X-Factor!

Having almost zero self-control I knew there was an element of delusion in saying I was swearing off games purchases for a year - I lasted all of two weeks. On Friday Little Joe and I wandered into Area 51 and he picked up X-Wing Miniatures game and suggested we buy it. Normally my resistance to pleading eyes is pretty good, but ally them to a game I had a previous interest in, and I instantly cave.

A couple of weeks back we were filming at the shop on a Monday and I popped upstairs to see what the Area 51 games club were up to - there were four tables on the go, and on one of them was X-Wing.  It's a straight on combat game where (in the base game) one player takes the role of the Empire and controls two Tie Fighters, and another is the good-guy rebels and controls an X-Wing.

I'm not a huge Star Wars fan by any stretch, but the boys are and for that reason it caught my eye. From the base game described above you can potentially add more and more (and more varied) ships, such as the Millennium Falcon etc. It's definitely one for the fans and completists, although the guys at Area 51 argued that the ongoing expense was was "cheaper than cocaine"

So (later trading in The Adventurers to get it half-price) I picked up and Stanley and I have already played three games of it.

I am his Father

The introductory game is very simple indeed - program your ships' movement, move it, and if anyone else is in range, fire at will. The game comes with several movement templates that you use to propel your ship around an agreed playing area: in this case, our coffee table is standing in for the depths of space.

soft right

We haven't actually finished a game yet - I imagine the 'full' game resolves the issue, but it can drag a bit. The fun of moving the ships around wanes slower on Stanley than it does me, but to be still firing hopefully at each other after half an hour feels a teeny bit long. Stan wants to progress to the full game though, so we'll give that a go soon. All those coloured numbers probably do something interesting, and the way of measuring ship damage becomes more complex too. Plus there's character cards and a load of chits we haven't had use for yet...

And in the meantime just the miniatures and the simple ruleset means he enjoys it a lot - and I am happy to indulge him. I will update the blog with the full rules in case anyone fancies at shot at it one Tuesday soon...