• TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Star Wars Kids
Star Wars Logo

Search

My Account Logout
  • More More
    • NEWS + FEATURES
      • THE LATEST
      • ANDOR
      • CELEBRATION
      • QUIZZES + POLLS
      • BOOKS + COMICS
    • VIDEO
      • ALL VIDEO
      • THIS WEEK! IN STAR WARS
    • FILMS
    • SERIES
      • All Series
      • Andor
      • Skeleton Crew
      • Ahsoka
      • The Mandalorian
    • GAMES + INTERACTIVE
      • View All
      • Star Wars Outlaws
      • Games + Apps
      • VR + Immersive
    • DATABANK
      • ALL DATABANK
      • ERAS
    • DISNEY+
      • STREAM NOW
      • EXPLORE
      • THE DISNEY BUNDLE
Local Nav | Drop-Down Phase III - 20231020
Local Nav | Drop-Down Phase III - 20231020
My Account Logout
  • other
  • instagram
  • twitter
  • facebook
  • youtube
  • other

All

  • Andor
  • Star Wars Celebration
  • Skeleton Crew
  • The Mandalorian
  • Ahsoka
  • The Acolyte
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • The Book of Boba Fett
  • The Bad Batch
  • The Clone Wars
  • Visions
  • Behind the Scenes
  • Books + Comics
  • Characters + Histories
  • Collecting
  • Creativity
  • Disney Parks
  • Disney+
  • Events
  • Fans + Community
  • Films
  • Games + Apps
  • ILM
  • Interviews
  • LEGO Star Wars
  • Lucasfilm
  • Merchandise
  • Opinions
  • Quizzes + Polls
  • Recipes
  • Rogue One
  • Solo
  • Star Wars Day
  • Star Wars Rebels
  • Series
  • The High Republic
Interviews
How Top Trumps Lets You Pit Ewok Against Sith and Tests Your Stormtrooper Knowledge

How Top Trumps Lets You Pit Ewok Against Sith and Tests Your Stormtrooper Knowledge

StarWars.com catches up with the Star Wars card game creators about dream matchups, their new quiz game, and rebelling with Rogue One.

Michael Moreci
Michael Moreci
October 24, 2016

StarWars.com catches up with the Star Wars card game creators about dream matchups, their new quiz game, and rebelling with Rogue One.

There's no shortage of great Star Wars duels. Luke versus Darth Vader. Rey versus Kylo Ren. Wicket versus Count Dooku.

Okay, that last one never happened. But bringing Star Wars battles to life -- however strange and uneven they might be -- is exactly what Top Trumps specializes in.

In 1999, Winning Moves International, an independent games company based in London, acquired the rights to the game known as Top Trumps -- which was conceived over 25 years prior -- and has since created a robust line of head-to-head card games. In that time, the company has sold well over 50 million card decks across multiple genres and licenses, including Star Wars.

“Star Wars is a massive global brand, and what makes it so perfect for the Top Trumps line is the richness of characters that allow for the fun possibility that someone like Mon Mothma can battle Darth Vader,” says Mark Hauser, senior vice president of TTUSA, the American arm of Winning Moves International.

The gameplay is simple: two to six players divide a 30-card deck at random. Each card features a character from the Star Wars universe, and each character has rated attributes, from honor to greed to Jedi abilities. Players use these attributes against one another, using a character's greatest strengths to defeat their opponent(s). Victory yields your opponent's card, and the player who acquires all the cards wins.

top-trumps-rogue-one-cards

Card-based strategy games are, of course, nothing new. What makes the Top Trumps line so unique, and so fun, is the ease in which the game can be learned. Not only that, but the rapid-fire, interactive gameplay makes for a truly accessible experience. Think of it as a cross between War and Dungeons and Dragons. Furthermore, with the way the Top Trumps decks are carefully designed, regardless of which card you have been dealt, there is always a chance your card has a characteristic in which it can beat your opponent(s). Meaning Mon Mothma may indeed have a chance to defeat Darth Vader after all.

“It's a quick game, simple to understand, and genuinely fun for all ages,” Hauser says. “The more you know about Star Wars, the more likely you are to make the right choices. However, the more you play the game, the more you end up knowing about the characters, and so the games become ever more competitive.”

What becomes challenging for Hauser and Top Trumps, though, is which characters to select for its decks and, more importantly, how to rank each character's stats.

“We're fortunate to have hardcore Star Wars fans in our office, so it's never too hard to have an opinion on which characteristics or traits each character should have,” Hauser says. “Getting everyone to agree, that's something else. But we work with Disney and Lucasfilm to give everyone suitable characteristics.”

In November, Top Trumps will release its Rogue One deck, and Hauser promises it's their best one yet. From what he's seen of the movie in the trailers, Hauser says it reflects the film “brilliantly.”

In addition to their head-to-head battle games, Top Trumps also just launched Star Wars Quiz, which Hauser calls a quiz game with a twist. What is this “twist?" Instead of discarding quiz cards during the course of a game, players hold onto those cards and are challenged to remember their answers from that round. After going through loads of questions and encountering a lot of new information, according to Hauser, players tend to remember less than they'd think.

Star Wars Top Trumps

“Trivia games can be a little boring, and they can either skew really old or really young,” Hauser says. “We've worked closely with Disney to create a unique product that can appeal to a fan of any age.”

If you're looking to expand your Star Wars knowledge or finally settle that debate of who would win in a duel, Boba Fett or Han Solo (or Kanan/Cad Bane, IG-88/Rex, etc.), the Top Trumps line guarantees to be an entertaining way to do so.

If you're in the US, head to toptrumps.us/starwars for more information on Top Trumps Star Wars; fans in the UK should visit shop.winningmoves.co.uk/starwars.

Michael Moreci is a comics writer and novelist best known for his sci-fi trilogy Roche Limit. He’s also a Star Wars obsessive, who is lucky to spend his time playing Star Wars action figures with his two sons by day and writing Star Wars-inspired stories by night. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelMoreci.

Related Topics

Top Trumps

Related Stories

  • Top Trumps Unites the Force with Star Wars Rebels Pack
    [object Object]

    Top Trumps Unites the Force with Star Wars Rebels Pack

    September 25, 2015

    September 25, 2015

    Sep 25

  • Introducing the Cast of Andor Season 2
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Introducing the Cast of Andor Season 2 - Updated

    May 14, 2025

    May 14, 2025

    May 14

  • Genevieve O’Reilly on That Speech and Mon Mothma’s Other Biggest Moments from Andor Season 2
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Genevieve O’Reilly on That Speech and Mon Mothma’s Other Biggest Moments from Andor Season 2

    May 8, 2025

    May 8, 2025

    May 8

  • Anakin Skywalker Himself Hayden Christensen Reflects on 20 Years of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Anakin Skywalker Himself Hayden Christensen Reflects on 20 Years of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

    April 29, 2025

    April 29, 2025

    Apr 29

  • Andor Star Diego Luna Reflects on Cassian’s Journey
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Andor Star Diego Luna Reflects on Cassian’s Journey

    April 24, 2025

    April 24, 2025

    Apr 24

  • Star Wars Goes to the Grammys
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Star Wars Goes to the Grammys

    January 31, 2025

    January 31, 2025

    Jan 31

  • Bringing the Towering “Tet’niss” from Star Wars: Skeleton Crew to Life
    [object Object] [object Object]

    Bringing the Towering “Tet’niss” from Star Wars: Skeleton Crew to Life

    January 2, 2025

    January 2, 2025

    Jan 2

  • The Inside Story of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s Creature Effects
    [object Object] [object Object]

    The Inside Story of Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’s Creature Effects

    December 18, 2024

    December 18, 2024

    Dec 18

More From Star Wars:
  • TikTok
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • SWKids
  • Terms of Use
  • Additional Content Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Disney Store | Star Wars
  • Star Wars Helpdesk
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved