Battle For Hoth: Rapid Review
Information:
Player Age: 8+
Player Count: 2 - 4 Players
BGG Weight: 1.92
Time to Play: 30 Minutes
Year Published: 2025
Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by Asmodee
Introduction:
Battle For Hoth is the first space re-imagining of the classic Memoir 44 game. One player will play as the Rebel Alliance, who will then verse the Galactic Empire. This is a head-to-head dice chucker where the main aim is to eliminate the opposing squads (unit groupings). This is a game that is accompanied by a separate rulebook filled with scenarios that shake up the gameplay.
For core gameplay, the active player will select one of their tactic cards that will then tell the player which side of the board can be activated; left, middle, right, or any. It will also specify how many squads are involved, as well as any bonus ability.
The active player will then move the chosen squads equal to or less than their movement value. Once all squads are moved the player will activate them to attack if they are within range/line-of-sight of an opposing squad. To activate, the player will roll the die shown on the player aid card based on the range to the enemy.
For every hit (matching that unit type infantry or vehicle) shown on that unit's player aid card, the player will defeat a unit in that squad. There is a unit that requires the player to roll another hit after a successful attack, but for the rest only one hit is needed for the unit to be destroyed. No defence rolls occur in this game. When a squad is defeated, the attacking player will take the last unit as a victory medal. A certain number of medals are required to win as based on the scenario.
Alteration:
There is a lot packed into the Battle for Hoth box. There are six types of units with unique characteristics such as; squad size, attack range, dice rolled per attack, movement, retreat options and points awarded upon defeated. This is great because not only are there different troops in each faction, but the factions also don't share any identical units, creating a slight asymmetrical feel on either side.
The player aid card is perfect for understanding the troops as the card shows the squad size, their movement, range with subsequent attack dice, and which die results land a hit. To further increase this asymmetry, there are three types of leader cards for each faction. Each leader contains three cards. At the start of each game, each player shuffles the three cards from their chosen leader into their deck, creating a slight variance.
There is a scenario book filled with 17 varying setups that creates changes such as; terrain on the battlefield, types of troops used, quantity of troops, and various other changes.
Players can also combine two copies of Battle For Hoth to create one epic scenario (also included in the book) which is twice as large in scale and creates a more epic feeling gameplay.
Production:
Like the original Memoir 44, the production quality has remained great. There is a card holder for each player as well as a portable insert with a lid containing all of each player's units.
Interaction:
This is a dice rolling game and there is no defence to the combat (this results in faster gameplay). There is a large factor of luck in the game as players attack each other. To gain a point, each unit in a group has to be eliminated. With good luck, this can result in an instant elimination of a squad. For some players, this amount of luck-based dependency can be a deal breaker. For other players it will steer their decisions to account for this luck leading to choices such as; positioning the troops effectively, planning several turns ahead with the cards in their hand, and determining which enemy squads are more beneficial to target to gain points faster. This is a fast-playing game with heavy player-to-player interaction and a potential for high luck. If players know this going in, I think there are enough options for players to account for this within their strategies.
Determination:
- Slight asymmetry.
- Plenty of content in the box.
- The variations in the scenarios keep the game fresh and prevent information overload straight away.
- High dice luck that can be accounted for when positioning troops and planning cards.
As someone who is not invested in historical settings, the original Memoir 44 didn't gain my attention as much. Battle for Hoth is a much more appealing theme for me, which really helps gain this game a broader appeal. This is a miniature light-weight game with fast-paced gameplay to keep the players engaged. There is high luck involved when it comes to dice, but the hand management and positioning of the squads create a lot of strategy for players to embrace. There is a good dose of asymmetry to the game that doesn't create a learning barrier but helps to give players a reason to play each side, through the chosen leader with their three unique cards as well as the three unique units each player has. If Memoir 44 has even a slight appeal to you, and you are more of a Star Wars or fiction themed person, than I can easily recommend Battle for Hoth.
Comments
Post a Comment