Star Wars - Bounty Hunters: Review
Information:Mechanics: Drafting, Set Collection
Player Age: 10+
Player Count: 2 - 6 Players
Game Designer: Frédéric Henry
Game Artist: Derek Laufman
Publisher: Zygomatic
Time to Play: 20 - 30 Minutes
Year Published: 2024
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the VR Distribution.
Player Age: 10+
Player Count: 2 - 6 Players
Game Designer: Frédéric Henry
Game Artist: Derek Laufman
Publisher: Zygomatic
Time to Play: 20 - 30 Minutes
Year Published: 2024
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the VR Distribution.
Introduction:
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters is a simultaneous drafting game that will have players finding targets then dwindling down their defences to be captured. The trick is the points start high with the targets but bounty hunters will cost you negative points. You can counteract this by using credits to recruit droids. The more helpful the droid, the more credits you have to pay up front.
Game Anatomy:
Cards:
There are four decks in the game with each focused on different card types. There is the Target, Bounty Hunter, Contract, and Jawa Market decks.
Target:
Each Target depicts the points awarded at the end of the game if the Bounty is completed. Sometimes targets will also have a bonus that is awarded upon completion, such as gaining a contract card or credit token. Target cards also have the number it appears in the deck and the three shield values. These values need to be brought down to zero or below in order to capture them. A player can setup as many targets as they like during the game, creating a confrontation as they place bounty hunters or droids on the target.
Bounty Hunters and Droids:
Bounty hunters come in the main bounty hunter deck, feature the attack values for each shield type, and also points you will lose at the end of the game for having used this card.
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Droids come in the Jawa Market deck. These cards confront the targets but do not lose you points, instead they have an immediate cost in credits to play.
Crates:
Like the droids, crate cards come from the Jawa Market Deck. Each crate card will have a point value on the left, will contain either 1-3 crates, and a cost of credits to play. At the end of the game whichever player has the most crates will score a bonus five points.
Contracts:
Contracts will score you bonus points based on who you capture. Players can also score extra points if they capture pairs of the 1 and 2nd target on the contract card.
Imperial Credits:
Credits are needed to play cards from the Jawa Market. When you discard a card, instead of playing for a turn you will gain one credit. You can also play cards from the Jawa Market in a reserved spot that allows you to pay for and play the card at a later date.
Setup:
For my version of the game I was fortunate to recieve the GameGenic mat that helps speed up the setup process.
For the normal setup:
- Shuffle each respective deck, they are easily determined by the background colour.
- Place the four decks as shown below with space for their discard piles.
- Place the imperial credits nearby.
- Each player draws one card from each deck.
How to Play:
Gameplay is easily broken down into three steps; draw, choose and pass (explained below).
Once a player has completed four targets, the first time this occurs all the players that achieved this will gain one imperial credit then draw and immediately play one contract. The game will then last for two more turns.
Draw:
Each player will add a fifth card to their hand before choosing one to play. The great part about this is that the players choose which deck they are drawing from so they can progress towards their current strategy.
Choose:
Players will choose one card from their hand to either discard it for a credit or play it onto their tableu.
The droids or bounty hunters are played directly onto an existing target, aiming to capture them by meeting or exceeding each shield value.
Pass:
After removing one the remaining four cards pass to the player on your right.
Final Thoughts:
- Fast to setup and learn.
- Approachable theme with great iconography.
- Interesting drafting where instead of depleting cards in a hand, players are instead choosing what type of deck to draw from each turn.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunters is a fast and idyllic drafting game that has players determining targets then depleting their shields with bounty hunters worth negative points or droids that immediately cost to play. There are added layers to the game such as equipment crates, bonus points, or fulfilling multiple contracts using the same characters to give you maximum points at the end if the game. Most drafting games have a full hand at the start of the round and then deplete as cards are drafted, however in this game there are no rounds. At the start of each turn every player is adding one card from the deck of their choosing to their hand. This gives them more control in the game rather than the fear of missing out from a good card. Players choose cards to add based on the strategy they are employing so every turn they can keep on track towards their end goal. Star Wars Bounty Hunters is a fast game that will have you playing multiple times in a row as you try to hunt, capture and fufill contracts to achieve the best score.
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