Star Wars worlds is happening August 8-11 in Boston this year. If you are a newer player or veteran who has never had a chance to attend, go read our article about attending large events and get yourself a ticket. Unfortunately I am not able to make it myself but I have been to three worlds events, Chicago, Minnesota and Philadelphia. The experience at each was amazing, good friends, new places to eat, fun times, and oh yeah, Star Wars.
The Players Committee events are much different from the days when Decipher would run events. Back then, Decipher would pick up your tab for everything. There was a food table, flights in, airport pickup, nice hotel rooms, etc. Now you often find the cheapest flight, see how many people can sleep on a hotel floor or in the back of the events center and eat whatever the hotel restaurant has available or is within walking distance.
Decipher really did a great job of making those that attended Worlds feel like it was a pinnacle moment in their lives. The wording on the paperwork, the badges and cards you received, this was You the player making a difference in the Force. This wasn’t just a card game, you were immersed in the Star Wars Universe.
A Japanese version of Hoth and A New Hope full sets were given to the winner of Worlds 1998 and back then you couldn’t find Japanese cards. These cards were impossible to find and most players didn’t even see Japanese cards until Decipher included one Japanese per Reflections II pack.
Day 2 Attendees were treated like Rock Stars.
1998 World Championship Packet
Players were given a packet of information from Kendrick Summers. Attached is a welcome letter, code of conduct, a schedule of events, stages of event breakdown, flights attendees arrive on and what event attendees won in order to get into Day 2.
Special Edition released just around two to three weeks before Worlds in November 1998. This was the second worlds in a row that was held in Florida. This was a huge expansion that was being released just before the biggest event of the year. Decipher started spoiling cards a month before its release and players started seeing just how broken Operatives were.
Players that had a bye into Day 2 had a huge advantage. Decipher sent them two booster boxes and a pair of DS/LS starter decks. This let them get a heads up on other players who were scrambling to get boxes from their local stores and just trying to get the cards they needed in order to play.
Not every player understood just how powerful Operatives were. Players didn’t have enough time to playtest, didn’t have players in their area to playtest against or simply couldn’t get enough of the new set in order to do anything with it. Many players in areas simply didn’t have anyone to playtest against that actually had cards from Special Edition.
Special Edition is a huge expansion that gave players many new characters and the whole new concept of Objectives. It is somewhat surprising that Decipher released such a massive set just weeks before Worlds.
Matt Potter was the Besbin qualifier for the region and had playtested Operatives for over a week before worlds, this playtesting helped him walk away from Florida as the 1998 Champion.
If you haven’t had a chance to attend Worlds before, GO! It’s a lot of fun. Not only do you play cards, but you hang out with friends, enjoy new food and have a chance to talk to people from all over the world.
Thanks to Hayes Hunter for the images and memories from that time period.
