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Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Every Game Of Star Wars Unlimited Is A Climactic Cinematic Battle
The month of May is a big one for fans of Star Wars. At the beginning is May the Fourth, which went from a silly pun holiday to an important pop culture day for new releases and announcements of upcoming movies and shows. The original film was released on May 25th, 1977 and has changed the world ever since. I spent a lot of my fan time this month playing Star Wars Unlimited from Fantasy Flight Games. It's a trading card game in the modern style featuring characters, locations, ships, droids and more from all across the Star Wars universe. Asmodee North America sent along some Star Wars Unlimited materials for this review. Star Wars Unlimited is a fast paced card game where players build decks around specific people and places from the various films, TV shows and books about Star Wars. Players face off with a simple goal to reduce their opponent's hit points to zero first. The game takes place on two arenas of land and space and players must balance their attacks and defenses on both sides of the board. Cards are also used as resources in the game. Generally this means the card is out of play, though there are some cards that can be brought back at the right time. This setup keeps the bad start of many games like this to a minimum. Each release comes with a pair of decks built around specific Star Wars personalities. Additional leader and base cards are available in booster packs for fans who want to construct their own deck. The booster packs also have cards geared for collectors such as foils, full bleed art and alternate art options. The leaders offer specific bonuses but they are also part of the game clock. At a certain point, each leader can come out onto the field and start doing massive damage to their opponents. Deploying a leader at just the right time can swing the momentum of a game or drive a victory home. The first set of Star Wars Unlimited cards focuses on the classic era in and around Star Wars: A New Hope. There are a lot of iconic characters in the set. The starter features a classic clash between the father and son duo of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as the pre-built decks. One of the things that's helped Star Wars stand out as a franchise is that it's not afraid to explore the seedier side of the galaxy. That's the focus of this expansion which allows players to bring in criminals, syndicates and other morally ambiguous characters from the franchise. The pre-built decks here feature The Mandalorian (and Grogu, of course) facing off against Moff Gideon. The Clone Wars get their time in the sun with this expansion. There are a lot of great ground side cards in this expansion plus plenty of Jedi and Sith at the height of their power. Ahsoka Tano and General Grievous lead the pre-built decks in this expansion. This period and the prequels remain controversial to many Star Wars fans. The good news here is that this expansion is one of the easiest and most inexpensive to find online because of those feelings. Fans that want to get into this game without a big investment should look for these boxes. This expansion focuses on pilots and starships. Cool rides from several different eras get their own cards here. Han Solo and Boba Fett face off in the spotlight decks which are sold individually rather than a combined starter. Jump to Lightspeed marks the first series that sells Carbonite Boosters. These premium booster packs feature more of the collector style cards per pack. Fans who want to find the perfect centerpiece for their deck or a high value card they can flip to other players should check these out. The upcoming expansion expected in July draws from the massive history of the Jedi. Characters come from the High Republic era all the way down to the sequel trilogy. Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul are at the head of this release's spotlight decks. The dual battlefields capture the feeling of the final act of the best Star Wars movies where the action cut back and forth between a massive space battle and individual heroes slugging it out on the ground. Developing the skill of knowing when to strike an opponent's cards versus when to hit the base is the key to winning the game. Every expansion adds a new keyword mechanic but the cards are very good at explaining what it does on the card rather than forcing players to pause while they look up a rule. Gamegenic continues to do excellent work with its premium game accessories. The Xtra Wide Game Mat helped me keep my cards straight on the table while featuring my favorite ship in the Star Wars fleet. The Premium Tokens made it easier to read the game state from across the table. Everybody has a favorite Star Wars character. With every expansion, more and more leader cards come out, which makes it very easy to build decks around nearly any named character. While it's not an effective deck for me yet, I really enjoyed building one around the dual leader of Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious which really mirrors the future Emperor's two-faced ways during the Clone Wars. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder One of my favorite things to do with a box of boosters is sit with family and friends and open them together. It lets everyone show off their Star Wars knowledge by identifying where a specific card is from. It also leans into the trading aspect of the trading card game when foils and other special cards come out of a pack. The first ever Galactic Champion of Star Wars Unlimited will be determined in Las Vegas on July 25-27th, 2025. Check your local game store for more information as well as Organized Play opportunities.
The National
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Edinburgh to host world's biggest card game championship
The non-profit Null Signal Games is now in talks with Dovecot Studios to expand capacity to fit the legion of gamers keen to visit Scotland's capital from October 17 to 19. Android: Netrunner was a card game produced by Fantasy Flight Games between 2012 and 2018 but their licensing agreement on the IP expired. A group of volunteers and engaged fans took up the game's mantle and have been successfully running tournaments and releasing new content as Null Signal Games, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the continuation and management of the game. READ MORE: John Swinney urged to put 'country before party' and join Independence Summit Null Signal Games' organised play manager, Jeff Pruyne, said: 'This is our fourth in-person world since the pandemic, and it's on track to be the largest gathering of Netrunner players ever. 'We've been expanding the event every year, and we're excited to offer learn-to-play events on Sunday, along with support for all kinds of involvement, including cosplay, trivia and alternative formats.' Netrunner is an asymmetrical duel where one player takes on the role of a nefarious corporation determined to advance their agenda, and one player acts as the Runner, a hacker who is trying to stop them from controlling or destroying the world. Mike Prosser, a player from Glasgow who has been part of the community since 2015, said that the model of the game made it more accessible to him in the beginning: 'It doesn't feel like it wants to financially punish me.' Unlike other competitive card games, Netrunner does not demand that players shell out money on randomised booster packs. Instead, it operates more like a traditional board game – players buy each set in its entirety when released, with no luck or trading required. (Image: Null Signal Games) Prosser continued: 'The really tight integration between the Cyberpunk themes and the game's mechanics instantly sold me on the game.' Chris Dyer, a veteran player and former world champion, said: 'Netrunner instantly felt very refreshing and different to every other card game I'd played, which are inevitably variations on creatures beating each other up. 'By contrast, Netrunner is vividly imaginative; an asymmetrical cerebral duel where one player constructs an elaborate puzzle for the other to try to solve. The core mechanics and structure of the game are brilliantly designed, so the success or failure of both players is constantly on a knife edge, and it's the decisions that you make rather than the cards in your deck that will determine the result. It's endlessly deep, relentlessly skill-testing and incredibly strategic. 'I couldn't be more excited to go to the world championships in Edinburgh. The UK has always had a very enthusiastic group of players that have travelled all over the world to play competitive Netrunner, often with great success, so it's fitting that the most prestigious event on the calendar is finally on home soil. 'Edinburgh is one of my favourite cities, and it's home to a lot of great friends that I've met through Netrunner, so I can't wait to spend a weekend catching up with them and playing my favourite card game in a city that I love to visit!' Edinburgh-based player and former vice-president of engagement for Null Signal Games, Ed Fortune, was part of the team that brought the world championships to the UK for the first time. 'With the UK having one of the largest player bases in the world, it felt like the right time for it to be held here,' he said. 'I had previously helped organise the 2023 world championships in Barcelona, and what struck me was the importance of being able to visit such a fantastic host city. 'Hosting in a culturally significant city that is welcoming to all was really important to me. Scotland has historically been a hub of Netrunner players, with a fantastic community known for putting on great events. 'This made my adopted home city of Edinburgh the obvious choice, and the Scottish community put forward a compelling case for the world championships to be hosted here. 'Accommodation is abundant, good food is everywhere, and the city is on many people's bucket lists to visit.' Dundee-based player and local organiser Ronan McGarry added: 'Edinburgh is well-suited for the event, a dense city that will encourage locality in the attendees. It's a great city – beautiful, friendly and accommodating. I'm really confident that all the attendees will have a great time at worlds. 'As a local organiser, I've seen the level of excitement that worlds in Scotland has generated among both newer and veteran players. Our community chats have been busy, turnout to weekly events is up and interest is at a high. It's really a joy to see so much interest in the game after so long.' Pruyne highlighted Edinburgh's range of amenities and tourist attractions that visitors can easily walk to, adding: 'Edinburgh had a ton of ways for people to travel into the city, along with a strong local scene to help us find volunteers, venue scouts and evangelists for the city. Scotland was an obvious choice for us in terms of selecting a city we thought people from around the world would be excited to travel to.' The tournament will be happening in Dovecot Studios, an arts and heritage site in the city centre. Pruyne said that working with an arts venue suits the organisation well: 'A big part of our community includes artists making custom card arts, game components and artwork that we're looking forward to displaying during the event,' he said. The 2022 and 2023 world champion William Huang, who is based in Toronto, is looking forward to coming to Scotland to reclaim his crown: 'I'll definitely be coming to Scotland to try to win a third time. It's an exciting time for the game after a big rotation and I look forward to competing. 'I've never been to Scotland before but I've heard great things about the community there so I'm sure it'll be a great time.' The event is almost sold out but players can join the waitlist for tickets at Null Signal Games' website.
