In 2019, a different type of tabletop game set in the Star Wars universe arrived on the scene. There were no Jedis or Sith, and not a lightsaber anywhere. Instead, Star Wars: Outer Rim let players take on the roles of different characters trying to make a living at the edges of the galaxy. You could play as Han Solo and smuggle your way to victory, take on jobs and schemes as Lando Calrissian, or hunt for bounties as Boba Fett. Each player also had a ship in which they travelled the hyperspace lanes from system to system. GeekDad even did a review of Star Wars: Outer Rim back when it was released.
What Is Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business?
Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business is an expansion for the tabletop game Star Wars: Outer Rim. The game is for 1-4 players, ages 14 and up, and takes about 120 minutes to play. It’s currently available at your FLGS or through online retailers such as Amazon, with a suggested retail price of $44.99 for a copy of the expansion. The base game of Star Wars: Outer Rim is required to play Unfinished Business.
Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business was designed by Tony Fanchi and Corey Konieczka and published by Fantasy Flight Games, with graphic design by Michael Silsby.
Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business Components
Here is what you get in the box:
- 6 Ship sheets
- 8 Character cards
- 8 Character Standees with plastic stands
- 8 Ambition sheets
- 2 Core Worlds end caps
- 11 Orange Contact tokens
- 4 Debt tokens
- 3 Dice
- 45 Market cards
- 91 Encounter cards
- 52 Databank cards
- 21 AI cards
- 4 Reference cards
- 4 Damage tokens
- 12 Goal tokens
- 1 Rulebook
Six new ships are added to the game including the Jumpmaster 5000 which can be upgraded to Dengar’s Punishing One, a Rogue class Porax-38 starfighter which can upgrade to Cad Bane’s Xanadu Blood, and a VCX-100 light freighter which upgrades to the Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels. Several of these ships go along with the new playable characters.
Along with new ships are eight new playable characters. Each of these were already in the game as contacts or crew, but could not be played individually. Each character includes a character card and standee. The new additions to the game are Black Krrsantan, Cad Bane, Chewbacca, Dengar, Enfys Nest, Hera Syndulla, Hondo Ohnaka, and Maz Kananta. Some of these characters have interesting abilities. For example, Cad Bane starts off with 2 Fame, but gains 1 less Fame each time he gains fame. He does get 5,000 more credits instead and can then spend credits to purchase fame.
Ambition is one of the new additions to the game and is an optional rule. At the start of a game, players can select from 8 Ambition sheets. They must then compete their ambition requirements as well as gain the required amount of fame in order to win the game. You can choose to become a Crime Lord, a Galactic Explorer, a Hero of the Rebellion, a Renowned Smuggler, or other titles. Each sheet lists setup instructions of what the player gets at the start, an overview of the goal, abilities the player may get due to the ambition, goals that must be met and the final goal for winning the game. For example, if you were to pick Renowned Smuggler, you start out with 4,000 credits and an Improved Nav Computer mod. You must deliver 3 illegal cargos and fly through the Maelstrom while also having a ship and mods worth over 30,000 credits. Once you have done all these and earned enough fame to win, you then must travel to the Trailing Core, set all your reputations to negative, and then deliver a cargo of Kyber crystals to Kessel.
The Core World end caps replace those end caps included with the original game. One is the Spinward Core and the other the Trailing Core. They allow you to take a shortcut through the core systems to get to the other side of the Outer Rim. However, in order to cross, you need to complete a core encounter. It is a good idea to have a positive Imperial reputation since the Empire controls much of the core.
In addition to the white, yellow, and green contact tokens found in the original game, Unfinished Business adds eight orange contact tokens which are placed directly onto the planets in the outer rim. They represent the eight original playable characters so you can now add them to your crew or hunt them as bounties as well as three other characters not previously in the game.
Debt tokens are a way of paying for favors. This optional rule allows you to ask for Advice from another player so you can use a skill from another player’s character or crew on your next skill check. A favor of Combat Strategy allows you to roll an extra die in a combat. An Endorsement lets you use the positive reputation held by another player for yourself for the rest of the turn. Finally a Shortcut favor gives you one extra hyperdrive value until the end of the turn. Players do not have to give favors. However, if they choose to, they can request a debt token or credits. Once a debt token is given, the receiving player can use it to automatically gain a favor from the owner of the token with no negotiations. Favors are a great way to get or give some help while also getting something in return.
The 45 new Market cards add some interesting new items. In addition to the six new ships, there are new bounties featuring some of the original playable characters. The Cargo additions include passengers you must transport to systems as well as some items which require two destinations. For example, if you choose to get the Blaster Parts, you must deliver them to Cantonica. After rotating the card, you then take the assembled Blasters to Ryloth. There are also more cards for Jobs, Mods & Gear, and Luxury items.
In addition to adding Encounter cards for the Core Worlds, there are additional encounter cards for the systems in the Outer Rim as well. These add a lot of new types of encounters as you travel around and bring new life to the game. Some gear you gain is not beneficial like the Broken Arm. This takes up a gear slot. and can make you discard one of your gear to make room for it. The expansion also includes 52 new databank cards for the new contacts as well as providing additional options during play.
Unfinished Business adds 9 AI cards for the non-bounty hunter playable characters. When using these characters as AI players, you add their specific card to the AI deck. There are also cards for an AI player to be a bounty hunter. In addition to five generic bounty hunter AI cards, there are also individual AI cards for the seven bounty hunter characters. Previously, you could not have bounty hunters as AI. Now with two AI decks, you can actually play a solo game against two AI players instead of only one.
Why You Should Play Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business
I am a big fan of Star Wars: Outer Rim. While it is a pick up and deliver type game at its core, the Star Wars theme has been embedded into it so well that it feels more like a sandbox game where you can do whatever you want. You can start out as a smuggler, but turn to bounty hunting along the way to earn some extra credits and fame. Plus you can take on the role of several different characters. Therefore, when I first learned that Fantasy Flight Games was coming out with an expansion, I was more than excited to get my hands on it.
Unfinished Business adds some creative new features to the game. The Ambition sheets add more theme to the game as you try to fulfill your characters ambitions instead of just earning fame. These goals really help guide how you play the game. I also like the addition of favors since this provides more player interaction. Though you may not want to help out your opponents, if you can get a debt token or other items in exchange for a favor, then it may be worth it. Of course, the new characters and ships add a lot more to the original game. I really like how some of the new characters have new and unique ways to gain fame which provides a fresh way of playing. The addition of lots of new encounter and market cards also adds lots of new experiences and items to the game. The new AI cards bring new challenges and variety to solo play. Finally, I like the addition of the endcaps to allow players to travel through the core systems as a shortcut. I am impressed how they made this shortcut challenging so if you have a negative Imperial reputation, you might be better off staying in the outer rim and making more hyperspace jumps.
I am very impressed with Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business. It adds new life to an already good game and makes it even better. Fantasy Flight Games didn’t just add more ships and characters, they also included new ways to play. If you already have a copy of Star Wars: Outer Rim, then I highly recommend you get Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business. If you don’t own the original game, then I definitely encourage you to pick up a copy as well as this expansion, especially if you are a fan of the Star Wars universe.
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Disclosure: GeekDad received a copy of this game for review purposes.
