Trifecta Averted... Well, not really

It was an ugly match... with an ugly ending.  There were two conflicting goals:  Ric the Rebel needed an orange victory to gain his Trifecta Badge while Sith  Kent and Karl the Hutt sought to deny him this at all costs. 

The initial deployment had the Hutts at 3 resource systems, but firmly entrenched in the Wild Space and El'Rood Sectors.  The Death Star held sway over the Ison Corridor.  On turn 1 the Rebels had terrible rolls.  The Hutts fared slightly better, gaining ground in the El'Rood Sector.  But the Empire struck back with great good fortune, significantly hamstringing the Rebels. 

By turn 2, the Rebels were suffering from continued poor dice rolls.  The Hutts managed to capture the Ison Corridor and the Empire continued to grind down the Rebellion. 

On turn 3 the Rebels neutralized the Hutt sector, only to lose the Wild Space.  This sector bonus would greatly assist Horak the Hutt for several turns.  Meanwhile, the Empire continued to salt the Mid Rim with starbases. 

The Death Star marched forth and destroyed Dathomir with its large Rebel garrison.  Neither Hutt nor Storm Trooper elected to disrupt the tenuous balance between Dagobah and Hoth--each side gained benefit.  The Hutts managed to get sector bonuses from El'Rood and the Wild Space for one turn. 

Rebel assaults against the starbases in the Mid Rim failed miserably.  The Hutts could not gain traction beyond 6 resource planets.  In the end, the Empire slowly strangled the Rebels, ending Ric's dreams of a trifecta. 

In two weeks:  Darth Horak will attempt a first-ever Imperial trifecta, 3 Imperial victories in a row. 

Boom-boom La Ban Rides Again

Two games to summarize today in order to bring the blog up to date.  Alas, both were La Ban victories, taking him two-thirds of the way to a Trifecta.  The next game will be a desperate one for all sides. 

Game the First

Rebel Leader Horak took on Darth Kent and Peetza da Hutt.  Bickering between the Storm Troopers and Rebels left an opening big enough to drive Jabba through, and that's just what Ric did. 

Victory:  Hutts.  

Game the Second

Horak the Hutt thought to have an easy time taking the Funky Chicken Trophy away from Sith Lord Ric.  Even with the tacit help of General Wood's Rebel forces, the Dark Side consistently held strong on defense and attacked even stronger on offense.  Hutt fleets were demolished after failed assaults (twice) on Ylesia.  The Wild Space was captured by the Empire and cordoned off by starbases and an asteroid field on Sullust.  Only a counter-balancing stream of reinforcements from the Ison Corridor kept the Hutts in the game at all. The Rebels kindly looked the other way rather than counter-attack into the Hutt sector. 

Despite General Wood's surprising attack through the asteroids, which successfully denied the Empire it's sector bonus, the dice and cards continued to fail Wood and Horak.  Eventually the Outer Rim fell to the Dark Side and then the Rebels were carved up for serving.  However, that was not before a desperate attack on a Mid Rim starbase, hoping to get lucky and snare the Emperor.  Of course, with the Force being so strong in Ric tonight, there was little danger of that.  The Emperor was safe and the Storm Troopers soon finished off the last of the Rebels.

Victory:  Empire. 

Hutt Quinfecta

Inconceivable!

Yes, Kent the Hutt was able to put another one away for the Green Team.  At first Sith Lord Ric was able to keep both my Rebels and the Hutts at bay.  But when he blasted through the garrison on Gamorr, it opened the door for the green hoard to pour through.  First they took Elom, then the marched through and took Sluis Van and Sullust.  In the end, the Rebels were too weak to stop their march towards victory.  April 16th will be a date remembered in infamy. 

Note to self:  When you've got the Hutts down, kick 'em again!

Defensive Dice and Offensive Cards

Darth Horak took up arms against General Wood and both of them swore on a stack of Alderaanian constitutions that Ric the Hutt would not win a hexafecta.  Straight away the Rebel attacks began, but good defensive dice rolls limited the damage.  The Hutts cautiously advanced and in their turn the Empire made small dents in both parties.  Efforts against the Hutts left the Rebels strong in the number of systems they controlled.

But the cards were always in the Empire's favor.  A bomber was helpful early on, causing the Hutts to use a shipyard attack to destroy it.  Eventually the Imperial fleet would grow to a two bomber squadron.  By turn three the Death Star was able to destroy Bespin with a large Hutt garrison.  By turn four the Empire controlled the Wild Space.  That left only 11 systems for the Hutts to prey on. 

Good use of cards pushed the Force Meter to the full Dark Side and this prevented the Rebels from making a one-in-a-million shot at the Death Star, which protected the Emperor on Endor.  One faction card straight led to significant Rebel losses in the Core Worlds and this was followed up with a capital ship flush that punished them in the Mid Rim.

The Rebel forces conceded on Turn 8.  The Hutt string of victories was at last halted. 

Ringing out the Old and Ringing in the New

Friday December 5

Peetza arrived about 45 minutes late after a day-trip to Taos and back.  Horak the Hutt, Rebel Ric, and Sith Lord Wood battled until exhaustion set in around 11:30.  Despite being fortified by gringo chile, we called it a draw.

Thursday January 1

Same forces again, due to the luck of the draw in choosing fondue forks.  Ham, broccoli, yellow squash, baguette, mushrooms, merlot-soaked pears, melted cheese made for good eats.  Ric came out with all guns blazing and sent the Empire reeling.  Something like 8 systems captured with only two Rebel losses.  The Hutts did their gradual Hutt thing, snagging a couple stragglers and getting two faction cards.  The Empire limps along with terrible dice rolls, but manages to get three cards with help from the Force Meter.  Turn 2 is much the same, except the Sith pushes the Force Meter deeper into the dark while the Hutts eliminate the few Imperial garrisons at Omwat and Arbra to take the Wild Space. 

By turn 3 the Rebels have taken the Ison Corridor, but the Hutts are able to turn in a faction card straight and capture Bespin.  In later turns, while the Empire is still weak, the Hutts run up to 7 resource planets and poise themselves for a run for victory, but they weaken the Rebels, who might also win, significantly in the process.  The Empire starts to slowly gather its strength.  Eventually, they are able to destroy a large Hutt garrison at Elom, which simultaneously denies them their sector bonus.  

The Force Meter stays pegged on the dark side.  The Rebels have a set of lousy dice rolls against the Hutts that break their momentum before they can engage the Stormtroopers.  The Hutts are looking at having to reduce several starbases before they can garner 10 resource planets.  Good Hutt cards help them resist assaults from both opponents.  The Empire simply hunkers down behind a bevvy of starbases in the Mid Rim. 

Finally, turn 7 arrives with an Imperial faction card straight (their second in a row) and they run the board on the dozen or so Rebels systems that are left.  Not needed:  their ace in the hole--a blowie-uppie card for the last Rebel outpost in the Mid Rim.  Clearly, the extra cards from the skewed Force Meter was a tremendous asset to the Empire.

Victory:  Stormtroopers. 

Hutts, Hutts, and more Hutts

After Horak the Hutt gained the coveted mirror ball trophy, it was up to Kent and Ric to win it back.  And that they did, or rather, Kent did (Oct. 30).  As the wily Hutt leader, he was able to sweep to victory.  Unfortunately, I've slept since then, so I don't remember how exactly he managed to pull it off.  I suspect he got Rebel Ric and Sith Lord Karl to go after one another, while he quietly gained strength and cards.

The week following (Nov. 5), Ric as Peetza da Hutt made an excellent run at gaining the trophy and a trifecta for the Hutt faction.  Initially, it looked like a sure thing for General Horak as his Rebels overran much of the galaxy.  But two well-placed attacks by the Death Star decimated his forces and destroyed the Rebel fleet.  That said, the Empire was not able to take out the Hutts nor finish off the Rebels.  After many, many dice rolls, a draw was declared and the Hutt trifecta averted.

Now (Nov. 13) we've had two more battles for galactic domination.  In Game #1, Sith Lord Ric was able to overcome the Rebellion in just 3 turns.  Horrendously bad dice rolls in the initial turn and poor faction cards left the Rebels vulnerable.  The Hutts never got traction and were never much of a threat.  Game Empire.

In Game #2, the same arrangement of forces led to a different outcome.  The Rebels held the advantage for most of the game, even taking out 3 starbases.  But as luck would have it, the Emperor's starbase was the last one to come out.

Meanwhile, the crafty Hutts built up a fleet and made good on mopping up the Stormtroopers in the Mid Rim before succeeding in a flanking attack against Sullust and then a breakthrough to Tattooine.  Game Hutts.

Postscript:  We've completed 242 games.  Watch this space for the big 250th Galactic Battle Celebration.

A Rare Two-fer

Two games in one night, a rarity these days.  Even more rare, I was twice the victor, once as Rebel Leader and once as Emperor.  Next week I have an opportunity to seize the coveted Trifecta crown. 

Game #1

Peetza da Hutt, true to his name, brought pizza.  Darth Kent took up the imperial reins of power leaving me, the low roller, to struggle with the disorganized Rebels.  The first Rebels assaults fared only modestly.  The Hutts fought a major engagement with the imperial forces at Hoth.  Although the Hutts came out victorious, it was a Pyrrhic victory.  The Empire made numerous counterattacks, especially against the Hutts, but this left them mostly with singletons for garrisons. 

Unbeknownst to the Rebels, the Emperor's starbase came out on turn 2.  With only light garrisons spread widely, Sith Lord Wood placed it on Elom where a few legions could protect him from the small group of Rebels on Omwat. 

That turned out to be ill-fated, because the Rebels had gained 4 faction cards... all Imperial troops must flee and a straight.  With the garrison on Elom reduced to 1 and 10 in-coming Rebel legions, the starbase was overwhelmed.  Game ova by the beginning of turn 3. 

Game #2

With such a quick end to the game, we elected to go on for a second one.  Rotating seats counterclockwise, I became the Emperor, Kent became the Hutts, and Ric moved over to the Rebels. 

Needless-to-say, this game went differently.  Rebel Leader Boom-boom got an early lead by punishing the Stormtroopers.  Typical Imperial reinforcements were only 4 or 5 troops.  Also, the Hutt concentration in the Mid Rim kept the Empire from picking off any stragglers for extra faction cards.  However, that also worked to the imperial advantage by protecting the Wild Space from invasion via Gamorr.  Meanwhile, the Death Star blocked egress at Sluis Van.  Lucky thing, too, because the Emperor's starbase came out in turn 2 again.  Safely placed on Elom, it came under no threats for the duration of the game. 

With so much Rebel attention on the Stormtroopers, the Hutts flourished.  Eventually, Ric had to turn his forces on the green hoards, who had run up to 7, then 8 resource planets.  With that distraction underway, the Sith were able to close off the Wild Space by destroying Omwat and moving the Death Star to Gamorr. 

After securing the Wild Space, the Stormtroopers advanced into the Ison Corridor and the El'Rood Sector.  Hutt attacks nearly won the game, but they fell short and overwhelming Imperial forces soon wiped out the last Rebel vestiges.  Game ova in about 9 turns. 

A Rare Two-Fer

Game #1

While the World Cup garners most of the attention, a galactic struggle goes on with few the wiser.  General Horak took on Darth Ric and Kent the Hutt with an uncharacteristic setup that left the green hoard with 7 initial resource planets.  An epic battle for Kessel weakened the Hutts at the start, but Imperial attacks on the Rebels rapidly took their toll on both sides.  Within 4 turns, the Hutts had swept to power throughout the galaxy. 

Game #2

In a fit of optimism, Ric suggested a second game, perhaps to regain lost honor from our quick failure in the previous one.  Using the same forces, we launched into another battle royale.  Again, the Rebels came out with good results from the initial attacks, but combined Hutt and Storm Trooper assaults undid the early gains. 

Fairly quickly the Empire took control of the Wild Space with the Death Star on Sullust to guard that entrance to the sector.  Subsequent battles in El'Rood led to a collapse of that sector.  With two sectors in Imperial hands, it was only a matter of time before things went badly for the Rebels despite the Force Meter being firmly in the light side.

However, the Rebels had a large concentration backed up with two squadrons of bombers.  In an effort to neutralize the expanding influence of the Empire in the Mid Rim, they attacked out of Rodia through Hutt territory towards the starbase on Kessel.  En route, the Hutts played their "Money is Power" faction card and the orders never came for the assault on Da Soocha V.  With that attack blocked, the starbase was spared an overwhelming attack.  As I suspected, the Hutts were being king-makers. 

The Storm Troopers ultimately took the Ison Corridor and with overpowering reinforcements, they were able to mop up the remaining Rebels before the Hutts could muster any sort of a response.  Victory Empire. 

The Come-back Kid Comes Back Again

General Horak started the game off with great concentrations, good positions, and excellent connectivity.  Then it got better--a tremendous run of good dice rolls pushed Darth LaBan to 15 systems.  Kent the Hutt finished the job by kicking Ric to the curb and knocking him down to 4 reinforcements. 

Despite all that initial goodness and a steadily growing fleet, Imperial stormtroopers kept multiplying, starbases were proliferating, and the force meter was darkening.  Faction cards poured in and soon Darth LaBan had the Ison Corridor. 

Meanwhile, the crafty Hutts, led by the uber-crafty Kent, were knocking off resource planets left and right.  A major assault on Mon Calamari en route to the Empire's stronghold at Kessel demolished a major Hutt concentration, but did little to slow them down.  When they hit 8, alarm bells went off in Rebel headquarters. 

I played the dreaded "Name an opponent.  Randomly remove any two of his faction cards" faction card.  Busted the winning straight. 

But Kent didn't respond by crippling the Empire.  The result was a hamstrung rebellion and, with faction cards for fleets and troops, the Darth LaBan conquered the galaxy. 

Imperial win!

Trifecta Averted, but at what cost?

Ric was off to a reasonable start as Rebel Leader, on his way to the much sought after trifecta.  But the initial cost was high.  The Hutts had managed 6 resource planets in the initial setup, but were not able to hold on to 7 when the Empire struck back at the end of turn 1. 

In turn 2 Ric swiped 2 faction cards from Kent, but still the Storm Troopers pushed the Force Meter far to the dark side.  The Hutts clambered into the bonus points and began assembling their fleet. 

Eventually, the Death Star nuked Sluis Van and then the Imperial forces were able to lock down the Wild Space with a starbase on Elom.  Twice the Hutts climbed up to 8 resource planets, only to be repulsed.  In a rare turn of events, the green hoard captured and held the Outer Rim while the Storm Troops were distracted by the rebellious forces.  Gradually the Rebels took more and more casualties.  Faction card straights didn't turn up as often as they did for the Hutts (twice) and the Sith Lord (three times). 

Despite a strong Hutt fleet, their final assault faltered at Derilyn and again at Nar Shaddar.  The Rebels made a valiant last ditch counter-attack, but it was not enough.  A final Imperial faction card straight, extra troops added to the first invasion, and Wild Space bonuses were enough to give them the victory, Kent's first in about 6 weeks. 

Kent the Hutt and General Horak Lose against Darth Ric... Again

Once again, Ric played us like violins.  Even with a devastating initial assault by the Rebels, the Sith Lord kept slapping down starbases.  Meanwhile, the Hutts burned up valuable defensive faction cards against Rebel assaults, using Money is Power (the orders never come) to thwart an attack that would have led to massive Imperial causalties and another (can't attack this system until you take another planet from another player) to prevent the capture of the Ison Corridor. 

In the third turn, the Empire directed his Death Star to destroy a huge Hutt garrison on Nar Shaddar, an important resource planet.  The Hutts never really recovered from this blow.  On the other hand, the Storm Troopers were able to successfully invade the El'Rood Sector and take out the Rebel capital ship, courtesy of an early faction card straight. 

After significant setbacks due to Hutt intransigence, the Imperial forces recovered sufficiently to chase down the last garrisons.  Only late in the game did bomber cards appear, too late for either the fleet or a faction card straight. 

Victory Empire.

February 27th

Ric played Kent and I like a violin.  As the E-vile Emperor, he endured my Rebelion's initial onslaught, beat back Kent the Hutt, and came from behind to claim victory.

But it was a close run thing.  The initial drubbing by my Rebels left the Storm Troopers weak and feckless.  The Hutts were making good gains as well.  Even with the Force Meter pushed far to the light side, the Empire kept gaining in strength.  Few Starbases fell and Duro was destroyed by the Death Star. 

In the end, Kent the Hutt had 8 resource planets and the Death Star on Nar Shaddar blocked his path to victory at Gamorr.  In a desperate bid for galactic supremacy, the Hutts attacked the Death Star and, even with the Force Meter bonus, were destroyed in vain.  With nothing else to lose, the hapless Hutts attacked again... and took out the Death Star! 

Quickly they reduced the garrison at Nar Shaddar, but the cost was too high.  Invading Gamorr, the battle see-sawed back and forth until the last Hutt faced the last Imperial legion.  Ric had the final lucky roll -- victory Empire.

A Long Overdue Imperial Victory

Sith Lord Ric, Kent the Hutt, and General Karl took to their spacecraft and launched yet another battle for galactic supremacy, fueled by Rudy's BBQ. 

 Despite my best efforts to deal a quick killing blow to the Empire, the odds weren't always in my favor.  Here's the initial setup with an enormous concentration of Rebels on Coruscant.

This set up the opening sweep through Falleen and then the remaining Mid Rim systems garrisoned only with single legions each.  Casualties were so light that the force was able to capture Gamorr from the Hutts, an unexpected bonus.  Buoyed by that success, the Rebels continued into the Wild Space and finished off the singleton Storm Troops there.  

 Unfortunately, this allowed the Hutts to counterattack and capture the Wild Space sector, something that would not be neutralized until the end of the game.  The wiley Sith was not to be counted out and on Turn 3, the Death Star struck, destroying Duro and 5 legions of the Rebellion's best troops.  The Rebels never recovered; from that turn onwards, it was a battle between Hutt and Emperor.  

The next pivotal moment of the game was when Kent the Hutt cashed in a faction card straight (7 legions) and a reinforcements card (5 legions).  He led his overwhelming forces across the Mid Rim and held 9 systems after he crushed the weakened Rebels at Ord Mandell and Yavin 4.  Only 3 Rebel squadrons on Balmorra stood in the path of a Hutt victory.  But the thin yellow line held against all the odds, costing the Hutts terribly and denying them the win.  Sith Lord Ric countered with his own faction card straight and cleared out the last pockets of Rebel resistence.  Victory, Empire. 

Resumption of Hostilities

After nearly six weeks without a battle for galactic supremacy, dice-driven hostilities resumed this week after Ko Palace take-out.  Horak the Hutt, recently returned from Planet Caledonia, faced off against Rebel Leader Ric and Sith Lord Wood.

With a strong position in the Wild Space, it wasn't surprising that the Hutts were able to control that sector by the second turn and hold on to it for the duration of the war.  The Rebels also started strong, very nearly sweeping the Outer Rim.  Faction cards let Rebel Ric push the force meter far to the light side.  However, the dice and the faction cards still favored the Storm Troopers.  Darth Kent was able to reclaim the Outer Rim from the Rebels, capture the El'Rood Sector, and even destroy the large Rebel garrison on Bespin.

Somewhere along the way, the cask-strength Campbeltown Whiskey came out.  After that, the quality of strategic thinking rapidly declined among the Hutts and Rebels. 

With the Rebels reeling from the Imperial counter-attacks and the Scotch, the Hutts reinforced their 15 legion assault force with a capital ship and struck back at the Empire, taking a round-about path through Mon Calamari all the way to Sluis Van and Sullust.  But eight resource planets were not enough.

Armed with a faction card straight and a small fleet, Darth Kent plowed through the remaining Rebels, surprising the Hutts at Yavin 4, and finished the game on Turn 5.  Victory Empire.

June 27th and the Summer Pause Begins

In a reprise of last week's roles, our intrepid trio once again struggled for galactic domination.  Horak the Hutt gained and lost an entire fleet of 3 capital ships.  Trying to be either the King Maker or the victor, he miscalculated and, instead of keeping both opponents equally weak, he injured the Rebels.
Rebel Leader LaBan Held off the Storm Troopers as long as he could, but the white tide swept over him.  The Hutts weren't able to claw their way to 10 resource planets despite high water marks of 8 and 9 systems.  In the end Sith Wood was able to claim victory. 

With Ric on travel and Karl's aunt from Wisconsin visiting next week, it may be  July 18 before conflict resumes. 

Finally, a Non-Hutt Victory

After two weeks of nonstop Hutt victories, Rebel Leader Ric and myself, Sith Lord Horak, realized that something had to change.  We did not have a specific non-aggression pact, but we did realize that the Hutts had to be the focus of our attention until they were no longer a significant threat.  The result was Kent the Hutt being bombarded turn after turn by both opposing factions. 

It wasn't until the Hutts were down to a single resource planet (and less than a handful of systems in total), that Rebels and Storm Troopers turned on each other.  Maybe if we'd had Nightlock berries, we could have had a Hunger Games finale.  As it was, the Empire's position in the Wild Space gave them an edge. Ultimately, Imperial ships, Star Bases, and a faction card flush (3 bombers) were able to put the galaxy firmly under Storm Trooper control. 
_______________
As I write this, Kent is in Tucson attending the funeral for Hank Madden, his good friend and fellow professional photographer.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Hank's family and friends during this difficult time.  The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Huntington's Disease Society of America.

Two-person SWR

With Ric da Hutt gallivanting around back East, Kent and I were left to our own meager devices.  Ultimately, we decided to try the 2-person version of galactic domination where Hutts are neutral.

We quickly realized that without the threat of Hutt offensives, we could concentrate on collecting sectors.  As Rebel Leader, I attempted to concentrate Hutts in a few useful garrisons, leaving the remaining few singletons to be snarfed up on my first turn.  That would deny the Empire any easy Hutt faction cards.

But sometimes the ol' strategy doesn't work out quite the way one planned.  Two Hutt garrisons (rolled by Sith Lord Kent) survived.  In the end, there were lots of Storm Troopers and still the Empire received a faction card for knocking off the last easy Hutts.

From there it was downhill for the Rebels.  With the Force Meter out of balance (it's initial position), the Imperial advantage in faction cards was telling.  In four turns the Rebels were eliminated.

Just for fun, we switched roles and tried again.  Even with improved use of the Hutt garrisons to frustrate our opponents, the faction card advantage quickly built up and the Rebels were again destroyed.

Note to self:  2-player Star Wars Risk needs to be reworked to provide balance.  As for now, the 3-player version is the best of the lot.

The Empire Strikes Back

In a desperate attempt at redemption by the Vermont crew, a rare Toozday evening Galactic Death Match was scheduled this week.  And like last Thursday, it was a rare 5-way event with the nephews reprising their role as Sith and Emperor while Ric and I took up the Rebel cause.  Kent performed an encore of his starring role as Wood the Hutt. 

This time around, the Rebels held the line on giving uncontested resource planets to the Hutts.  Turns out, this was a strategic error, letting the Empire get ahead on claiming the small sectors.  The initial setup had a huge buildup of White Empire vs Yellow Rebel in the Wild Space. 

The first turn went badly for the Orange Rebels and the Grey Storm Troopers were able to claim the El'Rood Sector.  When they also attacked in the Ison Corridor, the Yellow forces switched planets to forestall the attack, but instead succumbed quickly. 

The Empire soon had established an almost impenetrable blockade around the Ison Corridor, held the Wild Space behind the well-defended Hutts, and fought a see-saw battle for the El'Rood Sector. 

Eventually, faction cards and sector bonuses tipped too far in their favor and they heavily defeated the Rebels in a run by the Grey Stormtroopers.  The Hutts were unable to take advantage of the weaknesses on the available resource planets and the Empire crushed the Rebels in the end.

Two-thirds of a Trifecta

Last Thursday's galactic brouhaha went down as another Wood victory, this time as the Hutts.  With one Rebel victory and this Hutt victory, he only needs a third consecutive victory as the Empire to gain the much coveted "Trifecta" title.  There's only two little problems with that plan:  (1) Ric and (2) Karl.

The real winner of last week's match was "card lust," that insatiable desire to get that one extra faction card by knocking off a single garrison somewhere.  When it goes horribly wrong, as it did for both Rebels and Storm Troopers, the result is a long list of weak systems barely defended waiting to be picked off by anyone with any troops at all. 

Rebel Leader Horak quickly went down in flames with a long series of bad dice rolls against Hutt targets.  Soon after, Sith Lord Laban did the same.  Within 4 turns, the Hutts had amassed a critical number of resource planets, which in turn gives them a large number of faction cards.  This in turn leads to more resource planets and then more cards.  It's a positive feedback loop and it always ends poorly for two out of three players.

At least with a quick, decisive loss, I was in bed early after a long week at Sandia.  On top of that, Wood gets stuck bringing dinner for the next battle.

Back-to-back Rebel Losses

It was one of those nights for moi, aka Orange Squadron Leader Karl.  In a mercifully brief first game, the Rebels came out roaring and quickly swept up a sector and hammered a few Storm Troopers.  Despite capturing the Ison Corridor, the Empire rapidly gathered strength and inflicted damage. 

The Hutts lost their nerve and after a failed assault, didn't try any other attacks.  That left the door open for a well-timed counter-attack and the lucky reinforcement by 6 legions of his best troops.  With the Ison Corrisor lost and casualties mounting, the game soon turned in favor of the Empire.  Even after destroying the Death Star, the Empire bounced back with a providential "Build a New Death Star" card. 

After 4 rounds, the E-vile Empire routed the last few Rebel holdouts and took command of the galaxy. 

That said, we still had time for Game #2!

This time the dice rolled in favor of the Rebels but to no avail.  After pounding Storm Trooper garrisons across the Mid Rim, into the Core Worlds, and even the Wild Spaces, the Hutts responded dramatically.  With a well-timed faction card giving him 6 extra legions, it was just a matter of sweeping up all the lowly single-legion garrisons on resource planets.  Ric da Hutt had a victory in 1.7 turns.

Thank goodness for single malt scotch and pizza or the evening would have been a total loss.

Almost a Quadfecta

We thought the Dice Gods were not going to allow Darth Wood or Kent the Hutt to win four in a row.  It wouldn't be natural.  Little did we know, it was the Faction Card Gods that did him in. 

The setup was fairly standard and the game started well enough.  Deputy Rebel Leader Karl made an early strike on the Ison Corridor, capturing it for a single turn.  Sith Lord LaBan then successfully counter-attacked, but the Rebels denied him the sector troop bonus.  Eventually even the Hutts got in on the Ison action and captured Bespin, before the Rebels recaptured the system. 

Along the way, the Empire briefly held the entire Outer Rim and laid the foundation for fortifying the Wild Space.  Large battles took place for Balmorra, Duro, Kessel, and Ord Mandel.  At times the Hutts swelled to 7 and 8 resource planets, looking dangerously like they were going to make it a quadfecta.  Imperial assaults on the Rebels badly damaged the prospects for a free galaxy, but at the same time gave the Hutts much needed breathing space to launch their own attacks into the Core Worlds. 

As the climax neared with the Rebels nearly crushed, the Empire failed finish off the bomber group at Rodia.  This gave the Hutts one last chance to make a grab for ten resource planets.  But Rebel faction cards (+2 to all dice and place all dice on their highest value) denied him his goal.  The greedy Empire finally destroyed the last Rebel remnants the next turn.