Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Well, Fantasy Flight Games strikes directly at your wallet yet again. In this instance, what they fail to tell you is that you are not buying a complete game in this (relatively expensive) box set. In fact, you're getting almost exactly half of what is required to play. If this was actually marketed as a "starter set" or "beginner set" (similar to how the 5th Edition D&D box set was sold as an incomplete starter experience), this would not be so offensive. Customers would know what they are getting into. However, nowhere in the marketing or on the box is this explained. Nor is it explained that you don't even receive a complete rules set in this box. Instead, you have to download a PDF from the FFG web site (which, incidentally, contradicts and forces you to unlearn some of the rules this starter set teaches you). The good news is that what you do get in the box is pretty solid. The miniatures are, hands down, the best part of this. It's obvious that some thought was put into how to injection mold the figures in order to reduce mold lines as much as possible. While they do require some clean up with a hobby knife or file, it's really pretty minimal. The details are crisp and distinct, and the plastic feels sturdy. The figures do require assembly, but they are individually packaged in zip lock baggies, making it easier to know which parts go with which figures (I strongly recommend keeping figures in their respective bags until you're ready to assemble them). Having said that, it's worth noting that you will NOT be able to simply open this box up, read the rules, and start playing. Even if you have zero interest in painting the miniatures, they will need to be assembled and affixed to their bases before you can really do anything with the game. This point is not a knock on the game -- it's been the nature of miniature wargaming for quite awhile. The cardboard tokens are about the same quality as those in the X-wing Miniatures game, which is to say they are sturdy and feel like they will last. The scoring on my set was done properly, so the pieces easily punched out (unlike the disaster of X-wing Second Edition, in which the scoring was terrible and most of the pieces tore and ripped when being punched out). The rules are complex, but that's just par for the course when it comes to miniature-based gaming. If you've played X-wing, or really any other tabletop wargame, then many of the concepts should be at least somewhat familiar. The biggest problem with the rules is, as I said above, that what you get in this box contradicts a few of the "official" rules. So it's really not worth the effort to try to fully comprehend or memorize the rules this intro book gives you. This is a really tough product to rate. As an overall game (that is, when you have a COMPLETE set to play with), this is probably a 3.5 or 4 star game. But this specific product comes nowhere near that by virtue of being incomplete. If you want the full experience of the game to play at home with another friend, your most economical option is to buy a second box set. Buying the necessary expansions and dice sets separately is actually more expensive than this set. However, if you want to join a local group, you could get away with only buying the expansions for the faction you're interested in playing (Rebel or Imperial). But that's still a pricey endeavor for an already expensive game. In the end, this half-of-a-game might be Fantasy Flight Games' most audacious money-grab yet, and it taints what looks to otherwise be a fun Star Wars wargaming experience.