So a lot of new people picking up the game lately. In no small part thanks to X-Wing Night! However. Seems like people are not clicking on some basic rules and its starting to bother me because the term "house rule" is starting to rear its ugly head.

How do I get people playing the game properly? I see a lot of hand measuring, checking dials during activation, the range ruler coming out before combat, and other things. And not just during my games either, just yesterday I overheard another player tell another that "if pre-measuring isn't allowed then the shop should house rule it so that it is because space ships have sensors...".

Um... No. This game is too easy to learn to start house ruling it!

But how do I whip all these new players into shape without seeming like a jerk? Actually the jerk status isn't such a bother, I'd just like everyone to follow the rules.

Gently point out that something is against the rules the first time that a mistake is made, and try to agree that both sides should play by the rules after everyone has a few games under their belt. When I started playing, my regular opponent and I agreed that we would not enforce the flying off the board rule too strictly, for example.

Houserules are fine as long as everyone agrees on them, preferably before you start playing. Discuss that.

And don't be a jerk, of course. Gaming is done together.

I doubt it will change as long as things stay really unstructured and casual at the shop. Your best bet is probably to work with the store to get a couple of tournament prize kits; one as league prizes and the other to run a small weekend tournament. In the league rules make it clear that dogfight matches will use the FFG tournament rules. Having the structure of a league and some 'official' prize support will probably get some of your players wanting to play with the rules used at tournaments even when they are playing games outside of the league and tournaments.

Outside of enforcing tournament rules in the dogfight games you can keep the league fun, flexible, and accessible. Give people some league points for playing scenarios or epic matches. Give league players some credit for playing matches on league night with players that didn't join the league, this helps to build the X-Wing community in the store because you don't end up with guys that either don't want to commit to a league or are new to the game seeing a bunch of people playing X-Wing but not being able to find anyone to play with.

Checking dials during activation is illegal? I thought it was allowed as long as you informed your opponent so he could keep an eye on it.

Checking dials during activation is illegal? I thought it was allowed as long as you informed your opponent so he could keep an eye on it.

You are correct. Checking dials is always permitted as long as your opponent is informed. You aren't asking for their permission, you are just making sure that they are aware that you aren't activating that ship and can keep an eye on you to make sure that you don't change the dial.

Phew, lucky me, I don't need to be punished for my bad memory even more!

point them to the official ffg rules for tournament etc.

if they handwave it, just tell em that at least when they hit regionals etc there really is no room for houserules.

also house-rules have their name for a reason.

I'm all for "flying causal", but that also means to follow the rules as good as you can. the casual-part is for those minor errors no-one does intentionally.

deliberately ignoring parts is NOT casual, it is rude to the person your playing with and probably doesn't know about -your- houserules.

imagine a 100p tournament with 100 different houserules.. chaos. chaos a.d. disorder unleashed.. ;-)

An important thing to realize about a game like X-Wing is that upgrades and pilot abilities are essentially things that allow ships to break the rules. The value of those abilities will shift when using house rules. Using the same rules that the designers do helps to maintain balance.

So a lot of new people picking up the game lately. In no small part thanks to X-Wing Night! However. Seems like people are not clicking on some basic rules and its starting to bother me because the term "house rule" is starting to rear its ugly head.

How do I get people playing the game properly? I see a lot of hand measuring, checking dials during activation, the range ruler coming out before combat, and other things. And not just during my games either, just yesterday I overheard another player tell another that "if pre-measuring isn't allowed then the shop should house rule it so that it is because space ships have sensors...".

Um... No. This game is too easy to learn to start house ruling it!

But how do I whip all these new players into shape without seeming like a jerk? Actually the jerk status isn't such a bother, I'd just like everyone to follow the rules.

THE way to advertise it is local tournaments, small but steady.

with judges to enforce the awareness.

The guy who breaks the rules is the same guy that move 17 ctms instead of 15 in w40k or who puts.his forearm on the table prior to shoot a war engine in fantasy. "I am not measuring, i hold nothing in my hands. The rulebook says nothing about your arm"

Simply avoid them. If playing non casual call the TO 40 times an hour. And simply say "he is a cheater". If he goes.mad about it, it is his problem.

The guy who measured range with his arm received a beating when the game ended, outside the Youth's Center. But we were 12...

Ball peen hammers are the answer, stencil the death star on the side and watch fear keep them in line.

You can't let bad habits set in call them out publicly it's the only thing cheats fear is everyone knowing.

The guy who breaks the rules is the same guy that move 17 ctms instead of 15 in w40k or who puts.his forearm on the table prior to shoot a war engine in fantasy. "I am not measuring, i hold nothing in my hands. The rulebook says nothing about your arm"

Simply avoid them. If playing non casual call the TO 40 times an hour. And simply say "he is a cheater". If he goes.mad about it, it is his problem.

The guy who measured range with his arm received a beating when the game ended, outside the Youth's Center. But we were 12...

That's not necessarily the case. Some players read through the rules too quickly and miss some stuff or don't let it sink in. You get a guy like that and he breaks another noob in, now you have two people that aren't playing by the rules. Did you ever play "Telephone" in grade school? This is where the teacher whispers a phrase to one student who passes it along. By the time it returns to the teacher it bears no resemblance to the original phrase.

What I'm getting at is this; once a mistake is made and not corrected it becomes fact. This will continue until the error is pointed out in the rules. One example of this is Bossk's pilot ability. My friend and I had been playing it that his crit was turned to hits before the defense roll. Why did we do it this way? Because that's when attack dice are modified. Which is wrong. Another example was a guy I played against that tried using Chardaan Refit with Prockets. He didnt realise that CR took up the missile slot.

Just because a player doesn't abide by the rules it doesn't necessarily mean he's cheating. He could just be badly misinformed.

Ball peen hammers are the answer, stencil the death star on the side and watch fear keep them in line.

You can't let bad habits set in call them out publicly it's the only thing cheats fear is everyone knowing.

The Death Star would show up better on a hatchet. You could always use the back edge for smaller offenses.

I think organizing a small tournament with a prize would go a long way towards achieving the standard of play I'd like to see. Make a few copies of the FFG tournament rules and hand em out. Make it an "unofficial" OP tourney. That way everyone will want to learn the rules better, and their own ships as well.

I don't want to have some elite attitude towards the rules. But I don't want house rules at all. I think by gently pushing towards Organized Play we will weed out all the wonky bad habits that I see developing.

Thanks for the input. Glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is important for a game club.

Again though, as some have mentioned its not necessarily cheating, but rather poor interpretation or simple mistakes. Admittedly there are some areas of the rules that are quite nuanced but if you have a good grasp on the core mechanics it becomes much easier to see how things like action timing and upgrades work.

If you're playing a tournament simply call the TO over.

Deny missed triggers. If they measure an attack with their Z-95 before their Han, don't let them fire with Han. If they forget to ACD cloak or FCS tell them too late, and explain that you want to win at all costs.

If this infuriates them, quote that part in the FAQ that says something like, "Players are expected to play optimally. Missed opportunities can only be performed with the consent of the opponent."

Remember, Monopoly is actually a decent game if played with the auction rules and no free parking jackpot. People ignoring rules and making up their own are half the reason why people hate it. These people need to be forced to play the actual game, explain to them that auction rules eliminate some luck, allowing people who didn't land on a property to get one, and that the point of the game is to bankrupt your opponents which the free parking jackpot needlessly drags out.

Likewise, explain to them that one of the skills in this game is visually estimating maneuvers and attack ranges and such, and that premeasuring takes that out of the game.

If you're playing a tournament simply call the TO over.

Deny missed triggers. If they measure an attack with their Z-95 before their Han, don't let them fire with Han. If they forget to ACD cloak or FCS tell them too late, and explain that you want to win at all costs.

If this infuriates them, quote that part in the FAQ that says something like, "Players are expected to play optimally. Missed opportunities can only be performed with the consent of the opponent."

Remember, Monopoly is actually a decent game if played with the auction rules and no free parking jackpot. People ignoring rules and making up their own are half the reason why people hate it. These people need to be forced to play the actual game, explain to them that auction rules eliminate some luck, allowing people who didn't land on a property to get one, and that the point of the game is to bankrupt your opponents which the free parking jackpot needlessly drags out.

Likewise, explain to them that one of the skills in this game is visually estimating maneuvers and attack ranges and such, and that premeasuring takes that out of the game.

you lost me at monopoly, sorry.

that and risk were the 2 games that really made me avoid my cousins / grandparents etc as a child (many, maaany years ago).

Explain to them that X-wing is perfect and any deviance is therefore necessarily heretical. Then stare them in the eye for, oooh, four minutes, in an unresponsive fugue.

Worked a charm for me, anyway.

How to enforce proper gameplay?

Wear your Vader outfit, force choke any violators.

The more I read the more I like this forum.

I guess the Empire really is the outfit for me. Don the Jackboots baby, we're going on a purge!

Wear your Vader outfit, force choke any violators.

While stating you find their lack of faith disturbing!

The Empire, bringing order to chaos.

If you're playing a tournament simply call the TO over.

Deny missed triggers. If they measure an attack with their Z-95 before their Han, don't let them fire with Han. If they forget to ACD cloak or FCS tell them too late, and explain that you want to win at all costs.

If this infuriates them, quote that part in the FAQ that says something like, "Players are expected to play optimally. Missed opportunities can only be performed with the consent of the opponent."

Remember, Monopoly is actually a decent game if played with the auction rules and no free parking jackpot. People ignoring rules and making up their own are half the reason why people hate it. These people need to be forced to play the actual game, explain to them that auction rules eliminate some luck, allowing people who didn't land on a property to get one, and that the point of the game is to bankrupt your opponents which the free parking jackpot needlessly drags out.

Likewise, explain to them that one of the skills in this game is visually estimating maneuvers and attack ranges and such, and that premeasuring takes that out of the game.

you lost me at monopoly, sorry.

that and risk were the 2 games that really made me avoid my cousins / grandparents etc as a child (many, maaany years ago).

I think those are both games that suffer from one person reading the rules or being tought the game ten years ago teaching a new group of players the way they play the game and not the way that the rules say to play the game. In my experience, a lot of the house rules that creep into a game that way tend to make the game more forgiving which has the add-on effect of making games longer and drag on.

Ball peen hammers are the answer, stencil the death star on the side and watch fear keep them in line.

You can't let bad habits set in call them out publicly it's the only thing cheats fear is everyone knowing.

The Death Star would show up better on a hatchet. You could always use the back edge for smaller offenses.

Small solid-metal Death Star model (you can find these online), single sock.

Disintegrations, definitely.