Outer Rim hasn’t seen the light of day since I reviewed it last July. I found it only played well at 3 or 4-players and the Solo mode was dull at best. The miniscule decks made repetitive play, well, repetitive, as you recycled through the cards time and again.
BGG users were quick to point out that someone had put together some modified AI decks for each character and that these transformed the solo game into something worth playing.
That’s all well and good, but when writing a review I have to comment on how the game plays straight out of the box, for good or bad, as not everyone wants to be chasing down a set of rules to make the game work. For me, if it says it has a solo mode then it should be of a certain standard, otherwise don’t bother including it.
I thought the game was desperately in need of an expansion or two, and I still do. The deck sizes are woefully small, and you’ll see the same things coming back round even during the course of a single game. Unfortunately, as I write, there has been no announcement from Fantasy Flight Games regarding an expansion; one wonders if it’s dead in the water?
All that said, my attention has once again been drawn to this game – I’ve now got Disney+!
Never was I a Star Wars fan, having only ever watched the original three movies, but now that’s changed and having watched every movie and the Mandalorian series I can now claim to be a fan.
This has led me to look at the game differently, though I’ve yet to get it back to the table. I want to play the game having learnt more about the characters and the world they inhabit – it may make me see things in a different light. It may be that this is a game purely for Star Wars fans, those who can see past the rather dull pick up and deliver theme and immerse themselves in the theme, which, to be honest, I found to be one of the strongest parts of the game.
The other bonus is that my daughter has also watched everything there is and she now places Star Wars above Harry Potter, something I never dreamed I’d hear her say, and is hankering to play all my SW games including Outer Rim.
So, whilst I stand by everything I said in my review, watch this space, as sometime soon I’ll be playing it, only this time as Star Wars geek!
Knowing what I know now, would I still have bought it? Nope. I don’t think it has depth in it’s current form and is crying out for an expansion or two. I also found it repetitive and playing solo a little too easy!
Will it remain in my collection? I want to see if it’s more fun now that I’ve caught up on all the films and the Mandalorian, which have converted me to being a Star Wars fan (after all those years!). I’m also interested in getting my daughter to play and see what she thinks, as she’s become a big SW fan.
One Year On – Hasn’t hit the table since; still crying out for an expansion and though there’s a viable alternative on BGG, the solo experience straight out of the box is pretty pants. I’ll add an update when I’ve played it again with my newfound fandom, so keep checking in.
The Solo Meeple 
Some games are going to be better than others I suppose! 🙂 At least you’ve given it its chance! If you’ve newly come back to Star Wars, you can add a lot more to it by watching the Star Wars – Rebels and Clone Wars animated series, which I really liked (I’ve still to catch up with The Mandalorian)! And I pick up Star Wars graphic novel collections from my Kindle Unlimited subscription and enjoy them! No wonder I’m not getting anything painted!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the recommendation, John, I’ll be sure to check out the animated series’ – you gotta watch the Mandalorian, excellent stuff.
Yeah, I’m not getting much done either, too many distractions now the sun is out – in other words, she who must be obeyed wants the garden done, lol!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So did you give this another play yet? Has your daughter played it? Now that an expansion has been announced, will you get it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes I played it with Yasmin. She quite enjoyed it but I hit reoccurring issues – I won easily just by going back and fore delivering cargo, I think the game really needs 4-players to mix things up a bit, but then you go through the decks quite quickly.
It’s a game that has so much potential, but for me, just falls short.
As Yas likes it, I may get the expansion, I think it will make it a better game, but there’s so many other things we/I want it could be hard to justify it.
LikeLike