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Anyone try out the battle game rules? I'm interested to hear how it differs from the board game.

 Pacific wrote:

Cheers for the feedback Eric

Think I will have to give this game some more consideration - of course the game being fun is paramount, but also wanted to paint me some stormtroopers and Han Solo!

No problem at all. If you are on the fence, I'd say go for it. It looks to be a very fun game.

As for my figure criticisms, I will be the first to point out that I am pretty tough to please when it comes to miniatures. So bear that in mind. The figures are really not that bad, with the exception of the Imperial Officer. I just don't understand how that one got through. It may be of interest to you that the WotC pre-painted Imperial Officer is a good size match for the Stormtrooper figures, and one of the better sculpts in that line.

Also, I'll be cataloging my additions, modifications, and outright fabrications for the figures. I'll put up what I do in my (incredibly neglected) Project Log thread.

~Eric

 Duncan_Idaho wrote:
FFG is quite normally priced for boardgames, actually they include even more components than some other competitors.

FFG is very expensive for boardgames too. I have a huge stack of boardgames, including plenty of the "hot games" of 2014. Splendor, Euphoria, Cave Famers, Brussels 1983, as well as plenty of classics like Risk, Agricola, etc.., Many of them cost less than an Imperial Assault expansion. None come close to its full retail value.

The thing is, this is not a board game. It comes with miniatures, skirmish rules and already about as many expansions as X-Wing. It is, at the very least, a hybrid like Space Hulk, and probably is closer to a smallish wargame like Dust Tactics or Deadzone than the more self-contained Space Hulk is.

As has been repeatedly pointed out, it even sat under "miniature games" on the FFG homepage next to their Dust and X-Wing stuff, and was only moved to "board games" a week or so before release due to liscencing-reasons.

Again, it's ok. I buy expensive games. I buy GW games (not quite as pricey as FFG, but well worth it). I buy FFGs too. I am happy to pay a premium for a nice brand on my car (say, BMW over SAAB or so). But expensive is still expensive.

Wonderwolf wrote:
The thing is, this is not a board game. It comes with miniatures,

Incorrect. It is a board game. It uses boards, has board game rules and dynamics, and tokens for playing pieces. It is only because of high production value that it includes figures that look like storm troopers, instead of cardboard chits or meeples.
Even Deadzone has rules that rely on lines of sight, therefore requiring miniatures. Nothing about Imperial Assault requires it's miniatures.

FFG is very expensive for boardgames too. I have a huge stack of boardgames, including plenty of the "hot games" of 2014. Splendor, Euphoria, Cave Famers, Brussels 1983, as well as plenty of classics like Risk, Agricola, etc.., Many of them cost less than an Imperial Assault expansion. None come close to its full retail value.

Sorry, that´s simply not true, all the games named are more expensive than an IA-expansion even if street-prices are compared. And IA translated into German will reduce the street-price. I do own a lot of baordgames from different companies and all the games that have the same amount of stuff in the box are priced in the same range. Take e.g. Clash of Cultures, slightly less stuff in there and close in price.

The thing is, this is not a board game. It comes with miniatures, skirmish rules and already about as many expansions as X-Wing. It is, at the very least, a hybrid like Space Hulk, and probably is closer to a smallish wargame like Dust Tactics or Deadzone than the more self-contained Space Hulk is.

Nope, IA has way more of a boardgame than Dust Tactics, having worked on DT and having demoed IA during SPIEL I should know that. The skirmish rules coming with IA are at the moment just a bonus and tiny in comparison to the rules that come with DT. Believe me, it is a boardgame. X-Wing is a hybrid and has btw way more expansions than IA. In the best case IA could be considered a RPG/board game hybrid, which it actually is. There is some teactical element involved in IA, but it does not dominate the game. The RPG-element dominates the game clearly.

As has been repeatedly pointed out, it even sat under "miniature games" on the FFG homepage next to their Dust and X-Wing stuff, and was only moved to "board games" a week or so before release due to liscencing-reasons.

Yeah, which clearly is a standard to go by, a lot of games change genre before release on the FFG-website... SH has awlways been considered a hybrid and never a full wargame so a game that is also gybrid and has a very strong RPG-element suddenly becomes full wargame?


IA might be considered expensive in comparison with the majority of boardgames, cause toystore-boardgames normally range from 10-30€ most of the times. But IA as many other games for experienced gamers never were intended to be sold in toystores mainly. Games for experienced gamers normally range from 30-100 with many examples being available at BGG. Prices for those games directly correlate with the amount of stuff included and IA includes a lot of stuff. In comparison with other games that include that much stuff the price is quite normal.

Even Deadzone has rules that rely on lines of sight, therefore requiring miniatures. Nothing about Imperial Assault requires it's miniatures.

And though IA has line of sight the game does not rely on miniatures for LoS, a chit does te job as well. Which supports your argument.

It is a game.

Trying too hard to lump things into neat little types is the first sign you are turning into a curmudgeon.

Categories are useful, but this talk is devolving quickly into the kind of categorizing one does to try and artificially diminish something's value.

And let's face it, this "board game" is going to be more popular than most "miniature games", including many miniature games that could be played without miniatures due to the way their rules are.

The new hotness that is Infinity, for example, can now be played with just chits and a silhouette stand in. Warmachine has been the same way for a while.

Some popular games, price comparisons (Amazon UK)

Carcassone = £20.25
Settlers of Catan = £25.39
Power Grid = £26.05
Dominion = £29.25
Agricola = £48.99
Descent = £52.85
Super Dungeon Explore = £53.79
Gears of War = £54.37
Star Wars Imperial Assault = £70.26
Twilight Imperium III = £73.99

So yeah, it is up there with the biggies in terms of cost and maybe components. It has the Star Wars licence, of course, with official figures that mostly look OK and can't be got anywhere else or substituted to much degree.

Is it worth it? That depends on how much you like Star Wars rather than other SF/Fantasy skirmish boardgames with figures in them. If you are not a Star Wars/SF skirmish fan, you might do better to buy Carcassone, Settlers and Power Grid, that would give you three different game experiences for the same money.

Price comparison is a little bit skewed.

Better comparison would be mainly with Clash of Cultures, Battle Lore, Descent, former Eagle Games products and other big box games. Though you nail it at the end of your list.

Also the other games in the list are longer out and their price has dropped since release.

Well, I am not trying to prove a point that the Star Wars game is expensive or not, just that people have a number of alternative choices at various price points on the market right now.

I have most of these games and similar including Twilight Imp III, Runewars, Super Dungeon Explore, Space Hulk 3, and the original Shogun (used to be £30 I think in the late 80s).

The value of any of them is how much gaming fun you and friends can get out of the box. If treated with moderate care, this kind of game can be kept and played for years.

Ouch, those prices are rough. I think my buddy picked it up for about $70 US. Absolutely worth that price

UK prices include 20% VAT as well as any import costs that might occur.

 Duncan_Idaho wrote:
It is partially Decent, but an improved version of Decent with the issues worked out. Actually, people that would have liked to play something like Decent but not Decent were more than happy with IA. So there really must be a difference.

You really get the difference when you played 3-4 games. I would consider it more tactical than Descent and all battles were decided by the better tactician.

I've hard similar thoughts from my friend who has it. Looking forward to trying it out soon, although I have no interest in buying it as I'm waiting for their Armada game.

And German prices are always way down from US-prices with regard to FFG

I haven't played Descent as I'm a scifi fan more than a fantasy fan. I did end up picking up Imperial Assault on sale for a decent price though. After playing it 4 times so far, it was enjoyable and I had a lot of fun. We made a couple mistakes on the rules, but going through the forums we found the answers fairly quickly so will be playing it again correctly. I was able to play a few more games with the wife and children who also enjoyed playing it.

The miniatures are board game quality but decent board game quality, unlike some board games. They could be cleaned up a bit and then painted just fine for those interested. For others who would never paint them, usually the board games in general, it isn't that bad. I would of preferred painted like X-Wing but I can understand the price increases because of it. Paying $10-15 for 1 colored miniature is a bit harder to sell to board gamers.

yeah,
If it was 2d ChitWars in space no one would buy it.

I bought it because it's a miniatures game. with sexy miniatures.
It's listed in FFGs Miniature forum... It's a miniatures game.
No one wants to play this game using chits.

And I'm disappointed that a huge number of Its core characters have had their miniatures replaced with chits.
In order to play the core game missions using all the characters minis I will need to spend another £70
The total cost to play the core missions of Star Wars Imperial Assault without using the chits is £140...

Also the Rebellion Faction stock troops in skirmish mode is primarily chits.
Rebel troopers & saboteurs - chits

Is it expensive? - Yes
Does having the core characters replaced with chits suck? - Yes
An entire section of the game and one side is playing it primarily with chits - poor show

Panic...

Welcome to the world of boardgames. We often play with only chits.

Yeah,
IA is sold as a miniatures game.
It's in the miniatures section of the FFG forum.
http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/forum/4-miniatures/

I repeat no one would buy this if it was a chit game.

Panic...

Panic does have a good point!

If it were all-chit and half the price at most, it might sell (although not to me). If it were all-mini, even if that meant less missions, and around the same price, I think it would sell, and I'd be tempted. As it is, though, it exists in a thoroughly unappealing middle ground.

 Duncan_Idaho wrote:
Welcome to the world of boardgames. We often play with only chits.

What are you talking about? Many of us can play all the games we want without using chits. Risk doesn't even use chits these days. He'll, Monopoly doesn't use chits. Chits are not as ubiquitous as you imply.

Have a look at 90% of the games and you get a mixture of minis and chits.

This topic seems to have exhausted its usefulness.