Publisher Atomic Mass Games has released a free new way to play a linked campaign of Star Wars Shatterpoint missions, developing the skills of a Veteran hero as you rack up losses and victories. Campaign Mode is a new free addition to Shatterpoint’s asymmetric Key Operations, and is available right now on the game’s website.
We rate Star Wars Shatterpoint very highly – enough that we’ve given it an honorary place on our guide to the best Star Wars board games, despite very much being a miniature wargame. Its core gameplay captures the kinetic, dynamic, dramatic duelling of the Star Wars films and expanded universe perfectly – but it must be said, most of the core mission packs are a little bit abstract and gamey.
The Campaign mode seeks to put a bit more Star Wars sauce into Shatterpoint, by creating a framework for two players to play linked games that create dramatic tension between the heroes and villains. You can download the pack for free on the AMG website, but we’ll summarise the rules for you here.
One player picks the role of Aggressor, and the other the Sentinel, for the whole campaign. Both players also each need to select a Veteran character, who must be part of their Strike Team for each campaign mission. The Veteran is their hero of this narrative arc, but the cast of supporting characters in their team can change from mission to mission.
The players also need to select a series of three Key Operations to play in order, and another set aside as the ‘Last Chance’. The aggressor needs to win three of the four operations, while the Sentinel – who has the harder side of the missions – has to defeat them twice. The first time the Aggressor is defeated in the campaign, the ‘Last Chance’ scenario hops the queue and gets played before the next campaign operation.
Players earn Experience Points as they play games, one for a victory and two for a defeat. After each match, each player can unlock one new Advantage – the XP isn’t spent, but sets the maximum tier of Advantage the player can buy. Only one advantage can be active for each player in a match, and there are different options for the Aggressor and the Sentinel.
There’s some powerful stuff in here, particularly at Tier Three. Both players can be ‘Strong with the Force’, which simply increases a unit’s Force stat by one. The Aggressor’s ‘Bulwark’ Advantage gives a unit extra dice on attack and defense and a free move at the start of stages two and three of the operation.
Meanwhile, the Sentinel’s ‘Fight to the Last’ advantage really shores up their defenses. When a unit becomes Wounded within five of the Veteran, the Veteran can take two damage, and the Wounded unit immediately replaces the Wounded token with an Injured token and sheds all their damage just as if they’d activated, ensuring they keep control of any objectives that they’re capping.
If you want a more substantial system for linked games, the Sabotage Shodown Mission Pack is also available in stores. While it doesn’t have the simplicity of this system, it offers a story with branching paths, and even a multiplayer mode.
Want a tactical miniatures game with a vastly more involved campaign? Gloomhaven and Frosthaven have yet to be beaten. Check out our Gloomhaven review and Frosthaven review to learn more.
And if you want to show off your Star Wars Shatterpoint squad in a community of likeminded nerds, we’d love to meet you in the Wargamer Discord!
Source: Wargamer
