Star Wars Risk

Exactly. That's at least $450 profit if eBay prices are any indication.

Hex/Grudunza- try GameStop. I don't think people are thinking to look there for it. You're more likely to get it there...I think you can actually order it online, too. They had all of the Funko Pop figures or whatever those superdeformed things are, they're kind of a big deal to some folks apparently.

Just played an hour of Loopin' Chewie. Needless to say, it's a huge hit with a four year old and a five year old. It's awesome. River said it was the best game he's ever played. A new era of gaming has begun.

Target has a bunch of cool stuff (but not Risk)...there's another game that looks cool, sort of a Khet-style laser thing by the looks of it where you use a Star Destroyer laser and a "deflector" to try to ricochet shots and hit pawns of Force Awakens characters. Might pick that one up next time. There are also these little things called "Block Busters" or something like that, they're kind of like Micro Machines but the block unfolds into kind of a little game board. It looks really simple- a special die, a couple of tokens and I think a few cards. There are big ones and small ones, not sure if they link up or something. The game is probably dubious at best, but they looked fun.

Kylo Ren's lightsaber sounds AWESOME. Nasty and ragged, like something is clearly wrong with it.

I didn't see ANYTHING Captain Phasma. Lots of Kylo Ren stuff, but it looks like Phasma (and BB-8) are the fan favorites at this stage.

EDIT- looked at the rules for Risk, agree with everything Josh said. QG is definitely back, but it is scaled back a bit so it is streamlined. What may not be clear is that the cover is actually much cooler than the picture (which was cool anyway) suggests...it's like a comics-style illustration. The pieces are also not primary colors like some of the pictures have shown- X-wings are more of a burgundy, B-Wings are navy blue, Y-wings are gold. The chits are kind of lame (especially the Executor) but they'll do the job...and they could easily be swapped out with Micro Machines or those new Hot Wheels ships.

Loopin' Chewie is proof of the Ameritrash Victory....Take a game loved and revered by THE GATHERING and retheme it to Star Wars, reduce it to 3 player to piss them off and all Alan Moon and his ilk can do is scratch their chins and wonder, WHERE DID WE GO WRONG!

Force Friday is a glorious Day for the Ameritrash Gamer and Tonight we find out if Loopin Chewie plays well while drinking tequila!!!

The*Mad*Gamer wrote:
Force Friday is a glorious Day for the Ameritrash Gamer and Tonight we find out if Loopin Chewie plays well while drinking tequila!!!

Answer: Yes

Almalik wrote:

Hex Sinister wrote: Going to find a BB-8 like right now. Goddammit.

You can order them direct from the Spheros web site (with a 2 week wait, so it doesn't work if you need it RIGHT NOW) with it looks like free shipping. Tested with Paypal (didn't finalize it) to see and there was no shipping charge added.

I went and got the cheaper Hasbro one at Target. Discounted $10 if you spend $50 or $25 if you spend $100. After tax it was $76.57. Not bad. There were only 3 left and I bet they'll all be gone within an hour.

My Target didn't have the RISK game unless I missed it. Yet they DID have the new X-Wing Force Awakens starter box. *shrug*

Gamestop was my first hit but they ONLY had the RISK game and no BB-8's.

Alright, so I just played my first game of it.

30-45 min is spot on. It's _MUCH_ lighter than QG, but don't take that as a detractor. If you never got to play QG or if you have and don't own it, this is a more than adequate runner up with a much better theme. Our game played out pretty much how it did in the movie. The Imperial fleet had the Rebels against the ropes, Han and Leia were making ok progress down on Endor. Luke suddenly started swinging in that fit of rage he goes into, but doesn't finish the job. There's a pause in the action between Luke and Vader, as the Rebel fleet moves into position and out of harms way. Finally, Luke convinces Vader there's still some good in him, giving the Rebels the 5 bonus cards which give Han and Leia the last push they need, shutting down the shield generator. A fleet of Y-Wings go in for the kill, miss, but the X-Wings swoop in to get the job done. An Ewok plays the drums on some Stormtrooper helmets.

So all that said, I'm warning you, DON'T BE AN IDIOT. You _do not_ need the Black series version of this game. I'm not kidding around here, it's not worth it. I like the game and I'm looking forward to playing it again, but the Black series version is overselling what it does and will leave you disappointed. Just like Queen's Gambit, the game is perfect for that kind of game that takes you by surprise by how much it doesn't suck, the lower price point generates a bigger return.

Haven't played it yet, but I'm inclined to agree with Josh. If the $50 model were more deluxe than three miniatures, a black and white manual and a monochrome box (maybe some slight upgrade to the board?), then it would be a different story. But I'm kind of thinking it's a stretch to make this part of the collector-focused Black Series. I don't know if a light, fun mass market game warrants $50. What I'm seeing looks awesome, but it's definitely closer to $30 awesome.

That said, if there is a Black Series Loopin' Chewie, is pay $100 for it.

"Daddy, Chewbacca doesn't want you to win."

Michael Barnes wrote: "Daddy, Chewbacca doesn't want you to win."

Quote of the week, folks.

Seriously, can we get a SW re-theme of Don't Wake Daddy featuring Luke, Leia, and Vader? My future children demand it.

There were other cool movies in the '70s, but Star Wars was the gigantic cash cow when it came to merchandise. I shouldn't be surprised by the current feeding frenzy. I was at an art supply store today, and even they had some Star Wars merchandise on display near the door.

Sagrilarus wrote:

JonJacob wrote:

Michael Barnes wrote: They had BB-8s, but one guy bought every one they had.

Children have to realize that an old nerds nostalgia is more important than their joy.

That wasn't nostalgia. That was a business decision.

.. a business decision driven by nostalgia. That market only exists for one reason, and it's not because little kids save up their money to buy it on e-bay.

What color are the tie fighters in the regular version?

Did a Google image search for "star wars risk 2015" and 4 of the first ten pics are to fortressat.com.

Mad Dog wrote: What color are the tie fighters in the regular version?

TIEs are grey.

A few more thoughts based off my one play...

The Vader/Luke fight definitely feels less connected than the Jedi fight did in QG. The payoff in QG was more apparent with trying to get your Jedi into the palace to clean house. The Luke/Vader fight hedges on more of a "maybe" scenario. I'm betting that when most people sit down to play they're going to ignore that side, particularly the Imperial player. The thing to keep on mind is that this is a much more condensed, concentrated experience. It takes some resources to finish the fight, but setting up a turn where you get 4 or 5 more actions than your opponent is going to be huge. Luke killing Vader outright doesn't seem worth it unless Luke is about to get killed.

There's also way less spacial stuff going on, which I'm sure some will bitch about, but that was always the weak part in QG too, especially the palace battle where everyone has unlimited range.

My OCD doesn't like that this game doesn't have a BGG entry. (At least as of last night; I haven't checked this morning.) I want to update my games list, dammit!

Josh Look wrote: There's also way less spacial stuff going on, which I'm sure some will bitch about, but that was always the weak part in QG too, especially the palace battle where everyone has unlimited range.

I'm actually glad they didn't include range in the palace, in part because most of my attacks seem to end up as misses, anyways, and in part because counting spaces within the tiers is a bit of a pain in the ass with my big mitts.

A friend of mine I haven't seen in years showed up in town for Dragon Con...I lured him to my house to play SW Risk.

I think Josh is kind of underselling it....I think it's awesome. It really is about 40 minutes, but there's lots of game here- and you will likely want a rematch. There are some really nice strategic beats, multiple short-term objectives and some solid cardplay. The Empire can leverage the Executor to spit out endless TIEs, the Emperor's lightning to whittle Luke down and the Death Star to wipe out the Rebel fleet with shocking efficiency. The Rebels have the option to rush the shield generator on Endor, combine squadrons to hold position for the final Attack, or pull off redeeming Vader.

Game 1, I won as the Rebels. It was tough to keep the space battle clear while rushing Endor and fighting Vader, those bonus cards for clearing a sector were crucial. He kept spitting TIEs out and moved the Executor in close, almost wiping out the Falcon with it. But I managed to redeem Vader and the five permanent extra orders turned out to be decisive and Gold Squadron delivered the coup de grace.

Game 2 Peter played Rebels. I ruthlessly used the Death Star and knocked out the fleet markers and started targeting approaching ships. I neglected Endor and he wiped out the shields. Luke took a beating, but i sort of got overwhelmed- he blew the shields but whiffed a couple of attacks. I used the Executor to take out the Falcon and managed to completely eliminate all of his ships between TIE swarms and the Death Star.

I actually petitioned for a third game but he had to meet some othe friends.

It's very much Queen's Gambit streamlined and refined. I didn't feel like anything was missing by omission. Components are really the only let down, little +1 counters are "stormtroopers" when they could have been minis or at least a picture of a Stormtrooper. I am seriously thinking about upgrading my copy with some figures or something. I'm sure there are some cheap minis I can use for the Executor and Falcon, maybe some spare Stormtroopers from the old SW Risk.

Awesome game- everything I wanted it to be.

Make no mistake, I love this thing. I'm just not sure if I need the Black series edition. Just seems kind of silly giving how quick and to the point it is. It's like people who pimp out their copies of Epic Duels; I think they're kind of missing the point.

I might have some old Micro Machines kicking around. I used to play with those heads that open up to a playset _all_ the time when I was a kid. Which I'm glad to see those things are back. I'm not going to go buying them, but I'm glad kids have that opportunity again.