I have fun when I'm playing in tournaments. I have fun when I do well in tournaments. I have fun when I don't do so well in a tournament but learned from my mistakes. I also have fun when I'm trying out new lists on casual game night and getting my butt kicked but learning a lot. I also have fun when I get to play an Epic game at a friend's birthday party.

If I'm playing X-Wing, then I'm having fun. The game just keeps on getting more fun.

Unless one player's dice (including my opponent's) are ice cold to the point of it being completely one-sided, then I don't have as much fun.

Going to tournaments doesn't equal being highly competitive. My town doesn't have a game store, and the nearest is too far to regularly visit. Without many local players (that I know of), tournaments offer a great opportunity to play several games against a variety of people.

Of course, I do play to win - as in never purposefully lose a game, am happy with good dice and threaten those dice that frequently fail me. Even when attending Regionals, however, my main goal was to bring some unusual ships and just have fun. Ended up bringing a list I've never flown before (or anything like it), as far as I know the only player attending with TIE Bombers and probably one of the few to bring ordnance. Won 3 out of 5 games. Enjoyed 5 out of 5 games, and made sure that my opponents did too. My supposedly uncompetitive list helped with that - playing 5 games against IGs or fat turrets is boring, while facing some ships you rarely see at all is much more interesting. Sure, getting absolutely thrashed all the time wouldn't have been great, but neither is consistently thrashing your opponents - at a previous tournament, I had much more fun in a game where I went up against a Soontir+3 Lambda list (losing 21-100) than when I played against Fat Han (winning 100-0). Besides, when you win while flying with a supposedlly bad list, it's much more rewarding. Fly whatever you enjoy flying, or just ships you happen to like the look of. If I've gone to a tournament, I want to look back at a full day of fun games. And when I somehow manage to beat an opponent, I want it to be because I knew my list, flew it better and sacrificed more gungans to the dice gods - not because I brought a meta list I copied from the internet, using the same bloody stuff everybody claims is definitely best.

Lost 7 times in a row...

And bought the game

I don´t know how, but this is one of those games I just don´t mind if I loose.

(other examples being Britannia and Blood Bowl)

It is that much fun.

I win about half of the 100 vs 100 points.

I do enjoy 60 vs 60 points. on two by two feet field, asteroid in each corner, largest and a small in the middle. It is for a fast game if pressed for time, or want something different. It is more about pure dogfighting and tactics and lets you try stuff you normally wouldn't use.

I somehow never lost at Epic, but truth to be told we always played with 3 persons per team (so each 100 points) and my allied commanders saved me a lot

I play to win.

Winning is fun.

Winning/losing graciously and having fun is what I prefer for all parties involved, myself included.

Really, do you play for fun?

Yes

Really

For me it is about telling a story, and being part of the story. My victory, or defeat, contributes to the story and advances it for better or worse.

Now don't misunderstand. I'm not saying it is wrong to find joy from competition. I know some prefer that. But they tire me out and ruin the enjoyment as much as I annoy them by "not taking the game seriously".

I've just been into X-Wing for a couple of months. Played three games in that time which served no other purpose than to learn how to play. Soon I'll be doing the same with Armada, and I will be getting into the Star Wars Roleplaying soon enough too. While the three games are just that, three different games, I find joy in thinking up a narrative and linking them.

Here's an example:

AoS:

Group of Rebels carry out a diplomatic mission on Planet G to gain support and are successful.

Empire agents are also on Planet G and there's a bit of a gunfight. In the process, their transport/shuttle is destroyed.

Splitting up, some Rebels keep the Imperials occupied while the diplomat goes to negotiate safe passage with a YT-1300 pilot. With both missions successful, the Rebels regroup at the freighter and take off.

X-Wing:

YT-1300 must get from one narrow end of a 6x3 board to the other with Tie Fighters flying towards it to stop it (board preferably representing the sky of Planet G).

Next game is low orbit, or at least just out of the atmosphere, on a long board. YT-1300 is at one end, Rebel ships at the other, and an Empire fleet at the centre with the task of destroying the freighter.

Armada:

The YT-1300 and Rebel squadron or two is deployed at the "planet side" of the board. Empire fleet deployed centrally, though likely at one or both board edges, with the Rebel fleet at the opposite end to the planet side. YT-1300 just needs to leave the board, or dock with a ship that then leaves the board, to win.

THE END

Just one of the ways I turn "a game" into a story where players determine the outcome through their actions.

Disclaimer: Not read the whole thread past the 2nd post, this is a direct reply to the OP.

Yeah, I have a lot of fun with X-wing, as a die hard GM I enjoy making campaigns and bending the rules a bit, I still play 100 point dogfights but I massively prefer epic. To me it's largely about forging the narrative, this is not to say i haven't played the odd tournament but I don't like to get super-duper competitive.

This said, other people have fun in different ways. Take Halo. I prefer playing single player campaign or co-op and enjoying the story. Some people however are all about the multiplayer.

I can play multiplayer. I am better than average at multiplayer, I just prefer the story.

X-wing is perhaps the best miniatures game I've ever played, and other companies stand to learn a lot from FFG in how they balance and create games.

Fly casual my friends.

I ONLY play for fun.

I have absolutely no interest in playing in a tournament. I've been down that dark path with other game systems and it leads to fear, suffering and hate. I know people enjoy it, and that's fine, but it's not for me at all.

Currently in our small little hobby/FLGS we have a group of 6 of us that play on a weekly basis, and its all for fun. We try goofy combos, build thematic lists, and even do <gasp> EPIC games.

We're all also of the mind that FFG needs to do more to support scenario based play. How many tabletop games do you remember that had "scenario books"? FFG could put together a package of scenarios and scenery where you can play each mission as a stand alone or as part of a campaign.

But I digress... When it comes down to it we're all a bunch of grown men and women playing with little toy ships going "pewpewpew! I got you!" How serious can that really be? For me, not at all. It's FUN, pure and simple. And that's why I play X-Wing, or any other game.

Never played at a tournament, only with friends.... And I still buy everything I can afford to get my hands on whenever possible.

But I digress... When it comes down to it we're all a bunch of grown men and women playing with little toy ships going "pewpewpew! I got you!" How serious can that really be? For me, not at all. It's FUN, pure and simple. And that's why I play X-Wing, or any other game.

When I run a campaign I do try to be straight faced, dramatic and serious. Of course there are often (darkly) humerous moments, but sheer stupid is frowned upon.

Example: Groups dark jedi in a D20 game has a captured rebel, and we are talking about either interrogating or executing him. This is set before yavin, Before alderaan.

We find that if he is let to escape, he takes his cell to Alderaan.

we "let" him go.

Of course, my group know that when a mission is "routine patrol, no resistance expected" That generally I am going to throw literally my entire toybox at them.

Also, my games are 70% skill based, 30% combat based. Diplomacy, intimidate, repair, stealth and spot are infinitely more useful than +4 to attack.

Having fun is serious business.

I play for the opposite of fun. i literally only play to make sure my opponent has the worst time possible. this way, i ensure that i have the worst time possible as well. i don't enjoy being miserable, i just have no idea how to have fun, so i want to inflict that on everyone around me as well. to that end, i only go to tournaments, and don't play at a game store. mostly because I've been banned from them all. usually i drive 100 miles or more, to try and get more prizes from small stores that don't know me. if i win a prize i just tear it up or burn it in front of the people i beat.

of course, i only fly meta lists i take off the internet, stuff like double falcon, or phantoms, or TLT spam. that looks to be great for causing maximum tears, plus its boring for me, so that's like a double win.

in case anyone was wondering, i do of course cheat at every moment i can. nudging ships, moving or swapping dials, anything really, just to annoy as many people as possible.

In short, I'm the guy that all "casual players" seem to think all tournament players are. And i don't exist.

i go to tournaments whenever i can, because its incredibly good fun. you get a whole, concentrated day of playing one of the best games ever, with lots of like minded people. To me, that is the very epitome of fun. You can take it as seriously as you like, and honestly, in perhaps 30 tournaments now, I've only had a single game which was slightly less enjoyable. That's 1 out of 150 games that wasn't awesome.

So to answer your question, yes, i do play for fun. I just enjoy the competition, the camaraderie, and the winning at the same time as enjoying the story, the great/terrible dice moments, and the fact that its just Star Wars space ships flying round a table!

I don´t know how, but this is one of those games I just don´t mind if I loose.

(other examples being Britannia and Blood Bowl)

Life was good.

*Ed.: I later found out that sub'd Brigantes do not count for Angle kings!

And wether you make pew-pew-pew sounds in your head or out loud, why else would you "play"? It's something that gives you pleasure or you're wasting your time.

If the pressure of tournament play is your thing, great. But don't assume that's the only reason your opponent is moving toy spaceships around the table.

If the beer & pretzels joy of casual play is your thing, great. But don't assume that's the only reason your opponent is moving toy spaceships around the table.

If the pressure of tournament play is your thing, great. But don't assume that's the only reason your opponent is moving toy spaceships around the table.

If the beer & pretzels joy of casual play is your thing, great. But don't assume that's the only reason your opponent is moving toy spaceships around the table.

I play for fun. I play with my neighbor, I play with my friends, I play with my students. Last night was the first time I went out to my FLGS to play X-Wing, and I had to leave before I had an opponent. If you don't play for fun (casually?), then you've got to be getting your fun in a different part of this game (competition, winning, etc.).

I am teaching my 8 year old son how to play, so I don't take things too seriously. If we are short on time, I will grab three random rookie pilots and a unique pilot with an upgrade or two and play. This gives him the opportunity to see how the different ships fly. At my LGS, the few players that we have allow me to play with my son with our 100 point build. It is quite fun, and it allows him to see the synergy of the game without having to remember what each card does. At my LGS, I am the person who takes the time to learn the most about the game, but I still play to make sure everyone is having fun.

I will be attending world's this year so I can play against people that study the game like I do. Win or lose, it's going to be awesome!

Really, do you play for fun? Haven't taken a game too seriously since Regionals, I got burned out from competitive mode but I love X-Wing so much that I could never play another competitive event again and still be happy. I still buy all of the new stuff, I still play to win, I still enjoy generic T-65 X-Wings, I still like playing and playing against turrets (even without Autothrusters), I still like Brobots, I still like TIE Swarm, I still like 4K'ing my Defenders to victory... I think you get the idea.

One thing I have noticed in the recent weeks is that there is a rampant increase of "Fix-it" and "New Core Set is doing/going to _____" threads that are popping up. This leads me to assume that a good amount of people are either not having fun with the game or are only looking at the competitive/tournament value of the game, and I've participated a bit in those as well.

I'm just wondering if we're all still having fun with X-Wing. I mean, jousting values and calculating points cost is nice and stuff, but when are you gonna dust off and bust out the X-Wings and TIE Bombers and StarVipers for fun again and not worry about MoV or the brokenness of whatever card cramping your style? Because lately it seems that most of what I'm hearing is grief about something not being playable when in reality everything is playable when it comes to having fun!

It is important for me, as a matter of my personal mental health, to avoid competetive gaming. I went too far (for me personally) with Warhammer & 40K competetively, and the way I focused on perceived 'imbalances' as the game developed sapped all enjoyment from me, and also turned me into a bit of a (REDACTED).

It is in fact important for me to avoid people who only play with a mindset that every game they play is 'practice for the next tournament' (perfect lists, latest ships, no interest in relaxing into one of my "flying circus" type lists. They remind me of the old me. They can bring out the old me.

I have spent the last 6 months playing X-Wing at home at my kitchen table, mostly by myself as a learning and therapeutic exercise, because I needed to avoid public play for personal reasons. This is an interesting thread for me, because I've never been to these forums before. Friendly, non-competetive play is important to me. It is the most important thing I look for in a gaming community. Hopefully I can play publically in my area again against people who will bring casual 'just for fun' lists.

I actually came here to figure out how to keep a Punisher from always going down like the Hindenburg, but I'll take that discussion elsewhere.

I play both casual and tournaments. I find them both fun. Seeing as the tournaments are just bigger gatherings of the same people (10+) playing the game that I already play and just being organized with prize support I don't see the difference. Even when I get to high level tournaments, store, regionals, etc. I never get a bad sport of a opponent (ok I have had 2 over the course of 3 years and the greater California area as a sample size). Sure I have some rule calls I have to toss out onto some people because they don't know the game as well as I do seeing as I am usually the TO and person my group goes to for rule disputes, but beyond that it is never an issue.

Now what I do see is a lot of the people that call the meta stale or blame the 2-3 popular builds the reason they lose, usually share the camp of blaming dice for their lose, never the opponents flying. You can bring fun lists to competitive events and do just fine, heck a guy running 4 mangler scyks almost got top 8 at the regionals I attended. He knew how to fly them extremely well. So the whole "I can't fly what I want because it gets beat by X" is just an excuse. If you like a list, you know the list, you will do great! You can always have fun, but just remember win or lose, do it gracefully. That can tend to make your experience alter from not having fun (even while losing) to enjoying time spent playing a great game.

I highly suggest all the people here that say they don't wanna go to tournaments because of WAAC players, you are losing out on a lot. X-wing usually doesn't draw that crowd. Yeah you might lose, but you might also learn a lot and start to figure out where you need to improve because you have such a variety of a player base to pull from instead of just the 2-3 people you always play against. It might even surprise you that not everyone brings meta lists, because they tend to have a theme they want to stick to, and what might surprise you more, is when you see that same person win. So regardless of Tournament or casual games, go play. Just remember that because some people complain on the forums constantly, it does not mean the rest of the player base feels that way.

I really don't like that people make the distinction between "fun" and "competitive" because it implies that the two are mutually exclusive.

If I didn't go to tournaments, I wouldn't get 5-8 games of X-wing in a day! Sounds like a day jam-packed full of fun to me!

As tedious as the the net-listing etc. can be, the snobbery of people who don't play tournaments can be just as off-putting. Then again, the ceaseless whining of people who expect every ship and upgrade to be perfectly balanced is by far the most exhausting--and that attitude pervades both sides of the debate.

I have always and still play mostly for fun. Never played a tournament.

The biggest problem for me doing that is that some lists are just overwhelming against certain other lists. I think the more specialized the ships and upgrades get the more this problem is going to fortify.

When you had just Wave 1 there werent so many lists countering others hard if at all. Now with very strong arc dodgers and/or turret builds it happens a lot more that your changes when crashing into one another your chances are worse simply by the matter of chosen lists.

E.g. a while ago i tried to play an A-Wing list but i ran into a Phantom list that did everything i could do a lot better and even had mostly higher Pilot values. Simply because his list was specialized and mine was more of a "this would be interesting to test" list i couldnt to ANYTHING. He just positioned after me out of my arcs and that was it.

There were also mismatches in the early days, just not as brutal as now.

I really don't like that people make the distinction between "fun" and "competitive" because it implies that the two are mutually exclusive.

If I didn't go to tournaments, I wouldn't get 5-8 games of X-wing in a day! Sounds like a day jam-packed full of fun to me!

Exactly. Everyone plays for fun. These semi-regular threads should be titled "Do you play in tournaments?".

I once had a thread called 'does anyone else favour narrative play' which was sort of the opposite of 'do you play in tournaments' and i seem to recall that devolved into the same arguments from the same people.

(not excluding myself from partisan views on competative play btw, just saying it makes little difference what you call it, someone always feel their play style is being attacked and it goes downhill)

If that is the case maybe ppl should think about why they are feeling attacked by a question.

There were also mismatches in the early days, just not as brutal as now.

Really? Cause the original TIE swarm would like to have a word with you and how you are very wrong, there have always been the "strong" lists. But then again you don't play competitive so your input on that subject is nil. I would suggest going out and venturing into the competitive scene again though, especially right now. Lot is changing and its forcing people into new mind sets. But if scenarios and the like are your thing, go have at it. But do me a favor, don't say it so matter of factly.

There were also mismatches in the early days, just not as brutal as now.

Really? Cause the original TIE swarm would like to have a word with you and how you are very wrong, there have always been the "strong" lists. But then again you don't play competitive so your input on that subject is nil. I would suggest going out and venturing into the competitive scene again though, especially right now. Lot is changing and its forcing people into new mind sets. But if scenarios and the like are your thing, go have at it. But do me a favor, don't say it so matter of factly.

Lol are you serious. Competitive has its own rules (e.g. when you lose a game due to how point are calculated after time is up). However that doesnt mean that normal games don't count. Its just rediculous to say my imput is nil because im talking about normal games here and not about competitive tournaments. So exactly the opposite is the case if anything...

What im trying to say is that you can look at what is strong in a competitive environment as well as in a normal game environment. In both those scenarios different things are stronger or weaker.

I've never done a tournament.

I always just play (with friends and family) for fun.