This is coming from a longtime 40k player with thousands of dollars spent over the years.

What is it about X-wing that has made it so popular? In the Northern Virginia area, a random 40K or WM/H tournament might pull 15-25 every few months. There are multiple X-wing tournaments held throughout the month in the region that will all easily pull 15-30+ people. Heck, I was at a /Thursday night/ tournament with 21 players recently. Also, the game seems to ....cast a wider net of people..than 40k, WM/H, etc. So, especially considering how young the game is, what has made it so popular, compared against other established table top miniature games?

Pre-painted models? (coming from 40k, I can't help but repaint my ships) :-)

Low cost of entry?

Easy setup/cleanup?

Quick game time?

Subject material?

Other?

A simple, balanced ruleset with surprising tactical depth combined with a major franchise, good looking pre-painted miniatures, and low cost of entry.

I'd say just what you listed

Cheaper

Less maintenance

No building

No painting

The awesome detail

The simplicity

How long it takes to play a game

Its star wars

Its fun as hell

I would say quicker games, ease of play, great community, no models to paint and assemble - unless you want to - so you can play straight out of the box, its Star Wars lol and off course its a good solid balanced game.

True the price point per ship is high but with the waves being so far apart you can save for the next wave, compared to some games you don't need a bazillion models for an average size game

Specially because is Star Wars, WHF and WH40 explore the fantasy part of fiction (elves, orks, etc) which no much people know, IMO.
But Star Wars was a movie, everyone know about it even those that never watch it.

I'm going to break it down into 2 groups...

Non-Mini gamers. These are people who don't play 40k/WM/FoW, ect... XWM seems a bit like WoW or Sims in that it's a game that managed to tap into the non-gamer market out there and get them to buy in. That's one of the reasons you see so many playing it. There's a lot of people playing this game that haven't and most likely won't ever play other mini games.

It's Star Wars

Don't have to paint

Simple rules

Quick game.

For mini gamers, those of us who played other games before and have spent a ton on them.

Star Wars

It's cheap. For nn- gamers XWM doesn't really seem that cheap.

Painted minis, but ones you can touch up or do full blown conversions on.

Simple but deep rules

quick game and quick clean up.

A game that actually breaks out of the 'you move, shoot, assault, then I move, shoot, assault' rules where one side spends half the game doing little more then watching the other guy take his turn.

Another thing is that XWM is cheap enough that you could actually buy a list or 2 and still keep playing other games.

- Cheaper than your average minis game

- Gameplay is east to pick up, yet tricky to master

- Gameplay, on average, is faster

- Simultaneous turns calls from some excellent strategy, making turns enjoyable for gamers

- Colossal amounts of customisation

- Theorycrafting and listbuilding is actually fun

- Superlative Game balance

- Mini Quality

- Minis are of a high-painted standard out the box

- Excellent missions in expansions

- You get your monies worth in expansions (card inserts/tokens/dial, base, peg, pilot cards, upgrade cards, ship...)

- is Star Wars

- FFG customer service is literally the best

There are more!

I've played Heroclix for quite awhile, and it's become horribly imbalanced, annoying to collect,oversaturated, and a mass of hurt.

X-Wing is pretty well balanced in comparison, no blind purchases, WizKids isn't involved, and I dig Star Wars.

I've played both flavors of Warhammer, Warmachine/Hordes, Malifaux and Heroclix (still play heroclix but cut back a lot)

I have dropped all 5 of the 'traditional' minis games for the following reasons:

1) cost. I have admittedly spent more on X-Wing than I thought I would, but here's the real difference; at retail, $60 gets you MAYBE a unit in those other games (Malifaux being the exception), the same amount in X-Wing nets you a full 4 ship squad. $15 for a full quarter of a squad (maybe more, maybe less)? Hard to pass up.

2) time commitment. Not just in game time, but assembly and painting. I'm a law student, and my free time is rare enough that I don't want to waste it painting, I want to play.

3) detail on the miniatures. This is primarily when compared to Heroclix.

4) rule set. Easy to learn, but the complexity is there to rival the other games without needing a ton of special rules on every single piece.

5) the IP. It's Star Wars! I love GW's and Privateer's worlds, but I've found I prefer the RPG side of those worlds. FFG's Star Wars RPGs are awesome, don't get me wrong, but star fighter combat is such a huge part of the universe that X-Wing just feels perfect. I also love the IPs involved in Heroclix, but the quest for a 'comic accurate' character often leads to disappointment or an OP piece. In this game, an X-Wing feels like an X-Wing, a TIE Interceptor feels like one, etc... No "oh...superman got shot by a shield agent and died..." And no "oh...superman obliterated my entire force in one turn"

1- t is Star Wars (this should be enough really)

2-It is a good, clean rule set with overall very good balance

3-It plays rather quick. I get 2-3 games in an evening. (as opposed to Fantasy 40K/Dystopian Wars etc)

Note that playing SW XW does not mean you have to stop all those other games.

the fly casual attitude

easy set up

almost impossible to disagree on the rules. I've had one disagreement, but it was answered in the FAQ.

I too come from a 40K background and this game has A LOT going for it! Some of which 40K USED to have.

First and foremost, I feel like I was chased away from the game of 40K. I can tell you the shift in the philosophy over at 'ol G-DUB that this is not a competitive game and how dare you want to play a fair, balanced game at a competitive level. Just give us money for these models and whatever you do with them after that we couldn't care less. Who needs good balanced rules??? The tail end of 6th and now 7th is just not a game that truly appeals to me, I am sorry to say. I love the IP, the models are beautiful, but the rules are just terrible, not thought out, and the company that makes it doesn't care to fix it at all.

So to come from that background to find a game in X-Wing that has all of the following:

1) has an awesome IP in Star Wars (duh)

2) has amazing looking models

3) pre-painted means I open the box and play right away (and these aren't your dad's pre-painted minis)
4) The ruleset is simple enough that my children can play

5) The game has enough depth to be VERY tactical and can challenge the mind and tickle that tactical bone on your body
6) The company SUPPORTS Competitive play! They give a **** about balance, rules, they playtest feverishly to ensure game balance, and they listen to the people who play their game and take suggestions on improving their game.

It is just an awesome game worth your time checking out. The buy in is pretty reasonable and it is just a fun game.

And BTW, being in the NoVA area, you have one of the BEST X-Wing clubs in the world right there, in NOVA Squadron! Check out their Facebook page for more info!

~Ed Horne
NOVA Squadron Radio

Low $ start up.

Low time start up.

Learn rules in same/less time as a new board/card game and yet has depth.

Tactics and strategy matter, and you keep the pew pew!

Low time play.

Gorgeously detailed models.

More time on fun, less time on debating/rules lawyering.

It's not just a product with a Star Wars label, it feels like Star Wars.

It's not just a product with a Star Wars label, it feels like Star Wars.

That is the biggest thing that sold me on the game. How much it feels like playing XvT.

The group of players x-wing has makes this game special. I can sell many points about this being better then a lot of table tops games but with out great people it is pointless.

x-wing is Great because the people we play with make it great.

easy to learn / hard to master.

quick to pick up and buy a couple of ships and still be competetive.

no painting necessary / don't have hundreds of minis waiting for paint and assembly

super quick set up. typical 40k game takes 30-60 min setup. x is like 10min, less if you have your list ready.

customization of stuff is just boss. 40k units have like what 2-6 upgrades. x wing upgrades are exponentially growing.

you don't spend 10 min argueing with 3 people about a rule flipping through the big book.

like others have said / it's star wars~!

All the reasons you listed in OP, plus it's just a better game. The rules are elegant but deep, extremely well balanced, fun, and you still get surprising results like come-from-behind victories and stunning maneuvering.

This is coming from a longtime 40k player with thousands of dollars spent over the years.

What is it about X-wing that has made it so popular? In the Northern Virginia area, a random 40K or WM/H tournament might pull 15-25 every few months. There are multiple X-wing tournaments held throughout the month in the region that will all easily pull 15-30+ people. Heck, I was at a /Thursday night/ tournament with 21 players recently. Also, the game seems to ....cast a wider net of people..than 40k, WM/H, etc. So, especially considering how young the game is, what has made it so popular, compared against other established table top miniature games?

Pre-painted models? (coming from 40k, I can't help but repaint my ships) :-)

Low cost of entry?

Easy setup/cleanup?

Quick game time?

Subject material?

Other?

Pretty much all of that. I won't play minis games that require me to put things together and paint them. I've no interest in crafting. I just want to play. X-Wing is really inexpensive for a minis game. For hundreds of dollars, I can field almost any 100pt list configuration available in the game. The game plays fast with a relatively simple rule set along with some clever play aids...while still being pretty tactical. It's a very balanced game still, too. Then, of course, Star Wars is just a fun universe.

• Theme

oh and low maintanence. miniatures you assembled tend to fall apart or break and need repairs sooner or later. really annoying.

For me:

Pre-painted models

Easy rules/hard to master

Game time under 2 hours.

Only need another buddy to play it.

Good points. Someone else mentioned this, but it really struck home. The rules are simple. Rules arguments basically don't happen. And when they do, they are resolved within a minute or two. Untying the Gordian Knot of some 40k rules conundrums can take 10 minutes or more, never actually get resolved, and the players often wind up angry. While I have only been playing for barely a year here and there, I have never approached anything near a 40k rules argument with X-wing. Makes for happier players.

OP like you I've played 40k a long time nearly two decades but in 6th the rot started and 7th provided the killing blow the game takes forever to set up and way too long to play because the rules are designed for a skirmish game not a full scale battle.

Prices on minis are getting stupid £25 for five plastic guardsmen (scions) codex supplement books costing £30 you can't start an army now under £300.

GW does not care about the rules that's become very clear they just want to sell models and don't care what you do with them.

I didn't expect to make x-wing my main game when I started I just bought the starter because it was cheap, but we played a few games and it was something 40k wasn't any more it was fun.

I've now given up totally on GW games and instead play a few different ones like x-wing and battletech and I'm having alot more fun and spending alot less money doing it.

Fast pace, fair price, fabulous IP.

What I really think drives the game is Nostalgia; there has been a lack of quality Star Wars games as of late. Jedi Outcast/Academy was probably the best game to date, and that was over a decade ago, and the last good flight simulator was X-Wing Alliance. The Force Unleashed and the Old Republic were a huge disappointment for many, let's not talk about Battlefront or the various prequel game tie-ins.

It's clear the design team are huge fans of 90's Lucasarts games: X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, Rebel Assault, Dark Force/Jedi Knight, the X-Wing Novels by Stackpole and co., as well as the golden age of Dark Horse Star Wars comics ( Dark Empire era). For people growing up in the 90's (i.e. the majority of the gamerbase) these were the formative experiences which fleshed out the universe, rather than the distant Star Wars movies of the 70's and 80's and created the love for Star Wars as we know it today.

FFG taps into this nostalgia with a system that reflects how we expect starfighter combat to work in Star Wars and panders to the 90's crowd by introducing all the ships and pilots we always wish we could play with/as. It's XvTIE for the tabletop with all the stuff from the EU you know and love.

Of course the game itself is relatively well-balanced, fun to play, with great tactical and strategic depth, with lovely pre-painted miniatures but miniature gaming is chock-full of games with all of the above that have fallen by the wayside (Dust, Crimson Skies, Battletech clix, Mage Knight...)

X-Wing the MG's success is thus strongly linked to the strength of the license and it's great execution of an idea, as well as a gap in the market for quality Star Wars games, but also remember the fact that FFG is an extremely competent, well run and well funded company which puts out high-quality products at a reasonable price with great distributor, retailer and customer support.

Another contributing factor is the lack of a truly competitive space-combat miniatures game; X-Wing appeals to competitive players moreso than any other miniatures game at the moment with the tournament scene being both frequent, friendly, fast-paced and semi-lucrative (not as lucrative as M:TG, but one day?)