Release Date: August 29, 2025
Published by: Days of Wonder
Distributed by: Asmodee
Players: 2-4
Age Range: 8+
Playing Time: 30 minutes
Game Designers: Richard Borg and Adrien Martinot
RRP: £49.99, $59.99
Game overview;
Battle of Hoth is a game of heroic and fast-paced miniatures battles set on the ice planet and re-enacting one of the most famous scenes of Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back.Using the popular Command & Color game system, players choose Command Cards each turn to activate units and decide how to move and attack, across 17 scenarios. For a deeper gaming experience, players have the option to add Leader Cards to their battle for support from 6 iconic Star Wars Characters, or try the two multi-scenario campaigns where successes and failures shape next battles.
The review;
Star Wars board games, there have been a lot. Let’s be honest, ones that stand out don’t come along that often. The ones like Star Wars: Rebellion and Star Wars: Destiny are few and far between. When a new game is announced I have a feeling of trepidation. What sort of game is it going to be because my natural inclination is that it is not going to be great. So, when Battle of Hoth was announced, I thought, “Here we go again!”
Thankfully, UK Games Expo (UKGE) had several demo games of this to play, including a giant version that me and my best buddy Gav got to sit down and try and a few rounds of. It has been all we have talked about from the show. The game seemed easy to pick up, quick to play and had a lot of variety to keep things interesting. We wanted to play a full game and since then have been counting the weeks down to when the game would be released. I will say right now that the giant version that has been shown at UKGE is not available. The tabletop presence for it is immense and does look fantastic, but I dread to think of the cost to make the game that size!
With the game only days from being released, Asmodee were very kind to send a copy to us so we could play the game the whole way through and share our thoughts. The first thing I want to comment on is the size of the box. I mean, it really shouldn’t make a difference, but a lot of gamers (me included) are starting to find a huge lack of space on our gaming shelves. Too many Kickstarter’s, too many brought games, space is starting to become a premium. While the box is longer than a standard game, it is a relatively thin box, so won’t take up too much space. Considering all the models inside, I was happily surprised by this.
So, what is in the box? My gaming friends will tell you there are two things I like with my games: space to sleeve cards and a good insert. On opening the box, I found the rules, tokens, scenarios… and one of the most gorgeous inserts to be included as standard in a box. Space for sleeved cards but each side having its own mini-insert with models in, each one topped with a plastic cover that has the assigned logo embedded in. This thing is stunning! Not only does it look good, but I could see immediately that this thing is going to really speed up setting a game up. With such a short playing time – the game advertises this as thirty minutes – you don’t want to be spending the same amount of time setting up. Looking at this, I can’t see that being a possibility. I do spend lots of money on getting good inserts for my games, I’m really surprised to see that this is a game that is just not going to need that.
For me, one of the main draws is the miniatures that you use to play out the game. At UKGE, we’d played with super-size models, and these were impressive enough. The smaller counterparts are just as detailed and almost as impressive (ok I can’t say they are as impressive because that huge AT-AT was something else). At the price point, I think fans will be very happy with these and already I’m looking at them thinking how I am going to paint them. I’m sure they will look incredible on the board.
Onto the actual game itself. The rules are clearly laid out and actually all the important information that you need is extremely clear but is also placed on cardboard ‘crib sheets’ that go next to the game board, something I wish more games would do. I could tell you that I read through the rulebook but if I’m honest, I sat down with my son Charlie (aged 18) and daughter Ember (aged 8) to watch a video on YouTube from one of the best in the business, Rodney from Watch It Played. My son and I have learnt many games watching his videos and I suggest you watch it for Battle of Hoth. All of us, including Ember, knew exactly what we were doing when we sat down to the game. There are seventeen scenarios that you can play with just this game, and they progressively introduce the rules to you. We started with scenario one. It’s simple and easy to begin with. Ember and I were the Rebels, Charlie was the Empire. We set the game up and it took all of three minutes, which I was very happy about. We started playing and we were all onboard with what to do. The age rating on this game says 8+ and seeing how quickly Ember adapted to it I would heartily agree with that age rating. She knew what to do, which command cards to select and could have easily played against her older brother without me being there. I like that this game can include all ages very easily.
Gameplay. You have a set of command cards that dictate which units or sections (the board is split into three sections) to activate. Each unit has a set of movement rules and number of dice you roll depending on the distance of the attack. The guide cards that are provided with the game could not make this simpler. The command cards have an added extra, that you can include commanders that add to this pool. There are three different commanders for each side, and we happily added them to our decks. We chose Luke Skywalker for ours, Charlie selected Darth Vader. They added a bit of variation which after playing a few times I think we’ll quite enjoy. The whole game is all about collecting victory points, mainly from destroying your opponent. The command cards are the focus of your tactics and how you deal with everything on the board. When attacking you roll dice. I’ll be honest, in our first game the dice were not with Ember and me but certainly were with Charlie, who decimated our forces and scored the win. The game took all of fifteen minutes, which I was rather impressed with. Getting that Star Wars feeling in such a short amount of time. However, it was not over!
Both Charlie and Ember looked at me with that look, they were not finished! We had to move straight onto scenario two. I think it says a lot about a game when you want to play more. If it had just been Charlie and me, I could see him and me going through several of these scenarios in a night (although more about that in a moment). What really impressed me was Ember, who is only eight, ready to carry straight on. At no point when we were playing did, she get bored, which is sometimes the case with bigger, more complex games. This game is simple enough that she could grasp what was happening but it’s deep enough to engage adults. The second game took moments to set up and we were off again. This time Charlie had an AT-AT (like he wasn’t winning already!) but we had snow speeders. It was a pleasant introduction of new units, and it didn’t phase anyone. The kids were quickly battling out. Star Wars sounds were abound, dice were thrown, cheers were raised. We were all having a fun time trying to annihilate each other. This time the Rebels won, although they couldn’t take down that darn AT-AT. We packed the game at that point, which because of the insert took us less than a minute.
So, after playing what was I thinking about this game? Let’s start with the overproduced card holders. They are completely unneeded. But… but they are very cool and really allow you to get that command feel for the game. That is my one and only (nitpicky) reason that I could come up for this game. Battle Of Hoth is a family friendly game that doesn’t go overboard on rules and units, keeping these simple and to the point. In the two scenarios we played we had to check the rulebook exactly zero times. Everything has been carefully thought about, so you are not having to waste time flicking through the rulebook. If you have any question, or need a reminder what dice rolls you need, or what terrain does, it is all there on the help sheets that stay to the side of the board. This allows for very quick games that are all about getting immersed in the experience and playing. Each side only has three units. You could argue that some variation would be better but keeping this a low number means you do not have to remember lots of different rules for lots of different units. I don’t want to have to keep checking a rulebook, forgetting about certain abilities, I want to get stuck in and play. This game allows you to do that. While I love my deep-thinking strategy games, most of the time I have to commit to a whole day of gaming to fit them in. That just isn’t feasible for most days of the week. Battle Of Hoth takes a fraction of the time but still gives you that Star Wars feel. Everything about this game is about getting it to the table as quickly as possible to give you the maximum amount of time to play. The insert is perfection, the number of units is perfection, the complexity of the rules is perfection. For someone who has children of different ages, who finds his gaming time being small and precious and who just wants to play some Star Wars, this game hits every single box.
Now that’s just seeing what we’ve played of the game. This is perfect for families; there are even rules to play with up to four players. However, there’s even more. There are two campaign booklets with cards to go with them, so battles have some meaning. We haven’t even played these yet, but I imagine my son and I will work our way through these in an evening, to add some more structure to the game. If that wasn’t enough, nor the seventeen different scenarios they give you, there is even a scenario (the elusive eighteenth) that has been designed to use two copies of the game and do a huge battle with! In other words, it doesn’t matter who you are, what your age or gaming experience is, there is something for everyone. Quick to pick up, quick to enjoy.
This game is released August 29, 2025, (this Friday) and I cannot recommend it enough. Although RRP is £49.99, you can find places selling this for less, some with promo models. I haven’t been able to find any of them yet, but I believe they are for a model of the shield generator – which is a token in the game – which fills in the empty box for the Rebels. For this cost you are getting a great game anyone can enjoy and is designed to have you gaming within minutes. There are a lot of Star Wars games available, but I can happily say that this goes straight into my top three. This gives a great Star Wars experience, and I think will become a firm favourite of many players. Huge thank you to Asmodee for sending us an early copy, I need to get back to playing scenario three… Ember and I have got to destroy the AT-AT this time, it’s worth two victory points!
Availability;
You can preorder Star Wars: Battle of Hoth from Amazon UK and Amazon US.
The post Gaming Review: Star Wars: Battle of Hoth Board Game appeared first on Jedi News.
