Star Wars Outer Rim Board Game

The original Star Wars films resonated for many reasons, not least the amazing depth of the universe Lucas created and how that was fleshed out by the support cast of characters. Han and Chewie were the obvious ones, but characters like Boba Fett and Boosk developed their own cult followings. Star Wars: Outer Rim gives you the chance to play as one of these rogues in a side story  game of space trading and shenanigans.

The components to the game are of the typical good to great quality that we have come to expect from . Examples include some dual layer player boards which keep track of your fame, missions, jobs and bounties, as well as a rudimentary track of your standing with three factions - Imperials, Rebels and the Hutts.

The 'board' itself is a series of connecting puzzle-like pieces that form the galaxy in a rainbow set-up that is both visually pleasing and gives adequate space for the multiple decks of cards you will be using. While not quite a story driven game, there is an effort to seed your imagination and let you fill in the gaps. Of course there is also the opportunity to play as Han, hire Chewie to your crew and fly the Millennium Falcon through the Kessel Run...

Over the course of Outer Rim you will be flying from planet to planet taking on various legal and illegal jobs, trying to avoid factions you have bad standing with, meeting various characters and trying to increase your fame. Lots of exciting things happen like the moment you draw a bounty for the crew mate of another player, and start chasing them all over the universe.

That said, there is a lot of dice driven luck in the game, and it can be difficult to mitigate that unless you know that going in. My first game was riddled with bad rolls, but in subsequent games I made sure I had some abilities to counter that. Outer Rim also has a few odd choices for characters that I'm not sure quite line up in the same timeline, but in a game that lets you play as Han, Lando, Boba Fett and Boosk it's easy to forgive.

Despite it's reasonably long play time, Outer Rim provides as much experience as it does a game. You will remember the time Boba Fett chased you to Tattoinne to claim his bounty on Chewbacca, or when you managed to evade the Hutts and make your delivery earning the required fame to secure an unlikely victory.

It is a welcome change to explore this universe from the eyes of the rogues, rather than the same old Jedi/Sith tropes.