Star Wars Battle of Hoth

I purchased this for my 10yr old son and I to play together. We are fans of Star Wars and have already played games of Memoir 44. This looked like a quicker, differently themed version. And it did not disappoint.
If you are familiar with Memoir 44 then you will pick this game up almost straight away. There are very few differences in gameplay. The simple ruleset will make it quick to pick up for anyone else as well.
The components. These were nice and evocative. And the way that everything is packed in tidy trays is a big plus.
The theme. This fit in perfect with the power of the empire coming to bear down on the rebel forces. It seems the Rebels are primarily fighting delaying actions. Wanting to hold on long enough and deny the empire their objective. It feels right.
The rules. This is Memoir 44. Simple command cards ordering units in sections, Dice hits based on the target, all the usual. Only some special units being allowed to break through does put them apart from others, rather than this being a standard ability. Each team having its own deck allows for a difference between the forces to be more apparent. Heros and support add some powerful cards rather than being units as to themselves. Only had to stop and google a question a couple of times, and that usually pointed to a blurb in the rules I had overlooked.
The campaigns. These were short with only three missions each. But the fact that the outcome mattered going forward gave it more impact. Also the hidden secondary objectives were nice as trying to achieve these may sometimes may not be optimal for victory in the battle.
Overall experience. This was a lot of fun. The smaller board allowed for a faster game with more happening in the first turn. We are hoping to see expansions for this and are already theorising about AT-STs and Tauntaun units or battle for Endor. Probably the only reason I wouldn’t rate it higher is due to the short length of campaigns although there is plenty of play left in just skirmishing on one of the 17 scenarios as there are some you will not get to play depending on how your campaign goes.

A must for Star Wars fans and anyone who loves Memoir 44. Bring on the expansions!