The Battle of Hoth

I saw this game at last year's MillenniumCon, but I didn't get an opportunity to play in it at the time.  So when Coach said he and his son were bringing the game here, I was excited, especially since they're retiring it to run other scenarios.  The setup is pretty huge: three 6x3 boards, plus additional scenery, as well as the various vehicles, including walkers and spaceships.

There were only four players--me, Der Kommandant, and the Coach and his son.  The board included some great details, like the Rebel command center--complete with working viewscreen (actually an old phone playing a clip of a Star Wars videogame taken from Youtube).

Just like in The Empire Strikes Back, the Rebels in this game were outgunned on the snowfields of Hoth.  Most of the figures, including the AT-ATs and gun turrets, came from the Star Wars minis game.

The Alliance spacecraft included AMC kits (the Millennium Falcon and Luke's X-wing) and an old Kenner action figure storage case (the transport).

True to life (or the movie, at any rate), the Imperial forces made short work of Alliance defenses.  My crappy activation rolls on behalf of the Rebels didn't help.  These figures drew several onlookers into the room, attendees at a charity function taking place across the hall.

The walkers needed to get close to knock out the shield generator.  The poor Rebels in the trenches weren't able to slow them down.

Meanwhile, Han and Chewie were having trouble getting the Falcon flightworthy.  Note the lighting in the hangar.  They had the entire setup wired for lights.

Maybe the snowspeeders, led by Luke and Wedge, could hold back the Imperials for a while.

No such luck.  An AT-AT took out the generator, collapsing the tunnel leading to the transport (and incidentally leaving Threepio and Artoo and the medical droid buried under tons of ice).  Fortunately, Leia and the general  made it out ahead of the blockage.

The Force was not with Luke (in the speeder at left), who took an Imperial blaster, and crashed off-board and out of the game.  Wedge died when his speeder was destroyed by another walker.

Imperial troops have entered the base! Imperia*******

Darth Vader and his elite snowtroopers headed toward the Falcon, which still hadn't been fixed.  Chewie was shot as he finished the last repair, allowing Han to escape.

Overall, it was a big victory for the Empire.  The Rebels lost five heroes, while the Imperials achieved most of their objectives.  However, in my script, Luke wanders back to the base after the battle, digs out the droids, and gets the medbot to revive Chewbacca.  So there.  :)

My thanks to Coach Kropp and his son for running this game, and Der Kommandant for playing in it.  See y'all at MillCon!