Star Wars: Imperial Assault - How To Play

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[@Gyrogyro]

Oh wow, I accidentally missed the rule that heroes can't voluntarily hurt themselves to keep using abilities after they're full of strain. That... might explain why the rebels pretty easily won all 5 of the missions we've done so far...

[@chriscunningham6401]

I tried playing in a game, but I still think the guy running it wasn't doing it right. We kept getting smoked by the Imperials.

[@PerfectX1]

To confirm, turn order is not "hero, one of the troops, then hero, one of the troops...". Each single group (of 3 Troopers) is activated at once, i.e.: you perform actions with all figures in the group before the next hero's turn.Note you can have multiple Trooper deployments cards, activation of each group would then be separated by a hero activation.

[@NathanBeitler]

I have played through several campaigns of this game with my friends. It became less fun when they didn't often win their missions. We tried several things to make the game a bit easier for them or other ways to give them bonuses, Some of these things included: 1. Items they drew from the supply deck carried over to the next game if they hadn't been used during the current mission. 2. Bonus credits if all crates on the map were opened (1000 credits). 3. An extra point of starting XP. All of these helped, but I think what may have worked even better (though we never tried it so I can't verify this) would be giving each Rebel operative an extra point (or 2) of movement. So often they failed their missions because they just ran out of time. If they would have had another point or two of movement, this may have swung the battles for them.

[@talhaiqbal6798]

Isn't it weird though that the game requires you as the imperial player to allow the group to have fun instead of it regulating that on its own via its mechanics? I just started exploring this game as the next star wars game and would like to try it out but this idea bums me out. Thoughts?

[@ryanburkett949]

I usually play as Empire and I treat it as being the DM. If the heores are having a bad time I fudge some rolls to help em out or if they are stomping it too easy(like boring easy) then I bring out a surprise new unit to deal with. Anything to make sure they are smiling. One time I saw they were struggling so I acted like an "event" occurred and I had the leader say "We've got the data we needed... take it to Commander *fill in relevant campaign villain here*. and then I retreated two of my storm troopers away. They were able to complete their mission a little easier with the ease of pressure and one of them sprinted forward and took out the storm trooper trying to make it to the exit and I gave the heroes an extra XP for "intercepting the intel" They went from feeling defeated to loving the mission. Also, I let the players know that we are telling a story together. It is not "you vs me". Sometimes the heores suffer set backs and that sends us down fun stories. They take that in good stride.@@talhaiqbal6798

[@AlanTwigg]

This was super helpful and a lot of fun. Thanks for making it! Got me interested in Imperial Assault.

[@captainron7120]

I was elated to find you did a how to play on this game. Just got a used copy. Thank you! Very informative AND entertaining, Matt.

[@GoldNEagle92]

Explained very well! Going to share this with any new players before they show up so I can use more pre-mission time actually setting up and it doesn't take an hour before we even get started!

[@nightelf2004]

I would like to see a lets play of this. It would be so much fun to watch.

[@RadiantSolarWeasel]

The audio cut out when you did the close-up of the attack dice.

[@mikeglasswell-gameplay]

great how to play. the imperial Player draws four agenda cards at the imperial upgrade stage. you said 3

[@KnavishCrayfish]

About to play this with some mates on Tabletop Simulator, thanks very much for the great guide to playing the game! 👍

[@AlexMartinez-lr9yy]

I've been meaning to learn how to play this to make it easier when I first read play. First episode of your YT, great video!

[@TheHappyApe]

An excellent overview of the game.... much appreciated!

[@ZeroSumJ1]

Playing later today. Thank you for making this

[@yohanhiranwatananont6141]

AMAZING EXPLANATION! Thank you SO much! XD...now i can actually play by the original rules instead of my friend's "modified" version of it.

[@paulorego9334]

Thanks for your review and for this explanation. I've ordered the game and cannot wait to try it out :)

[@paranoiatable]

Awesome! I'm going to play this game as the Empire tomorrow.

[@overbyte]

Love the presentation. Great job

[@fabionunes77]

Awesome video! It helped me a lot to understand this game better. Congrats, guys!

[@stevewojcik7607]

Thanks for making this Buddy! Very well explained.

[@56HEF45]

Hey Man... I need your help. So we were playing a side mission from the han solo ally pack (" imperial entanglements ") and there is a special set up in the rules sheet, it says that as special set up the rebels get han solo and the Empire gets 3 times threat and can do an extra invocation of one of the troops they have... the problem is: does the threat keeps being x3 times all the rounds? Hope you could clarify that thanks!

[@KoenigNord]

Aw, nice, they even have a "gid good" booklet in the box :)

[@julianpearce218]

Great video thank you. Had a demo game in my local store a few days ago and now really tempted to buy this. Your video clarified line of sight, so again thank you. Definitely sure you can "draw" the line through the target figure? I really did not get that from the tutorial and 1st mission I played.

[@julianpearce218]

OK, found section on Line of Sight and pictorial examples in Appendix, makes it all clear: "A figure can trace line of sight through itself and through its target. "

[@michaelrabon1189]

That bit about "acting like a bit of a DM" is a very good point. If you're a highly competitive person who just wants to steamroll your players, they're going to give up. I'm finally revisiting this after years of not playing because of that very reason.

[@talhaiqbal6798]

Yeah I just asked someone else why this is the case. Looking to get this game but it's really strange that it's designed in this way, especially considering how popular it is and how highly it's rated. Seems like a possible flaw, no?

[@michaelrabon1189]

@@talhaiqbal6798 I think so. The issue is partly the imbalance of rewarding the winner so much. We noticed that if we didn't win a mission, we got very few rewards and the Empire got a larger reward which just made "them" more powerful and harder to beat in the next mission... thematic, sure, but hard for a game. I definitely think that you have to go into it with the correct mentality as the Empire that you want to create a fun experience for the players and possibly pull some punches... Of course that gets tough when your dice results can change the results so drastically. I think some balancing would go a long way... such as being able to beat Troopers in 1-2 attack actions early on. That was a REALLY irritating aspect when there's a gang of 3 and it literally takes 2-3 rounds of all players focusing fire to take them out... maybe we just sucked. Hah!

[@talhaiqbal6798]

@@michaelrabon1189 Dang lol, and I am sure many share our sentiments. This game does look realy interesting and fun but that element bothers me a lot. If I went in knowing it was an RPG it would be fine but I've never played one of those nor do I know how/would want to I think. Just wish the mechanics would take on the heavy lifting there. Thanks for your reply.

[@kierendefence]

Wish I'd heard the advice of not annihilating my friends as the imperial player while introducing them to the game, they're still kinda keen to play but definitely less than lukewarm towards it as a whole

[@Absydion]

Is that corner at 13:47 not having line of sight blocked by the bit of wall jutting out? I'm asking because the manual says line of sight "cannot be traced through walls (thick black lines)," and it looks like they intentionally made that wall jut out through the corner. EDIT: Nevermind, I dug deeper and answered my own question. The rules reference explains that "the part of a wall that partially extends into a space does not block line of sight or movement." It's annoying that they drew the wall extending into the next square when it has no mechanical effect.

[@PapaKarloHimSelf]

Came here for this. IMHO they should've marked these extensions somehow to highlight the fact, that they are usable cover. Don't know how, but simply black extension is really confusing (like whole Descent-esque line-of-sight ruling). Necroposting is strong within me.

[@AlasdairMacKinnon]

If I recall correctly, the tutorial mission didn't have a specified goal. As a result, the group I played it with found the tutorial rather lackluster. For the next group I introduced the game to, I just jumped straight into the campaign.

[@jjgoodhand]

Not my first SW:IA tutorial video, so this served as a good and quick overview / summary. I thoroughly enjoyed your energy level and enthusiasm for the game, especially since are starting to make sense or I'm beginning to remember some of the nuances. Excuse me now while a go make a cup of tea. Good luck with future productions.

[@jmbarnes]

Great video, man. Thanks!

[@oldps9]

One word, awesome!

[@DadimusRex]

Very enjoyable and educational video for a new player!

[@christopherfoo9334]

Great explanation!

[@elsilogie5872]

hi sorry not sure if I just missed it but how do the imperials get threat

[@israeljesuslopez3833]

How many characters does it bring? Do I need to buy all of them or there are some essentials that I must to?

[@abusmentpark5710]

thanks for the video dude your awesome mango!!!

[@sebastiaankuijs5564]

Good tutorial !!

[@maxsayo]

How many times are you allowed to reinforce? I feel like that would be a broken mechanic if you can reinforce indefinitely.

[@paulsousa]

At 14:19 couldn't the female Rebel character have had line of sight on the stormtrooper by drawing a line to the front left corner (as was shown) and also to the back left corner?

[@ttoucansam]

Rules Reference Guide - P. 26 - 2nd bullet point Lines cannot overlap So the Rebel Character, in that instance didn't not have LoS. Sorry for being 6 months late on the answer.

[@GCandC]

Thanks for this

[@williamgarcia-medina9989]

Very helpful.

[@uoraziel]

Can you.shoot through team mates? And can troupers do the same not clear in rules

[@CrabQueen]

Of only I had friends to play it with.

[@paulorego9334]

Apparently they will be releasing a companion app for the game much like in Descent so the app would control the imperial player and you can control the heroes :)

[@FubarX]

you have this if you wona try boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/207948/redjaks-soloco-op-variants

[@orlandosilva2863]

There is a fan made app on playstore with the "RedJak's Automated Emperor Variant (RAEV)" I haven't try it yet but look's good. Look for Automated Emperor

[@julianpearce218]

Look for a local retailer, if your local retailer is a specialist games store it is likely that they host a club or even allow pay to play in store.

[@nicholaskotelensky9277]

Now there is an official app! www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/11/20/legends-of-the-alliance/

[@blink625]

Excellent Video thanks, this video has got a lot of the rules. I have some question though. Can Imperial heal damage? If Rebel retreat and Imperial is damaged, does the damage stay or can they heal?

[@GretSeat]

blink625 imperials can't heal unless you get a card or troop that can heal.

[@iDukeByrne]

great tutorial my man

[@CaptainCodeMonkey]

Makes me sad that you placed the door is on spaces and not on the line between spaces :'(

[@iansmiler]

When you score damage against the troopers (Their health is 3) are all 3 troopers downed after depleting their health or do they have 3 health each?

[@virgil2842]

3 each. They are only grouped when it comes to activation, they stand alone when it comes to damage.

[@gg-er1vv]

are we sure about that line of site example? the black line has some overhang

[@georgelooney6826]

Cant believe i had to watch 5 videos after reading the manuals to finally understand how to play (new to board games)

[@TyrboCreed]

Same shit

[@SatchelSwede]

Can you do a sit down on krossmaster arena ?

[@thedarksiderebel]

Thanks for the vid! Just got the game and we spent like 2 hours just going through the rules. Question: Does the order of play have to be that all heroes 'activate' and move etc. in a turn, and then same with the deployments of imperials? or is it one alternating 'character'/deployment per turn? And also, do the Stormtroopers attack in groups? Do I have to have just the one lowly stormtrooper attack one hero on each turn, or do I assign all of them to a target and roll individually for each? Thanks!

[@billthecanuck]

it alternates, first one hero gets "activated" then 1 imperial group gets "activated" and goes back and forth until everything has been activated. When an imperial player activates a group (IE stormtroopers) all units in that group get activated. That's why you need to sticker up the groups in case you have multiple groups of stormtroopers on the map, so you know which ones get activated

[@DANNYtheBOY11]

14:26 you traced the first line, which is fine, but the second line couldn't be the one that goes from the same starting hero's corner to the left bottom imperial's corner? It does not break the general rule, and that hero could also shoot (if she had a ranged weapon). EDIT: the lines cannot overlap

[@julianpearce218]

The 'Read me first' manual does definitely show tracing from the same corner of the shooting figure. I read it that the "cannot overlap" rule means that you cannot draw a line to one point on the target and then draw a line to a second point where the line also passes through the first point on the target figure. Anyone disagree?

[@rkrichar]

@@julianpearce218 Two years late but WTH. She does have line of sight. However, still not a valid target because melee does not rely on line of sight. Melee attacks must be adjacent, and adjacent can't be drawn through walls.

[@leifoden1510]

Awesome game

[@dstroyanddcoy1932]

I have the entire collection of figures and expansions but haven’t played yet I’m beginning to think I have a problem

[@rkrichar]

Same. My excuse is I'm not done painting them. What's yours?

[@Gvendal]

I have descent, but this looks like it will be more fun. Anyone have any experience With both to share? :)

[@joetoppel5841]

yup. imperial assault is basically a much improved descent with star wars skins.

[@Gvendal]

I`m having a feeling that Descent 3 edition will come soon With IA rules :P

[@ApocalypseKIDONE]

This looks like a lot of fun but gheeeeez the price of it, plus the expansions. Yikes.

[@julianpearce218]

RRP is £93 in the UK but almost every gaming store (that i know of) will give you 10% off as an incentive to buy from them. Some internet sellers will give you 20%, but then you have to pay P&P. I did see this on Amazon on Black Friday for £65 (30% off) AND free P&P I was very tempted to buy. However: 1 been putting a lot of cash into x-wing miniatures lately 2. When i do buy stuff I like to support my local store as much as possible. Core sets (that I have seen) come with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker expansion. Best to heck the cheaper internet sellers to ensure inclusive expansions!

[@franklinbolton8730]

On BGG it says best with 2 and 5 anyone here have any insight as to why this is the case? If this is the case how much better is it at those numbers instead of say 4? Was considering starting this with at 4 players with friends we play with once a month but if it is better at 2 I could just play with my wife and get games in more often. Thanks!

[@owenhodnett8468]

Bgg says five and two because you need two for skirmish and the campaign is slightly better with five. You can still easily play with three or four.

[@rkrichar]

When playing the campaign it is best i.e. most balanced with four hero's. You get bonuses if you have less than that, but it screws with the balance. I insist on four heroes when I play as empire, the game is already stacked against the rebels and having less turns or flexibility with troop placement/formations just hinders them too much unless they are very experienced. This works well for 2, 3 and 5 players, by having one player control multiple hero's , but there is an odd rebel out for 4 players.

[@classicrocknroll3423]

thanks for the help i love you channel but im late

[@iraesch4637]

13:13 (line of sight)

[@Shamy_Cartoons]

How fast can Vader kill a soldier then if its not easy to die in this game?

[@icydeadpeeps]

If they stand and try to fight Vader, very quickly. He is really strong but in the missions he shows up that''s pretty much a signal for the Rebel heroes to turn tail and get out ASAP.

[@Shamy_Cartoons]

@@icydeadpeeps all sounds cool. Badass

[@sharkybrickfilms5716]

1:48

[@Atlasfilms08]

Fun fact: Jynn's special action IS dance. She majored in Jazz Tap at academy.

[@DickmanComedy]

Wouldn't it be Jizz Tap in this universe?

[@JujuInFlames]

I wanna play this so bad I love games like this I got zombiecide and still tryna get my friends into it. Hopefully I can get ahold of $80 for this game eesh

[@alessandromassi3659]

So it’s Descent with Star Wars skin...does it have the same “race” problem?

[@darthmoonface3879]

cool vido

[@christophe08111981]

If you reinforce a group as in your dying Stormtrooper Example you actually don't use entry points, but place them adjacent to their group.

[@JDalkinn]

That is incorrect. They are placed at the nearest deployment point.

[@brandonpeggau2990]

Also incorrect, you can reinforce to whatever active deployment point the imperial player wishes. "Then he places one figure from that group as close as possible to ANY active deployment point." Pg.22

[@JDalkinn]

I did indeed miss that key word. Thanks for the correction!

[@SergeC72]

but is it fun?

[@nemrothehutt7981]

Great explanation! Sadly at the price that this game is at and it's expansions it would be a waste as much as i want to play it. There is no way my wife is going to be patient with the rules of this game. Sucks but guess I'll have to wait till I have kids someday. Good part is this game will be a lot cheaper. Oh well.

[@frankn4576]

Don't let that stop you. You can buy the game and take your time to paint all the miniatures. In the meantime you can teach your wife the skirmish rules and maybe use that to entice her and a few friends to start a campaign.

[@Traumglanz]

Uhm is this a Hero Quest clone? And I mean Descent and Imperial Assault?

[@christopherswartzwelder3875]

Merry me!!!!!

[@pirotehs]

This is the first mission of campaign. Tutorial mission is totally different.

[@billthecanuck]

he said that at the start of the video...

[@julianpearce218]

Having played both, I can say that it IS worth playing both. The tutorial will teach you game mechanics and is designed so that the Rebel heroes have a very good chance of winning. You will not really get the feel of the game until you play that first mission. If you join a group that has already played through the first (..second third..) mission they are unlikely to want to go back and play them again. However any group should be prepared to go through the tutorial with a new player.

[@SacredRatchet]

I don't understand why you'd let the other team win or let them get off easier when you're playing the Imperials. If I wanted to Dungeon Master a game I'd run an Age of Rebellion game or a Edge of the Empire, Force and Destiny etc Just doesn't make sense to let another team win because "fun" if its set up to be a competitive thing.

[@kevinschultz6091]

Because then you won't get people to play with you - because it's possible (for example, if you're new to the game) to mess up early on, and never be able to catch up. At which point the rational response is simply to concede defeat and stop playing, and then go do something that isn't Imperial Assault. (Remember - a full campaign takes easily 8-10 hours to play). If you've already lost by hour 2, it's simply easier to throw in the towel. This is a limitation in these kinds of games. For short games it's not a problem: 15 minutes, and you're done - OK, play again! For intermediate games (45 minutes to 2 hours or so), you can have design considerations that allow for the possibility of winning, even if you're behind - or perhaps no one really knows who is ahead until the final turn or so. (Settlers of Catan is like this - it's not uncommon for people to come rushing back into the game in the final turn or two.) But for a game like this, if you get behind the curve, you're going to be there for the rest of the weekend, with no real hope of victory. At that point, it ceases to be fun for anyone - as the person winning doesn't get to play really, (as no one is engaged with them), and the people loosing are only there due to a sense of obligation.

[@sotaskimmer]

Easing the difficulty for a newbie player is an investment in their enjoyment and interest in the game, which pays a dividend of you having more players to play with in the future.

[@frankn4576]

It's not about "let the other team win" but to enjoy the game. Sure if you are playing against experienced vets then yes be as competitive as you like but this is a great game for friends and family to enjoy TIME together. So that would be a reason to be easier on them. :)

[@eagleplyz3993]

The price is to high

[@RTR104]

Would have agreed with you till I played it once. If you aren't a SW fan, yea can see it being a little over the top, but find it at a LGS and give it a go, You will be saving up for it shortly after :)

[@osamadid7113]

Looks awdul

[@mykavp4589]

But stormtroopers can’t aim Like if u agree

[@classicrocknroll3423]

that was a meme and they can have you read the Books there sniper lol you're a Straw

[@mykavp4589]

Actually I have read thrawn the aftermath series and a lot more