Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Roleplaying Game

As you no doubt have heard, Fantasy Flight Games recently released a Beta version of their new roleplaying game 'Edge of the Empire'. The Star Wars fansite I write for, www.jedinews.co.uk, got hold of a copy for me at Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando, Florida and I'm happy to report that it's a very, very good game.

My full review will appear on Jedi News in the near future but I'll let you know a few things here. Yes, it uses custom dice, but there's a sticker sheet in the back you can use to put over the numbers on your existing polyhedrals, as well as a handy chart to interpret the numbers should you forget said dice. It uses a dice pool system and the symbols represent successes and failures, and a few other things in between. It does cover the Force - it's only a snippet but enough to give you taster of what's to come, and enough to use in a game. The layout is very pretty and the production values excellent even though it's just a Beta, but this is what we've come to expect from a Fantasy Flight Games product. The system itself is quick and once you get used to the symbols on the dice it's pretty easy.

As with all new games there's a learning curve, especially with one that uses it's own symbols on a die, but all in all it's pretty easy to get into and exceptionally good fun. Fantasy Flight Games have also opened up discussions on their website for playtesters to share their experiences, ideas and gripes, which is all part of a Beta test.

There's plenty more I want to talk about but that will have to wait for my review on Jedi News. But thumbs up, FFG - I'm really looking forward to seeing the final product next year.