Publisher(s) Wizards of the Coast Players 2 and up Setup time < 10 minutes | Years active 2004–2010 Age range 12 and up | |
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Star Wars Miniatures is a 34mm scale collectible miniatures tabletop game based on the Star Wars fictional universe that was produced by Wizards of the Coast. The game was originally released in September 2004 and continued production until May 2010. Star Wars Miniatures players build point-based squads from one of ten different in-universe factions then conduct battles between those squads. The game mechanics are a simplified version of the d20 roleplaying game system. Multiple maps, scenarios, and set themes from different settings and time periods from within the Star Wars universe are available.
Contents
History
Star Wars Miniatures premiered on September 3, 2004. The first set, "Rebel Storm," was released at that time and was followed up by "Clone Strike," which came out December 4, 2004. April 9, 2005 brought the third set release, titled "Revenge of the Sith", with the "Universe" expansion set in August that, hitting stores on August 27 that year. Later "Champions of the Force" was released on June 10, 2006. The "Bounty Hunters" set was released in September 2006, followed by "Starships Battles" in November. The special 30th anniversary set, "Alliance and Empire," was released May 2007. "Force Unleashed" set has been released in November 2007. "Legacy of the Force" was released on March 28, 2008. "Knights of the Old Republic" was released in Summer 2008, followed by "Clone Wars" in the late Fall of that year. Early 2009 included "Imperial Entanglements" which was followed in June by "Jedi Academy". "Galaxy at War" in October rounded out the 2009 collection, with "Dark Times" to follow in January/February 2010. The final official set released by Wizards of the Coast was "Masters of the Force", released April 2010. The sets released from "Rebel Storm" to "Knights of the Old Republic" have featured 60 fully constructed and fully painted miniature figures from different eras and settings of the Star Wars timeline. From "Clone Wars" onward, sets feature a total of 40 pieces.
Accompanying the first three sets was a scenario book called Ultimate Missions. Each book contained a double-sided map and a series of scenarios. Ultimate Missions: Rebel Storm included scenarios drawn from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, along with the associated radio dramas. Ultimate Missions: Clone Strike drew its scenarios from Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Star Wars: Clone Wars. Ultimate Missions: Revenge of the Sith covered Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. The Ultimate Missions series was discontinued after Revenge of the Sith in favor of scenario packs such as Attack on Endor.
On November 11, 2005 a special "AT-AT Imperial Walker Colossal Pack" was released, which came with the AT-AT. The AT-AT is scaled correctly to the other miniatures, and stands at fourteen inches high and eighteen inches long.
On February 2006, the "Attack on Endor" set was released. This set consists of an AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport), an Imperial Stormtrooper, Imperial Stormtrooper Officer and an Imperial Stormtrooper Scout. Also included are two double-sided maps and a scenario book. No Ewoks are included.
On January 28, 2010, an official announcement on the Wizards of the Coast forum stated that Wizards of the Coast would not renew the license for Star Wars Miniatures.
Gameplay
In Star Wars Miniatures, ten different factions are available for play. They are Rebel, Imperial, Republic, Separatist, New Republic, Yuuzhan Vong, Old Republic, Sith, Mandalorian, and Fringe. Each game requires that each player chooses one of the above factions to play as and then builds a squad using miniatures from that faction. The only exception is Fringe, which is a "neutral" faction, whose figures can be used in any squad. Players agree on a point total (100, 150, and 200 being the official standards) and create a squad that does not exceed the chosen point total for one of the following formats:
After players agree on a point total and play format and build their squads, one of several play maps representing different locations of the Star Wars Universe is chosen and set up. The maps feature a one inch square grid overlay that indicates where characters can move, as well as being used to determine range and the ability to see a target. Different maps influence the game in different ways. For instance, the map included in the "Revenge of the Sith Starter" represents the interior of a battered starship, with small hallways and rubble-filled rooms, but is considered the only "huge-friendly" map as it is the only one where a huge character can travel from one starting area to the other. Some of the official maps are:
The objective of the game can vary, but in standard play the winner is the player who earns an amount of victory points equal to or greater than the Squad limit or the player with the most victory points when a tiebreaker is called (no characters have made offensive actions in 10 rounds). Players score victory points equal to the cost of characters they defeat. In a variant designed to discourage players from hiding, known as Gambit format, players also score 5 victory points at the end of every round in which they have a character within 4 squares of the center. Gambit format is the format used in sanctioned tournaments.
Combat
Combat in the game is similar to other tabletop games. A 20-sided die (or D20) is used to determine if an attack succeeds and is also used for various other checks throughout the game. In the case of an attack, the D20 is rolled and its final value is modified by the attacker's bonus and other circumstances of the attack (e.g. a target in cover). If the total is greater than or equal to a figure's defense, that figure takes damage. When a figure has taken damage equal to its hit points, that figure is defeated and removed from play.
Distinguishing features
Star Wars Miniatures has several unique differences that separate it from most other tabletop games. There are "Force Powers", which are used by Jedi, Sith and other Force users and can devastate lesser figures. These also have Force ratings, which allow them to make re-rolls to failed attacks or defends and also to use their Force powers. There are also "Commander Effects", possessed by the various leaders in the Star Wars universe (Darth Vader, General Veers, Padmé Amidala - among others). Commander Effects confer bonuses, enhancements or other special abilities to their allies on the battlefield, although a few commander effects have negative results. Characters also come in different sizes with Small and Medium characters taking up 1 square, Large 4 (2 by 2), Huge 9 (3 by 3), and Colossal (anything bigger than 3 by 3; the biggest so far is the AT-AT, which takes up 6 by 12 squares).
Set themes
Each of the released sets focuses on different aspects of the Star Wars history, and some sets may be more desirable than others based on this fact.
Collectability
The game includes miniatures printed at four different levels of rarity: "common", "uncommon", "rare", and "Very Rare". Each of the first three sets were packaged in individual booster packs of miniatures, which in turn came with 7 random miniatures (1 rare or very rare, 2 uncommon, and 4 common). On average, one in three booster packs included a Very Rare instead of a normal Rare.
Popular characters from the movies are typically Rare, while less well known characters from other sources and the most powerful movie characters are Very Rare. As Rare characters are more often found than Very Rares in the randomized booster packs, the more recognizable characters are more increasingly often made Rare in order to maximize the appeal of the product. In the recent Galaxy at War set, characters such as Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and General Grievous appeared as Rares while secondary characters such as Hondo Ohnaka, Mar Tuuk and Wat Tambor fell into the Very Rare position. An increased cost to produce a figure will increase its rarity.
In the Universe set, special Huge miniatures were introduced, with a "footprint" nine times that of a typical figure. Each booster pack came with 1 rare, 1 huge figure (of random rarity), 2 uncommons, and 3 commons. This was the first set in which it was possible to get 2 rares in the same pack.
Other products include starter boxes which are prepackaged to include certain figures. The "Rebel Storm Starter Game" comes with Luke Skywalker, Rebel and Darth Vader, Dark Jedi, along with a randomized assortment of figures. The "Clone Strike Starter Game" comes with Jango Fett and General Kenobi and a number of randomized figures. The "Revenge of the Sith Starter Game" comes with General Grievous, Supreme Commander and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master, as well as two Clone Troopers and two Super Battle Droids. A new starter set consisting of reprints contains Obi-Wan Kenobi (Rebel Storm), Darth Vader (Revenge of the Sith), Rebel captain, Rebel Heavy Trooper, Elite Stormtrooper, Heavy Stormtrooper and a Korriban and Trade federation cruiser map. The "Attack on Endor" Scenario Pack comes with an AT-ST, a Stormtrooper Officer, Stormtrooper and Stormtrooper Scout.
The figures of Aurra Sing and a Stormtrooper from the 2005 "Star Wars Unleashed" line of plastic-sculptured statuettes each came with a bonus miniature "Twi'lek Bodyguard" for the Wizards of the Coast game; the same miniature came with both figures. The miniature is designated on the bottom of its stand as from the set "Unleashed" (as distinct from miniatures from the later "The Force Unleashed" set), but is otherwise identical to the same miniature from the "Rebel Storm" set released in 2004 (the same date printed on the bottom of the stand for the bonus miniature). It is the only known miniature in the "Unleashed" set, and also the only known cross-promotional miniature in the entire Wizards miniatures 2004-2010 line.
Online play
Among several other supported tabletop games the VASSAL Engine provides a module that allows playing the Star Wars Miniatures game online with gamers around the world.