Star Wars Unlimited

Today's review is of the 2024 release, Star Wars Unlimited. This collectible card game is for 2 (or more) players and takes 30 minutes.

Overview

You are a leader in the Star Wars galaxy, determined to be victorious by destroying your opponent's base first. To do so, you will use your deck (with cards that are units, events, or upgrades) to battle in two arenas (ground and space).

the starter decks

Setup is straightforward. Each player takes their leader and base and places it before them. Shuffle your deck, draw 6 cards, and put 2 of them face-down in your resource row. It will look like the below image:

The game after setup

Gameplay happens over a series of rounds, each with two phases: action and regroup.

- Action phase: you can play a card, attack with a unit, use an ability, take the initiative, or pass

- Regroup phase: each player draws 2 cards, resources a card, and ready all cards.

The player who has the initiative goes first in the next round, taking the first action. 

Action phase explanations: Playing a card means paying its resource cost and putting it (exhausted, or turned sideways) into the appropriate arena (space or ground). Attacking with a unit means taking a ready (non-exhausted) unit in an arena and attacking an opponent's unit in that same arena OR attacking the opponent's base. (Exhaust it to attack.) Using an ability is just that: some units, leaders, or bases have abilities that have a prescribed cost for a certain effect. Taking the initiative means you are done for the turn, but gives you the right to go first in the next round. And passing is an action you take when you are done all other actions.

The key to this game is understanding that you alternate actions with your opponent. You might (for example) attack with a unit, then they play a card, then you play a card, then they use an ability, then you attack with a unit, then they attack with a unit, and so on. It's deliberately "back and forth," so proper sequencing is important to strategy.

A unit can attack by exhausting and dealing its damage (value in red, see below) to its target. Damage is dealt in counters, so your target might survive to live another day, but still be damaged. A unit's defense value is in blue; when that is met or exceeded, the card is defeated and discarded. If attacking a unit, both cards deal damage to each other. If attacking a base, only the base takes damage.

Rounds and phases continue until one player destroys the other's base. They win!

For those interested in more information, here is the quickstart rules, a card database, and how to play video.

Review

This game is very similar to Star Wars Destiny. And that was a great game, so it makes sense why its parent company would produce a card-focused spinoff. Star Wars Unlimited is fast-paced, easy to learn, and full of meaningful decisions. Game-wise, it is excellent. 

Theme-wise, I wasn't as thrilled. I love Star Wars, so no problem there. But I'm not a fan of the overly cartoony art (which was a deliberate style choice; Fantasy Flight Games could have re-used art from its prior Star Wars ventures but chose not to). And I didn't feel like it captured the epic grandeur of the movies . . . this is a tactically-focused conflict. Both of these are personal preferences, so it doesn't affect my overall rating, but it does mean I won't seek to collect this.

Rating: A