This was the first board game designed, originally as a stand-alone game, before transitioning to the idea of Toy Box game kits, where much of the mechanics moved to the base kit descriptions. This post has now been updated to summarize the variations from those base mechanics (as an RPG strategy game, this one has the most complex system)...
Game Setup
Ideally the game board is not random; the layout is mutually designed by the players (or a preset design is used) to maximize balance for the various game mechanics (Locator spawning tiles and Teleporters are particularly significant). Even if multiple kits are used with multiple Locator sets, a single Locator set is used for the spawning of both Teams. The location of the first 3 Locator tiles need to mirror the other 3 with respect to the opposing corner tiles holding the Power Disc base (and similarly the corresponding Trigger & Power Switch tiles for that color need to be equidistant from those same two corners) - this balances spawning as well as the collection of the same colored sparks. The object of the game is to destroy the other team's base. Multiple Power discs can be stacked atop each other as an extended Health meter. Character cards are organized by Combat class (i.e. matching RPG stats) so that each player can have a comparable set to start. Simultaneously grouping related characters avoids confusion as well (i.e. Jedi vs. Sith, other Heroes vs. other Villains, etc.). No new Character cards are added after the sets are established at the start of the game. The introductory part of the game is for the players to take turns placing their characters around their respective bases. Each character begins with 2 sparks (colors chosen by the player), provided sufficient sparks of those colors still exist in the "spark pool". Sparks are placed by the corresponding Character's card, placed face-up (sparks are generally not interchangeable across multiple characters). As to initial placement, the Locator tiles are not used. The first character spawns atop the base, the next three on adjacent spaces, etc. This works well as a 2-player game and also a 4-player game with 2 teams of 2 players (in which case turns alternate between opposing teams). The number of characters per team can vary, depending on the figures owned and the size of the board.
Turn Options
After setup, on each turn, the player chooses a single character for one of four possible actions:
- Attempt to Respawn
- Missile Attack
- Move (which may include a Melee Attack)
- Special Attack
Attempting to Respawn
If the chosen character is not currently on the board (having been defeated), the player rolls a die to determine the random Locator tile. If that numbered tile is already occupied by a character (from either team), spawning does not occur. If the numbered tile is not already occupied, the successfully re-spawned character, like the initial setup, begins with 2 sparks (colors chosen by the player), provided sufficient sparks of those colors still exist in the "spark pool". After a spawning attempt is made, whether or not it is successful, the player's turn is over.
Missile Attack
If the player chooses a character figure already on the board with line-of-sight to an opposing team character on an adjacent space or a space one more tile away in any of the 6 possible directions, a Missiles attack can be made provided the character has a Missiles rating greater than 0 (unlike the video game, some characters do not have Missile attacks for game variety & balance). In the case of the longer distance, there must not be another character, friend or foe, blocking the line-of-sight on the adjacent tile in between. The attacking player rolls two dice and adds the character's Missiles rating. The defending player rolls two dice and adds the defending character's Defense rating. If the attacking number if is equal or higher, the Missile hits. If the defender has a Sidekick, the Sidekick's Defense is used instead, and even if the Sidekick is defeated, the defender is unharmed. Star Wars caveat: if there is no Sidekick and the Defender is a Jedi or Sith, a successful defensive roll grants the lightsaber-wielding defender an immediate chance to bounce a blaster missile back; the Force-user rolls the dice again with Defense as the modifier against the original attacker with their new dice roll and their Defense modifier. When a character holding a Green spark is hit, that spark is lost to the "spark pool". When a character without a Green spark is hit, the character is defeated and the figure is removed from the board. Note that regardless of the Missile attack's outcome, the attacking character cannot move this round; the player's turn is over; movement is not allowed.
Movement
The chosen character, already on the board, opting out of a Missile attack, has the option to move. Movement is not random. Spark mode is not allowed, and neither is wrap-around movement like other Toy Box board games. Teleporters can be used, and otherwise Mounts/Vehicles can often increase a character's base speed (although having a Sidekick resets that back to 1). Movement to the Gated Terrain is blocked without the appropriately colored Key. A character with a movement rating greater than 1 can opt to jump over Gated Terrain or another character of either team. Movement to a tile already occupied by a character on the same team is blocked. Movement to a tile already occupied by a character on the opposing team initiates a Melee attack.
Melee Attack
Melee combat is initiated when a character attempts to move onto an opposing team character's space. Dice are rolled similar to the Missile attack, simply with the Melee as the attacker's modifier. A Melee attack has the option of a combo (a second set of rolls against the same defender), but it opens up the option for that defender to subsequently counter-attack if not defeated (a free immediate Melee attack against the attacker, with no movement involved). When an attacking character has a Sidekick card, the Sidekick provides yet another extra attack (without counter), and correspondingly a defending character's Sidekick must be attacked & defeated first. If the defender is defeated, the attacker moves to the space. If the attacker is defeated by counter-attack, the defender remains in place. If neither are defeated, they both remain where they are. Regardless, the player's turn is over.
Special Attack
If the chosen character, already on the board, opts out of Missiles, Movement, & therefore Melee, and holds a Purple spark, that character can use that spark to initiate a Special attack. It affects all opposing characters on all adjacent spaces (wrap-around tiles do not apply). The greater of the Melee & Missiles rating is used as the modifier, and each defending character gets separate dice rolls with the respective Defense modifier. Sidekick defense applies. Regardless of the Special attack outcome, the player's turn is over; movement is not allowed.
Attack & Defense Bonuses
Various Tools/Packs provide Melee or Missile attack bonuses. Each Yellow Spark increases stats for Melee, Missiles, & Defense by 1. A defender standing on a Terrain that matches his/her theme has an additional +1 Defense as well.
Base Defense
The Power Disc base has no Melee or Missile attack, but has a Defense of 2 (every stacked Power Disc adds another slot to its Health Meter). If a character is standing on top of his/her team's base, that character must be defeated first before the base can be attacked.
3 and 6 Player Variant
It's possible to have a 3-player game at every other corner, or even a 6-player game with 3 teams of 2, where the Power Disc bases are placed at every other corner, but balancing other Gameplay tiles is somewhat problematic. The 6 Locator tiles can be arranged fairly for the 3 corners, but only one singleton Gameplay toy can be balanced (by putting it in the center). Mixing three kits together can provide triplets of Gameplay toys to balance things better. It may be trickier to have 3 sets of recognizably-grouped characters that are balanced with regard to their combat stats (but each player's face-up Character cards can help distinguish this).
King of the Hill Variant
As an alternative "king-of-the-hill" variant, a single defenseless base could be used in the middle tile of the hexagon board, where a stack of Power Discs denotes the number of rounds it must be "held". Initial character setup is the same on opposing corners and the object is to stand atop the Power Stack long enough. The Power Disc stack shrinks in size with each round a particular character stands atop it. Whenever a character is defeated atop the stack (by Melee, Special, or Missile attack), the stack resumes its original height.