Rules for Playing Star Wars PocketModels as a Minis Game, 3rd Edition

Updated by Mike OConnell, from the PDF by Mike Fischer, in turn adapted from Ryan Morgans posting on boardgamegeek.com

May 16, 2011

Goal Highest score wins. The game ends as soon as any player is eliminated. A player is out when they have no [non-reserve] units on the board (or) their base has been destroyed. {Alternatively: The winner is the last remaining player} Scoring: (If playing for Highest score wins) Each player scores 1 point for each unit of damage he/she causes; points equal to a units stars for destroying that unit; and 5 points for eliminating a player. Players should keep track of their own scores. Basics Use a unit card to measure S (short edge) and L (long edge) distances. All arcs are 90, which you measure with the corners of the card. All dice are d6es. Icons on unit bases modify what those units can do (or what can happen to them). A reduction on Damage never makes it 0 unless it would have been 0 anyway. Set-Up Agree to battle in Space (all Space units) or on the Ground (Ground units, TIE Bombers, Space units with the Transport icon, and units which can Convert between space and ground). {Note: To fight two battles simultaneously in Space and on the Ground, see the optional rules} Each player places a home base (three game cards in a long row) in front of him/herself. The cards do nothing; use any cards you like. Each base should be at least two feet (0.6 m) and not more than four feet (1.2 m) from any other player's base. Place 20 stars worth of units with their bases touching your home base, and 10 stars worth of units in reserve (on your base). Units with the Convert icon use the higher of their two star values for fleet building purposes; units with the Veteran icon use the non-Veteran star value. Any given player can use three of each unique unit, except for units with a persons name (including XX Leader, such as Storm Leader) each player can only have one unit in the game per named person. For example, any given player could field one of Luke Skywalkers Snowspeeder or one of Luke Skywalkers X-34 Landspeeder, but not both. Game Play (after setup) Each turn has four phases: 1) Reserves [skip on the 1st turn!]; 2) Movement; 3) Fire/Strike; 4) End of Turn 1) Reserves: One player rolls a die; if 1-4 comes up, each player in the game may bring in units from reserves whose total stars add up to that die roll or less. If the roll is exactly a 5, each player in the game may bring in a single 5 star unit from reserves (but not a smaller unit, nor a combination of units whose stars add up to or less than 5). If the roll is a 6, nothing happens. Units brought in from reserves start with their bases touching your home base. Icons that are used in the Reserves phase: 2) Movement: Players roll two dice for initiative. The player with the lowest total roll moves all of their 5 star units. Play proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player moving all of their 5 star units. The last player to move their 5 star units becomes the first player to move all of their 4 star units (and immediately does so), and so forth. After all 4 star units are moved, players move all 3 star units; then after all 3 star units have been moved, players move half (rounded down) of their 2 star units; then the rest of their 2 star units; then half (rounded down) of their 1 star units, then finally the rest of their 1 star units. In each cycle, the last player to move their units in that cycle also immediately moves all their units in the next cycle. If a player has no units to move in a given cycle (e.g., they have no 4 star units; or they only have a single 2 star unit, so half-rounded-down is zero), they pass that cycle. Unit movement is described as one or more segments of S and/or L. Each move segment is first a turn of up to 90 (pivot the unit around its center) followed by a straight-line movement up to the distance indicated. Space units can move through (over or under) other Space units that have more stars than their own. During Ground combat, Space units can also move through (over) Ground units. Units can opt to not turn and/or not move in each segment. Movement Each unit gets a movement rate that is determined by its type and its stars. Space units with hexagonal bases are Starfighters or Interceptors (exceptions noted below); they get S+S+S o Exception #1: Starfighter/bombers B-Wings and Y-Wings get L+L o Exception #2: Heavy starfighter/bombers ARC-170s and TIE Bombers get S+L Other Space units get S+S if 1-3 stars, L if 4-5 stars Ground units which are speeders, bikes or gunships get S+L if 1-2 stars, S+S if 3+ stars Ground units that move on wheels or tracks or hover get S+S if 1-2 stars; L if 3+ stars Ground units that move on legs get L if 1-2 stars, S if 3+ stars Icons that are used in the Movement phase:

3) Fire/Strike: Each player fires with every unit capable of hitting an enemy unit; shoot in any order. An intermediate unit between a firing unit and a potential target blocks line-of-sight unless the intermediate unit has fewer stars than the firing unit. Do not remove destroyed units until the end of the Fire/Strike phase, after all units have fired (i.e., all fire is simultaneous). When a unit is firing, declare which target it is aiming at. Roll two six-sided dice and add them up; this is your base roll. If your base roll result is a 12, a hit is automatically scored. Otherwise, add your units Attack value. If the result is equal to or greater than the Defense value of the target, a hit is scored. When a unit is hit, assign a number of damage counters to it equal to the Damage value of the unit that hit it. A unit is destroyed if it receives damage equal to its Shields value +1. At the end of the Fire/Strike phase, all destroyed units are placed in reserve (i.e., on their controllers bases) with damage counters removed. Space combat special cases: In Space combat, Starfighter/bombers (B-Wings and Y-Wings) get +1 to their Attack values; Heavy starfighter/bombers (ARC-170s and TIE Bombers) get +1 to their Shields value. Note that TIE Bombers do not get this bonus in Ground combat. Ground combat special cases: Units that move on wheels or tracks or hover and which are not speeders, bikes or gunships get +1 to their Attack values; units that move on legs get +1 to their Shields value. Strike: If a unit fires on an enemy home base, this is called a strike. Each of the three cards in a base is considered a Ground unit with 3 stars (for icon-ability purposes only), a Defense of 9, and Shields of 2. An attackers Damage is divided by 2 and rounded down when striking, never less than 1 even if Damage is normally 0. When a card is destroyed according to the usual firing rules, remove it permanently from the game. A player whose base is completely destroyed is out of the battle. Fire Range Determine a unit's Fire range by its stars: A 1 star unit may fire at a target up to S away A 2 star unit may fire L A 3 star unit may fire S+S o A 3 star unit without a hexagonal base may instead fire in any direction at a target within S at -1 on Damage A 4 star unit may fire S+L, and a second time at a different target within S at -1 on Damage A 5 star unit may fire S+S+S, and a second time at a different target within L at -1 on Damage All space units of 1-3 stars, and all ground units, have a 90 arc of fire measured from the units front. Space units of 4-5 stars can fire in any direction. A 4 star ground units second shot can be in any direction. Icons that are used in the Fire/Strike phase: 4) End of Turn If a player has no active units on the board (i.e., all their units are in reserve), or if their base is destroyed, they are out of the game. Surviving players can activate End-of-Turn icon abilities such as Droid, Airborne and Veteran. Icons that are used in the End of Turn phase:

Example movement cycle charts (where Player A rolled lowest initiative)

2-player game: Player A moves
All 5 star units All 5 star and all 4 star units All 4 star and all 3 star All 3 star and half of 2 star All 2 star Rest of 2 star and half 1 star All 1 star Rest of 1 star Rest of 2s Rest of 2s, of 1s of 1s All 1s Rest of 1s Rest of 1s All 3s, of 2s of 2s All 2s All 4s All 4s, all 3s All 3s

3-player game: Player B moves Player A

All 5s All 5s All 5s, all 4s

Player B

Player C

Optional Rules
Simultaneous space and ground combat: There are three options for doing Space+Ground combat. Using a single playing field Set up mixed forces of Space and Ground units on the same combat field. Space units cannot shoot at Ground units and vice-versa, except Space units with Transport icons can shoot at (and be shot by) Ground units. Using two fields with linked objectives Set up two parallel playing fields, one for Space and one for Ground, with the players bases in roughly the same positions on both fields. The base cards for a given player on both fields represent a single base that can be attacked from either Space or the Ground. That is, when one of a players home base cards is damaged, mark the damage on both the struck card and the corresponding card on the other field; and when one of a players home base cards is destroyed, remove the corresponding card from the other field as well. Place starting Space and Ground units in or touching the appropriate Space or Ground base. Space units that are legal for Ground combat (TIE Bombers, units with Transport icons, and units which can Convert between Space and Ground) can be started on either base. Alternate full turns between Space and Ground fields. During the Movement phase for a given field, Space units on that field can transition to the other field so long as two conditions are met: (a) the unit is legal for Ground combat, and (b) the units base is touching that players home base. That unit will appear on the other field during the End of Turn phase of the next turn; place it so that its base touches that players home base. Using two fields with distinct objectives TODO Using Combat and Objective cards: TODO More balanced sides: Rare units are on average more powerful than Uncommon units with the same number of stars, which in turn are on average more powerful than Common units. One option is to limit how many stars of Rare and Uncommon units each player can use. For example, declare that each player can use no more than 5 stars of Rare units and no more than 10 stars of Uncommon units.

Unit Icons and Abilities Phase Ability Icon Name Droid Laser Leader Torpedo Trooper Carrier Turbolaser Battledroid Blaster Transport Armor Airborne Elite Ruthless Veteran Command Dogfight Convert Recon Artillery Cloak
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E F * F

This unit may remove one damage marker during the End of Turn phase if a die roll comes up 4-6. Note that if the unit was destroyed during Fire/Strike, it cant use this ability. This unit may add +S to its attack range for one attack per turn. When the added range is used, the units Attack value gets -1. Once per turn, one friendly unit within S of this unit (but not this unit) may reroll one die/dice roll. This unit inflicts +1 Damage against units with more stars than itself. When bringing in reserves (including via Transport and Carrier icons), you may exceed the number of You may give up this unit's move to try to bring Space units from reserves into the battle, touching this unit. Roll a die; on 1-2, bring in 1 stars worth of units; on 3-4, 2 stars worth (1 if the Carrier has 12 stars); 5-6, bring in nothing (not even units with Trooper icons). This unit inflicts +1 Damage against units with 4-5 stars. Ground units with this icon also get +1 Damage against 3-star ground units. A player using units with this icon may pass on the move of some or all of them, and then move all of the passed units at once at any time in the Movement phase when he/she can move another Battledroid unit. Add +1 to this unit's Damage if the attack range was within S. You may give up this unit's move to try to bring Ground units from reserves into the battle, touching this unit. Roll a die; on 1-2, bring in 1 stars worth of units; on 3-4, 2 stars worth (1 if the Transport has 1-2 stars); 5-6, bring in nothing (not even units with Trooper icons). This unit subtracts 1 damage from each hit received. If this unit is in reserve, then during the End of Turn phase, roll a die; on a 5-6, this unit may be placed within L of any friendly unit of the same type (Space or Ground). Once per turn, this unit may reroll a missed attack roll if either die came up 1. This unit does not have to declare its targets in advance. Roll attack dice first, then declare which target is being shot at. Target must still be a legal target (i.e., within firing arc and within range). This unit starts in non-Veteran state. If this unit destroys a unit that has the same or more build stars, upgrade it to Veteran state (flip its base and use the values printed there). It reverts to nonVeteran state in reserves if destroyed. Once per turn, for the purposes of when to declare movement, one friendly unit within L (but not this unit) can declare movement in a Movement cycle as if it had one fewer stars than it actually has. The number of segments and the length of the segments it can move do not change. This unit can turn more than 90, and gets a free turn at the end of the Movement phase. Once per turn, this unit can change from a Space unit to a Ground unit, or vice-versa. It cannot move or attack on the turn it converts. It can enter the battle in either state. This unit gets +1 to its Defense against units with 3-5 stars. This unit has an attack range of L+L+L and damage of (Artillery icons x2) if it does not move in this This unit must enter the battle Uncloaked. Once per turn, it can give up its move to change from Cloaked to Uncloaked, or vice-versa. It cannot attack or use any other icon abilities while Cloaked. Once per turn, if a unit with a person's name (including XX Leader, e.g. Storm Leader) destroys something, that named unit may make a second attack against another target, which you do not have to declare in advance.

R,M allowed stars by 1 if at least one of the units brought in has a Trooper icon. M F M F M F E F F E M M M F

M+F turn. Artillery units cannot target Space units. M F

Named unit