While everyone else is excited for Battle of Hoth, true Star Wars fans have Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game!
The Battle of Hoth hits store shelves this Friday, August 29th. The fast-paced miniatures game lets players command Rebel and Imperial ground forces during battle on Hoth—easily one of the most memorable battles in all of cinema. It offers seven unique scenarios, with the option to include six charismatic leaders to influence the conflict. Or you can dive deeper into the conflict by playing two dynamic multi-scenario campaigns.
Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game
With the new game on the way, let’s look back at another Star Wars game that focuses on the ice planet. Kind of.
Released in 1982 by Parker Brothers, Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game is an epic and exciting adventure unlike any other! Unlike those tricksy modern games which rely far too heavily on requiring strategic and tactical considerations, the game gets rid of all of that and lets the players have the ultimate space adventure.
Right off the bat, the box interior sets the tone…
Wait, What?
Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game is so exciting and definitely right in line with the plot of the movie! Everyone remembers the iconic scene where Darth Vader comes to Hoth™. And then all the rebel fighters argue over who gets to be the one to escape to Dantooine™ (pronounced Dan-two-een). It was so tragic when the other rebel fighters didn’t reach Dantooine™ (pronounced Dan-two-een) first and they had to let Darth Vader shoot them with lasers.
As the rules state, each player takes the role of a heroic rebel fighter. They begin their journey through ultimate space on Planet Hoth™. The rebels fly through hyperspace until they reach and land upon Planet Dantooine™ (pronounced Dan-two-een).
Spinners!
It isn’t just your run of the mill roll-to-move and hope you win game. Oh, no! The game doesn’t just have some measly spinner to determine how far you move. That would be boring and lame. Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game…
… has TWO spinners!
On each player’s turn in, they spin the Rebel spinner and move the number of spaces noted. This depends on which area of game’s gameboard they are currently within. If an exact number is spun, they move exactly that many. If a range is spun, they are allowed to choose how many spaces within that range they will move on their turn.
After they have moved, that player then spins the Imperial spinner to determine how far Darth Vader moves. If Darth Vader ever lands on or becomes adjacent to any player, they are subject to his laser attack.
If a rebel fighter does take damage from Darth Vader’s laser attack, the game has a very clever method of tracking how much damage they have been dealt. At the start of any game, each player gets a ‘puzzle’ of their ship, which consists of 5 pieces.
Dealing Damage
Each time they take damage, they remove one piece from their puzzle. If a ship is damaged, they do not spin the Rebel spinner to determine their movement. Instead, they can only move exactly the number of spaces equal to the number of puzzle pieces they have remaining. Until they reach a Repair Station, when they can recover all of their lost puzzle pieces.
Leaving Planet Hoth™ and approaching Planet Dantooine™ (pronounced Dan-two-een) both require players to land exactly on the yellow spaces around those planets. Doing so allows that player to move in or out one ring, whichever is necessary for them to continue their ultimate space adventure.
The first rebel fighter to reach Planet Dantooine™ (pronounced Dan-two-een) has successfully escaped the superior Empire forces of Darth Vader. They win Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game! All other players die in misery as they are killed by Darth Vader’s laser attack.
Is It Worth Tracking Down to Play?
Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game is a standout game compared to other games which are not it. No other game except Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game has the excitement, thrills and the ultimate space adventure like it has. Even though it was released 36 years ago, it still holds up way better than some other games which are not this game.
It uses a lot of mechanics which had been seen in games released prior to it, but it really fine tuned them and improved upon them. If you’re looking for a game that is Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game, I highly recommend Star Wars: The Ultimate Space Adventure Game.
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Matt has loved games of all kinds his whole life: board, video, war, roleplaying, and card. He’s worked as a writer for BoLS since 2017.
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