An Imperial Double Sweep

It was a rough evening for Hutts and Rebels alike.  Not only were we short on beer and single malt, but the Evil Empire took two in a row. 

Game #1.  As is often the case, the Rebels began with an early and highly successful blitz into the Mid Rim.  The Hutts also did tolerably well in their first turn at bat.  But on the second round, the Empire pulled out a straight of faction cards.  Armed with considerable firepower, Darth Horak was able to control the Wild Space and then lock it down with star bases at one entrance and the Death Star at the other. 

As the tide shifted further towards the Empire, the Mid Rim was put at risk.  First the lone Hutt outpost at Nar Shaddaa fell to the storm troopers.  Then Rebel counter-attacks into the Mid Rim were driven out.  With two sectors completely under control, the Hutts and Rebels conceded.

Game #2.  In a completely different setup, the initial turns still had a similar feel:  Rebels giving heavy casualties to the widely spread Empire; Hutts returning fire.  But in the end, the Death Star was able to knock out one resource planet and protect another.  Even so, the Hutts gained control of 16 systems.  Unfortunately, only 4 of them were resource planets.  Starved of faction cards and reinforcments, Jabba the Wocky couldn't gain traction against the Imperial forces.

Once again the Imperial storm troopers succeeded by creating large battle groups built around capital ships and bombers.  Rebels in the Outer Rim were routed.  Hutts were starved of resources.  In the end, both Rebel and Hutt surrendered. 

Somehow I don't think the next struggle for galactic domination will go the same way. 

Die Hutt, die!

Well, things started out very strong for the Rebel Alliance, but soon after, the Empire struck back.  By turn six things were grim indeed.  In fact, Los Dos were ready to concede, but Kent glumly soldiered on with his small hoard of green slime.

Ultimately, the Hutts nabbed one sector, the another,and then another.  Meanwhile the empire repeatedly conquered, at various times, the Core Worlds, the Outer Rim, and the Mid Rim.  Unfortunately, the Rebels kept threatening the Emperor's Star Base, so a coordinated attack on the pesky Hutts did not materialize. 

Eventually, Hutt cards and sector bonuses overwhelmed both Rebels and Storm Troopers.  In fact, the victory was rather a surprise with Kent the Hutt being told by Generalissimo LaBan that he had ten resource planets when he was all geared up to tackle one more Star Base.