Star Wars Board Game

The Force Is With Us

It was 1966 when the television series aired and 1979 when the first Star Wars movie was released. Since that time, the characters, battles and stories have continued as fan favorites. Books, toys and board games continue to enter the market every year.

Most of the classic board games now have a Star Wars edition including Trivial Pursuit, Risk, Battleship, Chess and The Game of Life. In some cases the game rules remain unchanged, with Star Wars characters and stories added. Some games have chosen to present alternative rules – letting the players decide how much of a Star Wars influence they want to have on their game. Either way, they make great gifts for the Trekkie in your life.

Favorite Star Wars Board Games

You could ask twenty different people to name their favorite Star Wars board game and you might hear twenty different answers. The following is a list of games that seem to be the favorites of a big cross section of game players. All are great for families to play together.

Star Wars Stratego

This is a fun twist on an excellent strategy game from Milton Bradley. It's designed for two players who like playing Stratego and who like the Star Wars characters and story lines from episodes I, II, IV, V and VI. It was introduced at the 2002 Toy Fair. The object of the game is to be the first player to capture your opponent's emblem. It adds Star Wars characters like Yoda and Darth Vader and abilities like leaping, slashing and jumping to the basic Stratego game.

Jedi Unleashed

This is a really simple game Milton Bradley game that is great to play with young players. Each of the two to five players have a team of three to six Jedi that slay enemies on the board. Players move their Jedi and attack their enemies by rolling dice. The game is fun, easy to play and requires little, if any, strategic thought by the two to five players. Great to play with kids from age 8 to 10.

Star Wars Battleship

This space version of the classic electronic board game was introduced at the 2003 Toy Fair. It has all the Star Wars sounds and images in four different strategy games, including a solo play game and player-to-player challenges. It folds down into an enclosed container that stores all of the game pieces. Great for one to two players, ages 8 and older.

Risk Star Wars

This Star Wars Original Trilogy Edition Risk board game is based on Star Wars episodes IV, V and VI (the first, second and third movies). Special components like Death Stars and different classes of ships enhance the play. For two to four players, ages 10 and older. You have the choice of playing by either of two sets of rules:

• The standard Risk rules – Your object is to defeat all of your opponent's troops and control the game board.
• Star Wars Original Trilogy rules – The three factions (the Rebel Alliance, the Empire and the Hutts) each have their own ships and a different set of conditions for victory.

Star Wars Saga Edition Chess Set

The collectible chess pieces are in the images of all six films. Players can command Yoda and the Jedi or be a pawn of the Emperor and the Dark Side of the Force. For two players, ages 8 and older.

The Queen's Gambit

This is a fun, but complex game for two to four players. It recreates the ending of The Phantom Menace with four different battles happening all at the same time. Each side chooses four action cards from a hand of ten and places them in order to be carried out one at a time. It includes 155 plastic miniature forces and is played on three separate boards including a three-level board that represents the palace. For two to four players, ages 12 and older.

Epic Duals

This Hasbro game was released in 2002. It has been out of print since 2004, but it has a cult-like following on fan-sites, online forums and groups that meet to discuss playing strategies. This Star Wars board game lets you choose characters from the 31 decorated figures from the Star Wars universe and lets them fight against each other. You can also recreate famous battles and have completely different endings than the original battles. Each set of characters has its own deck of cards which provide special powers relevant to the character. Action cards for each character are used for attack, defense or special abilities. Up to three teams can play against each other or two to six players can play against each other on one of four battle field boards. The game takes about thirty minutes to play. Players ages 10 and older. Copies are usually available on eBay and through online fan-sites.

Where to Buy

• Amazon
• Hasbro
• FunagainGames
• Boardgames
• BoardGameGeek
• Target
• Toys R Us
• eBay
• Toy and game stores