Rebels... part of 'xwing' or an 'entry game'

By Gadge, in X-Wing

Given the intended market for rebels.

If FFG have or get the licence what do you think the odds are of them doing a simplified space combat game for that demographic... perhaps on a 'midscale' (like huge ship scale) for the 8-14 year old market where all the card fencing and 'meta' we have is a bit too much.

I can totally see some 'rebels' ships making their way into this game (but i mean to date we've seen what, three or four ships we dont already have?)

But something more traditionally 'toy' like and perhaps a bit simpler which would allow a 'ghost' and some other shis to fight TIEs and also do ground attack with walkers, imperial transports etc would be my 'pitch' if i was in FFG at the mo.

Personally, I think X-Wing is, at its core at least, simple enough. A kid could easily grasp the basics of it, and learn the more advanced stuff as they go along. Might even make 'm smarter. You don't want dumb kids, do you?

Well i dont know.

(i mean i know i dont want dumb kids)

I started playing runequest, d7d and warhammer at about 11 after moving on from 'choose your own adventure' fighting fantasy books.

But i , and my mates, were pretty bright kids.

Managing warhammer world and events for GW i saw a lot of kids 'playing 40k' who clearly were just making it up as they went along. (once saw warhammer high elves defending helms deep from necrons where the 'to hit roll' seemed to be whether you could hit a model with a dice :) )

I thin the entry game is simple enough but like i say i can already see elements of rebels going into xwing but i wonder if they will use the 'lower age' end of the cartoons appeal to make a more 'kids game'. either stripped down xwing or a totally different game more akin to a traditional board game?

A bit like Gw did in the early 90s.

They did 'entry level' versions of blood bowl, advanced space crusade and loads of others. Small box games with a limited amount of parts and simple rules.

I think a big part of xwing is working out synergistic lists, either between characters/ships or with upgrades and i think that might be beyond a lot of pre teens and maybe even 13 year olds.

Kids entertainment seems to have been dumbed down a lot (from what i saw as a teacher for two years in high school). I remember one year at the traditional 'last week before xmas so lets not expect the kids to actually do any work' we would nearly always put a movie on in at least 50 per cent of classes (i dont actually think this was sound policy).

One year we put 'serenity' on for our year 10 (about 14/15 years old) lower ability set and had to swap it for another movie after about 20 minutes as none of them could understand it.

My friend's kids play it just fine. Not old enough for tournaments, but they can play it just fine.

That brings an interesting question that i was talking the other day with friends. The hobby isn't about younglings anymore, when i see the LGS i don't see any kid playing wargames (or miniature games, however you prefer to call them). I just don't think trying to market for kids is a reasonable business answer nowadays with miniature gaming.

Don't get me wrong, the game is simple, but the interest isn't there. Not like in the old days, i started too at the age of 11. I could be wrong tho.

Edited by DreadStar
Managing warhammer world and events for GW i saw a lot of kids 'playing 40k' who clearly were just making it up as they went along. (once saw warhammer high elves defending helms deep from necrons where the 'to hit roll' seemed to be whether you could hit a model with a dice :) )

That sounds great! Would have loved to see that.

The game is simple enough to pick up. Just don't shove the Meta down their throat and they'll be fine. Might even surprise you.

"By all accounts, that combination of ships and cards should not have worked as well as it did, but it did. How."

Managing warhammer world and events for GW i saw a lot of kids 'playing 40k' who clearly were just making it up as they went along. (once saw warhammer high elves defending helms deep from necrons where the 'to hit roll' seemed to be whether you could hit a model with a dice :) )

That sounds great! Would have loved to see that.

A legndary story was a staffer hearing an argument between two kids in the store about which was better 'elves or dwarves'

Nothing unusual there...

until he listened on and heard

'yeah but elves fall over too easily'

It turns out they played 'warhammer' by rolling D cell batteries down a 12" rules at each other units and miniatures knocked over were 'dead'... the lad witheleves felt agrieved as he had core set plastics but his opponents dwarves were lower centre of gravity and made of metal!