I can't wait to play this game again! Super simple yet super engaging. We went through the rules in not time and got down to wondering the streets of what I can only describe as 'Old Hollywood'.
The board game graphics and cards capture the essence of the 1940s era monster movie posters. The extra touch was the meticulous hand painted miniatures my friend did. It was nostalgic and drew me right into the game.
The co-op aspect makes it more fun as your able to help each other gain items and ultimately attempt to slay these classic creatures of the night.
Deceptively difficult. The game mechanics are a cinch
move/acquire/etc based on your character's ability
when completed flip a monster card to invoke a possible attack
roll the dice to determine any possible damage
The difficulty is completing each monster's challenge card then seek it out to remove it from existence. This requires navigating the streets while evading the lurkers, sometimes having to move from one side of the board game to the other. However your team and villagers can only survive so many attacks before you become HORRIFIED! and the game comes to a sudden end. Nooooo!
I found the extra tasks very fascinating. Villagers begin to wonder the town and you must escort them to their destination. Succeed and receive a bonus skill card. Fail and... well I won't describe the grizzly horrors that are inflicted if you do.
This game is rated 10+. It's very cute and a really nice change from some of the darker board games I've played like Dead of Winter. I liked this game so much I hope to have an opportunity for my kids to play it. 5 Stars!
I've been playing a lot of Star Wars Imperial Assault lately with a group of friends every weekend. We usually block a few hours at my buddy's place to play. He has a dedicated games room with a superb boardgame table. Most of the games in his collection take up some real estate with not just the game but all the necessary card decks pieces etc. Imperial Assault has so many things going for it. It's so familiar but different enough to make it unique. Hey - it's STAR WARS after all!
The skill level to play I would personally rate somewhere between novice to medium if you have prior RPG gaming experience. There's some dice mechanics but it's all laid out in your character's card details. You just need to glance at the card once in while to remind yourself of any special abilities that might help you or your companions.
The artwork and game pieces are gorgeous. The owner of this particular set spent the summer individually painting each piece. Talk about leveling up! The characters are an assortment of types just like most other DnD/RPG games where detriments in one particular attribute are made up by others. The Wookie is big and strong, the infantry guy is great in battle, the commander has some extra mental and tactical prowess.
Not all situations encountered are strictly blaster battles. One particular encounter had the team in a canyon and we all had to roll collectively to inflict as much damage to some sort of giant turbo cannon.
The story element reminded me a lot of KOTOR where interactions with non-combatives would yield clues and side missions to gain more XP and gear which is all handled by the 'App'. Our host had it on his iPad mini which was screencasted to a small TV that we could all see. The app controls the game, the turns, the encounters and acts much like a GM. I found this particularly interesting and very inclusive as our host was able to play along side us instead of controlling the game.
The board-game itself is also fascinating. It's actually grid puzzle pieces that are double sided with different environments that fit together in different ways dependent on what part of the adventure you are on.
So there you have it, a great way to spend the winter months with friends in a familiar environment playing out a really cool story that is one part KOTOR and one part SWEOTE played on an ever changing board game map similar to Pathfinder.
