Okay, is anyone really surprised to see this at the top of the list? I’ve only mentioned it about 85 times in this article so far. Yes, Imperial Assault is the winner here. Out of any game that’s out right now (or that I’ve ever played) this one feels the most “Star Wars” out of all of them. The game simple oozes with Star Wars in every aspect; everthing, from the look-and-feel down to the gameplay itself is just spot on, and it honestly feels like something straight out of a Star Wars movie is playing out on your table. It is by far my favorite Star Wars game of all time. It might even be my favorite board game of all time.

But, let’s forget about that for a second. Let’s just focus on the fact that Imperial Assault has so much in the box that it’s one of the best values in gaming history. That sounds…extreme, but I’m not kidding. There is so much inside Imperial Assault’s box, and buying the core set alone is more than enough to keep you satisfied, practically indefinitely. The game is essentially two games in one–it has a massive campaign mode that’s packed to the brim with content, and a competitive skirmish mode that pits players against each other in a tactical, 1v1 duel.

The campaign makes up most of the meat of the core set, but the skirmish is there so that the game will never get old even if you get tired of the campaign, which, by the way, is really hard to do. The game comes packed with thirty different missions, where a team of up to four Rebel heroes are carrying out objectives against a single Imperial player. After each mission, your characters can be upgraded and enhanced, and whoever wins any given mission will get a slight edge in how much they can add. There are only ten missions in any given campaign, as certain events and conditions trigger specific missions. This means that you could play three whole campaigns before you even end up playing all of the missions. Given that each mission averages between one and three hours of playtime (sometimes more), this is a ridiculous amount of content, and that’s not even accounting for changes in characters and players. Campaigns can play out completely differently depending on who the Imperial player is, as well as the characters that the Rebel players choose.

If you do happen to play that much and finally get sick of it, the skirmish mode can keep you going. This is much more similar to X-Wing, where two players simply build up a squad and try to kill each other. There are three skirmish maps in the box, and six different missions, which each add their own spin into the skirmish match, giving players various ways to earn points and gain an advantage. Not only that, but the game is packed with a huge amount of minis, so it’s very much unlike X-Wing and Armada where you’re practically forced to buy expansions to get longevity out of the game. Not the case with Imperial Assault; the core box will last you for eons, and if you end up liking it enough to the point where you ACTUALLY exhaust everything you possibly could out of the game, you’ll probably have played enough to make expansionary content worth your while.

Imperial Assault is also surprisingly accessible. Yeah, it’s not Monopoly, but I found that it’s a game that’s easier to learn than you would think it is. That’s not to say that it’s simple, but it looks far heavier than it is. My campaign group ended up being my sister, her husband, and my dad. While they all enjoy good board games, none of them had ever played a miniatures game, or really even any game that’s like Imperial Assault, and they completely ate it up. We had a lot of fun playing, and I was pleased to see that you don’t need to be a super serious hardcore gamer to enjoy this one. It’s intimidating, but give it a chance and you’ll more than likely have a lot of fun with it. There are some flaws, such as luck swings from time to time, and you can read about those in my Imperial Assault Review, but overall, I would call this the de-facto Star Wars game of our time right now. Imperial Assault already has a sizable amount of expansionary content, so it’ll be around for a while.

The game can be found for around $65 online. While this is comparatively expensive compared to other games, I can vouch a thousand times over for the sheer amount of content that the game includes. If you’re a Star Wars fan and a board game fan, this one is a no-brainer. However, it might not appeal to you specifically, so make sure to check out the review to make sure it’s right for you and your group! May the Force be with you.