In theory you should get a penalty if you're taking a shot at someone crossing your line of fire, like they're crossing your 'T'. But that's not included either, so I guess it balances out.

There are numerous inconsistencies within X-wing and a lot of other air/space dogfighting type games, but this is by far the fastest playing game I've come across in many years. Maybe during the design stage, they omitted some of these nuances in the interest of keeping the pace of the game quick.

This subject comes up occasionally. Basically, the assumption is that the designers didn't want to load the game with more complexity than was necessary. X-wing is a very simple, fast playing game and while a little rule to address an issue like this may not seem like much, there are dozens of little details like this (like the one Parravon mentions) and all those little simple rules can quickly add up to a lot of complexity. You have to draw the line somewhere, the designers chose to draw it here. Given how much fun the game us, I'd say the were right to do so.

The benefit to firing up someone's tailpipe is that they can't shoot back. Better than any bonus-die, for me!

...Screw you, Falcons.

there also the outmaneuver ept that gives you a benefit for being in the opponents "blind spot"

As mentioned IF there was an attack bonus for shooting at someone's rear out of your primary firing arc then there should also be a nice defensive bonus if you are instead shooting at a target's flank. High angle deflection shot against a maneuverable target have always been very difficult especially compared to head on, rear, or shots at stationary targets.

I had never even asked until a Army vet at the store was playing a game and brought it up. Knowing only a morsel of real world dogfight strategy from WWI & II, I thought for the rule to work you could have to make it so you got the bonus only when you were coming in 45 degrees off their tail for maximum target area or some such which like has been said is a pain to figure out constantly. But as I thought about it and explained to him later, the benefit for being in the chase position is already inherent to the game. When you come up on someones tail or rear quarter you know one great thing: With out the use of a boost or barrel roll he must be in his firing arc from the turn before. So the turn I get the chase the benefit is for next turn when I know exactly what move to plan and action to take as long as I can put my self directly behind him facing the same way, or in his spot if he activates first.

And if he wants to get out of it, they have to do some fancy flying. Like using a K-turn. Which is still more to my benefit since while yes we may shoot each other when I go head in I'm getting the action to modify my dice and they aren't. Then the next turn as they make a move to get out of the pocket, I K-turn and get a shot while they don't. All this we call the K-turn race. It's a board position worth studying if you get a chance.

You have a bonus. It's positional.

Like Backstabbers ability. He gets 4 attack die when in range one and out of their firing arc. Love that guy.

Yeah, it's nasty surprise coming from a TIE fighter.

I play Wings of Glory (WWII) and i used to play Aeronautica Imperialis (40k athmospheric air combat).

Both have a bonus for tailing someone.

The bonus in Aeronautica was simply that you could look at the opponent's planned maneuver before deciding yours. But it required a skillcheck by your pilot. Now we don't have that in X-Eing but i could imagine throwing an attack die and that way you would determine if you could look or not. The mechanic makes sense in Aeronautica. It plays on 9 vertical height levels from the deck to the fringe of space, and it was very dufficult to even get on someoned tail! Therefore an Eldar pilot had a much better chance to spot what his enemy would do next, than an Ork for example.

In Wings of Glory there is a very similar rule, plus you can add a free hit if you hit the same target on consecutive turns. But in Wings you choose the special rules you want to use after each game.

I've played Canvas Eagles (WW1) and they use tailing there also. If you're on someone's tail they have to tell you, and you only, if they are going left, right or straight or climbing, diving or flying level, before you choose your maneuver. It's a simple, but easy mechanic.

Most games that incorporate a tailing mechanic will usually have an altitude aspect as well, which is something that X-wing also doesn't include in the interest of speedy play.

I think the lack of a counter attack and the EPT cards are the bonuses. Lets keep this beloved game simple!

There are several bonuses to being on someones 6. As of now there is a helpful thread from osoroshi showing maneuvers and how they work.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/110115-earning-your-wings-a-guide-for-understanding-movment/

One of the pictures in that thread shows that it is impossible for a ship to make a maneuver that escapes it own firing arc. So if you are a higher pilot skill and on the six of a ship all you have to do is to set your dial to land exactly where that ship was last and you will be able to keep it inside your firing arc.

A ship can K-turn but again if you are higher pilot skill the ship will skip its action and you will still have yours. Also you get to shoot before that ship returns fire on you.

Also unless they are a turreted ship or Firespray they cannot shoot behind you. You do have to be slightly careful about bombs however since they are such a rare occurrence that hardly comes into consideration.