I see online that the estimated time for a game is about 2 hrs. Maybe a bit longer at 400 points.

However, the games I've been playing with my noob opponent, who puts a lot of consideration into activations so as to play a good game despite still learning , run for multiples of that time.

What would be a reasonable time limit to put on an activation which still allows for noob upgrade card studying etc in our friendly games?

How about setup?

The previous game took about an hour to deploy ships and squadrons!

From the tournament rules pdf:

The Future of Armada The Star Wars: Armada tournament format will expand as the game itself grows and expands. When Wave 2 is released, the official fleet size will increase to 400 points, the round time will increase to 150 minutes, and the Margin of Victory table will be updated. This is the culmination of the Armada tournament format, and will remain the standard from that point on.

2 players, 6 rounds, 150 minutes, turns into a simple math equation that point. I personally time my own turns since I'm used to playing under tournament time constraints.

You can give it a go to, or at least mention it for visibility.

Depends on the Atmosphere.

Friendly Games at the Local store seem to run Tournament Time + 30 minutes as a Maximum, unintentionally. We play to play... We give a bit of leeway, especially since we're talking the game up to onlookers and such, but we still get through the game to play. Waiting is not fun playing... And we're quickish, mostly because the store is only open 11 to 6 on the Sunday, and if we can keep them under 2 hours, we can reasonably get 3 games in... This Sunday is the first shot at 400 points, so we might slack off a bit and aim for 2 games...

Friendly games are just that - Friendly. Your friend should have the time he needs... BUT, your Friend should not be taking so much time you're bored, and vice versa.

I've already factored in time for snacks and going to the fridge for beers...

I just need to get things moving.

The previous game took about an hour to deploy ships and squadrons!

Why so long? Were you picking out cards and such still?

For X-Wing, I put everything I need in a plano box, including cards, dice, ships, ect... So everything is one place. I get that all set up a day or two before I go to play.

I just can't see any reason it would take that long to deploy, unless you're including list building at the table, and finding all the upgrade cards. If that's the case then I'd recommend that your friend do as much of that as possible before you start to play.

If they're learning, let them take time. But also remind them that it's better to make a bad decision fast and learn from it than to spend ten minutes making an equally bad decision. When I coach new players, I tell them to make mistakes. Lots of 'em. And they do! And they learn faster, and so I now have kamakazi sub-fleets under my hypnotic command ready to take down anything that comes my way!

My opponent is the father-in-law, who I rope into playing when they visit from the other side of the planet, so they ain't gonna roll-over!

I'd already taken time to completely set up the game, lists, cards etc.

I'd made some changes to the lists which took quite a bit of 'stare at cards and figure out the implications' time.

I'd also introduced a rhymer ball and Darth etc, rather than just regular ties and howlrunner.

Once we're familiar with the new lists, I'd like to get a friendly timer on the game (which can be paused for refreshment top-ups).

When learning the game it definitely took a long time to play. This gets much faster as you'll remember all of the steps to deployment.

I remember having the instructions out and going step by step. It probably did take 30 minutes to setup.

That said, the only times I understand a serious amount of time taken is on major moves - something like deployment or that turn three decision that will sway the game.

Tell him he should look it over and be ready next game. And consider that his notification. He can be ready to tango faster next time.

Bascially, have some sort of A plan. Cuz, he should anyway.