Gambit Scoring in Star Wars Miniatures: Fact and OpinionThe goal of this article is to help new players, or veteran players that are new to bonus scoring, to understand both the basic mechanics of and rationale for Gambit scoring. Gambit scoring is referred to frequently on the message boards. Official sources explaining the rule exist, but they are tucked away within the Wizards of the Coast website. I hope that this article makes the Gambit rules more accessible and easy to understand, as well as allow a place to civilly discuss the rationale for and opinions about Gambit scoring.
FactWhat is Gambit scoring?Gambit scoring is a “bonus” scoring system that grants players additional points in a game, beyond eliminating enemy figures, if they meet a single specific goal.
How does it work?Gambit scoring grants a player five victory points at the end of a round, if they have
at least one figure within four squares of the center of the map. Additional figures near the center do not grant extra points. The points are the same as if a player eliminated an opposing figure of cost five. If the total of (Point cost enemy figures eliminated) + (Gambit points) = Squad Build Point Limit, then that player wins the game. For example, in a 100 point game, eliminating 80 points of enemy figures and scoring 20 gambit points by the end of a round would mean victory for that player as soon as the gambit points are given.
How do I find the center of a map and four squares from the center of that map?Newer published maps have a white circle marking the center of a map:
You can easily find the center of an older map without the marks by counting from the edges of the map. The center is equidistant from each side. The following example shows how you would count to find the center counting from each side. Where all of the counts intersect is the center point. In this example the center is the point intersection of both “11” and “17” squares. It is marked with a red “x”.
Once you have found the center, whether it is a square or an intersection of lines, you count four squares as you would count range for a Range 6 or similar ability. Diagonals count as two. Terrain is ignored.
This website contains the SWM Floor Rules, with pictures showing the exact squares affected:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dci/doccenter/home. The link is at the bottom of the website page. I purposely did not provide a direct link to the actual document with the hopes that it will be updated in the near future, breaking a direct link.
View Item 622 in the Floor Rules for the pictures.
A screen capture from that Document to save you time:
The following picture shows the very first map in the game, "Death Star", which has the center point as an intersection of lines. The Gambit scoring area is marked in red. Image courtesy of
The Holocron
Not all maps work out perfectly, as evidenced by the Power Regulation Chamber or "Starship" map from the Revenge of the Sith Starter Set. Even numbered squares meet on the short side, but have an extra square between them on the long side. Image courtesy of
The Holocron. Gambit scoring area is marked in red lines.
Where did you find these rules? They aren’t in the rulebook from the Starter Set!They are not. Gambit scoring was introduced for competitive play. As a result they can be found in the official DCI Floor Rules for Star Wars Miniatures, available here:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dci/doccenter/home. The link is at the bottom of the website page. Look at Item 622 a few pages into the rules.
Why was Gambit scoring introduced? – A Short HistoryCompetitive DCI play began shortly after the game was introduced. It was immediately clear that specific rules could be abused by players to achieve victories that required very little engagement. An early culprit was the Override Special Ability. At the time, no counter existed to prevent a player from quickly eliminating an enemy figure at range, scoring a few easy points, and then locking all of their figures in a room. Once ten rounds passed, victory was achieved without any engagement beyond the first point-scoring shots. These victories were called “lockouts.” The game was not fun and technically nothing in the rules as written prevented those victory tactics.
In addition to lockout victories, the game also suffered from “camping”. Camping is gamer slang for designing squads that benefit from sitting in a corner or other easily defensible location and forcing the opponent to come to them. The opponent, if they choose to engage, suffers a tremendous disadvantage and is forced to choose between a boring drawn-out game and suicidal engagement. Once again camping was not prevented by rules. Instead it is a way to play the game in an unsportsmanlike manner within the loophole of not breaking any game rules.
Wizards of the Coast has a vested interest in creating games that are fun that people want to play. To address these issues in official competitive play, Gambit scoring was introduced as a foolproof way to force engagement.
Do I have to use Gambit scoring?Gambit scoring is an official DCI rule that is used in sanctioned DCI tournaments. Players that do not play DCI games do not need to use Gambit scoring. However, I will now make the case that
any play group can benefit from Gambit scoring.
OpinionThe next section in the article will attempt to build a case for using Gambit scoring at any venue, whether in DCI tournaments or not. The intent here is not to suggest that any venue should do things the way I want to do them or to become a competitive venue. Rather, my experience is that gambit scoring is good for the game and good for fostering a positive play environment when approached with a positive attitude. Most people in our area, myself included, resisted Gambit scoring when it was first released. Now we can’t play the game without out. How did this happen? Read on.
What are the advantages of Gambit scoring?Gambit scoring carries with it a great deal of advantages for a play environment that
anyone can benefit from.
1. Gambit scoring makes the game more fun for many people.Gambit scoring forces engagement. To win the game with Gambit scoring, you have to be prepared to battle for the center of the map and eliminate points if your opponent has more gambit scores than you. This can make the game feel more like Star Wars to a lot of people. In the movies, battles are fierce. Many people want the game to be that way.
Gambit scoring can also have the advantage of making for shorter games. When an individual gets a lead on Gambit, the worst thing that an opponent can do tactically is to wait. For better or for worse they have to engage. This generally makes games go quicker.
2. Gambit helps to set a tone of fair play at your venue.Gambit prevents under-handed tactics like lockouts and camping. I’ll discuss those more specifically in the next point. The real benefit of preventing under-handed tactics is that it sends a very clear signal to players trying to bring them to your venue. It says: “If you try to lockout or camp here, we have rules in play that will prevent you from being successful.” Why does this matter? It makes it so
you don’t have to say anything! You get to avoid those awkward conversations. The rules themselves are doing the dirty work for you.
3. Gambit will make you a more careful (and later on better) player.Later on in the article I’ll discuss how to play Gambit successfully. It takes a little bit of practice and an open-minded attitude. As you continue to practice with it, you’ll notice some changes in your play.
Most importantly, gambit requires you to pay attention to the score of the game. This is an aspect of the game that is often over looked by players, especially casual ones. Many people (I’m one of them!) don’t always want to expend the mental effort to keep track of points on the board. Many of us would prefer to just say to ourselves: “Kill lots of points!” and consider that a good victory strategy. The only problem with this is that, quite frequently, not counting the points can result in losses by just a few points in timed games. “I don’t play timed games and I don’t want the seriousness of having to count points. I’m a casual player!” It’s fine that you are a casual player. However, casual or competitive, most players
like to win their games. I don’t think that’s a stretch. When you count points, you are in a better position to make tactical decisions. You make better choices of who to eliminate in what order. You often realize that an obvious target will get you points. But, by counting points you understand that there is a less obvious target that can win you the game! I’ll draw an analogy to chess. In chess, people that think multiple moves ahead do much better in the game. If you consider yourself a casual chess player, yet lose frequently, its probably because you have not
yet developed the mental skill in chess of thinking ahead. You can!
Gambit scoring also really makes you think of the position of your figures on the board. You should not
obsess over it (a common early Gambit player mistake). Later in this article I’ll discuss positioning strategies with Gambit. When you start using these strategies you realize that they generally improve your game. You become better at putting the right characters in the right places at the right times. You learn how to engage your opponent’s position and actively begin to prevent
them from getting to the right squares from them.
Gambit scoring helps you to learn when to engage and when not to engage. There are certain times when it is important to engage right away. There are some times when it is important to wait. Gambit scoring helps you to see those decisions as important ones, mostly because you can’t be successful with Gambit without knowing at least partly how to do those things. I’ll say more about this in a later section.
4. Gambit scoring prevents “lockout” and “camping” styles of play.One of the best benefits of Gambit scoring is that it makes “lockout” and “camping” ineffective strategies for winning. Most gamers that support fair play agree that these two styles sap fun from the game. Lockouts are not as much of a concern as they used to be in the game. Satchel Charge and other Special Abilities have been introduced that make it difficult for people to get lockouts. It is still a possibility though. Players that support lockout tactics usually adapt their tactics to take out any enemy pieces that could deal with Override. Even if you have Satchel Charge, it won’t do you any good if your opponent eliminates that piece and still has override. Gambit is a good solution because if you can secure a lead on Gambit, the opponent cannot win the game by merely killing a low cost piece and locking door. They are forced to engage and play on your terms.
Camping is not a viable strategy at all under Gambit scoring. Any lead that you gain by Gambit is not easily overcome by a camper. They can’t afford to sit there and let you score points. Camping has evolved with Gambit to include “Center Camping” in which a person utilizes walls near the center to be protected from their opponent while still gaining Gambit. While similar to camping in that it gives the person an advantage, camping the center does not give them the same advantages that camping corner of the board does. They have an advantage, but that advantage is not as extreme. It is far easier to engage someone in the center of many maps than it is in a corner. You may have to take fire to reach the center, but it is usually much less fire than you would take if approaching a camper in a corner.
What are the consequences of Gambit scoring?We finished the last section with the feeling that there can be some consequences for Gambit. I’m of the opinion that most of these consequences are growing pains associated with a new format and psychological. Many of these are consequences only if you let them control you. The following consequences are common ones mentioned by both players new to gambit and veterans.
1. Gambit isn’t perfect. There is still camping.It is not perfect. Many of the big objections that people bring to gambit is that it just creates a situation in which people camp a different portion of the board. As discussed above in “center camping” this is a very real possibility. I think the real culprit is specific maps that allow for center camping more than others. Players of this game have had a lot of input lately on selecting maps that are legal for DCI play. So, I am of the opinion that if we are doing a good job in selecting those maps, then center camping will not be as viable. Many of the newest maps that have been released have open centers, making it nearly impossible to successfully center camp. We are in the process of getting these maps legal for DCI play. This is a legitimate argument but I think that we have developed strong enough communication with WotC that we can address the issue.
2. Gambit can make the game go slower.Wait a minute. Earlier I said that Gambit can make the game go faster. I think that there is a perception out there that the game can be slower with Gambit. It can be. When players camp the center or just surround the center in a stand-off, collecting Gambit behind walls, then both sides can tend to hesitate to engage.
I contend that the problem is not Gambit scoring. My personal experience is that the players are choosing to make the game go longer. Waiting isn’t really helping either side. You may be waiting for your opponent to make a mistake. A lot of the time all of that waiting doesn’t change the fact that you have to sometimes take damage to get the ball rolling. Experienced players realize that whether you are a casual player or competitive player, you have to take risks to win the game. People are choosing to not take risks when they stand off in the center.
3. Gambit forces people to battle for a lead and does not match certain play styles.Most people don’t like to be “forced” to do anything and gamers are no exception. Gambit definitely benefits more aggressive play. Some players prefer to take their time getting to the center. They don’t like to have to change their play style to fit a bonus scoring system. I can sympathize with the difficulty of the change.
At the same time, I have had consistent experiences with players that don’t like the aggressive style of play supported by Gambit. I was one of them. Then, I started thinking about why it bothered me so much. I realized something. I realized that a big part of my objection was that I was engaging in mild camping. I didn’t even realize I was doing it. Why not?
Tactically camping makes sense. In a real battle, setting up a strong defensive position and making the enemy fight on your terms is an advantage! So why shouldn’t we do that in this game? The short answer is that this game is
not a military battle. People die in military battles. They are defending their families in many cases. Star Wars Miniatures
should put
fun as a higher priority than victory. Camping in a game may be a perfectly viable strategy, but it doesn’t foster fun. So, my problem was that my tactical mind was taking over and unconsciously doing things that were viable military strategies, but not very good at fostering fun.
I want to ask people that object to gambit to think about my story and think about their own. Why are you upset about Gambit? What is your play style
really like? My experience is that many an intelligent individual camps without realizing they are doing so. They don’t realize they’re doing it because they haven’t reflected much on what they are doing. And it may not be very recognizable to their opponents because they don’t do it in an over-the-top sort of way. They don’t do it all the time. They may only do it when their squad is mismatched to the enemy squad. Or they may only do it when they have a map that gives them a disadvantage.
4. Gambit changes how I build squads.Gambit will change how you build squads. Be careful. The most important decisions you need to make in building squads is how you will do damage and how you will prevent your squad from taking it. Collecting Gambit should
never be the only goal or strength of a squad. I would go so far as to say that it should be a rare occasion in which the sole purpose of a single piece should be to collect gambit unless it does that role very well. I’ll give some options in a later section for selecting pieces for Gambit scoring. Many of these pieces serve
dual roles of Gambit collector and primary damage dealer or other support.
Will you have to adapt your squad building to Gambit? Of course. A lot of changes involve building squads that don’t camp. To follow up on a point I made earlier. Players that camp subtly that don’t realize their doing it often build squads that are centered around camping. There are many reasons that they do it but rarely is it intentional. They may build the squad because it contains figures that they like. They may be unconsciously building to get a tactical advantage for camping but not realizing that camping is the advantage. When I have talked to players that do this they focus on the abilities on the individual cards and often don’t say anything about how the
combination of pieces is supporting camping. So that I am very clear, these players aren’t realizing that they have been building in a way that supports camping. They aren’t consciously unfair in their play.
How do maps factor in here?As I mentioned earlier, the maps that we play the game on make a big difference for Gambit. Certain maps make certain tactics more viable than others.
Starting sideGambit makes certain maps have better starting sides than others. This leads players to refer to a map’s “good side” or bad side.” They are often referring to which starting side makes it easier to obtain or secure Gambit over another. The hardback Revenge of the Sith Starter map is a good example. In the example below, the map center is marked with a red “x” and the “good side” is the side at the bottom of the photo. Not only can a person starting on that side walk into gambit on the first turn, but they are also protected behind a wall. Gambit scoring is not the ultimate “problem.” The map is. I’m not saying that this is a bad map. I’m saying that it contributes to a negative perception towards Gambit that many players have.
Protected centersThe last map has a good starting side because of a protected center. A person can get in a safe position near the center of the map and essentially camp there and wait for the opponent to arrive. The opponent has to cross difficult terrain, slowing them down, and is a sitting duck for any shooter. I don’t doubt that this situation makes for less enjoyable games, but the good news is that many of the recently released maps really level the playing field allowing both sides to engage without a disadvantage. The recently released Taris map is a good example. The map center is marked with a red “x” and is an intersection of squares, not a whole square. This is a really good example of Gambit that is more difficult to obtain for both sides.
Of course, nothing is perfect and people will be quick to point out that Gambit scoring may be even here, but the map favors shooter squads. I don’t intend to get into a discussion of maps in general here. I want to emphasize maps in the context of Gambit only.
How do I play Gambit scoring successfully?Build your squad.I said earlier that it is important when building your squad that you build for damaging dealing and prevention
first. That is ultimately how you win games. This game is all about damage exchange. That doesn’t mean that you can’t select figures that can serve as both damage dealers or support
and be good at collecting gambit.
Some options:
The low-cost Gambit getterThese are your Ugnaught Demolitionists and Gran Raiders. Low cost figures can serve multiple roles. Ugnaughts can be gambit getters, activations, door blowers, and blockers. Gran Raiders can be everything but a door blower, and have the added advantage of Stealth. The point to focus on is that low cost Gambit getters allow you to not focus a lot of points on getting Gambit, and do not result in the loss of many points if they are eliminated.
The high-cost, big and beefy Gambit getterSometimes your main damage dealer is also your gambit getter. They have a high defense, a lot of hit points, and can also deal damage. Shooters with Mobile Attack can pop out from behind walls and end their turn behind the safety of the wall, while still collecting Gambit. Jedi have lots of hit points and are great ways to vie for control of a gambit location that shooters often can’t do. As shooters are more easily damaged close up they can’t hold Gambit in close proximity like Melee can. The general philosophy here is that you can control Gambit easily if your opponent has to engage with their whole squad just eliminate a Gambit piece.
The defensive Gambit getterStar Wars Miniatures is heavily populated by figures with defensive abilities that work to stop people from damaging your squad. Evade, Lightsaber Deflect, Lightsaber Reflect, Force Bubble, Stealth, Super Stealth, and Cloaked are the top Special Abilities to sue for collecting Gambit defensively. In some cases, a figure can sit in line of sight of the enemy, in cover, and have no fear of retaliation. This really forces your opponent to engage and makes for exciting games. Another benefit of a “defensive” Gambit getter is that you are committing fewer points to the engagement range of your opponent, potentially giving you a tactical advantage in the end game. This comes with the risk that you won’t be able to muster support for your Gambit getter as quickly. It’s fun to work through the costs and benefits of how to engage your opponent in these scenarios.
The mobile Gambit getterPieces with high speeds can secure Gambit much faster than others. Pieces with normal speeds can often get to places normally out of their reach on the first turn through Special Abilities like Lift or Tow Cable. Flight combined with a higher than normal Speed is one of the easiest ways to get to Gambit. Flight allows you to ignore difficult terrain, pits, and low cover that would normally slow you down. The Dark Hellion Marauder on Swoop Bike is a cheap piece at a cost of ten that has a tremendous range for securing first round Gambit. It also has the benefit of Mobile Attack, so that it can pop out of a secured Gambit location, shoot down a low cost enemy Gambit getter and return to safety.
OverrideOverride can open up paths to Gambit squares that normally would not be accessible to figures in early turns. Opening a key door could allow one of your figures to get a place that will give you an early lead on Gambit. Many experienced players have a lot of fun in finding early routes to Gambit that their opponents don’t expect, surprising them.
Have fun experimenting with combinations that can help secure Gambit.
Always remember that getting Gambit doesn’t do you any good if you can’t deal damage to the enemy and work through the damage dealt to your own figures.
Play aggressively, but carefully.The cool thing about gambit in my mind is that it
really forces players to know when to wait and when to engage. Gambit is
not about throwing caution into the wind and charging at the enemy squad. So when do you engage and when do you wait? You engage when you can get ahead and stay ahead on points. You wait when you are already ahead on points and gain an advantage by waiting. It’s obviously not that simple. At some level,
practice is the only way you can really learn when to engage and when to wait. I am confident that Gambit does have people engage sooner than caution would normally tell them to, and that makes for more fast paced games.
Position carefully to control the center.Part of playing Gambit successfully is not only being able to get Gambit yourself, but to position your figures to
deny your opponent Gambit. What fun would it be if your opponent didn’t have to work for victory?
Part of this is knowing the map you are playing on. Part of it is knowing what your pieces are capable of and what your opponents can do. Part of it is knowing when to engage and when not engage. Part of it is knowing how much to risk and how much not to risk. Gambit can help you improve with all of these! In short, I think that Gambit is really about all the things that we love about critical thinking in this game. I could say a great deal about many of these things, but at the end of the day
practice is what will be your best teacher in improving.
Don’t obsess over Gambit!One of the biggest mistakes players make when they start playing with Gambit scoring is that they obsess so heavily over obtaining Gambit that they ignore already sound tactical understandings they had used before. This is true of learning any new aspect of a game. It takes time to learn the ins and outs of the format. I really think that that investment in time and feeling vulnerable is really what a lot of people object to with regards to Gambit. When you first play it, there is a period in which you are a slightly worse player than you were before you started playing it. Some people take that as a challenge work towards improving. Some people object, fold their arms in defiance, and are determined to never change again. It usually isn’t a surprise when those players stop playing Gambit, or simply descend into a spiral of not improving at the game.
Attitude is everything. If you go into Gambit scoring with the attitude that it is bad and not fun, guess what? It won’t be fun. If you go into with the attitude that you can become a better player and prevent un fair play at your venue by adopting it, then you’ll have a much better experience.
You don’t need to score Gambit points every round. In fact, the best piece of advice that I give to players starting out with Gambit is to 1) Be aware that it is there. 2) Place eliminating opponent pieces as a higher priority than Gambit 3) Be aware of whether your opponent is ahead of you or not on Gambit. 4) Try to start tracking points in your head, or on paper. That’s a lot of stuff to keep track of, but it is only the beginning of the depth of how far you can go into Gambit scoring.
In SummaryI hope that I’ve made a pretty good case here as to why
any play group should think about using Gambit scoring. I want to end the article with an assertion that I believe very deeply and is always a hot area of contention here. There is equal value in causal play and tournament play. I do not think that tournament players are any better than casual players and I do not think that Gambit scoring is only a rule for tournament play. I think that Gambit scoring could be very useful to casual players that approach it with a positive attitude.
A Discussion StarterI’m sure people will find a lot to talk about regarding Gambit scoring. One specific question that has been broached here that hasn’t been extensively discussed is: Should Gambit scoring be included in the rulebook? I know that there are many good arguments for and against it. I look forward to input on any aspect of the article and I hope you find it useful! :D
