Star Wars : Imperial Assault ( Fantasy Flight Games ) Star Wars : Imperial Assault is an asymmetrical campaign - based and head - to - head skirmish board game produced by Fantasy Flight Games and released on December 15 , 2014 . The campaign game can be played by two - to - five players and features one player as the Imperial force , while up to four other players control unique Rebel heroes . Both sides will progress over the course of many missions and play sessions . Skirmish mode is playable for two players , typically with one playing as the Imperial forces and one as the Rebel forces , but same - team matchups are possible . Teams for skirmish are constructed ahead of time , similar to the " " , and each session is self - contained . In addition to the core game , two expansion packs are included in the main box : the Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader Ally and Villain Packs . Each of these expansion pack adds skirmish and / or campaign missions , as well as new 28mm miniatures and cards . More ally expansion packs are available as separate purchases . Many online board game reviewers , such as Tom Vasel of the Dice Tower series , have described the game mechanics as being " very similar to Descent " and praised the Star Wars flavor . Campaign game . Overview . The campaign game is an asymmetrical experience for 2 to 5 players . One player takes on the role of the Empire , summoning in troops and deploying disposable forces to take on the rebels . Any other players control a Rebel character , unique to this game . Over the course of many missions , both sides will be able to upgrade themselves . This style of play is similar to many roleplaying games , where one player takes on the role of a Game Master ( the Empire ) . However , there is no self - created storytelling in Imperial Assault so it is more of a tactical skirmish game with a sense of progression . Rebel Gameplay . Rebels take turns having activations . During an activation , a Rebel gets to take two actions . Actions can be moves , attacks , rests , or other special interactions . Rebels are given a goal to accomplish at the start of each mission , such as destroy terminals , escape with information , or defend for a time limit . The knowledge available to Rebels is limited to create a sense of story for the players and provide the Empire with some advantage . Empire Gameplay . The round to round gameplay of the Empire is very similar to the Rebels , with the player deploying sets of figures and each figure receiving two actions . However , the Imperial player is allowed more behind the scenes knowledge . When Rebels trigger certain events such as opening doors or interacting with terminals , the Imperial player gets to reinforce with new troops or in some cases decide what negative effect hinders the Rebels . At the end of each round of gameplay , the Imperial player gets to summon in new troops by spending an accumulating resource known as " threat . " The goal for the Empire is most often to defeat heroes , or to stall the heroes for a certain number of rounds . Progression . Three resources contribute to the sense of progression between missions . Both the Empire and Rebel players will receive XP for completing missions . Beyond that , Rebel players will receive Credits and the Imperial player will receive Influence . While all three are awarded after every mission , the rewards for the side that reached their goal in the mission will receive more numerous rewards . Players may also receive Reward cards for specific mission victories . XP . Each Rebel hero has a class deck , with skill cards ranging in cost from 1 XP to 4 XP . After each mission , the Rebel player may pay to permanently purchase as many of these skill cards as he would like and can afford . The Imperial player chooses a set of Class cards before any mission begins . After each mission , he can use his XP to purchase from this set of cards in the same way that Rebels can purchase cards for their heroes . Credits . Each Rebel hero will earn the team 100 credits for each mission , and possibly more depending on their actions in the mission . This money goes to a group pool . The Rebels then draw items from the Tier the mission is ( 1 to 3 ) and decide together what to purchase . These are generally new weapons and items . Influence . After a mission , the Imperial player draws four cards from an Agenda deck that was constructed before the Campaign began . The Imperial player can then choose to purchase any of these he would like . Many of these cards are secret , and many provide only one time abilities . These add to the sense of overwhelming power and secrecy that is unique to the Imperial side . Products . " Ally " and " Villain Packs " . Fantasy Flight has designed expansions with content which can be used in both the campaign and skirmish game modes of the base set . Ally and Villain Packs are each designed with either the rebel players or Imperial player in mind . Each Ally and Villain Pack includes plastic figures to replace the printed tokens which were included in the Core Set , new missions , and new cards . Larger expansions are also planned and will include several new figures , new map tiles , new missions , and more .