Empires: Galactic Rebellion Review - with Tom Vasel

[@noloatmo6682]

Thank you for this review, Tom. You gave me all the info I needed on this awaited game. I'm a huge fan of Empires: AoD too and I'm kinda glad to see that Galactic Rebellion won't replace it in my collection. Or also kinda glad that I don't have to keep both of these huge boxes in my collection. I'll just use this saved money on other games. Keep up the great work.

[@EyalItsik]

So we basically play a struggle between The People's Front of Judea and The Judean People's Front?

[@tomatodamashi]

What about the Popular Front? ...oh yeah, he's over there. Splitter!

[@JoeBrowes]

When you described the Galactic War in the rules overview I thought "wow, that sounds horrible and tedious." Love your outrage about it in the final thoughts. I see what they were going for with the graphic design, a sort of kitschy retro 70s vibe, but it's more Starcrash than Star Wars innit. Really glad I passed on the KS for this one.

[@RobertHMayfire]

The game art looks like a scifi DOS game.

[@Ry0kanzaki]

The designer has said on BGG that the number of cubes the empire draws at game end was reduced to 5 to make them less powerful, and if players wanted a more challenging game they could use 8.

[@JChalant]

Sincere review as always. I ponder with respect to their passion....probability that they expected the imagination of the player to be committed to the theme when designing the components like the cards? (end game aside) ...if you're willing to consider a response not on live Q&A night ;) p.s., I'm with you on the component/board/price being bigger than logical. see above reg: passsion

[@69robtaylor]

this has been top of my list for months

[@andreashemmingah]

the board reminds me of these batik shirts your daughter is wearing :)

[@jd5iron]

That component drop, though!

[@jwspiker]

i believe the graphic design was chosen to be a throw back reference to movies/scifi from the 70's area.

[@glenndrover5914]

The art style is very much a love it or hate it kind of affair. I like it as an homage to 80's sci-fi, but totally get that some may not.I want to address the thing that Tom hated about the game: The Galactic War at the end of the game needs to be addressed. I believe that his opinion is affected by the fact that he very likely only played the game once. The problem is that the first time you play the game, you can be surprised by the brutality of the attack by the Galactic Empire's forces if you have done nothing to reduce them throughout the game. It is very easy to get so involved in fighting the other players that the player doesn't invest in attacking Sentinels on planets where you have a lead. Realizing this, and taking action throughout the game greatly reduces the number of Sentinels at the end of the game (The Galactic War). This means that the war is quick and much less bloody for those that have prepared for it.So, Tom's criticism seems like it may be skewed by only having played the game once. He says that you could end up doing 60 - 70 battles, which is an exaggeration even in the worst case. In reality, with players who have reduced the Sentinels during the game, there are usually 8 - 12 battles and it takes 5 minutes or so.Personally, I really like the way that this mechanic puts pressure on the players to deal with the Galactic Empire 'at some point before the end' while they are also trying to compete with the other rebel factions (players). Those that manage this successfully will score well at the end of the game. Those that do not...

[@homelessjoe]

Wow, that graphic design.....Incredible.

[@venrondua]

holy crap. I just read a pre-order price of 197 CAD. When I saw the Kickstarter and was watching the game previews I never would have expected that. No way. For that cost it has to knock my socks off

[@LeeroyPorkins]

Twilight Clankperium: Star Wort

[@PoVisko]

When I was watching the game explained, I had exactly the same thoughts about the design and combat. :D Yea, we'll probably just play the Age of Empires again.

[@TheFamilyShowdownHRKN]

I went from smiley face to sad face.

[@scotty3281]

I just got my copy in today. Yea, the combat is totally nonsense but I still want to reserve my judgment until I play. I hope I didn't waste $150 on a game I will only play once.

[@jwspiker]

not what i hoped for, maybe a variant will fix the game ending, or maybe there was a thematic reason for the ending ?

[@randomfleming]

Is it just me or are some game companies trying to find a way to replace TI3 with epic space opera experience? Not create a great space-themed game but intentionally targeting TI3?

[@thedicetower]

I doubt this has anything to do with TI3 at all.

[@randomfleming]

The Dice Tower Maybe you're right. I'm fresh off of a TI3 vs. Eclipse debate.

[@KnightOwl23]

O great can't wait for My copy to get here :( At least mine was a prize so I didn't pay.

[@69robtaylor]

Oh dear,oh dear oh dear. even though this was an expensive game,I was still going to buy this at essen. I think you've just changed my mind Tom. as for Glenn? what were you thinking with that ending. Did somebody else add it in when you wernt looking? is it salvageable with a house rule to fix the mess? absolutely gutted Tom. I hope youll be having words with Glenn at essen, I know I will be.

[@jwspiker]

check out bgg. this summer someone created a variant

[@freddieyu]

Aww, and I backed it on KS..oh well will deal with the issues Tom raised...

[@wierdbob]

amatore ?

[@bggscyfyrockband]

First no mans sky now this,

[@simonmounsey4191]

So glad I passed on the kickstarter. The original is awesome, but this version I just don't get it. They turned the game into an atrocity with an unthinkable game end.

[@valreznic]

These days, when you create a game and put it out on Kickstarter, it better be NEAR PERFECT! There are WAY too many games being produced and you are vying for a more and more critical player. Poor art (sorry going for 80's look is a sad excuse in todays world) and the cube bag mechanic for combat although INTERESTING it does look tedious after some time. I agree, I would eventually resent it, especially if it takes 2-3 hours to play. Unfortunately, this just looks like a miss and I don't blame Tom's final thoughts.... I was already thinking it before he went there.

[@kostantisbamidis6803]

It cannot be overstated how bad the art and components are

[@Mark-OutWest]

No pathetic heroes thanks.

[@alexkaspraksucks]

Normally this type of review sort of takes away all my excitement for the game... yet, I'm still interested. Waiting to see if all reviews will be the same... hopefully not :/