In Star Wars: Battle of Hoth, each battle is a scenario with its own setup and victory conditions. You do not draft armies freely from the box. Place the units and terrain shown on the scenario map, take the stated number of command cards, and alternate Rebel and Imperial turns. Most battles go to a set number of victory medals. This walkthrough covers the base rules; the terrain and objective guide handles scenario exceptions in more detail.
Set up a battle
Pick a scenario from the included booklet. The publisher recommends starting with scenario 1 and proceeding in order because later scenarios introduce more complexity. Lay out the indicated side of the board, terrain hexes, structures, units and any badges or objective medals. An Imperial infantry unit contains four snowtrooper miniatures; Rebel infantry three Echo Base troopers. Snowspeeders form three-miniature Rebel vehicle units; an AT-AT is a one-miniature Imperial vehicle unit. The scenario map, not the complete component list, controls how many units appear.
Give each side its 16 standard command cards, shuffle separately and draw the hand size printed in the scenario briefing. The briefing also identifies who starts and the medal target. Players may mutually agree to use optional leaders, each adding three appropriate command cards to that side’s deck. A first game is simpler with the standard decks.
The five stages of a turn
- Play a command card. A section card specifies a part of the battlefield and a number of units; a tactic card has its own instructions.
- Order units. Name which eligible units will act. You cannot assign a second order to the same unit, and unused orders do not carry over.
- Move ordered units. Finish one unit’s movement before the next. You may leave an ordered unit still.
- Attack. After all movement is finished, resolve each ordered unit’s attack separately in an order you choose.
- Draw a replacement card. Discard the played card and refill your hand. Reshuffle that side’s discard pile if its draw deck empties.
The hex board is divided into left, center and right sections by dotted lines. A hex touched by a dividing line belongs to both neighboring sections for orders. A section card can be unhelpful when you have no units there; if it orders none, you still play it and draw a new card.
Movement before shooting
Infantry can normally move one hex and still attack, or move two and give up its attack that turn. Snowspeeders can move up to three hexes and attack. An AT-AT moves at most one and cannot enter a ridge. Units cannot share a hex, pass through an occupied hex, split their miniatures or combine a damaged unit with another. Terrain may stop movement earlier or prevent an attack after entry; consult the scenario and unit summary sheets for specials.
Example: you order a Rebel infantry unit and move it two clear hexes into a trench. The trench itself does not remove the infantry’s normal two-hex trade-off: it cannot attack this turn. If it moved only one hex, it could attack if it had range and sight. Choosing movement for every ordered unit first means a unit may also open or block a line of sight for another attack later in the same turn.
Choose an attack, count dice, check sight
An ordered unit normally attacks once, against one target; it cannot divide attack dice between targets. First check the unit’s range, then draw a center-to-center line between the attacker’s and target’s hexes for line of sight. Intervening units, friendly or hostile, and some terrain block that line. Finally, take the base dice for unit type and distance and apply terrain modifiers. Infantry normally roll three dice against an adjacent target, two at distance two and one at distance three. A damaged unit retains its full attack strength until its last miniature is removed.
Dice with the target type’s symbol hit; a blast hits any unit type. A cross misses. Resolve hits first, removing one miniature per hit, then apply retreat results. A unit forced to retreat moves toward its own baseline. If every legal path is blocked or it must leave the map, it suffers a casualty for each retreat hex it cannot complete. Some terrain lets a unit ignore a retreat. AT-ATs have a special confirmation roll for hits and ignore retreats, so read their unit summary before assuming an ordinary hit destroys one.
When does the battle end?
Eliminating the last miniature of an ordinary enemy unit normally earns one medal. Some scenario hexes also award a medal while held or permanently on entry; a special sudden-death objective can end a battle immediately. Probe droids and Rebel artillery are exceptions: eliminating those units does not award an ordinary medal. Most scenarios need four or five medals, but use the exact target and special text from the chosen scenario.
Playing with three or four
The rules support teams of up to two players on either side. In a three-player game, a pair faces one player; with four, two teams alternate their active players. Teammates have separate command hands and personal draw decks after the side’s deck is divided. They may show one another their cards, but plans must be discussed openly so the opposing team hears. The active teammate makes the final turn decisions. Read the team and campaign guide before applying campaign results to team play.
Quick rule checks
- An ordered unit can move across a section border; the command card limits which unit is ordered, not where it ends movement.
- All movement is completed before any attacks; choose the order within each phase.
- Rocks or buildings may protect the target but can prevent an entering unit from attacking immediately.
- Eliminating a miniature is not the same as eliminating a whole unit for a medal.
Read the strategy guide for practical card and position choices. Source: Days of Wonder’s English rulebook, checked October 3, 2026. The scenario booklet and any card-specific text override general examples.