Out-of-print ‘Star Wars: Epic Duels’ is Still a Fantastic Battle Royale Game
Star Wars: Epic Duels lets you answer the age-old question of who would win in a fight between Yoda and Han Solo.
Besides the fact is it would obviously be Yoda, let’s pretend and say yes, you have wondered that before. Well, good news, friends! You can find out for yourself with Star Wars: Epic Duels. Granted, the game has been out of print for a long time, and unless you’re willing to shell out a good chunk of change, you’re going to have a tough time finding a copy.
Star Wars: Epic Duels Overview
Star Wars: Epic Duels is a competitive arena battle game released by Milton Bradley in 2002.
Each player controls a small team of two or three characters. Some minor characters, like Clone Troopers, are two characters. So could have Han and Chewie versus Yoda and 2 Clone Troopers. Each of the 12 characters has a unique deck of cards and board to track health.
On each player’s turn, they roll to determine their movement for the turn. After that, the player can do 2 actions:
- Draw a card
- Play a card
- Heal a character
Drawing is simple, just draw a card from your deck, up to a maximum of 10 cards. Healing is also pretty simple, discard a character card to heal them for 1 hit point.
The bulk of the game involves playing cards. There are three types of cards: Combat, Power, and Special.
Combat cards have an attack and defend value. Each card shows which character can use it. If the character is holding a blaster, they can attack from range. Otherwise, all attacks are made against an adjacent target.
When an attack is initiated, the defender plays their defend card before the attacker reveals their combat card. The defense value is subtracted from the attack value and the defender takes that much damage.
Power cards work just like Combat cards, but have some added effect or restriction, but are usually more powerful. Regardless, they are always used in combat.
Unlike Special cards which can do basically anything, like bonus movement, draw cards, peek at your opponent’s cards, or even cause damage. Some special cards even grant bonus actions!
The game is played either in a free-for-all style battle royale, or with teams. The first player or team to fully eliminate all their opponent’s main characters wins the game!
Quick Review
Star Wars: Epic Duels is not a complicated game, but that’s what makes it fantastic. It’s a great foundation for expansions. Thankfully, there are plenty, official and fan-made. Plus, it doesn’t take long to play. It’s quick, punchy, and fun.
It’s a rare collectible now, but if you can find a copy for cheap or print out your own, you’ll be happy you did.
What two Star Wars characters would you want to see duel?
