Friday March 8th 2024 is the release date for Star Wars Unlimited – a new collectible card game based in the Star Wars Universe by Fantasy Flight Games. This marks FFG’s third dive into Star Wars Card games. Their first attempt was Star Wars: The Card Game; a Living Card Game that didn’t quite have the longevity that fans wanted and ended support with it’s final World Championship Tournament in 2018.
That paved the way for Star Wars Destiny – which broke the format up a bit to see a more traditional “Collectible Card Game” format, but added dice – a single die to each booster. This game was cancelled in 2020, and left many fans swearing that they would never support another FFG game again.
But now Star Wars Unlimited is coming out and it has some fans asking how it will be different this time? Will this game survive for only a few years or will it last like powerhouse card games like Pokémon and Magic the Gathering? With the recent initial success of Disney Lorcana – it seems that CCG’s are on a relative “high” right now – seeing a wave of success. But will the crowded market leave enough room for Star Wars Unlimited to grow? And will the fan base be willing to give FFG yet another chance?
I gave them a chance by attending a pre-release event last week and honestly – I had a pretty good time. The card art isn’t my favorite, but the game played smooth and simple, while having a good depth of interactions and strategy. I think it’s got some promise, but in reality only time will tell.
One thing that makes this game different is the inclusion of multiplayer functionality from the beginning. The “Twin Suns” Format is a singleton format that grants each player a second leader, and has a few extra “claim” options for ending each round, but is still very similar to the normal ruleset. I think a casual approach to a game like this is the right approach and I’m looking forward to trying the multiplayer variant with friends!