Michael Eckenfels, 10 June 2015

So the shrink-wrap is cracked and pieces are out.  Is it Jar-Jar Binks, or Boba Fett?

It was with GREAT anticipation that I received a copy of Star Wars Imperial Assault by Fantasy Flight Games. This and Star Wars: Armada are two of three games I’ve really wanted for the last year or so (Fortune and Glory being the third), and when the heavy box arrived from Amazon, it felt like Christmas morning. Don’t get me wrong – I love getting games, and goodness knows I get lots of them in the course of the reviews and AARs I write, but this is Star Wars, man.

The box, in all its shrink-wrapped glory. It is almost six inches thick and weighs a ton, which just testifies to the goodies loaded inside.

The back of the box. Hard to believe that there used to be a time where this backside of a box was pretty much your only source of knowledge when you came across a game on a shelf somewhere.

The game immediately proclaims that this box includes both a Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader figure, as well as accompanying cards and bits. The box says as much too, so this is not a surprise. What kind of sucks is that there are several other figures Sold Separately^TM, so if I want to expand on this game with cooler pieces other than the cardboard counters provided, I’ll need to go buy ‘em. (For example, there is an IG-88 figure sold separately…or I can just use the cardboard token provided in the game for him. Where’s the fun in that?)

Once that sheet is out of the way, there’s some rule books…

…four of them, in fact. All feature some awesome Star Wars art, are well-designed, and make me excited to dive in and read them to figure this game out.

Next is a thick, shrink-wrapped package of game tiles, which are interlocked and create the universe in which this game is played. The tiles are really well-made, colorful, and bring out the terrain they depict well.

Here are the terrain sheets out of the shrink-wrap. They have to be punched out, and I haven’t done this yet as I will have to figure out how I’m going to re-store them all in the box. The box is big, but these tiles are huge!

Once I managed to get all the baggies and bits out, this was the bottom of the box. There weren’t many baggies and I immediately worried that I was missing something, but lifting up this cardboard insert at the bottom revealed more pieces (whew).

Here’s just some of the cards that help drive gameplay (from what I’ve learned reading/watching various reviews and Let’s Play videos). I didn’t bother to take these out of the baggie as there’s a lot of them. They look great, but they are pretty small with small-ish print; if you have a hard time reading small print, this might be an issue.

More cards! These are larger than the other ones you just saw, more like normal playing card size. Looks like there’s a lot to this game. Like I said, I’ve read reviews/watched videos on this game, but none of that was enough to prepare me for the experience of unboxing this behemoth.

Here are the character cards for the Rebel pieces. They’re double-sided and I cannot recall why offhand except that likely there’s a stronger character on one side as opposed to the other. The female Han Solo, as I’ve heard Jyn Odan called, is here, as is the ubiquitous Wookie, the token Jedi, the rough Rebel Soldier, the grumpy-looking Rebel Commander, and the alien-cat wild-card Renegade. Sure, these roles are all clichéd, but who cares? Star Wars, man!

Now, for the figures. With the exception of Luke, Darth, and the AT-ST (yes, AT-ST), everything is packed away in this large baggie, like sardines.

Both Luke and Darth come in their own baggie pack, with the figures themselves in their own smaller baggie pack in the larger one. Here is a birds-eye view of everything in that larger pack.

Here’s a close-up of the Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker pieces. You may have seen these already, but the detail is amazing. I really wish I knew how to paint figures!

Here’s the collection of Imperial figures. Three Probe Droids, four Imperial Guards, nine Stormtroopers, two Scout Troopers manning heavy weapons, and three Imperial Officers. (I’m guessing at some of these names, but it’s hard to mess up ‘Stormtroopers.’)

A close-up of the Scout Trooper manning the heavy weapon. Just check out the hoses and other details; it’s a beautiful piece.

There’s even an AT-ST. No, I didn’t put it together. I need to make sure I don’t break it trying. I’ve heard some sources say this thing is a pain to put together, while others say it’s super easy. We will see. If you suddenly hear a grown man wailing, no matter where in the world you are, you now know why.

Here’s a close-up of the Stormtrooper figure. Again, I really wish I knew how to paint figures. These pieces are absolutely amazing and are whispering to me, “Paint me…Paint me…!”

The Imperial Guard and Imperial Officer. Now I’m dying to color the guy on the left in crimson red. I really need to learn how to paint.

A close-up of one of the Probe Droids. The detail is fantastic.

Here’s the two bad doggies and four Bounty-Hunter looking things. All fodder for the Republic!

Rounding out the pieces are the six Rebel hero figures. I think the Wookie is my favorite, but all of them look great.

Finally, a bag ‘o dice. No game is complete without lots ‘o dice.

That’s it for this unboxing article. If anyone is interested in a full review or AAR, or both, please sound off your opinions in the forums! What, you’re not registered? Why are you lurking? Join in on the discussions!