Imperial Assault – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com The best place on earth for nerds. Thu, 26 Nov 2020 16:40:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-nerds_head_thumb2-100x100.png Imperial Assault – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com 32 32 All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, under one umbrella. We create short run podcasts for nerds, covering D&D, Marvel, Starfinder, and more! You vote for your favorite shows and they just might get a second season. Imperial Assault – Nerds on Earth false episodic Imperial Assault – Nerds on Earth jason.sansbury@nerdsonearth.com podcast All the podcasts from NerdsonEarth.com, the best place on Earth for nerds. Imperial Assault – Nerds on Earth https://nerdsonearth.com/wp-content/uploads/powerpress/noe-podcast-logo.png https://nerdsonearth.com/blog/ All By Myshelf: My Top 7 Solo Board Games https://nerdsonearth.com/2019/07/solo-board-games/ Wed, 17 Jul 2019 12:00:28 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=24904

Nerds on Earth shares 7 fantastic solo board games. Only a single player is necessary!

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I always have something on the calendar. So, when someone cancels one of those plans, I offer the obligatory, “Oh, that’s too bad. We’ll have to reschedule really soon.”

Then immediately let out a WOOOOT and jump into my jammie britches, because hallelujah, I suddenly have myself an evening where I don’t have to go out and make conversation.

With that in mind, here are 7 board games for you to play when it’s just you in for the evening in your jammie britches.

7 Great Board Games to Play Solo

Mansions of Madness: Second Edition

I’m not as big of a cheater as Abram is with these lists, but straight out of the gate, I’ve cheated. I’ve never played Mansions of Madness: 2nd Edition! Its inclusion on this list is solely due to the recommendation of others, who swear by it for solo play.

A Fantasy Flight product, Mansions of Madness 2E is an app-assisted horror game inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. The game takes player(s) on a harrowing adventure through the dark and desolate Arkham.

I’m not even a big Cthulhu guy, but folks have raved so much about the game that I’ve considered buying it myself. If you are looking for some creepy solo play, then you can get Mansions of Madness 2E here.

Scythe

Scythe is from Stonemaier Games, a company that typically offers a strong solo play through the use of the Automa system. Considered one of the absolute best board games of all time, Scythe is set in an alternate-history 1920s Europa, where the ashes from the first great war still darken the snow.

In Scythe, each player represents a fallen leader attempting to lead their faction to power in Eastern Europa. Players conquer territory, enlist new recruits, reap resources, gain villagers, build structures, and activate monstrous mechs. Yup, mechs.

Scythe is well supported with multiple expansions, so I’d encourage you to consider the base game and try it with a little solo play. I’m confident you’ll love it and will want to add more and more.

Get the core Scythe here or, better yet, look for it at your Friendly Local Game Shop (FLGS).

Marvel Legendary

Marvel Legendary is a card game set in the Marvel Universe. Legendary plays great as a solo game, as the player starts with a deck of cards, then slowly adds more and more superheroes to their deck. I bet you’ve already guessed that the deck of heroes is used to thwart the villains, which are conveniently also included in the Legendary base set of 560 cards.

It’s good fun. My full review is here but if you are already sold, you can purchase Marvel Legendary here.

Zombicide: Black Plague

Zombicide: Black Plague is big, dumb fun in a box. The core Zombicide game is consistently the top seller through any Amazon affiliate links we have on Nerds on Earth, so the game remains popular.

Zombicide: Black Plague takes that original idea and re-skins it to be set in a medieval era with Necromancers. A solo player simply sets up a scenario that instructs them to lay out a few tiles to represent a playing area. Using cards, zombies are spawned and the player simply tries to escape with their life.

Again, it’s nothing more than big, dumb fun. And isn’t that what you are looking for when you have that rare quiet envying at home? You can get Zombicide: Black Plague here.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault

Star Wars: Imperial Assault is fairly similar to Zombicide in that scenarios dictate which cardboard tiles are set out to simulate a variable playing board. Except instead of surviving zombies, a player is simulating missions between the Rebels and the Empire.

Imperial Assault has a fantastic app that creates the wonderful opportunity for solo play. And just like many off the other games on this list, it’s a game that is packed with incredible miniatures. Part of the solo experience in buying the game is also through the experience of painting the minis.

Here are some thoughts on painting the minis. Here is where you can buy the core game.

Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven is considered by many to be the greatest board game of all time. It’s certainly one of the largest physically. And it’s certainly an experience. The incredible amount of thematic content that is included in the box is a wonder to behold.

It’s also great for solo play, although the set up and tear down is immense. So, it’s best you have have a large garage table where you can leave it set up.

You can get Gloomhaven here.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

I just reviewed the 2nd Edition of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, so I’ll send you there for the details.

In short, it’s an excellent solo board game, perhaps the very best. It’s thematic and fun. Better, the card-based game play makes it quick to set up and the leveling system allows a solo player to string together a thematic story-based adventure.

You can get the Pathfinder ACG here.


There you have it: 7 great board games that are excellent for solo play. Note: I intentionally skipped some other board games that are known for their single-player friendliness like 7th Continent or Too Many Bones, both of which are known as Kickstarter exclusives.

I wanted to make sure that the games I shared would be easy to get your hands on. So, no excuses! All 7 games shared are highly thematic and I picked a variety of genres. All you need to do is pick one that looks interesting to you and click the link above. You’ll be playing in no time.

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Review of Star Wars Rebellion: Star Wars in a Big Cardboard Box https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/03/review-of-star-wars-rebellion-star-wars-in-a-big-cardboard-box/ Wed, 15 Mar 2017 12:41:03 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=12390

Star Wars Rebellion is the BIG new board game on the scene. With a price tag of $99, is it worth it?

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I’ll be Han.

Star Wars Rebellion is the Keanu Reeves of board gaming. When you open the box, literally all you can do is utter an amazed “whoa.”

The first thing I realized is the fold-out game board is HUGE and is beautifully designed to illustrate all the Star Wars planets us nerds love, like Endor, Hoth, Dagobah, and Tatooine. Then I realized there is a second game board that effectively doubles the play space!

I literally let out an audible “whoa.” The entire play space is approximately 2 feet by 4 feet, and that doesn’t include the space you’ll need around the edges for the tracker sheets and 6-8 decks of game cards, depending upon how you cut them. I immediately emailed my contractor to explore the possibilities of building a new game room over my garage.

Uh, there are a couple few minis that come with this game. And they’re awesome.

I let out a second audible whoa when my eyes feasted upon the miniatures that are included. There must be over 100 of them! (Editor’s Note: Um, actually, there are over 150 minis.) Miniatures include X-Wings, AT-ATs, Rebel Troopers, Tie Fighters, and not one, but three Death Star miniatures.

The miniatures are scaled small (they are incompatible with Imperial Assault, for example), but they are beautifully detailed. They are an absolute delight to fiddle with. When I was setting up my first play through, I felt like I was an 8-year-old kid again, watching Empire Strikes Back in the theater for the first time.

Indeed, any Star Wars fan, particularly those from the New Hope / Empire era, will have an emotional response to this game. Pardon the hysterics, but Star Wars Rebellion really is the closest thing you’ll get to recreating the movies in a cardboard box.

Star Wars Rebellion: Star Wars in a Big Cardboard Box

Us nerds love to chuck dice.

Gameplay isn’t a lightweight by any means. Included are two rule books:

  1. The “Learn to Play” guide comes in at 20 pages. In addition to a full component list, it includes a 10 step setup walkthrough. Thankfully, there is a visual guide to help you with your first game set up and the guide is very clearly written.
  2. The “Rules Reference” guide comes in at 16 pages. After you learn to play, you’ll refer to this booklet often for those precision rules or situations that only come up a time or two per game. Luckily, there is an index on the back to help you pinpoint what you need quickly.

You play the game in three primary phases: Assignment, Command, and Refresh. But those are the details of the how. I’m sure you are wondering about the big picture.

Sign me up for these missions.

Star Wars Rebellion is what is called an asymmetrical strategy game. One player is the Empire, while the other player is the Rebellion. The two players don’t tactically play the same. While the Empire relies on brute shock-and-awe military strength, the Rebellion relies on guerrilla tactics. See, asymmetrical.

The game is meticulously balanced. While the win conditions are different for the Empire and Rebellion, I felt like either side could legitimately come away with the W in every play through I did.

And it’s fun. So fun. I realize this might sound like exaggerated hyped-up unicorn smoke, but I can confidently claim that Star Wars Rebellion is one of the absolute top board games ever created. Kudos to Cory Konieczka of Fantasy Flight Games who did the game design.

So much awesomeness in one cardboard box.

Deploying cardboard standees like Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess Leia from planet to planet is an absolute joy. I’m not trying to imply that the intention of Star Wars Rebellion is to recreate the movies scene-by-scene, I’m just saying that this game feels like Star Wars and it’s impossible not to have movie memories flood over you during game play.

But Star Wars Rebellion isn’t for everyone. Those who are brand new to board gaming might freeze up at the sheer magnitude of what is presented to them. This is not a game that one just casually learns in a minute.

Star Wars Rebellion is the kind of game that you set up in the corner of your garage or basement. Then you plan to leave it set up there, knowing that it might take you and your buddy a couple Saturdays to get fully through the game. Indeed, the play time on this game is several hours, longer on your first couple of plays.

But even though this is a game that might only get to the table over a long holiday break, it is a game that every single Star Wars fan should own. It captures Star Wars better than pretty much any licensed product this long-time Star Wars fan has ever encountered. Not only that, but it is brilliantly and cleverly designed, easily standing among the hobby’s greatest games, regardless of genre.

The game is the perfect gift, but if you are a Star Wars fan, you’ll likely not be able to wait and you’ll simply buy it for yourself. Star Wars Rebellion is a magnum opus, a feather-in-the-cap for Fantasy Flight Games.

I leave you with an unboxing video so you can see for yourself.

[Disclosure: Fantasy Flight Games provided Nerds on Earth a complimentary copy of Star Wars Rebellion for review.]

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How to Paint Little Bears and Banthas https://nerdsonearth.com/2017/01/how-to-paint-miniatures/ Sun, 08 Jan 2017 13:29:43 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=11135

Nerds on Earth explains how to paint miniatures, mainly by unveiling a secret weapon.

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When it comes to painting miniatures, I’m average, and that would be a generous grade. Sure, I can get miniatures to look pretty good from a distance, but if you get close, you’ll need pretty strong beer goggles to gloss over the imperfections in the little fellas I paint.

But as a beginner, I can help you to begin. And to begin, I need to confess that I’ve discovered a secret weapon.

How to Paint Miniatures: Little Bears and Banthas

Start by painting miniatures that are forgiving. I painted Stormtroopers and Zombies to get started. Using zombies as a first painting project was perfect because they look like a dirty mess by design, so my mistakes weren’t bugs, they were features.

I recommend the same for you. You can purchase the board game Zombicide. The game is packed with really cool miniatures. It would give you a whole box of minis to practice on, plus you’d get a really fun board game to boot! Where’s the downside in this plan? (And you can get Zombicide here).

And now my secret weapon! When I started, Sorastro’s painting guides didn’t exist. When I stumbled upon them, it changed miniatures painting for me. (I was so smitten that we interviewed him and I support his Patreon.)

Sorastro produces incredibly professional painting tutorials. The are scripted and beautifully produced, with accompanying music that Sorastro writes himself. I can’t recommend them highly enough, as they will absolutely make you a better painter. Check out the below video of Sorastro’s painting tutorial for Zombicide: Black Plague.

 

If zombies aren’t your thing, try Star Wars. Sorastro paints through the miniatures from some of the hottest miniatures games, so it was only logical that his largest collection of tutorial videos are for the Star Wars: Imperial Assault game.

I’m an OG Star Wars fan, so it was natural that I expanded my painting skills on Stormtroopers, bounty hunters, and Chewie. Besides, Imperial Assault figures are incredibly well done, so you’ll be happy to display your finished work.

My latest Star Wars figures was a bantha and four Tusken Raiders. The bantha would actually be a nice figure to learn with, as it is one of the Imperial Assault boosters, so it is sold separately and can be had without purchasing the full game. (Get the Bantha here.)

Here is Sorastro’s video for the bantha (and for the Tusken Raiders that come with the Twin Shadows expansion):

 

Then start to add your skills skills together in fresh ways. Many local game shops will sell Reaper Bones, or a similar unpainted miniature that is geared toward D&D or Pathfinder. Bones minis are super inexpensive and come in a ridiculous number of poses.

I recently spotted Bones figure that was a female dwarf who was riding a bear. But I don’t know how to painted an armored dwarf or a bear. What do do?

  1. If you squint and enter into the world of your imagination, it is not hard to see how you could use banta painting steps to paint a bear. So Sorastro had actually helped me paint half the figure without realizing it!
  2. For the armored dwarf, I found that Sorastro is actually publishing guides to paint through the Descent game, which is classic high fantasy figures. One of those videos for an armored cleric pretty well matched the basic elements of the dwarf. Boom, there is the other half of the figure painted and I again have Sorastro to thank.

So I mixed and matches two painting tutorials and was able to paint something that wasn’t represented in either video. And I encourage you to try likewise!

Hobby miniatures painting can seem daunting, and I agree that it’s not an easy hobby to get into. But consider the following:

  • Great tutorial videos exist.
  • You can try your hand with miniatures games that are great games, irrespective of the painting.
  • You can start with something minimal like zombies that require only a few colors, then add to your paint collection slowly.

It’s scientifically proven that it’s more fun to play with a painted miniature. And it’s doubly scientific proven that it’s even more rewarding to play with a painted miniature that you’ve painted yourself. So give it a shot. Maybe start with a bantha, then before you know, you’ll be painting a little bear.

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A Review of Star Wars Imperial Assault, a Board Game Packed with Miniatures https://nerdsonearth.com/2016/12/10464/ Sun, 04 Dec 2016 13:37:24 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=10464

Nerds on Earth gives a review of Star Wars Imperial Assault. We love Star Wars, but is this a board game worth our attention?

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Amazingly, we are getting new Star Wars movies, so it’s a wonderful time to be a nerd. New Star Wars movies also means more Star Wars licensed games.

swi01_boxlayoutThe Star Wars license for board games, card games, and roleplaying games is held by Fantasy Flight Games, which is just a hop, skip, and jump from my home here in brisk Minneapolis. And Fantasy Flight Games is absolutely KILLING IT when it comes to the Star Wars games they are producing.

Star Wars Imperial Assault is a tactical miniatures game. What this means is you have a box full of little Star Wars miniatures and you move them around on a game board to complete missions. By the moons of Mandalore, it is crazy good fun.

On one side you have miniatures like Stormtroopers and Darth Vader who are joined by bounty hunters. Oh yeah, there is an AT-ST mini! On the other side are the forces of rebellion, featuring rebel soldiers, Jedi, and more. Over 30 unpainted miniatures are included in the box.

A Review of Star Wars Imperial Assault

Let’s hit several points about the game:

Imperial Assault allows for tons of play options. There is a campaign guide that gives players a couple dozen missions that are set up differently. Each mission makes use of the included map tiles that are arranged uniquely for the mission. Then each mission requires different miniatures and objectives. The result is lots of different looks that keep the game fresh. To further mix it up, you can play 1 v 1 skirmishes.

There is a sense of story to the game. I’m a sucker for a game that shows some story progression and Star Wars Imperial Assault does that. As you work yourself through the campaign guide, the mission briefings become more intense and depending upon the outcome of the particular mission, you’ll get a different mission debriefing message.

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Imperial Assault is not easy to learn. Fantasy Flight Games is well-known for dropping big, thick rulebooks on players. Imperial Assault thankfully has a brief Learn to Play guide that is marked as “read this first”, but that pamphlet is 16 pages and then you’re jumping to a 2nd rulebook that is 28 pages. But you soldier on because the Dark Side needs vanquished.

It’s a really fun game. Not much needs to be elaborated here; it’s a good game.

Click to embiggen. Stormtroopers with the shade added. Notice one has been lightened back up, but maintains highlights.
Click to embiggen. Stormtroopers with the shade added. Notice one has been lightened back up, but maintains highlights.

You can get dozens of expansions. Fantasy Flight is generous with the core box that includes tons of minis, plus all the cards and cardboard pieces you need to play. But Star Wars fans want all the characters, and who can blame them? Luckily, Fantasy Flight makes all sorts of single mini expansions that come with a single miniature, plus a couple more missions. I have several of these (Lando and Chewie, to name just a couple) and I don’t regret a single one.

You have to paint the miniatures. The miniatures come unpainted, which is a feature, not a bug. Miniature painting is like nerd meditation, so it’s a hobby I enjoy, even as I rarely have time for it, nor am I any good at it. Still, it’s great. I’ve written before about when I painted my Stormtroopers and since then I’ve discovered the excellent Sorastro, who we interviewed because he provides step-by-step video tutorials for painting Star Wars Imperial Assault miniatures. Really, you have to read that interview and check out Sorastro’s work.


Star Wars Imperial Assault is a great game. It oozes the Star Wars theme us nerds love. It has plenty of variety in the missions presented and it’s highly expandable.

Buying the game simply to paint the miniatures alone is worthy of the purchase, but that would underplay how fun of a game it is. Make no mistake, it is fun. Who hasn’t watched a scene like the escape from Cloud City and thought about how fun it would be to play through similar missions? Imperial Assault is our chance.

It’s a really pricey game, but you can get it here for a pretty nice discount.

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The 10×10 Board Game Challenge for 2015 https://nerdsonearth.com/2015/01/10x10-board-game-challenge-for-2015/ Sat, 10 Jan 2015 16:45:54 +0000 https://nerdsonearth.com/?p=1057

Nerds on Earth share our picks for 10x10 Board Game Challenge for 2015.

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The 10×10 Board Game Challenge is popular on Board Game Geek, by far the most popular portal for serious tabletop gamers. The idea is simple, at the beginning of the year you make a resolution to play 10 board games 10 times each. This allows players to really dig into a game before the next shiny object draws them into buying something new.

I love setting goals and love making lists (I am a nerd, after all), so I’m going to throw my hat in the ring. Here are my picks for the 10×10 Board Game Challenge for 2015.

star-wars-xwing-mini-game

Star Wars: X-Wing

I have a coworker that I’ve introduced to Star Wars: X-Wing, a fantastic skirmish game between tiny little Tie Fighter and X-Wing miniatures. We’ve already set a few dates where we both pack our lunch and run a quick scenario while we eat. So I’m confident I’ll get 10 plays of this one in 2015.

Marvel Dice Masters

I plan to introduce my coworker to Marvel Dice Masters next. Like X-Wing, it’s a thematic 2 player game where we can nerd out over lunch. The price point ($15) is great and since we won’t be hard core about it, we can simply create our favorite Marvel superhero teams and duke it out.

Star Wars Imperial Assault

Imperial Assault miniatures
via EntropyMag.org

I just got Imperial Assault and I couldn’t be more excited. It’ll be more difficult to find someone to play this one with me 10 times in 2015, but I’ve already picked up some paints to get to work on the Stormtroopers. If I only play a few times, but still get hours of relaxing enjoyment through painting the miniatures that are included in this game, then I’ll certainly consider it a win.

Imperial Assault puts you in the midst of the Galactic Civil War between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire after the destruction of the Death Star over Yavin 4. Imperial Assault is a miniatures game of tactical combat and missions. The campaign game pits the limitless troops and resources of the Galactic Empire against a crack team of elite Rebel operatives as they strive to break the Empire’s hold on the galaxy.

Cash ‘n Guns 2

Cash ‘n Guns is our go-to game if my wife and I have another couple over and want to pull out a really light, fun game that is easy to teach and plays really fast. It’s always a hit and my 6-year-old often plays with us, which is fun. Each play represents a good time with friends, so let’s hope I get 10 plays of this one in 2015!

Dungeons and Dragons 5e

I’m probably most confident on this one. If you read Nerds on Earth even occasionally, then you’ll know I’m so in love with D&D 5th Edition, that I’m scribbling its name on my Trapper Keeper.

I’ll likely get 2-3 sessions of Organized Play in over the next couple of months, then in March the new adventure modules release and it’s game on.

Dominion

Dominion is my wife’s favorite game. She likes lightly themed games that are also light weight and play quickly, so Dominion is right up her alley. Since she’s my #1 gaming partner, I’m sure I’ll get in 10 plays of Dominion on 2015.

Marvel Legendary

Legendary_HawkeyeI prefer more thematic games, so I asked for Marvel Legendary for Christmas. Since Legendary is a card drafting game like Dominion, my hope is that I can get my wife to consider playing it on occasion. By ‘occasion’, I mean at least 10 times in 2015.

Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game is set in the Marvel Comics universe. To set up the game, players choose a number of hero decks – Spider-Man, Hulk, Cyclops, Wolverine, and more – and shuffle them together. Players then choose a mastermind villain.

Over the course of the game, players will recruit powerful hero cards to add to their deck in order to build a stronger and more resourceful deck.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game can get a little competitive on the quests, but it’s a great game to play solo. If I get a rare quiet evening, I’ll often run through one or two scenarios in this game. Plus, I’m only halfway through the first adventure path (I haven’t even needed to pick up the follow-up: Skulls and Shackles), so it’s likely I’ll get in 10 plays in 2015.

Zombicide

A beginner's Guide to painting miniatures (Zombicide).
A beginner’s Guide to painting miniatures (Zombicide).

Honestly, I like Zombicide mainly because of the miniatures. In fact, the first miniatures I ever painted were Zombicide miniatures and I wrote about that experience here. But with their latest Kickstarter wave scheduled to be delivered to my doorstep in March, I’m sure the excitement of that will encourage me to play.

Memoir 44

I already have 4 plays of Memoir 44 under my belt so far this year, so I’m well on my way. I have a good friend who is a WWII nut, so he and I bond over Memoir 44, which is an absolute classic of a game. Not only is the game fun, but I learn a little something each time, plus get to spend time with my buddy.

So there are my 10 games for 2015 that I hope to play at least 10 times in 2015.

But I need to offer some caveats, mind you. I’m going to cut myself some slack if I don’t make it. I realize this is me wimping out before I even get started, but I just know my work schedule is too demanding during the day and my evening domestic time with my kids too tiring to realistically play 100 games in one year. Let’s give it a shot though, shall we?

As a result, you’ll notice the above list has pretty light games that often play quickly. While I would love to play Dead of Winter 365 times in 2015 (because it is amazing), I know that I won’t be able to get it to the table that much. And there are other games like Hero Kids, which is a lighthearted RPG that I play with my daughter, but that’s entirely predicated on her initiative, so I don’t include it on my list.

But I’m really curious as to what games you hope to play often in 2015. Won’t you please share in the comments?

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