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Fantasy Flight Games and Star Wars Perfection

Since Fantasy Flight Games took over the Star Wars license for making board, card, miniature and role-playing games, there can be only one thing said about it. Perfect. There is absolutely no doubt that across every platform they have produced not only the best version of a Star Wars game in that class be it Board, Card, Miniature or Role-playing games, but they have done it by such a wide margin I can’t even remember what we had before it.

Let’s go over the list shall we.

Star Wars Edge of The Empire Role-playing game
Up until I played Star Wars Edge of the Empire, role-playing in the Star Wars universe was always a frustration for me. Every system I tried from old West End Game version, to more modern D20 versions by Wizards of the Coast, nothing did the trick. These systems always failed miserably in some element of presenting the Star Wars universe. Some of the these version of Star Wars RPG’s managed to get some things right, like the Saga system’s combat system was not all together terrible but they fumbled other things like ship to ship combat or messed up balance between force and non-force users. There was always a problem.

Star Wars Edge of the Empire has grown to include a ton of material, but the truth is that the core book alone already makes this one of the best RPG's ever made
Star Wars Edge of the Empire has grown to include a ton of material, but the truth is that the core book alone already makes this one of the best RPG’s ever made

Then came Star Wars Edge of the Empire and what can I say about it other than not only is it hands down one of the best Star Wars role-playing games ever made, it may just be one of the best role-playing games in any genre ever made. It’s simply exquisite, it works on every level, it’s got depth where it’s needed, it’s streamlined, it handles every element of the Star Wars universe flawlessly, simply put, it just can’t be done any better. A++ to Fantasy Flight Games for finally making a Star Wars RPG we can actually play without frustration.

Star Wars Card Games
There have been many and frankly, they have been miserable failures across the board. There has never been a good Star Wars Card game until Fantasy Flight took over and not only did they produce Star Wars The Card game, a fantastic living card game but they gave us Empire vs. Rebels as a bonus.

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This catchy Star Wars Card Game is filled with a variety of depth and strategies, but it’s quick and painless to setup and play. More importantly FFG maintains it’s living card game strategy as opposed to the presumptuous and often over priced CCG style games.

Both are amazing games that represent the Star Wars universe in perfect splendor capturing its many nuances with style. More importantly I don’t see how it would be physically possible for the art to scream STAR WARS any louder, the game is worth buying just for the illustrations and collectors of Star Wars Memorabilia do just that. Awsome job, another A++ for both games.

Star Wars Board Games
Now I will say this, there have been some pretty awesome Star Wars board games in the past. Queen’s Gambit, Epic Duels, even Star Wars RISK was actually quite fantastic. When it comes to Board Games toping games like the elaborate Queen’s Gambit wasn’t going to be easy but as always Fantasy Flight Games was more than up to the task. It took a while but the result is Imperial Assault, a game I believe will be in the top 10 on board game geek within the next year or so, already debuting at number 37. Now this is a kind of cross over game, one could say it’s a miniatures game but the truth is that by those standards so would Queen’s Gambit be. The truth is that if you’re going to make a Star Wars game, it very clearly needs to have miniatures in it, it’s just part of the allure of that franchise and it needs.

Queen's Gambit is an as impressive to look at as it is fun to play, but unfortunately it's out of print and has become something of a collectors item making it very expensive to pick up these days.
Queen’s Gambit is an as impressive to look at as it is fun to play, but unfortunately it’s out of print and has become something of a collectors item making it very expensive to pick up these days.

That said Imperial Assault not only blows any Star Wars game that came before it out of the water, but it does so with style, balance and experience. It’s a fantastic game that offers immense amount of replay ability and I suspect like the Arkham Horror series, this one is going to see a ton of expansions.

Star Wars Miniatures
Without question Star Wars X-Wing is not only the most successful miniatures game in decades, but it may very well rise to be one of the most successful miniatures games of all time. It’s simple to learn impossible to master mechanics and infinite replayability made accessible by taking the work out of the hobby with pre-painted miniatures has paved it’s way with gold. It is hands down in my humble opinion one of the best products Fantasy Flight Games has produced to date and with each expansion they release the game is improved 10 fold. It just gets better and better and better with no end in sight. Now with a third faction released, the game has already immortalized its iconic status, if nothing is ever released for it again it would still be a near perfect game. To say I love it would be an understatement, if I was stuck on a desert island and was forced to choose a single form of entertainment to take with me, Star Wars X-Wing would unquestionably be that entertainment.

I will probably never stop praising Star Wars X-Wing, easily one of the best games ever made.
I will probably never stop praising Star Wars X-Wing, easily one of the best games ever made.

Star Wars Armada
So why should you be excited about Star Wars Armada? Well if it isn’t obvious already, Fantasy Flight Games kicks ass at making Star Wars games and Star Wars Armada is slated to be the biggest, most epic and most iconic Star Wars game to ever be made. If they succeed, they will have done more for the Star Wars franchise than the last three movies did.

Star Wars Armada is as ambitious as it is elaborate and expensive, it's going to have to be one hell of a game to get my money.
Star Wars Armada is as ambitious as it is elaborate and expensive, it’s going to have to be one hell of a game to get my money.

War on a massive scale with all the fittings of Star Wars X-Wing, but bigger and more elaborate. Now I don’t usually do hype, I believe very firmly that objectively speaking no matter how excited I get for something, I recognize the possibility that I will be terribly disappointed, but I can say that if Armada isn’t the crowning achievement of Star Wars based games coming out of Fantasy Flight Games, my disappointment will reach epic proportions. It has all the markings of an amazing game, designed and produced by an amazing company at a time when they are on a hot streak of perfection. It’s the perfect storm for success, but it may also be the perfect recipe for disaster. I reserve my opinion until I play it, but to say that we should be anything by hyper excited would be selling the potential short.

Fantasy Flight Games is an amazing company, they have done for gaming what Quentin Tarantino did for movies, they showed us that games can be awesome again, that the status quo can be changed and that it’s still possible to invent new things or take old things and make them new again. They have done an amazing job and they have earned every bit of praise for their accomplishments. For me personally if I’m looking for a new game my first stop is always Fantasy Flight Games official website, there are so many diamonds in their product line I feel like I should just mail them my credit card.