Often at the start of the last round the round marker and the reputation marker are right next to each other. At the end of a few of my games we have been pressed for time, so if I think there is no chance the imperials will be able to take the base I ask if we want to call the game.
The truth is the game is fairly long and even if I wasn't in a time crunch I might choose to skip the last round if I thought it would have no impact final outcome. What do you think?
I have called it during the last round but not before. Usually when its clear that the Imperials cannot reach the rebel base or the Imperial has SLO queued up and a Death Star in the Rebel system. Certain things need to align to make this happen. Like it being clear where the rebel base is and the Imperials not being able to reach it or the rebels not being able to defend it.
The issue is that there are a few cards that the Imperials have that can jump spaces and you never know if thats ready to be used.
We've had the time to play every game out, and most Rebel victories did come down to the wire with a little sweating til the end. It would take a perfect storm of objective cards and starting placement to have a comfortable victory since the Imperial player has time to narrow the base down to a few options. Have to say I'm a fan of the Probe Droid Initiative card with Ozzel, it makes up for his clumsiness. And yes, Planetary Conquest is a must have mission for the Empire, it's the closest essential to the Death Star Plans for the Rebels.
Planetary Conquest has won me a few games
Yes it's the strongest card in the imp. deck i would say.
But.. the rebel knows it's there. 4 x air speeders and a couple of troops pretty much locks out the base from shenanigans. Keep a 2 or 3 general on the bench and you're safe.
I've only played 1 game all the way to the end. For both Rebel and Imperial victories, most of the time a player concedes. The game runs long and usually both players agree how the last 30 minutes is going to play out.
I don't know if I would say you know the last 30 minutes, but, the last turn? Yeah, that is often fair predictable