Battle of Hoth Review - Ice Cold Fun

AT-AT's stomp on the hard-packed ice of Hoth, shaking the ground and rattling the hidden bunkers underneath. Meanwhile, hordes of brave Rebel soldiers burst from the snow, sending torrents of well-aimed blaster fire. Does the fate of the galaxy hinge on this pivotal battle? It does when you and your friends pick up a copy of Battle of Hoth, a new strategic board game from Days of Wonder. Asmodee USA sent me a copy to check out, so let's fire up our snow-speeders and jump right in.

What Is Battle of Hoth?

Battle of Hoth is a strategic skirmish board game for two players (with a team-mode to allow for three to four players), with one player taking on the role of the Rebel Alliance and the other taking on the Imperial army. The objective of the game is (usually, though there are many different scenarios to play through) being the first to claim a set amount of victory medals by meeting a specific scenario's victory conditions.

To do so, you'll assign orders to your forces around the board, roll dice to attack, and attempt to out-pace and out-think your opponent in this quick strategic game. Each scenario instructs players on how to set up the board, placing their units onto the battlefield as well as terrain hexes that alter the environment.

Activating Activations

I really like the way activating units is handled in this game. Instead of issuing order tokens, or secretly selecting units from your battlefield, you'll play a Command card from a hidden hand you draw. And the command cards (except for special leader cards) break up the battlefield into thirds.

Your Command card may say you can activate two units in the middle of the board, or one on each of the left and ride sides of the board, or some other combination. I find this approach to the game extremely engaging, as I have to both work with what I've got on the board and decide which of my Command cards to use, and which to save.

A Fast-Paced Blast

One of the first things that caught my attention with Battle of Hoth is how little time it takes to actually set up the game and get rolling. Before I even opened the box, I admit I was expecting some hulking behemoth full of cards, rulebooks, miniatures, and tokens galore. But that's not the case with Battle of Hoth, with only a slim rulebook, a straight-to-the-action scenario book, 19 double-sided terrain hexes, 6 attack die, and miniatures for each side (the Rebels get 35 minis, and the Imperials get 39).

Playing the game, I was equally surprised at how nicely it moved along. You move your units, roll dice to attack, and before you know it you're scoring hits, removing enemy units, and getting closer and closer to your goal of four victory points (or more or less, depending on scenario).

You achieve these victory medals by completely eliminating an enemy unit (though some scenarios may offer extra or different ways to achieve victory medals).

So what this creates is a truly feeling of chaotic warfare on the battlefield, with snow-speeders zooming around, AT-AT's lumbering through the battlefield, and hordes of little dudes running around trying to pick each other off. Aside from some of the more complicated scenarios, you'll be done a standard scenario within 35-45 minutes. That's fast for a strategy wargame!

Deeper Than It Seems

I'm doing a lot of praising the game's speed and simplicity, but it certainly is deeper than it seems. As I mentioned above, the Command card activations are a fun and engaging way to mobilize troops. Add to that the ability to slightly customize your deck by choosing a commander, and it's almost like a mini-game within the game.

The dice-resolution is great fun on this too, with custom symbols on the dice representing a soldier silhouette, a mechanical gear, and a starburst. To hit your opponent's unit, you have to get the proper symbols. Starbursts hit everything, but the other two symbols matter: you can only hit troops with a soldier silhouette and snow speeders and AT-AT's with the gear (probe droids and rebel artillery can only be hit with the starbursts).

And then there's the Scenario Book, which contains 18 different scenarios to play through - from a first assault on an Imperial Scouting mission to defending the shield generators, medevac'ing important officers out of the field, and a final mass showdown called "Assault on Hoth," there's just so much game in here.

Battle of Hoth - Final Thoughts

You don't have to be a Star Wars fan to find a lot to love in Battle of Hoth - though I assume many will with its focus on the classic Empire set piece. With its fast-paced gameplay and pick-up-and-play rules, this might be one of the cleanest introductions to strategy wargaming I've ever played. Using simple, intuitive dice-roll mechanics, easy unit movement rules, and few other "Yes... but!" clauses that can clog up the gameplay, what we get is a clean, well-oiled machine of a strategy skirmish game that prioritizes player fun over fussiness.

Highly, highly recommended - get out there and give it a try for yourself!

The copy of Battle of Hoth used in the creation of this review was provided for us by Asmodee USA.