Star Wars: Battle of Hoth has been named Best American Board Game at the 20th UK Games Expo. If you ever wanted to fly a snowspeeder straight at a wall of AT-ATs, this is your moment.
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Set up your group for freeThe win came in UKGE 2026's Judges' Choice awards, where the American category celebrates big, thematic, miniatures-driven designs. Battle of Hoth fits the brief. It recreates the Empire's assault on Echo Base from The Empire Strikes Back, pitting Rebel defenders against the Imperial war machine across the ice plains of Hoth. The box is packed with 74 miniatures, including three towering AT-ATs, snowspeeders, snowtroopers and Imperial probe droids.
What makes it click is the engine under the bonnet. Battle of Hoth runs on Richard Borg's Commands & Colors system, the same card-driven combat that powers Memoir '44 and the wider Commands & Colors series. You play command cards to activate units in different sections of the board, so the fight stays tense and readable without burying you in rules. Borg co-designed it with Adrien Martinot, and it plays in around 30 minutes for two to four players, head to head or in teams, for ages 8 and up. Alongside a set of standalone scenarios, four campaign booklets carry the results of one battle into the next.
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Find events near youDays of Wonder released it in 2025, and it has now landed a marquee UK award to match. If you are heading to the NEC this weekend, it is a natural one to seek out on the show floor. Fancy refighting Hoth with your own crew? Round up players on Backseat Gamer.
Sources: Days of Wonder | Geek Native
