My favorite Star Wars movie for years was The Empire Strikes Back because it was just so good start to finish and had the first and best gritty ground battles of the series. This movie also introduced fans to the AT-AT and AT-ST walkers which were just awesome and so imposingly cool to see on the screen. Now, Rogue One is my fave but Empire Strikes Back was the top one for a long time and for good reasons.
This brings us to today’s review, Star Wars: Battle of Hoth, a 2-4 player game using the Command and Colors system where players will be the Rebels or Imperials battling out on Hoth. Players can choose from several scenarios or even try a campaign style games too. Most scenarios set-up and play in about 30 minutes.
Game Overview:
The setup for Star Wars: Battle of Hoth will depend on the scenario listed in the Scenario book. These will determine which and where your units and terrain will be placed at the start of the battle, as well as how many command cards and which side will go first. Before players start, the hardest decision will be who will be the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance.
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth uses the Command and Colors system, and so if you played games like Battle Cry or Memoir ‘44 you should be familiar with the basics. If not, Command and Colors is an easy system to master. The board is divided into a left and right flank and a center section. On a player’s turn, they will do the following:
- Play A Command Card– face up from their hand
- Order – announce all units (this can be from one or multiple sections, depending on the card) that will be ordered with this card
- Move – the ordered units will be moved one at a time, and depending on the terrain
- Attack – the ordered units then attack by rolling dice depending on the unit and range
- Draw – draw a new command card – this signals the end of a player’s turn and discarding of the command card that was played
The Galactic Empire or Rebel Alliance will have victory conditions that will vary depending on the scenario, and most victory conditions will center around collecting medals. Medals are usually collected by destroying a unit completely and collecting that last destroyed figure as a medal, but that is not true for every scenario. Some have different ways to collect medals (sorry no spoilers).
The units for each side are as follow: the Galactic Empire has Infantry units made up of 4 Snowtroopers, Vehicle units made up of 1 AT-AT Walker, and Droid Units made of 2 Probe Droids & the Rebel Alliance has Infantry units made up of 3 Echo Base Troopers, Vehicle units made up of 3 Snow Speeders, and Artillery Units made of 1 Rebel Artillery.
The last thing to highlight is that there are 2 campaign books that will use the scenarios from the Scenario book, but these campaigns have chapters that will vary depending on which side wins and grant players of each side different victory outcomes. These can range from gaining the use of Leader and/or support cards, which add to your existing command deck, and players can also gain these cards from achieving secondary objectives listed in the campaign chapter as well.
Game Experience:
Star Wars: Battle of Hoth has so many good things going for it, and the first thing I want to note is that it’s highly thematic. This game mirrors elements of the movie closely, which makes you think back to many scenes of The Empire Strikes Back. Yes, some of the scenarios were not shown in the movie, but they fit in well with the game and add great depth that it feels like some could have been left on the film editor’s cutting room floor. Overall, Star Wars: Battle of Hoth does an outstanding job putting players back into the movie and Star Wars mindset (and yes, you and others will have side effects such as quoting The Empire Strikes Back and possibly many others).
I need to let readers know that overall production values are great. Everything is quality from the minis, cards, game board, dice, and even the card holders, which are slightly curved (so there’s no peeking from your opponent), and they fit together. Plus, the artwork on the cards is excellent, and the same goes for the rule, scenario, and campaign books. All the artwork helps with the theme and overall look and feel of the game. My minor issue is that I want the terrain tiles numbered or lettered because these are two-sided, and each side is not the same, and this can make set-up slightly longer while you’re flipping through looking for the right tiles for the scenario.
The scenario book is great, but I’d rather use the campaign books. These give you a campaign “light” feel, which is not a slight. I love that you might be able to finish a campaign and play multiple chapters during a game night. This is great fun because which side wins will determine the next chapter, plus each chapter provides secondary objectives that will give players various rewards like additional units, leaders, or support cards. These elements help with replayability and add great variety even if you’ve played the same campaign prior because he experience will not be identical.
The last thing that I absolutely love about the campaign books is gaining leader and support cards. You can add leaders to the scenarios, but support cards are designed for the campaign only. There are 3 leaders for each side, and each has three cards that can be added to a player’s command deck. Most of these cards are “better” cards than typical Command cards, with improved actions for your units and help with some luck mitigation as well. What’s great about support cards is that they are a separate deck that, as you gain, you add and select from that deck and discard from the game once played. Support cards can be powerful and, given the right situation, can help turn the tide.
My single main issue with Star Wars: Battle of Hoth is that this is a 2-player game. Can you play it with 4 players? Sure, there are rules for that. Will it minimize your experience and lessen your enjoyment? I would guess yes, and I would add that I do not want to play this game with 4 players. The only exception would be the last epic scenario included, which is designed to combine two copies of Star Wars: Battle of Hoth and play scenario Assault on Hoth (this game’s version of Operation Overlord from Memoir ’44).
Final Thoughts:
I must admit, I had high hopes that Star Wars: Battle of Hoth and this game blew away my expectations. I own Battle Cry and have played Memoir ’44, but Star Wars: Battle of Hoth is my new fave Command and Colors game and so far my best game of 2025. This game just rocks, with it being highly thematic with great production values. The scenario and campaign books with variable chapters based on the victor is a simple but great mechanic to add variety and replayability. Lastly, I love the Leader and support cards. These were smart additions to help balance the game and add great options to a player’s command deck.
The issues like the terrain tiles not being numbered or lettered, and that Star Wars: Battle of Hoth is a 2-player game, do not hurt this game for scoring high for me. This is an essential game for me, and I would guess most, if not all, gamers who are Star Wars fans.
Final Score: 5 Stars – A highly thematic, well-produced, and just an awesome new addition to Command and Color and Star Wars catalog of games.
Hits:
• Highly Thematic
• Great Production Values
• Campaign Books
• Leader & Support Cards
Misses:
• Number or letter terrain tiles
• 4-player game
