Star Wars: Rebellion

Set up Star Wars: Rebellion by punching out cardboard components and assembling plastic miniatures like Death Stars and Star Destroyers. Players choose factions: the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire. Assemble leader stands, prepare the game board, and set the time marker on space one and the reputation marker on space fourteen. Sort and shuffle objective, action, and mission decks according to the instructions, and set aside starting hands and cards. For your first game, use the fixed diagram layout to place starting units, loyalty markers, and probe cards. The rebel player secretly chooses one system from the probe deck to hide their rebel base under the board, ensuring it is not immediately adjacent to imperial units. Finally, draw starting hands and prepare tactical decks and dice for play.

The game replicates the asymmetrical struggle between the sprawling Galactic Empire and the elusive Rebel Alliance. The Imperial player controls vast military might, aiming to scour the galaxy, quell uprisings, deploy probe droids, and ultimately locate and conquer the hidden rebel base to extinguish the rebellion. Conversely, the Rebel player is vastly outnumbered and must rely on subterfuge, diplomacy, and secret missions to undermine Imperial rule. The Rebels win by gaining sufficient support and successfully advancing their reputation marker to meet the time track, sparking a galaxy-wide revolt.

Each game round is divided into three distinct phases. First is the assignment phase, where players secretly assign leaders from their pool to mission cards in their hands. Second is the command phase, where players alternate turns either activating a system with a leader to move units and initiate combat, or revealing a previously assigned mission to resolve its effects, which opponents can attempt to oppose. Players may pass when they have no actions left. Finally, during the refresh phase, players retrieve all used leaders, draw new mission and objective cards, launch probe droids, recruit new leaders, and build and deploy new units according to their controlled systems' resource icons and build queues.

Rebels score and win by fulfilling objective cards drawn during the game or gained through missions. When specific requirements on an objective card are met during a combat or refresh phase, the Rebel player plays the card and advances their reputation marker toward the time marker by the value printed on the card, shortening the time the Empire has to locate the base.

The game concludes immediately when one of the win conditions is met. The Galactic Empire wins instantly if Imperial ground units successfully conquer the system housing the hidden rebel base after it has been revealed. The Rebel Alliance wins immediately if the reputation marker and time marker occupy the same space on the time track, representing sufficient galactic sympathy and successful secret survival.