Star Wars: Imperial Assault is a strategy board game within the canon universe. It was created by Fantasy Flight Games and initially made available on December 15, 2014. The campaign mode supports gameplay for two to five participants, with one player commanding the Imperial forces and up to four others managing distinct Rebel heroes. Throughout numerous missions and play sessions, both the Imperial and Rebel sides will see their capabilities evolve. A skirmish mode is also available for two players, usually pitting an Imperial player against a Rebel player, although same-team matchups are also allowed. Skirmish teams are predetermined, in a similar fashion to Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game, and each game is independent.
The core game comes with two expansion packs: the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader Ally and Villain Packs. These packs introduce new 28mm miniatures, cards, and skirmish and/or campaign missions. Additional ally expansion packs can be purchased separately. Several online board game critics, including Tom Vasel from the Dice Tower series, have pointed out the game's mechanics are "very similar to Descent" and have lauded its Star Wars theme.
Designed for 2-5 players, the campaign game offers an asymmetrical experience. One participant assumes the role of the Empire, deploying troops and expendable units against the Rebels. The remaining players each control a unique Rebel character. Both sides can enhance their abilities across a series of missions. This gameplay style shares similarities with roleplaying games, where one player acts as the Game Master (in this case, the Empire). However, Imperial Assault is more of a tactical skirmish game with progression elements, lacking the open-ended storytelling of traditional RPGs.
Rebels take turns activating their characters. During an activation, a Rebel can perform two actions, such as moving, attacking, resting, or engaging in special interactions. At the start of each mission, Rebels receive a specific objective, which might involve destroying terminals, escaping with information, or defending for a set duration. Rebels have limited information to enhance the narrative and provide the Empire with an edge.
The Empire's gameplay closely mirrors that of the Rebels, with the player deploying units and each unit executing two actions per turn. However, the Imperial player possesses greater behind-the-scenes knowledge. When Rebels trigger events like opening doors or interacting with terminals, the Imperial player can reinforce their forces or impose negative effects on the Rebels. At the conclusion of each round, the Imperial player can deploy additional units by spending "threat," a resource that accumulates over time. The Empire's primary goal is typically to defeat the heroes or delay them for a specific number of rounds.
Three resources contribute to the game's sense of progression between missions. Both the Empire and Rebel players earn XP for completing missions. Additionally, Rebel players receive Credits, while the Imperial player receives Influence. While all three are awarded after each mission, the side that achieved its objective receives a larger reward. Players can also earn Reward cards for specific mission victories.
Each Rebel hero has a class deck featuring skill cards with costs ranging from 1 XP to 4 XP. After each mission, the Rebel player can permanently purchase skill cards from this deck, as many as they can afford.
Before each mission, the Imperial player selects a set of Class cards. After each mission, they can spend XP to acquire cards from this set, similar to the Rebels.
Each Rebel hero earns the team 100 credits per mission, with the possibility of earning more based on their actions. These credits are pooled together. The Rebels then draw items from the Tier corresponding to the mission's difficulty (1 to 3) and collectively decide what to purchase, typically new weapons and items.
Following a mission, the Imperial player draws four cards from an Agenda deck that was created before the Campaign began. The Imperial player can then choose to purchase any of these cards. Many of these cards are secret, and many provide only one time abilities. These add to the sense of overwhelming power and secrecy that is unique to the Imperial side.
Fantasy Flight has developed expansions that can be incorporated into both campaign and skirmish modes of the base game. Ally and Villain Packs are tailored to either the Rebel or Imperial player. Each Ally and Villain Pack includes plastic figures to replace the printed tokens which were included in the Core Set, new missions, and new cards. Larger expansions are also planned and will include several new figures, new map tiles, new missions, and more.
Wave 1
- General Weiss Villain Pack (SWI03)
- Royal Guard Champion Villain Pack (SWI04)
- IG-88 Villain Pack (SWI05)
- Han Solo Ally Pack (SWI06)
- Chewbacca Ally Pack (SWI07)
- Rebel Troopers Ally Pack (SWI08)
- Rebel Saboteurs Ally Pack (SWI09)
Wave 2
- Boba Fett Villain Pack (SWI11)
- R2-D2 and C-3PO Ally Pack (SWI12)
- Kayn Somos Villain Pack (SWI13)
Wave 3
- Stormtroopers Villain Pack (SWI14)
- Wookiee Warriors Ally Pack (SWI15)
- Hired Guns Villain Pack (SWI16)
Wave 4
- Alliance Smuggler Ally Pack (SWI17)
- Bantha Rider Villain Pack (SWI18)
Wave 5
- General Sorin Villain Pack (SWI20)
- Dengar Villain Pack (SWI21)
- Leia Organa Ally Pack (SWI22)
- Echo Base Troopers Ally Pack (SWI23)
Wave 6
- Bossk Villain Pack (SWI25)
- Agent Blaise Villain Pack (SWI26)
- Lando Calrissian Ally Pack (SWI27)
- ISB Infiltrators Villain Pack (SWI28)
Wave 7
- Obi-Wan Kenobi Ally Pack (SWI29)
- The Grand Inquisitor Villain Pack (SWI30)
- Greedo Villain Pack (SWI31)
Wave 8
- Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight Ally Pack (SWI33)
- Alliance Rangers Ally Pack (SWI34)
- Captain Terro Villain Pack (SWI35)
- Jabba the Hutt Villain Pack (SWI36)
Wave 9
- BT-1 and 0-0-0 Villain Pack (SWI41)
- Jawa Scavenger Villain Pack (SWI42)
- Hera Syndulla and C1-10P Ally Pack (SWI43)
Wave 10
- Maul Villain Pack (SWI47)
- Emperor Palpatine Villain Pack (SWI48)
- Ahsoka Tano Ally Pack (SWI49)
Wave 11
- Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus Ally Pack (SWI55)
- Sabine Wren and Zeb Orrelios Ally Pack (SWI56)
- Thrawn Villain Pack (SWI57)
- Hondo Ohnaka Villain Pack (SWI58)
- Training Ground Skirmish Map (SWI38)
- Nelvaanian War Zone Skirmish Map (SWI39)
- Coruscant Landfill Skirmish Map (SWI40)
- ISB Headquarters Skirmish Map (SWI44)
- Anchorhead Cantina Skirmish Map (SWI45)
- Jabba's Palace Skirmish Map (SWI50)
- Nal Hutta Swamps Skirmish Map (SWI51)
- Mos Eisley Back Alley Skirmish Map (SWI52)
- Uscru Entertainment District Skirmish Map (SWI53)
- Tarkin Initiative Labs Skirmish Map (SWI59)
- Lothal Wastes Skirmish Map (SWI60)
- Coruscant Back Alleys Skirmish Map (SWI61)
- Endor Defense Station Skirmish Map (SWI62)
- Malastarian Outpost Raid Map (SWI63)
- The Gray Cap Cantina Raid Map (SWI64)
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Imperial Assault on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
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Begin Your Assault on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
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Imperial Assault on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
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Star Wars: Imperial Assault Core Set on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
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Order Your Summer 2015 Tournament Expansion Kits on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
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The Swamps of Nal Hutta on Fantasy Flight Games' official website (backup link)
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