X-Wing

Today was a 'light game' Sunday as fg and I planned to complete the terrain boards for our VSF campaign, and Adrian could only be around for a couple of hours, so I suggested we play the X-Wing game that fg had left at my place a long time ago. As I laid in bed last night I realised that I did not have a suitable game mat for space games, and so I decided I would go to my local market for breakfast and see if I could find something suitable.

As it turned out some guy was selling some cloth and he had a piece of black cloth measuring 5' x 9', which I bought for S$9. A quick pass through the washer and the dryer, and we have a new gaming mat.

Darth Vader battles Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles.

Now I know X-Wing is a highly-rated game, but one doesn't really get that from reading the rules, which are simple and clear. Once the game starts, however, it really comes alive.

A big part of it is the design of the game components. In a way X-Wing is really very much like Wings of War, which I used to own and play but gave away after a while, but the difference in the interface of the games makes X-Wing a much faster experience.

Instead of choosing and placing cards, the use of the movement dial makes things easier and quicker, and honestly there is just something geekily satisfying about fiddling with dials.

The use of thick cardboard movement gauges instead of cards to conduct the movement is also less cumbersome than placing thin cards ahead of the model bases.

And I guess the Death Star Attack scene playing on the TV in the background helped too.

fg and I played the introductory game of two TIE fighters against an X-Wing to get the basics of the games, and when Adrian arrived I managed to teach him the game in minutes, and we squared off with me taking Darth Vader and two TIE fighters against Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles.


Adrian, playing Wedge Antilles, managed to blow up all my fighters by the game's end, including a spectacular one-shot kill on Darth Vader's wing man on his opening shot on the second turn. I was able to shoot the shields off both X-Wings and damage Luke Skywalker's X-Wing, but like my historical counterpart I would come off worse in this encounter.

We all enjoyed the game, and of course we dream of bigger games with more players and ships on-table. The game is rather pricey though, and we reckon we may need another basic set if we are going to get into it heavily, which will in any case give us another set of templates and dice, both of which are helpful.

The other issue is also whether (or rather when and how?) I should decorate my blank black mat to create a star field look...