Star Wars Escape From Death Star Game

A long time ago, in 1977….

Today I’m taking a look at a classic game that I completely forgot about until my sister purchased the re-released version of it for myself and my son. I have fond memories of playing the original 1977 version of the Star Wars: Escape From Death Star board game. I was very young whenever the first Star Wars film was released, but when I was old enough to understand the rules, I played this game frequently. With a new edition of the game in hand, my son has quickly fallen in love with it as well.

The new edition of the game was released in 2018 and it plays exactly like the original game. The premise is simple: Move Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and Luke from the trash compactor in the Death Star to the Millennium Falcon and then make the jump to Hyperspace to make it to the Rebel Base. That sounds easy enough, but just like in the film, you have to complete a couple of tasks before you can escape.

You begin in the Trash Compactor and have to navigate both of your tokens over the board by spinning the R2-D2 spinner. You can move forward, backward, or sideways (when moving sideways is possible) and have to collect the Death Star Blueprints and disable the Tractor Beam. Along the way you will encounter blue Force Card circles where you have to draw a card that determines what happens next. Sometimes the Force is with you and other times you can be penalized. Pick the right cards and you can quickly move across the board. Choose a negative card and you just might end up in the Detention Block!

After you successfully disable the Tractor Beam and have the blueprints for the Death Star in hand, you have to make your way to the Millennium Falcon. Once you arrive there, you spin on each turn and try to get to the Rebel Base. You have two options to choose from when it comes to reaching the base. You can take the easy route and move across blank spaces or choose spaces that have TIE Fighters on them. If you choose to face off against the TIE Fighters, you have to spin to see if you win or lose the dogfight. If you win each time, you can successfully reach the Rebel Base in one turn. Lose and you might give your opponent to catch up with you.

The gameplay can be swift or slow depending upon which Force Cards are drawn and how well players can maneuver across the board. You can also easily lose a big lead or catch up from way behind, so no clear winner can be determined early in the game. This makes strategy and luck two key components to succeeding at this game.

You can actually purchase the original vintage version of this game on the web for an average of around twenty bucks. The major selling point for the new version is the addition of a Retro Collection Grand Moff Tarkin action figure. The figure looks cool and I love the “worn” look of the cardback.

I do recommend checking out this game, especially if you have kids in your house. Not only is this game fun, it’s unpredictable nature levels the playing field for all ages. If you grew up with the original game like I did, it’s fun to introduce a new generation to this classic game.

Thanks for reading my post. Another one will be coming soon!