X-Wing Tabletop Game

So, it's been out for about four years and has become kind of an enormous thing, with world championship tournaments all the way down to local play just about anywhere you look (there's several x-wing clubs all around me).

What's the premise?

In X-Wing, you build a list (ie, a squad) of ships to compete against other lists in simulated turn-based tabletop dogfights, featuring a VAST assortment of ships both from Star Wars canon as well as Star Wars legends. This can range from intimate sixty-point matches that can be completed in half an hour, to the universal standard 100 point matches (which can feature a couple of beefy, highly-modified ships up to a swarm of a half dozen or more cheap fighters), all the way up to sky's-the-limit epic play, which can call for co-operative teams of ships as well as a few very-impressive light capital ships like Rebel CR-90 corvettes and Imperial Raiders.

You can fly as the heroic Rebel Alliance, the evil Galactic Empire, or the ruthless catch-all faction of Scum and Villainy (think stuff like pirates, Black Sun, and bounty hunters). The factions have their own distinct cultures, though varying from ship to ship. Generally, the Rebel ships are slower and tanky, with defensive buffs and ordnance options. The Empire values speed and aggressive piloting skill to get out of enemy fire and strike hard where it hurts most. Scum ships operate in a selfish manner with a lot of wildly-different dirty tricks up their sleeves. The timeline of the game is primarily centered around the galactic civil war era, but each faction can also make use of ships featured in the Resistance, First Order, and other groups in the Third Trilogy timeline. Sorry Prequels fans, there are no Republic or Confederate factions.

Yet.

It would take a while to go over the full rule set here, so I'll let Wil Wheaton explain (sort of) in this episode of Table Top.



(Take the gameplay here with a grain of salt, they make tons of mistakes, but the general premise is there)

The core set for X-Wing (as well as the Force Awakens core set) typically retail for $40 (although you can often find these sharply discounted). For that price you get a bargain. Everything you need to play the game (maneuver templates, damage dice, cards, rulebooks, and three ships. An X-Wing, and two TIE fighters (T-70 X-Wing and TIE/fo for Force Awakens). While the core sets will get you playing instantly in a 45 point match, you probably won't want to stop there. There are dozens of expansion packs, each representing the addition of at least one more ship to the game (Scum and Villainy pack unlocks the third faction and it also costs $40). These expansions range in price anywhere from $15 to individual fighters all the way up to $100 for the (huge and impressive) Imperial Raider capital ship. You might balk at the price (which yeah its spendy) but the quality of these miniatures is insane in the detail AND unlike most miniatures games out there, these guys already come with amazing paint jobs.

Now if you're broke as hell but still interested, there's still an option for you to play (and you don't even need people near you, nor do you need to leave your basement, you pasty monster)

Check out Vassal, it's a 2D gaming program designed for use like Google Hangouts, where you can play board games online with friends. X-Wing is fully supported, save for card text which you can find elsewhere. This allows you a way to demo the game and see if you like it. If you do, you can always play Vassal to get your fix, or you might eventually take the plunge on the figurines. As a big Star Wars fan, I highly recommend grabbing them at least from a collector's perspective. They are gorgeous on your desk, especially some beauties like the Millennium Falcon (OT or Third Trilogy).

So does anyone here play? Anyone looking to play? I know we have a few people here who dabble like Jace, Pete, Christin (sometimes), etc. I also know other folks out there play other Star Wars tabletop stuff like Josh and Peter. You guys really should jump on this.

If you play, let's talk about it. If you're curious, lets talk about it. I want to see lists, strategies, battle reports, all of it.