Star Wars: Battle of Hoth

• Designers:  Richard Borg, Adrien Martinot
• Publisher: Days of Wonder
• Players: 2-4
• Age: 8+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Amazon affiliate link: 
• Played with a review copy provided by publisher

Star Wars: Battle of Hoth is a game of heroic and fast-paced battles of miniatures that’s set on the ice planet Hoth and reenacts one of the most famous scenes of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  Using the popular Command and Colors system, players take turns choosing command cards each turn to activate units and decide how to move and attack, across seventeen scenarios included in the box.  For a deeper gaming experience, players have the option to add leader cards to their battle for support from six iconic Star Wars characters, or they try the two multi-scenario campaigns in which successes and failures shape the next battles.

The game comes with a double sided board and all the bits for the two opposing sides – dark grey for the Empire and light gray for the Rebels.   Before playing, agree upon a scenario to play – and then set up the board accordingly by adding terrain tiles and placing units in their designated starting positions.  Each unit has its own battalion/group size – i.e. 1 AT-AT is a group while 4 snowtrooper infantry figures together are a group.  Each faction should sit on one side of the board.

Each player gets a deck of 16 standard command cards.  If you choose to play with Leaders (and I highly recommend this), take a Leader card and add the 3 corresponding Leader command cards to your deck.  Shuffle the deck and draw your starting hand.  (If playing with teams, randomly split the base deck of command cards to give each player their own deck and then each adds in their own leader cards).

Games are played in turns until one side has achieved the requisite number of VPs (different by scenario).  Each time you destroy all the figures in an enemy unit, your side scores 1VP.  Additionally, many scenarios offer VPs for controlling particular hexes on the board or achieving other mission specific milestones.  There is a medal track in the lower left corner of the board to track the VPs.

Play alternates back and forth.  On each turn, there are 5 phases

1] Play a command card – choose a card from your hand, and play it face up on the table.  This could be a section card that allows you to order units in a particular region of the board (left, center or right).  Tactic cards specific movements or attacks as written on the card.

2] Issue Orders – based on the card you played, announce which units on the board will receive those orders.  A unit can only be given one order per turn.  If there are no matching units to what is on the card, simply discard the card and nothing happens.

3] Move – any unit which is receiving orders this turn may optionally move.  Ordered units can move in any order, but one unit must complete its entire movement before another unit can move. Each unit has their own movement rules and maximum travel.  Two units cannot occupy the same space.  Also, figures within a unit must always stay together.  Be sure to calculate the appropriate modifiers for terrain.

4] Attack – again, in any order, units can attack the enemy as long as they are in range and there is a clear line of sight.  To do this, the unit will roll dice – dependent on the type of attacking unit, the range to the enemy, as well as any modifications due to terrain.  Interestingly, the number of figures in the attacking unit do not affect the dice rolled; a unit will always roll the full complement of dice.  The attacking unit scores 1 hit for each rolled symbol that matches the defender’s unit type. If a retreat symbol is rolled, the defending unit must move back towards his side of the board after the attack. 

5] Draw a new command card from your deck.

The other side now takes a turn.  If you are playing in a team game, alternate players:  Rebel A -> Empire A -> Rebel B -> Empire B -> …

Continue playing until one side has reached the number of medals required to win.  In some scenarios, there are also some unique instant win/loss criteria which obviously also end the game if achieved. 

Once you are familiar with the basic game, you can play through the rest of the scenarios – there are 18 included in the rulebook.  Furthermore, there is an online community where you can create and share your own scenarios – so the number of possibilities is nearly unlimited.  

You can also move on to the campaign books – where you fight a series of battles, and the results of the previous battle change the way the future battles are fought.  I have yet to try this mode, but it certainly looks interesting!

My thoughts on the game

I’ve never been a gung-ho fan of Memoir ’44 or Command and Colors mostly because the whole idea of wargames has never been my thing.  That’s not to say that I haven’t played all of them nor that I have not enjoyed them when playing them, but they’ve never become staples in my game collection. The acclaimed game system has come back in 2025 with a Star Wars theme, and now, I’m much more interested.

I got a chance to play an advanced prototype back in April 2024, and honestly, I’ve been awaiting the finished version of this ever since.  The thematic change seems to make a big difference to me – I don’t mind the battles between these two fictional forces quite as much as the Axis and Allies…  

Though it’s been a good while since I’ve played Memoir ’44, the system is so simple that it came back to me fairly quickly.  The rules are clear and easy to teach, and the rest of my group were novices – and we all were fully into the fight within a few turns.  The use of the cards to give orders is really ingenious and so intuitive.  

For me, Battle of Hoth is more my style because it feels less like a tactical chess match and more like a brawl.  Sure, you still have to come up with a strategic plan and pull it off, but there is so much less setup.  The small confines of the board keep everyone close to each other and makes the fighting fast and furious.

I love the additional strategy that the Leaders bring to the game.  Each side has three different leaders to choose from, and each has its own set of three cards that you can really shape your strategy around.  You can play without them, but I don’t see why anyone would want to.

I’ve mostly played the game in team format (4 players, 2v2) and the way that the deck is randomly split up also leads to some interesting tactical play – you’ll have to spend your first pass through the deck figuring out what cards you have to play with, and then planning on the combos that you can make from that subset of cards.  (Though, some games barely make it through the deck to a shuffle!)

The addition of the campaigns is a neat feature, and one that I do not remember from previous versions of the series (but again, I’m a relative neophyte).  It is definitely an interesting way to approach the game, and it adds a bit of depth to a recurring series of fights.

Once I return home from Gen Con, I suspect this one will hit the table a bit more – but I’m glad to have had a chance to play it before the convention.  I’m sure that the lines will be long to demo and buy this.  As far as I can tell, it was available for a short pre-order window prior to Gen Con and there are some limited numbers for sale.  Otherwise, I believe this should hit the street late August.

If you’re a fan of the series, this is a great addition with a sci-fi flair.  If you’re new to these light wargames, this is an excellent introduction as the rules are straightforward and the game length is short.  As far as these tactical battle games go, this is the one I’m most likely to turn to if asked.

Until your next appointment,

The Gaming Doctor