Based on the four battles at the end of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace -- the battle on the plain between the Gungan forces and the droid army; the attempt by Naboo forces, led by Queen Amidala, to storm the palace and capture the Trade Federation viceroys; the fight between Darth Maul and the two Jedi Knights; and the space battle in which Anakin's starfighter destroyed the Droid Control Ship.
The forces are represented by 155 plastic miniatures on three separate boards, including a three-level palace. The action is driven by two decks of cards for each side. Each turn, each side simultaneously chooses four action cards from a hand of ten, and places them in order. The actions are then carried out one at a time, alternating sides. Combat is resolved using special attack and defense dice.
- Thematic and cinematic gameplay that mirrors the movie.
- Engaging card-driven mechanics for action selection.
- Satisfying combat and dice rolling.
- Appealing for fans of the Star Wars prequel era.
- Difficult to find and expensive.
- Production quality might feel dated to some.
- The battle for control of the palace and the galaxy during the climactic events of Episode 1
- The ending sequence of Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace
- The game mechanics directly reflect key moments and locations from the movie.
- Unmatched
- Star Wars Epic Duels
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Winning involves having more people in the throne room than the opponent.
- Card-driven action selection — Players play cards face down to determine the order of actions each turn.
- Dice rolling — Dice are used for combat resolution, movement on Anakin's track, and other game effects.
- hand management — Players draw and play cards from their hand, managing a limited number of actions per round.
- Push Your Luck — The Anakin's space trek involves rolling dice and hoping for specific numbers to progress.
- track movement — Anakin moves along a track to shut down control ships.
- Variable player powers — Different characters and factions have unique abilities and dice.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Have fun trying to find this game. It is not easy to find.
- It's the same it's basically the ending part of the Episode 1.
- There's a lot of things about this that are really great for, you know, 1999 or 2000 production.
- This is very cinematic.
- The palace was a bloodbath, unfortunately.
- What are you doing? We have to get there.
- Darth Maul's at it again.
References (from this video)
- distinctive multi-front design
- faithful Star Wars flavor with varied theatre battles
- strong thematic storytelling through battles
- prequel-era IP can be contentious for licensing/print
- older design may feel dated to modern euro players
- political intrigue and battlefield skirmish across four theaters
- Star Wars, end of The Phantom Menace era
- multi-front strategic narrative with misdirections
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- multi-front battle resolution — four simultaneous battlefields are managed with interconnected outcomes
- tiered combat engagement — combat is spread across land, palace, space, and Jedi duel contexts
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- these bones are there all the foundation is there to make something truly epic
- i would love to be the designer to do that
- the core mechanic is this bag management system
- it's a fantastic solo game
- the queen's gambit is a rare thing for the time a good star wars game