One playing as admiral, other as general creats more fidly gameplay.
No shit your first game is going to be hurky jerky. It's your fuckin first game.
I love your channel and your reviews but the sound effects in this one are so annoying and distracting that I can't watch the video. I get what you were going for but I think you overdid it.
got it, thanks for letting me know! It'll save me some time in editing too ahaha. -Ashton