Would you play this game if it wasn't Star Wars?

By cyclopeatron, in X-Wing

I'm guessing your answer would be YES, because this is a totally great game.

Sure, you might have originally gotten into this game because of the Star Wars theme, but now you know it's just plain fun. Great rules, great models, great community... Just great all around.

I must say that I actually like this game in spite of the fact that its Star Wars. Sure I enjoy the (original) movies, but I am pretty much burnt out on Star Wars nostalgia and I'm pretty tired of X-wings, TIE Fighters, Luke Skywalker, etc. after 25 years.

So... I don't understand the grumps who are hating on the new models that push the envelope, or on thoughts of additional factions. I totally love seeing new ships. As long as the models and abilities are cool, I don't care a whit how new products relate to whatever movie or comic or novel. Heck, I'd be happy to see prequel ships even though I dislike the movies. The ships look cool.

I would even welcome FFG pushing beyond the EU to make up their own ship designs. Looking at FFG's other properties shows that they have a very capable design group. Why shouldn't FFG have just as much artistic authority to expand the EU as some hack comic writer or novelist? If anything I would trust FFG with designing Star Wars material more than I would many of the schlockmeisters responsible for the EU. One of FFG's proven specialties is preserving classic aesthetics while developing new material - just look at their Lovecraft and GW lines.

Freedom from nostalgia would also expand the possibilities for additional factions. All of the major long-lived miniatures games have a bunch of factions. I believe that X-Wing is going to need more factions to survive over the long haul, and I'll happily crawl out on the longest limb FFG will grow.

Wings of War and Star Trek: Attack Wing both use the same FlightPath system, as will the upcoming D&D Attack Wing. I don't play any of them because I'm not terribly interested in the subject matter.

So no. I wouldn't play a system that uses FlightPath just because it's FlightPath. It's the content that matters.

Nope. As much as I love this game, Star Wars is the draw for me.

-Cal

No probably not.

Now to clarify, I am still playing the game because it is an awesome system however I would probably never have started if not for the Star Wars theme drawing my attention.

nope.

One of the coolest ideas I have heard is a Star Fox version of the game, I'd be all about that. Honestly, it would be depend on what it was if it wasn't Star Wars, but I definitely wouldn't be as into it.

Nope. I've never played a table top game before, and if/when this one dies out, I don't foresee that I will pick anything else up. I had very little will power as I constantly passed the core set in B+N, and eventually broke down and bought it, knowing nothing about it besides it looked really pretty.

I love the game, but I still only play it because it's Star Wars. Not to say that it isn't a good game without the IP, it just doesn't hold the same magic. Now I don't care if there are ships from the EU in it or not, I grew up in the EU, reading books and playing video games with these ships.

But I just wouldn't have the initial interest in picking it up if it wasn't Star Wars, and I wouldn't go through the hassle of scheduling games or playing on Vassal if it wasn't Star Wars. And I for sure wouldn't be spending ridiculous amounts of money traveling to Gencon to play in Nationals if it wasn't Star Wars.

Assuming all of your answers are representative it appears I guessed totally wrong! Hah!

It kind of makes me worry about the future of this game. How long can nostalgia maintain this product line? In an atmosphere where people balk at aesthetic innovation...? I guess, though, that this really encapsulates the great artistic conundrum of Star Wars fandom, right?

The situation here stands in stark contrast to my favorite minis game, Warmachine / Hordes, where products and story lines are developed in unison and there are 12 factions. Players get excited by new factions and characters, and there is feedback between league and tournament results and story lines. The X-wing world is just way different. Very interesting.

I guess the long term health of this game will depend on future movie tie-ins, yes?

Edited by cyclopeatron

I would. I'm not completely sure I would gotten it if it wasn't. I never heard of Wings of War prior to playing X-Wing.

STAW I won't play, not because it's not Star Wars but because it's a bad game. The D&D game I'd consider if I thought I'd have people to play with it. But I'd rather spend my money on X-Wing.

But if they had made this game based on Wing Commander or even some generic Sci-Fi setting, and I heard of it, I'd most likely try it and be playing it still.

YES YES YES

Yes, I would. The SW setting helped me notice it, but the game is fun on its own.

Disney is the master of product marketing and tie-ins. I'd presume that there's been discussions between LFL, FFG and Disney representatives regarding the future of the gaming franchise. There's the three main movies coming in Episodes 7-9, along with stand-alone movies, and even Star Wars: Rebels as an option to draw from. I would be very confident to think that we'll see new ships and upgrades for this game for quite some time still.

Good, solid, replayable board/tabletop games have a life of their own. Even if FFG stopped designing new ships tomorrow, this game will endure I would think. The Star Wars franchise is still going strong (and $4.05 billion strong too) almost 40 years after the original movie release.

One reason vast amounts of new editions get cranked out is to ensure there's a steady dividend to report at the quarterly shareholders meeting (i.e.: Games Workshop with 40K and Hasbro with D&D). I really don't think that FFG is anywhere near that point yet.

Edited by Slugrage

The game is fun, but if it wasn't Star Wars, I doubt I would have started.

There are other dogfighting games out there, but the Star Wars subject matter made me want to explore and get the hang of XWing.

The game is fun, but if it wasn't Star Wars, I doubt I would have started.

There are other dogfighting games out there, but the Star Wars subject matter made me want to explore and get the hang of XWing.

This. I'd never really even looked at a dogfighting game before until I saw X-Wing.

However, it is a really well balanced and fun game. So if I had been introduced to the Flight Path system another way, I'd probably still enjoy it. I certainly wouldn't have spent anywhere near as much money on it, though...

Assuming all of your answers are representative it appears I guessed totally wrong! Hah!

It kind of makes me worry about the future of this game. How long can nostalgia maintain this product line? In an atmosphere where people balk at aesthetic innovation...? I guess, though, that this really encapsulates the great artistic conundrum of Star Wars fandom, right?

The situation here stands in stark contrast to my favorite minis game, Warmachine / Hordes, where products and story lines are developed in unison and there are 12 factions. Players get excited by new factions and characters, and there is feedback between league and tournament results and story lines. The X-wing world is just way different. Very interesting.

I guess the long term health of this game will depend on future movie tie-ins, yes?

I'm playing a game in 2014 because I first saw a film in 1977, that's enough nostalgia to fill errr more star cruisers than you can imagine. Saying that all games have a life cycle, but I'd not start to worry yet.

Most likely not. A friend brought me into the game, but Star Wars is what got me and keeps me coming back. I had played Wings of War once or twice but never bought into it.

No, Star Wars brought me into the game. I recognize that its a great game in its own right, but I never would have played iif it wasn't X-Wings

The game is fun, but I'm only playing it because it's Star Wars. I've always been in love with the ships more than anything, so the chance to have a little A-Wing sitting on my table is a dream come true. I would probably play something else similar, but I probably wouldn't have gone much further than the starter set.

I think the real question here is this: would you have given the game a chance if it wasn't Star Wars. Me, I would play it even if it wasn't Star Wars (probably the Wings of Glory version), IF I had given it a chance. The Star Wars theme is what brought it to my attention. My brother-in-law is a WWII aircraft buff, so he may have introduced me to Wings of Glory, but I don't know for certain if that would have happened.

Honestly, not sure I would. The reason I first tried out this game was because it is a Star Wars game, and it looked pretty cool when I saw it played at the LGS. Actually, come to think of it, I got my first Roleplaying experience from Star Wars also, several years back playing the d20 Revised Edition. But I gave it a try after having seen many other wargames with various levels of complexity, and had a great time. The fact that it's star wars was quite attractive, the minis are beautiful, and it's not complicated to learn. It might sound strange, but I'm not a fan of games with a lot of rules unless I don't really have to remember the rules, IE videogames and Roleplaying Games. This game is light on rules compared to most tabletop experiences. For that reason, I must say I drooled over the capital ship minis in the Armada announcement, but I am almost uninterested in that game. I'll give it a try, but I expect I will find it too complicated and too expensive.

Yeah. I actually played Wings of War/Glory first and still prefer that game to X-Wing - though it's worth noting that I am a HUGE World War I air war buff in addition to being a huge Star Wars fan, so that has a unique draw also.

But really, I would play just about any game with a similar mechanical system to this one. It's a really good, clean system. Part of the reason I like Wings of Glory better than X-Wing is because with Wings, you plan three moves at a time - so you have to predict where your opponent will be on the second and third turns. It's incredibly strategic and great fun. Of course, there's no such thing as actions in Wings, so there's that.

TL;DR - yes, I love the system and I love Wings of Glory.

The game would not be as near as popular if it did not have the Star Wars theme. I waited to see if there was going to be a large enough play group following the game before I dove in. I do very much love the system the game is in but if the player base is not there neither is my money, so the answer would be "No" for me.

No, because the hook for me is Star Wars. I don't care about some no-name, no-background made-up thing that probably sucks. That's why I'm ignoring Firestorm Armada and Dystopian Wars/Legions/whatever.

I don't think so. I'd be playing whatever other Star Wars game came out instead (assuming it was good). A big part of the fun is anticipating what ships might come out next and seeing how various Pilot and other cards match what was in the movies (it's also a fun way to learn more about the Star Wars EU as every once in a while they come up with something I've not noticed or been exposed to before). If it wasn't Star Wars, this would not be possible. Plus, the ships look great (and are to scale), so also appeal to me as a collector.

I also love Star Trek and played at the first six Attack Wing tournaments, but then stopped after that even though they were mostly using the same system and had great prize support (I won 5 ships and the DS9 model... plus got lots of great participation prizes). They release too much, it's not as well thought out, the system just didn't feel as good with capital ships, and the ships didn't look very good.

I'm sure I'll get the Armada starter just because it's Star Wars, too. Doesn't immediately seem as appealing as X-Wing, but it's Star Wars so I'm going to give it a try.

Nope.

As a star wars toy collector it was the detail of the ships that caught my attention.

If this was something else I would have not looked at it nor took the time to look it up on YouTube