Review Starship Battles CMG

Star Wars Miniatures: Starship Battles

Starship Battles is Wizards of the Coast’s attempt to break away from the ground-based combat of their popular Star Wars Miniatures line. The result is a simple wargame in which Light Side and Dark Side fleets rush toward each other across an empty stellar grid map.

There’s nothing wrong with simple, but without terrain modifiers or the ability to “hide” weaker vessels, there’s little opportunity for tactical maneuvering. With the exception of the starfighter class, any ship can target any other ship on the map. Fortunately, the simplicity of the rules allows for easy modification if you want a greater challenge.

Four classes of ships include the massive war wagons of Class 1, both of which are included in the starter set. Class 2 features battleships such as the Imperial Star Destroyer. Medium-size cruisers—as well as famous vehicles such as the Millenium Falcon—make up Class 3, and Class 4 is exclusively starfighters such as the X-Wing. Ships move a number of spaces equal to their class, and only the larger craft need worry about their facing as they move.

The miniatures are the real draw, and Wizards has done an excellent job here. Virtually every significant starship from the movies is represented in the initial release, as are many from the tie-in novels, cartoons and video games. Collectors will appreciate the availability of ships not previously made as toys, such as the Separatist cruisers seen in the opening minutes of Revenge of the Sith. Sculpts and paint jobs are relatively detailed, and while many of the miniatures are made from a softer plastic, the only ships I’ve found to suffer from excessive warping are the standard TIE Fighters.

Starship Battles may be a light wargame, but as a long-time Star Wars fan, I can’t help but be pleased by the sight of so many familiar vessels locked in terrible combat.