With all the great information, ideas, tactics and topics here, it motivated me to create an account and to introduce myself.

Firs off, I live in South West Michigan (close to the Indiana border), so if *anyone* would like to get some X-wing gaming in (or Warhammer Fantasy), PM me or reply here!

I have been playing table top games beginning with D&D (still play occasionally) back in the mid 80's and most recently Warhammer Fantasy over the past 18 years. 15 armies (still painting them!) between 4k and 12k each, I have decided to revisit my childhood love of Star Wars as a go-to game when my friends and I don't have time for a full Warhammer game.

Looking around different wargaming forums I heard many good things about X-Wing. Checking out FFG's painted models (what?? I don't have to paint models??!?) and the nice introductory price, I decided to give it a chance. The instructions are pretty straight-forward and easy to understand (Games Workshop could learn a thing or 10 from them on this!) and after 10 minutes of reading, I was ready to give the game a try.

Before the game was even half over, I was hooked. The simplicity of the game mixed with the multitude of creative list combinations and overall fast-paced turns (as compared to other TT Wargames) has fastly made X-Wing not just a go-to game for me, but a permament game in rotation now.

All this was 3 weeks ago.

Today, I have slightly expanded my models and can field 3 starter sets, Tie Fighters x6, Tie Bomber x3, Tie Interceptor x2 (181st x3, Royal x3), Tie Advanced x3, Tie Defender x3, LAMDA Shuttle x1, Slave 1 Firespray x1, Tie Phantom x4, Mellenium Falcon x2, X-Wing x4, Y-WIng x7, B-Wing x4, A-Wing x4, Hwk-290 x2, E-Wing x4, Z-95 Headhunter x8 and have just recently bought the preorder for both the Tantive IV and Rebel Transport.

I do have a couple questions.

I have also have been listening to a couple different X-Wing PodCasts: Scum and Villiany and the X-Wing Podcast. Does anyone else recommend another podcast to listen to? Also, is this the better X-Wing internet forum to seek information, tactics and ideas or are there other suggestions too?

One more concerning playing table. Is black cloth considered the "norm" for playing on? How about actual foam-board style tables - viable or since it's outter space, simply not needed even for effect? I've looked at the GF9 vinyl 36x36 playing mats - are they recommended?

Thanks everyone for all the great information. I hope that some of my questions can get answers soon - Excited X-Wing fan getting anxious for the next game!

- Lord Cedric

First off, welcome to the community. I think you'll find a wealth of knowledge via the search bar up top.

There are a few other sites where you can find x-wing information:

www.boardgamegeeks.com

www.teamcovenant.com

www.themetalbikini.com

www.afewmaneuvers.com

I recommend you check out all of those sites because they each offer good information.

You'll also find numerous topics on gaming boards, mats, etc. here too. I've created my own 3'x3' gaming board, but also have the GF9 mat. The GF9 mats are really nice, and are highly recommended by most people.

Also make sure to google x-wing squad builders. Those are probably the best resource you'll use to make you own squads. Other than that, keep reading and fly casual

Lord Cedric,

There is a pretty active bunch of X-wing players in the Kalamazoo, MI area. They are also into numerous wargamers and other table top games. PM me if you want some contact info.

Welcome to the game!

Believe it or not, Reddit has a decent Star Wars page. http://www.reddit.com/r/XWingTMG/

If you're not familiar with Reddit, don't wander too far, though.

Welcome Lord Cedric

This is the best forum unless you don't want to play the game. These horrid people have convinced me to get into X-Wing and my wallet trembles with fear.

But if you want to play the game, be part of a fun community and can afford some awesome pre-painted models then this is definitely the place to be.

Wow! Thank you to everyone for the great suggestions, comments, and the welcoming! I'll be sure to check out those links.

What do we currently know about X-Wing Epic play? Also, has there been any talk or rumours of FFG delving into land-based miniatures to coincide with the ships? I'm envisioning a very epic battle of Hoth or on Endor.

@ Member: I placed a PM in your inbox. I live fairly close to Kalamazoo, Michigan so that's not far for me to drive at all. If anyone else sees this, PM me or reply here if you'd like to get a few games in. I also play Warhammer Fantasy.

- Lord Cedric

We know almost nothing about epic play so far, except that it allows for using huge ships (the Rebel Transport and the Tantive IV). It's probably going to involve a higher point limit for squad building and a larger play area.

People have been clamoring for a ground-based expansion since the game came out. There's been no word from FFG on it.

With nothing but pure speculation I thought that epic play might be played on a 4x3 board (aren't the tiles from ffg 4x3?) and you would have two pools of points like 150 on regular ships and 150 on epic ships......

Then I remembered only rebels getting a big ship .

Welcome to x-wing, the first step to is to admit you have a problem. It is a great game and a wonderful time sink. There are numerous ways to play all depending on the amount of time and money you want to put forth.

For play mats it all a matter of taste, you can go with just black felt or an expensive custom vinyl mat. A good alternative is a yoga mat as they are nonslip and roll up and go down flat without issue(http://www.amazon.com/YogaAccessories-Extra-Wide-Deluxe-Yoga/dp/B000MPPMWY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1376506392&sr=8-3&keywords=extra+wide+yoga+mat&tag=article-boardgamegeek-20). As most FLGS have tables for 40k or Fantasy the tables are already there they just need an area marked out to play on. The one issue for mats are slippage or bumping of models in general. There are lots of ways to address this ether by using the mat or ogmiting the bases with weights or other item.

Lastly the next purchase after all the ships should be a way to carry them all. There all lots of different ways to go also depending on investment and need. Just remember you don't have to carry everything all the time to play. So your kit can be lightened so you can leave the excess at home and not have to sort through everything you own at every set up.

I was tempted by those GF9 mats, but my main concern was that the surface was a little too slick for playing on. I guess it's really just a matter of opinion and whether or not you like the mats/designs on them. Truthfully I liked the designs they offered, at least some of them, but I wasn't a fan of the material. A couple of us here bought the HCD Supplies Game Mat http://www.miniaturemarket.com/review/product/list/id/39120/ - I love it. A few others here liked it a lot too, but the main criticism was that it's not a 'true' 36"x36" - mine and other's actually measured it out to 36"x35.5", so if that half inch is more than you can bare, then I would suggest looking around a little, but this thing lays flat! It's exactly like a 3'x3' mouse-pad. I have been very happy with mine and most of the reviews on Miniature Market have been 5 stars...

in a 3x3 space

I played alot of TT games as well over the past 20 years,and X-wing is at the top as far as design,model quality,ease of play,and cost.I would like to see a large scale SW ship game ( ala Battlefleet Gothic) from FFG.

Welcome to the game.

Honestly since you're playing in space a simple black cloth works as well as anything else. The various mats people sell can be good or bad... Some are rather slick and that makes it easy to nudge the ships a lot more then you would otherwise.

A lot of people love a simple black yoga mat, it's textured, soft and cheap. Flick some white paint on to it and you got a star field.

Another thing that works great are lava rocks. Get some that match the cardboard ones and you got instant 3d asteroids. Myself I took it a bit farther, and drilled a whole in them so I could put them on bases. I also painted mine so they were gray rather then red/brown.

Today, I have slightly expanded my models and can field 3 starter sets, Tie Fighters x6, Tie Bomber x3, Tie Interceptor x2 (181st x3, Royal x3), Tie Advanced x3, Tie Defender x3, LAMDA Shuttle x1, Slave 1 Firespray x1, Tie Phantom x4, Mellenium Falcon x2, X-Wing x4, Y-WIng x7, B-Wing x4, A-Wing x4, Hwk-290 x2, E-Wing x4, Z-95 Headhunter x8 and have just recently bought the preorder for both the Tantive IV and Rebel Transport.

How did you get a hold of those?!?

How did you get a hold of those?!?

I'm going to guess he's actually preordered them.

Wow! Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone!

Looking at the links to those mats (and checking out the cool posted pics - Thanks QuinnCee!!), I am liking the idea of the Yoga mats and that HCD planet mat as posted by QuinnCee. I did happen to see a couple of those on Ebay, but wasn't sure what all gaming space prints were available. GF9's asteroids mat looks nice but I'm not a fan of the asteroid belt part (but really like the distant 2 planets/moons). Currently I am using the newer Citadel static-grass matt for Warhammer upside down and playing on the black underside.

As for my question regarding land battles. Yeah, I had assumed I wasn't the only one who'd love to have FFG adapt that into their current X-Wing system. But for now I am simply having a blast and drooling in anticipation on what the next ships will be. Epic Play has me really intrigued and I hope that it integrates well with the current system, model wise.

And yes, The Phantoms, Defenders, E-WIngs and Headhunters are on preorder.. though I have received my tracking/shipping notice email confirmation. I'm sure that it's just preliminary at this point though.

- Lord Cedric