I had an interesting germ of an idea for replicating the hazards of the Hoth asteroid belt. Normally maneuvering through an asteroid field isn't difficult if you know your ships and how a maneuver will pan out, so you can't replicate the conditions of the exceptionally active asteroid belt in the Hoth system if you want to recreate the chase scene from TESB.

So I thought, why not make the asteroids more . . . interesting.

This scenario would be for the Millennium Falcon versus four TIE Fighters.

The map is not fixed and is "floating," meaning when you reach the edge of the map you reposition your ships and the asteroids so they are as far back as possible. When this happens, place any asteroid tokens that were moved past the edge of the board in the newly opened space in front of the ships using standard asteroid placement rules (ignoring ships).

The objective for the Falcon is to weave through the asteroids and try to shake the TIEs, and there are bonus points for surviving so many turns. The Falcon starts at range 3 from the edge of the board and the TIEs start at range 1.

What makes the asteroids more dangerous than they normally are is that they move. All asteroids have a "pilot skill" of 1. During the activation phase, roll 1D6 and consult the following table:

1 = 12 o'clock

2 = 2 o'clock

3 = 4 o'clock

4 = 6 o'clock

5 = 8 o'clock

6 = 10 o'clock

After figuring out which "heading" the asteroid has (with 12 o'clock being what both players agree to be "north"), move it in that direction at a speed of 1. This has no effect on the Navigator card (presumably they are trained for navigational hazards like this). Collisions with the asteroids take place as normal, if they occur.

After the players have moved the floating map twice, then the Falcon must make it to the other side. If that happens, it has reached the big asteroid seen in the movie and the scenario is over. If one wants to be creative, one could make a map of the asteroid itself, with that canyon, and see if the Imperial player is stupid foolish enough to take the bait.

I think this has some potential, and would be a fun break from the standard deathmatch battle. It would have to be play tested, too.

The map is not fixed and is "floating," meaning when you reach the edge of the map you reposition your ships and the asteroids so they are as far back as possible. When this happens, place any asteroid tokens that were moved past the edge of the board in the newly opened space in front of the ships using standard asteroid placement rules (ignoring ships).

This sort of scenario is exactly why I'm interested in the starfield tile kit, if it ever comes out. It would allow linear chase missions where you pick up the end tiles and re-place them as needed. (It would be lovely if one side could be stars and the other side could be a Death Star-like surface.)

Moving asteroids is something I want to get around to trying. I would prefer to roll for their direction of movement when they're placed, however, and let it remain consistent throughout the game (placing a new one once one flies off the board). Asteroids spontaneously turning would be silly, but knowing (roughly) where they were going would give you a CHANCE to navigate past them while still being quite dangerous!

Well, some of the asteroids changed direction in the movie, and with the effects of gravity this could be explained as the asteroids themselves pulling on each other. Besides, I don't have a reliable way of keeping track of which asteroid is moving in what direction. I could do it with sticky notes or a specialized tile, but this way is more streamlined I think. It's all aabout whether you want realism or a streamlined game, and I think streamlined trumps realism.

Use 1d6 for each asteriod, keeping the die on the asteroid as a reminder to which direction it is moving. Plain and simple.

To make it more interesting, use 2 dice per asteroid - once for direction, one for speed. Maybe a roll of 1-2 = speed 1, 3-4 = speed 2, 5-6 equals speed 3.

You will need some rules for asteroid collisions.

I like the idea. Something I am going to have to try!!!

Maybe I'll try it with my dad later . . . I'm stove up with the flu or a cold or something right now . . .