Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game could rule the 2-player galaxy

Fantasy Flight Games is a Minnesota-based company. They have done a lot of work with card games throughout the years including their signature Living Card Games. Even its latest hit was not a success. Marvel ChampionsFor more experienced players,, which is one of 22 most popular modern board games can seem a little daunting. That’s why designer Caleb Grace has built Star Wars: The Deckbuilding GameTo be something completely different.

Star Wars: The Deckbuilding GameThis small, 152-card deck contains 152 cards. The deck consists of a simple 10-card deck. Then, in the center of the table — sort of like in a game of Texas Hold ’em — sits the galaxy row, drawn from a shared 90-card galaxy deck. Players take turns purchasing cards from the galaxy row, expanding their own personal deck and then using it to attack each other’s bases. Bring down three of your opponent’s bases and you win. That’s it. That’s the game.

But it’s so much more than that.

“What inspired me to do Star Wars was this idea that I can make a game that just gets to the table really fast,” Grace told Polygon in an interview, “[where] people can get into it and find deep strategy — but there isn’t that high bar for learning.”

The thing that this Star Wars game has going for it is the fact that almost everyone in the world knows the story. As it’s been described to me, it feels like Grace’s clever design reinforces that story almost perfectly. You will have a great time playing Star Wars, with the rules being the Star Wars rules.

Image: Fantasy Flight Games

In case you need a refresher on the plot of Star Wars — the original trilogy, that is — one player takes on the role of the Empire, and the other player takes on the role of the Rebellion. The Rebellion destroys the empire while the Empire chases down the rebels. It’s an asymmetrical struggle of counterinsurgency. But where a comparable board game would contrive multiple convoluted mechanics that pile atop one another into an almost inexplicable ruleset — looking at you, Star Wars: Rebellion — Star Wars: The Deckbuilding GameAll of it. As the cards are explained in reading, The Gathering is Magic adage goes. And that’s why a lot of the text in this game is written upside down.

“Every Rebel card, every Empire card has a bottom section, that is actually upside-down to the owner and it faces their opponent,” Grace said. “So while it’s out there in the row — let’s say Grand Moff Tarkin is in the row and I’m the rebel player — I can’t buy Grand Moff Tarkin, but he has a target value on him.

“I can sabotage that,” Grace continued. “Better yet, an AT-ST. You can attack an AT-ST. I’m able to sabotage it. If I succeed, then I discard it from the row and you never have the opportunity to buy that card because — I sabotaged it.”

On the Empire side of the table, the mechanic is called “bounty hunting.” What else is so Star Wars?

In retrospect, the quirky upside-down writing almost feels like magic. It’s absolutely brilliant, but it also unlocks the joy of the Star Wars universe. Boba Fett can help me round up any rebels I choose. It’s possible, it feels amazing. You can take the Hammerhead Corvette, smash it together and sacrifice the cruiser. You can. It’s Star Wars.

“[The space battle in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story] was one of the greatest moments in cinema for Caleb Grace,” Grace said, his eyes lighting up on our Zoom call. Grace seems to be genuinely happy to have been allowed to translate his love of the franchise into the game’s structure. There’s a lot more nuance to be sure, including the power of the Force, which enables some special rebellion moves. Fantasy Flight Games will make a detailed announcement Thursday. But the broad strokes of Grace’s design are clear from the outset, and that makes me really excited to see this one out in the wild.

The final game — which includes art drawn from FFG’s already massive collection of Star Wars illustrations gleaned from years producing Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game,Star Wars: Legion, Star Wars: Imperial Assault, and more — is expected in March 2023 and will retail for $39.99.