The question in the topic title is pretty much it. And pertains mostly to combat encounters.

My players tend to use the book suggestions as written. I would like them to be a bit more creative. I've encouraged them with little success. When every triumph is used to kill an extra stormtrooper minion and every advantage is used to trigger an effect or recover strain, it gets pretty old.

As a GM i've stopped using triumphs to do criticals to PCs, and if i generate enough advantage i'll use it to do something interesting to change the scope of the encounter. I did this in hopes of encouraging the players to do the same, but have had little success.

I can't really make them change the way they do this, but if someone has any ideas i can use to encourage them to mix things up a bit i'm all ears.

Have them all listen to Skill Monkey and use the Environmental Set Pieces Game aid. These are really good player created game aids.

Get them to listen to Campaign! It is the spinoff actual play podcast of the six Star Wars actual play episodes of One Shot(three d20-episodes and three EotE-episodes), so you should start with those!

I don't approve a "add a boost to X" unless they can explain how. If they can't explain it, sorry they don't get it. I have yet to have this be an issue.

As a GM it is your job to guide the story and adjudicate the rolls. That doesn't mean blanket approval of something because it is in the book. It is YOUR game/story.

You can listen to Fang and have them go to X Y Z site, or not, that sort of doesn't matter unless they have incentive to bother. If you approve all "I want jack to have a boost on his next attack" ... why would they ever bother to learn to change it into "My shots missed but they knocked the guard right into exactly where jack was pointing his gun. I guess not every miss is bad!".

I would suggest you also start doing the same for NPCs and what happens to the players on Threats/Despairs.

If you hand out boosts for their advantages, or give them 1 strain on a threat without an explanation... don't expect them to do it, be the example, it is your job as GM. =)

I'd say you'll have to pen out a list of options that are both different/creative and mechanically useful.

In addition, part of it might be they just aren't narrating the roll. Activating an effect doesn't just mean flipping the switch. Landing a crit can be described cinematically to give it a bit more flare.

The aim should be to set the expectations.

At the start of the next session, set aside 5 minutes at the start and explain what you want to have happen. I'd suggest something like this:

Campaign Expections

Also add that you expect the players to add to the narrative of the story through descriptions of the die results. Ask them what they want to do with the advantage/triumph. If they give you the "I'll add a boost dice to Joe's next check", make sure to ask how. You have set the expectations at the start of the session as to what you want to have happen, so that when you ask for more, they are not suddenly getting ambushed. If they can't come up with anything, make a suggestion and say, "Does that sound good?" and thereby asking for their approval before moving on. Having their approval is VERY important. Its their characters and by you asking for the approval, you are firstly not stepping on their toes, and secondly, its presenting your suggestion in the submissive position.

Also make sure that you are providing good narration for the NPCs actions. One thing I have found is that narration and good descriptions is addictive and contagious. If you get into it, so will they. Also offer a boost for good narrative and roleplay.

Have them all listen to Skill Monkey and use the Environmental Set Pieces Game aid. These are really good player created game aids.

Get them to listen to Campaign! It is the spinoff actual play podcast of the six Star Wars actual play episodes of One Shot(three d20-episodes and three EotE-episodes), so you should start with those!

Thanks for the suggestions, i'll recommend them to the players.

The aim should be to set the expectations.

At the start of the next session, set aside 5 minutes at the start and explain what you want to have happen. I'd suggest something like this:

Campaign Expections

Also add that you expect the players to add to the narrative of the story through descriptions of the die results. Ask them what they want to do with the advantage/triumph. If they give you the "I'll add a boost dice to Joe's next check", make sure to ask how. You have set the expectations at the start of the session as to what you want to have happen, so that when you ask for more, they are not suddenly getting ambushed. If they can't come up with anything, make a suggestion and say, "Does that sound good?" and thereby asking for their approval before moving on. Having their approval is VERY important. Its their characters and by you asking for the approval, you are firstly not stepping on their toes, and secondly, its presenting your suggestion in the submissive position.

Also make sure that you are providing good narration for the NPCs actions. One thing I have found is that narration and good descriptions is addictive and contagious. If you get into it, so will they. Also offer a boost for good narrative and roleplay.

Good advice. I have done this during past sessions asking players to give narrative reasons to using boost dice. Part of it is my failure for not asking regularly. I do need to set expectations with this.

Generally outside of combat the players are really good about using advantage and triumph to make the encounter more interesting. The trouble comes mainly during combat encounters when the players just start using advantage and criticals for standard by the book stuff rather than coloring the encounter. This is really surprising since we have played games like Fate and Icons which adds aspects. They are used to adding aspects to the environment, but with EotE it seems to them that triumphs and advantages are better used for criticals and adding boost to other players, or just regaining strain at least to them. The players tend to min max the rolls to give them an advantage mechanically when they could just as easily use the dice rolls to achieve the same effect by coloring the encounter. This leads to me, the GM trying to keep it as interesting as possible.

Again i cannot make them change how they are doing this, but based on yours and other suggestions i should start requiring player narration as to the result of their actions and dice rolls.

I don't want to be a judge of myself of how good i narrate. I try to be exciting and descriptive by describing what the opposition or NPC's are doing with maneuvers and actions. Then i include the dice as best as i can. I've been trying to lead by example as GM and as a player when i get to play.

Another thing you need to do is set the stage. Make sure you have stuff around them that they can effect with advantage threat etc. It is hard to come up with clever ideas in a vacuum.

Make suggestions a few times, they will get the hang of it!

get them to read books?

Out of combat my group seems to do ok with this, it's in combat where we find it's easy to fall into "err just give a boost to the next person who shoots" every time. I'd insist players give a narrative explanation to giving boost dice. Our GM is also giving small XP bonuses for good descriptions to give us a bit of a push.

GMs should be a little understanding with combat I think. You are making a ton more rolls in a combat encounter so expecting everyone to come up with a unique cinematic explanation to every dice pool result is going to become tedious and bog things down to a certain degree, and it's supposed to be a fun thing, not a chore.

We have some simple catch phrases we use for giving boost dice, like with Aid, we say "I hold the flashlight" or "I hold the IV bag" or whatever. Combat could be the same "I knock em off balance, or shoot a piece of the wall away he was hiding behind." Keep it simple.

Ultimately though, as long as people are having fun, and there is laughs a plenty at the table, chances are, you are doing it right.