The War In The Stars - 2GP's Review of Empires: Galactic Rebellion by Eagle-Gryphon Games

Two-Gun Pixie Presents:

LEGENDARY

GAMING

022 – The War

In The Stars

For untold aeons the balance of forces in the galaxy has held a tentative truce between the various interplanetary races and organizations. Occasionally disputes - even small scale wars - broke out occasionally but always the balance of the forces has remained intact. Now, antediluvian age has crept through this most ancient of Empires bringing rot and decay to it's very heart. The corruption spread, slowly during the millennium. As more acts of violent dissent rocked through the Empire more freedoms were relinquished for the illusion of security. Eventually, as the ignoble yoke of tyranny began to become more apparent to the Galactic subjects, the seeds of dissenting took deeper roots. Where once stood a vast empire of inter-planetary trade and commerce now stands a vile Imperial regime fractured by diverse political ideologies and racial preferences bent on releasing the galaxy from the cosmic chains of oppression. Now the word has spread from faction to faction, the time is nigh! This will be the rebels last chance to defeat the darkness which has engulfed the Empire. From telepath to telescreen, communicated in languages both organic and binary... the word has been received and the revolt begins.

Empires:

Galactic Rebellion

Designers: Glenn Drover, Don Beyer

Artist: Paul Niemeyer

Publisher: Eagle-Gryphon Games Published Date: 2016

Manufacturer Suggested Player Age: 12+

Number of Players: 2-5

Average Play Time: 2-4 hours (45 minutes per player) Game Type: Civilization, Exploration, Science Fiction, War

Game Mechanics: Area Control/Influence, Bidding, Worker Placement MSRP: $149.99

Product Dimensions: 15.5 x 4 x 12.5 inches

Shipping Weight: about 13.5 lbs

From The Publisher

Rebellion simmers in the corners of the Galactic Empire and several rival factions are gathering forces in the hope of overthrowing the corrupt Senate by defeating the Sentinels that keep them in power. These rebel factions, each with their own vision of what life in the galaxy should be, despise each other almost as much as they hate the corrupt Galactic Senate. However, only one can wield ultimate power in the galaxy.

You are the leader on one such rebel faction. You must recruit and train key specialists to help you fight and win a Galactic Rebellion. Scientists will perform research on new technologies that can tip the balance in your favor. Smugglers will help you build a trade network while Diplomats will join the Senate in hopes of influencing critical decisions. Heroes will conduct Covert Missions to aid your rebel cause and Troopers will fight your battles as they flare up on planets across the galaxy.

As the Rebel Faction Leader, you must lead your rebellion to free the galaxy from tyranny and thereby achieve ultimate victory!

The Box

This is one big, deep box. Close to being a cube, actually. The design is very sturdy and durable - one of the most well-made ones we've ever seen. This game may very well be too big to easily bring out with you to friends’ or relatives’ homes or even conventions but it sure could stand up to the rigors of regular travel, that's for sure. The art is simple but compelling. Yes, the art is a bit dark but it really draws you in with its shadowy sheen; a simple depiction of a spiral galaxy against the background of infinite space. The glossy artwork really makes the spiral galaxy pop of the box.

The inlay of the game is a series of dense cardboard slats, horizontal and vertical, which create pockets to fit everything in nicely compartmentalized.

OK, first thought is that this is rather cheap and worse, it’s just a lazy design.

After game plays and generally going into the box several times to show it off my thoughts have shifted. Basically, it works. Although fitting the minis into the cardboard slots won’t be too tight they do fit better if you Do Not put them in a zip-lock bag first and then into the slot.

I still think it looks lazy and rushed. After seeing the detailed work Eagle-Gryphon Games put into another new release’s game box inlay, the Daedelus Sentence, I wonder why this one looks so basic... but it works.

The Components

Do you like games that come with miniatures? I mean, like... a Lot of minis? Well, game board geeks, if so boy do I have a game for you to look at here.

First let’s look at everything that comes in the game.

Rulebook Score Pad Player Aid Cards 10 X Science Lab cubes 60 x Military Science cubes 50 x $1 Cardboard coins 50 x $5 Cardboard coins 32 x Trade Goods 8 x Trade Routes 10 x Power Tiles 40 x Tech Tiles 25 x Imperial Action cards 20 x Covert Mission cards 150 x Rebel figures (5 colors) 5 x Imperial Ships miniatures 3 x Rebel Ships miniatures 30 x Sentinel figures 50 x Scientist figures (5 colors) 50 x Trooper figures (5 colors) 50 x Smuggler figures (5 colors) 50 x Diplomat figures (5 colors) 50 x Hero #1 figures (5 colors)

The rule book reads just fine. The rules flow naturally and we had little problem understanding them or finding where they were located in the book. The photos added to help explain certain actions are a big help and much appreciated. The player aid cards that come with the game are great. All the pertinent information is readily available and easily accessible to the players from these rectangular menu-style designed “cheat-sheets”.

The wooden science and military cubes are standard, nothing to really note about them and the same goes for the cardboard coin tokens and the various trade, power, and tech tokens.

The cards that come with the game are well-made but should be sleeved to ensure their longevity.

The chits and tokens, and there are a Lot, are all made well. As with any game with many bits to keep track of please remember to bag them up between games.

Figures... Miniatures... Wow, we all really love them, don’t we? Some more than others but we all do love them to one degree or another, now don’t we? Well, this game is teaming with minis; over 430 to be more precise! The quality is good and they are quite sturdy. I must admit to you that I was not overly pleased with the craftsmanship of the designs of the various troops. I thought that they looked rushed, sort of unfinished. They will stand up to the rigors of extended and multiple games in the long run, I’m quite sure. I just wish a little more detail was put into their design.

Goal

During the first two epochs, rounds 1 - 6, use worker placement to acquire goods, trade routes, new technologies, senate votes, and go on covert missions to build up your power. In the third round of the third epoch war breaks out across the galaxy. Use your accumulated power to withstand the Galactic Empire’s war machine and score the most victory points to win the game.

Game Play

Player Set-Up: Each player chooses a faction and claims the 80 miniatures of their color. Then every player receives 10 Universal Credits and 5 Rebel Workers. These are placed in front of the players to be used as their Workers for the first round. Each player then takes a 6th Rebel from their outside supply and are randomly placed on the Initiative track to determine order for the first round. This placement may garner you bonus Credits and/or bonus Rebels to bring into play immediately on planets.

Empires: Galactic Rebellion is played over the course of three epochs. The first two epochs are each made up of three turns. The third epoch consists of two turns and ends in all-out galactic war in place of a third turn. Epoch I = Turns 1, 2, & 3. Epoch II = Turns 4, 5, & 6. Epoch III = Turns 7 & 8, War

Each Turn is made up of several Phases. • Phase 1: Place Workers Starting with the first player, each player will place one of his Workers (Rebels) in any available space of the eight possibilities. This phase ends after each player, one at a time, places all their Workers. - Initiative: Claiming a spot here ensures your place in the initiative lineup next turn. To compensate players who end up with low initiatives are actually granted a reward of more points. - Planetary Influence: Placing a worker here secures that miniature a trip to one of the 8 planets in this game. Note that certain specialist workers may incur additional bonuses. Example, Smugglers can gain the trade route of a planet, Diplomats can bring, for free, a Trooper worker. . - Trade Goods: has 4 open spaces for workers. By placing a worker on one of these spaces allows you to claim one of the randomly shuffled Trade Goods available each turn. If you use a Smuggler you can claim two Trade Goods. - Covert Missions: spaces reward the player with the most workers here to claim a Covert Mission card for that player to play. Completion of these Covert Missions grants that player Victory Points and maybe another reward, depending on the nature of said Covert Mission. - Research Technology: will let players gain certain technological advancements, if you pay the research cost. If you use a Scientist worker here it lowers the research cost by 5. - Warfare: gives the player the chance to engage other players in combat - or you can make an attack directly against the Galactic Sentinels. If you use a Trooper worker or a Hero worker here you gain an additional 2 cubes in combat. - Specialists: spaces will let you claim that particular Specialist worker and add them to your overall pool of workers. One space will allow you to claim credits (money). - Galactic Senate: spots will claim workers placed their until the end of the game. At the close of each Epoch 7 Victory Points will ve claimed by the player who has the most workers on this area. Any Diplomat workers you have here each count as 2 workers. Otherwise, a worker in this space may be discarded in order to gain one of the four cards connected with this spot. These cards may increase your abilities or affect your workers.

• Phase 2: Event Box Resolution After all players' workers have been placed resolution begins. Starting at the top of the board with Initiative all the way down to Galactic Senate resolve the spaces your Workers occupy.

• Phase 3: Income (Rulebook pg. 11) Players collect Universal Credits from their Trade Goods sets. These Trade Goods stay in control of their player for the duration of the game.

• Phase 4: Technology Benefits (Rulebook pg. 11) Any Technology Tiles purchased during the Research Technology Phase are now placed in front of their respective owners.

• Phase 5a: Galactic War (Only following Turn 8) • Phase 5b: Scoring (Only on Turns 3, 6, & 8) (Rulebook pg. 12) On turn 8 Galactic War erupts and this precedes the Scoring Phase. For scoring, the player with the most Workers on a Hub Planet gains the higher value listed for that planet. If their is a tie all tied players receive the lower value listed. IF there is no tie then the player with the second most Workers will receive the lower value. Also, the player with the most Workers in the Galactic Senate will receive 7 Victory Points. If two or more players are tied then ALL tied players receive 7 points.

• Phase 6: End Turn/Refresh Board (Only After Turns 1 - 7)

During the end turn phase players refresh the board by removing workers from the previous turn and preparing to begin phase 1 and continue until the game ends at turn 9 (Galactic War).

As the game plays out you will use tactics involving area control in order to acquire things like; trade routes and goods to gain set bonuses of victory points during the scoring phase, votes in the Senate in order to manipulate Imperial actions, research new technologies to get access to better equipment, or even send soldiers to wage war against the Empire or other players.

Combat is resolved using colored cubes. Simply place the number of cubes of your color in the supplied bag along with the appropriate number of cubes in your opponent’s color. Then the attacker blindly picks three cubes out of the bag. The majority color wins and the applicable number of enemy workers are removed.

The use of both the Imperial Action Cards and the Covert Mission Cards is a really great way to shake the game up and can be intricate during game play.

Final Thoughts

This big box brings a big amount of fun to the table top. The Twenty-Sided Warriors have really taken to this mix of worker placement meets galactic warfare. This game will take you about 45 minutes per player so make sure you have put the needed time aside to play this game out because it really amps up the closer to the end it gets.

Although the game uses the concept of different galactic factions for each player to choose from each faction comes with only a backstory. It really feels like each faction should have it’s own advantage, its own way to bend the rules. That would have notched up the reason for choosing a faction considerably. I hope that maybe a future expansion will remedy this by giving us faction abilities.

It may not be a new concept but we did really enjoy the use of worker placement to gain better spots in the initiative line-up.

Another aspect of the game we thought that really stood out to us was the lingering and ever-growing threat of the Empire. The game begins with Imperial troops spread out on several planets and at least one planet already closed off to the rebels. During the game Imperial Action Cards can move the forces around or add more to the board. Covert Action Cards can also manipulate the Imperial forces.

The first play through may go slow as you will find yourself going over the rules a few times but trust me the rules are not half as fidgety as the game looks at first. The rules not only read easily but also the layout of the board helps to increase your ability to understand the rules. After the first game your players will find the next ones will go much faster, almost organically.

As an homage to the original Star Wars trilogy we here at Two-Gun Pixie think Glenn Drover’s Empires: Galactic Rebellion knocks it out of the park. This game looks to become a regular on our table.