So maybe this is the wrong place for this post but I'm just curious who here has played imperial assault? If you have played it or play it, is it as fun as xwing? Also are there any similarities? Just looking for some general opinions on it. I recently picked it up during miniature markets sale for half off so only 50 bucks! I get it today in the mail and just thought ide ask my fellow pilots what they think of it. Thanks

I was strictly an X-Wing player (casual - no tournaments for me) - played IA and loved it and picked it up. It's different from X-Wing in several ways but it's still a really well made game mechanic, the campaign and cooperative aspect is really great imo - plus you get to paint the models (if you want to - and I do and have just started - check out the Imperial Assault forums and look for Sorastro's painting videos if you are interested in that - no prior experience needed and your stuff will come out looking great)

I haven't actually played it, but I keep hearing a lot of good stuff about it.

The models are beautiful, but unpainted, so if you like painting its a plus, if not, a bit of a drawback.

From what I have heard, the campaign mode is largely a Star Wars reskin of Descent. A lot of people really seem to like that game, wasn't my cup of tea though.

It also has a skirmish mode that plays more like a "traditional" skirmish scale wargame, but I haven't really heard a whole lot about how that aspect plays.

I think the money is in the campaign mode. Got a few friends wanting to blast plastic stormtroopers and you'll have a lot of fun. Want to treat it strictly as a wargame like the old Wizards SWM game? You might be a little let down

Models are super cool though.

I got a core set as a gift and picked up the expansions, but I'm sort of cooling off on it. I enjoy the campaign well enough, but skirmish just doesn't feel completely balanced yet, especially if you want to go Mercenaries. Plus spending money on X-Wing and Armada, something had to get cut.

I just got my own copy but have played with friends several times. I love it. Helps that I loved Descent and a lot of this game is just kind of a reskin. Rules are more complicated than X-wing, more in line with traditional war games, but on a MUCH smaller scale. The size of the game is a lot like with X-wing in that you have a small number of figures, including elites and uniques mixed with scrubs. There is an admittedly intimidating number of components in the box, but with practice you'll learn what you need. The campaign is great fun, and each mission works well on its own as well for a game night, with adjustable difficulty via threat level and rebel items. I also really like the Skirmish mode. Much simpler than I expected, which in my opinon is a very good thing. It is NOT a Warhammer competitor, though, so if you're looking for that you will be disappointed. The rules are more in line with bigger war games, like I said, but this is NOT Warhammer or Warmachine. And if you are an X-wing player looking for a change of pace from the dogfight, Imp Assault Skirmish is still 100% objective based. Clearing enemies wins you points, but in skirmish AND Campaign, you must complete objectives or you can't win.

Imp Assault is great fun in both game types. Great value in the core set, also, especially if you get it discounted. Takes a little longer to learn than X-wing, but its still generally simple to learn and fun. Have some friends over for game night, give it a try!

The campaign game is super fun.

Just keep in mind, though, that you'll ideally want a group of 4-5 players who can meet regularly to play through a 12-game campaign.

This is hard for some people to get to happen, especially if you're at a point in life where your friends have hard-to-predict family and job responsibilities.

Thanks for all the info guys! Really helpful stuff! I read over some of the rules via pdf and some of it seems similar to xwing like actions and line of sight so hopefully that helps speed up the learning curve. I don't mind the painting actually so that should be fun as well. Just curious on a rules difficulty scale from 1-10 and xwing being somewhere in the 3-5 range, where does assault end up?

X-Wing is my #1 game and has been since it came out.

Imperial Assault is honestly starting to threaten that title... I love it.

It has a forum on these boards. Any particular reason why you're asking the X-Wing board?

Any particular reason why you're asking the X-Wing board?

Asking people on the IA Boards if IA is any good doesn't really accomplish a lot. It's a bit like going to the Republican or Democrat website and asking who you should vote for...

It has a forum on these boards. Any particular reason why you're asking the X-Wing board?

Because I love xwing and wanted to get the opinion of fellow xwingers wether they like imperial assault just as much as xwing. If I had asked in the imperial assault forum I had no way of knowing if any of those people had also played xwing. I wanted someone who had played xwing mainly but also tried imperial assault to get their take on it.

Back on topic.

I have it and I loved the campaign. I also like to paint so having unpainted mini's was actually a bonus to me. They take paint very well, and are nicely detailed. So they look great painted up. I've messed around with the skirmish part and to be honest was kinda meh about it.

It's not IMO as engaging as X-Wing or Armada is I can't say why just something about it was lacking I guess. Maybe it's because I'm used to free form movement with rules/tape measures for that kind of game and so being restricted to a map was the problem.

When you're playing a campaign it's fine, but for a skirmish it felt a bit small.

So far it sounds like the campaigns for IA is where it's at. That works out well actually since sometimes I have odd numbers of people so it should work out good. Thanks again everyone for your opinions I can't wait to try it out now!

Skirmish is fun too! But many are looking for a larger Skirmish/War Game experience, and I get that. Generally, I prefer the small scale things, as big games like Warhammer and Armada intimidate me. I'm simply not interested in learning all of the rules and all of the ins and outs. Imperial Assault is almost on the verge of being intimidating, because of the enormous number of things in the box, IE like 15 token types, 10ish card types, the huge number of base tiles, etc. This was one of the reasons I got into X-wing. The first thing that attracted me was Star Wars and I could recognize all the ships (this was back in Wave 2 and 3), and the rules are fun and accessible and not too costly to start. IA is also fun, cheap, and accessible, but its on the verge of being too much for me. Maybe that makes me lame, but hey, if my biggest complaint with a game is there's TOO MUCH in the box, then there's not much wrong with the game. I love the Skirmish so far, but admittedly haven't played a lot of it. Maybe the repetition in the missions will get to me, but I can never get enough X-wing Dogfight, so I doubt it.

Give skirmish a few plays, and decide for yourself. I know it was an important selling point for me, personally. The Campaign missions are definitely the best thing in the set, but it's easier to get one opponent than 4 buddies together, and after cutting my teeth on X-wing (it was also my first competitive analogue game), I wanted another competitive multiplayer experience that is fun and easy to learn. Armada is simply too much for me. It's a great game and I don't mean to say its not, but it has a lot of rules and its really costly to get into. X-wing will remain my primary game, but I definitely like IA Skirmish and am looking forward to some local tournaments. I missed our Regional, unfortunately; I just got my own set recently. But again, give it a few plays and decide for yourself. The Campaign is absolutely the core experience, but skirmish is just a little early in its lifespan. When there are more options, it will be a great experience, and in the meantime, it's definitely fun!

Also, we are looking to soon add Imp Assault to our local live show on our X-wing off weeks. Official info is on the way, as the details are still not final, but its in the works.

Skirmish is fun too! But many are looking for a larger Skirmish/War Game experience, and I get that. Generally, I prefer the small scale things, as big games like Warhammer and Armada intimidate me. I'm simply not interested in learning all of the rules and all of the ins and outs. Imperial Assault is almost on the verge of being intimidating, because of the enormous number of things in the box, IE like 15 token types, 10ish card types, the huge number of base tiles, etc. This was one of the reasons I got into X-wing. The first thing that attracted me was Star Wars and I could recognize all the ships (this was back in Wave 2 and 3), and the rules are fun and accessible and not too costly to start. IA is also fun, cheap, and accessible, but its on the verge of being too much for me. Maybe that makes me lame, but hey, if my biggest complaint with a game is there's TOO MUCH in the box, then there's not much wrong with the game. I love the Skirmish so far, but admittedly haven't played a lot of it. Maybe the repetition in the missions will get to me, but I can never get enough X-wing Dogfight, so I doubt it.

Give skirmish a few plays, and decide for yourself. I know it was an important selling point for me, personally. The Campaign missions are definitely the best thing in the set, but it's easier to get one opponent than 4 buddies together, and after cutting my teeth on X-wing (it was also my first competitive analogue game), I wanted another competitive multiplayer experience that is fun and easy to learn. Armada is simply too much for me. It's a great game and I don't mean to say its not, but it has a lot of rules and its really costly to get into. X-wing will remain my primary game, but I definitely like IA Skirmish and am looking forward to some local tournaments. I missed our Regional, unfortunately; I just got my own set recently. But again, give it a few plays and decide for yourself. The Campaign is absolutely the core experience, but skirmish is just a little early in its lifespan. When there are more options, it will be a great experience, and in the meantime, it's definitely fun!

Also, we are looking to soon add Imp Assault to our local live show on our X-wing off weeks. Official info is on the way, as the details are still not final, but its in the works.

Also I posted on the IA forums about what expansions to get earlier in the day and have only gotten 2 responses haha. Glad I posted here first.

Any particular reason why you're asking the X-Wing board?

Asking people on the IA Boards if IA is any good doesn't really accomplish a lot. It's a bit like going to the Republican or Democrat website and asking who you should vote for...

Good point, but judging by all the X-Wing hate on the X-Wing board, I'm not sure how well that holds in practice.

Meh to IA.

Campaign is short, and there's not nearly the diversity of delves/missions that Descent has in the base set. Also, skirmish gets quickly repetitive and there's vast power differences in lists (Royal Guards...).

If you're really looking for an alternate game: Armada. It's one of the most balanced games I've played lately and is similar to X-Wing where a better player will generally win - the randomness isn't really stark.

IA is amazing skirmish and campaign. Both so much fun and different enough to be unique. There is so much game in just this one box let alone expansions too. IA has exploded here since the first skirmish event. Regional was very well attended. One of the Halifax players started a skirmish list tracker and the IA wiki.

Just keep in mind, though, that you'll ideally want a group of 4-5 players who can meet regularly to play through a 12-game campaign.

This is hard for some people to get to happen, especially if you're at a point in life where your friends have hard-to-predict family and job responsibilities.

Yep and yep! This is the killer for me. I'd love to get into this game but .. well .. ^ that!

Assault is a fantastic game. Worth noting is that while it has been called a reskin of Descent, it's actually enough of a rework of Descents core mechanics that it sits fairly neatly as it's own thing. I Nick named it 'Descent 2: in a galaxy far far away'.

On another note, if you like role playing games (like say FFGs Star Wars role playing series) the map tiles double as map boards for those games as well and of course the miniatures can pull a double duty as well!

I have it and I've played a couple campaigns and a bunch of skirmish matches. I like the Skirmish mode much more than campaign, although I think it needs the next wave's figures to make it really feel complete & fully balanced. There's not many choices for the Merc faction without adding in Rebels (you can add 2), and the Empire can be really strong due to the extremely cheep & spamable Imperial Officer (think Academy Pilot tie pilots during Wave 1-2). But there's stuff on the horizon that I think will fix all that. The three factions are unique, and play differently from each other, even more so than in X-wing.

A big difference from X-wing (beyond the obvious) is that skirmish matches are objective based, however if you choose to, you can ignore objectives a attempt to score points by eliminating you opponents squad (as in x-wing). I really love this aspect, because your not forced into just doing one or the other. Another difference are the dice, that allow for weak/accurate attacks, powerful/inaccurate attacks, and everything in between, as well as a few tricks & abilities that are activated by an attack.

And just like X-wing, the defense dice cannot be relied upon, so combat can be fast and brutal.

OK, I am a major, long time, serious wargamer. I had no in tent of ever buying Imperial Assault, as I have any number of options when it comes to playing a ground skirmish game (Sci-Fi or otherwise). That and the cost of the core set, really put me off for what you get. Some people (myself included) will say that you actually get a lot in the box... and you do- there is a LOT of cardboard in there. The terrain boards are pretty but can be a pain to assemble and not really necessary/impressive from a hardcore wargamer's perspective. And the miniatures are nice... but limited and the expansions not really cheap, either- if I want Star Wars figures, I can find a greater variety on minis for better prices from a variety of manufacturers (though not necessarily in the same scale... whatever it is).

That said...

A buddy got Imperial Assault for a birthday present and so we gave it a try... I have to say, I am impressed with the quality of the production, the fluff and flavor and creativity of the rules. I was put-off at first by the seeming complexity of the rules but once I got used to them, found them rather simple and intuitive. The length and complexity is really only a result of trying to write rules for an audience of "gamers" (rather than "wargamers") who are used to seamless rules requiring (or allowing) little interpretation due to the focus on competitive gaming. I do not think this game really fits into the competitive, tournament style of game, but that is the expectations of the target audience. After several game, I must say that I was impressed and really enjoyed the game. It was "FUN", which is one of the best compliments I can give it!

Still, it is (IMO) costly and not something I ever intend to spend money on- FFG will have to content themselves with the money I spend on X-Wing. I will leave this (fine and fun) game to those who have not yet invested huge sums of money in other miniatures/skirmish games (and no, I don't meant that GW crap- no offense). Likewise, I have no intent on investing any time/money into Armada, as I already have extensive fleets and rules for Sci-Fi starship combat and don't need to buy into the complicated, yet limited (and expensive) game system. But that is just me.

Overall, I'd give Imperial Assault a "Thumbs Up"!

Good to hear. After playing Descent 2nd edition I have no interest in more broken, boring, and poorly balanced campaigns (though perhaps IA is better in this regard). I picked up IA when it came out, but haven't had a chance to play it yet.

Skirmish is fun too!

Good to hear. After playing Descent 2nd edition I have no interest in more broken, boring, and poorly balanced campaigns (though perhaps IA is better in this regard). I picked up IA when it came out, but haven't had a chance to play it yet.

Skirmish is fun too!

I just broke it open today as soon as I got home! There was a huge box on my doorstep being that I got 2 rebel aces during the MM sale for only 12 bucks. But I digress, I opened up the box and there is indeed lots of cardboard haha. All the tiles are numbered and you use specific ones so I read that a CD case is perfect for labeling and organizing so I may try that. The rulebooks are very polished and much nicer than xwings rulebook. Overall the quality is very good, lots of cards too. I'm still trying to learn what all the cards are for and what they do. More reading required haha. Supposed to play Sunday with some buddies so it will prolly make more sense when we start playing.