Immerse in the Star Wars Universe with the Shatterpoint Miniature Game

Hello there, fellow Star Wars fan! If you’re a hardcore fan who loves not only the original trilogy but the stories and characters that came to be afterwards too, then you’ve probably watched the whole saga countless times. So much so, you can quote all the dialogues by heart, and act out all the battles. But, re-watching everything can only get you so far – if you want to immerse in the world of Star Wars, you can always pay the Galaxy’s Edge a visit. 

When that option is off the table, you can have endless hours of fun with the Star Wars Shatterpoint game whenever and wherever you want to bring some of the unforgettable battles and iconic characters to life. It’s a good versus evil skirmish-style miniature tabletop game created by Atomic Mass Games. 

At first glance, it’s like your typical board game as it comes with dice (eight-sided attack, and six-sided defence) and cards (12 order cards, 12 unit cards, 12 stance cards, 1 mission card, 9 struggle cards), but the whole concept is different, given that Shatterpoint was designed to keep the players in action throughout the whole game so there are no rounds. 

Playing it feels like getting in the actual Star Wars universe for about 90 to 120 minutes, what with all the characters, chances to toss each other off the platform, as well as opportunities to move all around the field. So, you get a true visual and tactile experience!

What Are the Basics of Star Wars Shatterpoint?

In simple terms, this is a game where a lot of movement and action happens on the battlefield, with the objectives being determined by struggle cards you pick from your mission set. 

The Contents

In addition to the dice and cards, you get 16 highly-detailed miniatures in the core set that you have to assemble and paint prior to the playing, as well as an incredibly-detailed terrain where it all takes place, plus two movement tools and five range tools you get to organise. Although the core sets are impressive on their own, you can work on creating your dream squad relying on the expansion sets too that can be found in different eras, though there are some rules when assembling your strike team. 

The Strike Team Building Rules

Each of the two players gets to build a strike team consisting of two squads, with each unit in them being from the same era. Your beloved characters belong to three types of units: primary, secondary, and supporting. Each strike team needs all three of these units. 

When picking, you have to remember that the squad points’ value of the primary character shouldn’t be more than the total cost of the chosen secondary and supporting ones. Each of the units may be taken only once as one of the rules implies you can’t have a strike team with units that share the unique name as other units. 

When selecting and building your team, it’s advisable to consider the force value and abilities of each of the units as then you’ll get an idea on how your team could work in terms of objectives control, moves, and attacks on the off-board marker. Each of the units has an order card, however, so the player doesn’t exactly control when the units would activate, and how. 

The Role of the Card

Rather than long strategic preparation and planning, in Shatterpoint your immediate tactical decision-making skills matter based on the cards you draw to celebrate a victory in the end, as you have fun altering the fate of the galaxy with each card you pull out randomly. 

Although you’re not entirely at the mercy of the cards, as there’s one way around this (e.g. spending a force token to reserve a character you want to play with later), they do play a crucial role. Each player takes turns, shuffling cards that represent their units, then activating a unit to do an action based on the card they draw randomly. 

The Unit Action

The action here for each of the characters in a unit can be: moving, focusing, combating, using an ability, recovering, and taking cover. While the same action can’t be repeated during the same activation, and you’d have to wait for the other turn to repeat, it’s good to note that besides the standard actions a character can do, they all come with their own unique abilities that can come in handy throughout the game. 

The Practice Part

When you’re first getting into the game, it’s best to start off with one struggle to get the gist of it all, learn what there is to learn about teams, force, signs, and other terminology from the rulebook, and then you can move on to playing the actual game with the actual number of struggles – three rounds, i.e. three missions. 

Creating your own cheat sheet for all the terminology and rules can be of assistance in the first rounds, as can reading up forums, getting in touch with other Star Wars fans, as well as visiting your specialised stores to get some demos of the games. You should also catch up with the latest releases of the game to know what you’re in for in the upcoming sets.