I kinda feel that part of the problem with "Fly Casual" is the word casual. The words casual and competitive have been so distorted and overloaded that they have pretty much lost all meaning when it comes to gaming. I kinda wish we had different phrases. Like "varsity" and "intramural". I dunno, maybe those are worse.

Cause I see myself as a casual player. I don't care about winning Store Champ or any other kind of event. I don't attend all day events on the weekends. We have a weeknight tournament at one of my FLGS a couple times a month that is 3 rounds and is perfect for me. I like to play my own wonky lists or riffs on popular lists. But when we put our little ships on the table I want to "Just win, baby". I'm really competitive but not at the expense of being a jerk.

Just cause you want to fly casual doesn't mean you have to give up being competitive.

Right. I hate to say that "competitive" is only tournament play. When I play my crazy little scenarios with all generic ships...I'm pretty competitive. I'm not a jerk and I let people fix mistakes, but I want to win.

Just cause you want to fly casual doesn't mean you have to give up being competitive.

I couldn't agree any more with this statement. When I enter a tournament, it is my goal to win. I usually place quite high, and actually win occasionally, but I also have some other goals while I play in a tournament:

- I want to have fun

- I want each of my opponents to have fun

- I want new players to come back next time.

I don't have to sacrifice being competitive for any of these other goals. I hold myself and my opponents to competitive standards at competitive events, but I'm not a jerk about it. If I'm playing a new player at a competitive event, I take the opportunity to teach that player whatever I can. If they place down the template to do a barrel roll, but then decided against it after seeing the final position, I'll tell them: "hey, I'm not sure if you knew this, but once you declare an action, or place a template to boost or barrel roll, you have committed to that."

I've never had someone upset with me about it because I speak to them in a friendly way. Attitude and tone are everything! I also come across players making silly mistakes like spending a focus token, then spending a target lock. They usually spot that mistake on their own, but sometimes I need to point out that they could do it in the opposite order for a possible better result.

Many believe that casual and competitive are at opposite ends of the same spectrum, but that is not how I see it. I see two different spectrums, where you can be both highly competitive, playing your best to win it all, and have a very casual and friendly attitude.

Just my two cents

May your dice be average!

Fly Casual can be interpreted so many ways.

To me it means:

Keep a positive attitude

Be a graceful winner

Don't be a sore loser

Don't cheat

Remind your opponent about the little things(didn't take action, forgot to attack)

Don't be ocd about movement

It does not mean:

Letting your opponent change their dial

Reminding them of "may" abilities

Most tourneys I compete in I'm pretty relaxed concerning things. I'm not trying to be a jerk. But I am trying to have fun. You know what's fun?

Winning

Many believe that casual and competitive are at opposite ends of the same spectrum, but that is not how I see it. I see two different spectrums, where you can be both highly competitive, playing your best to win it all, and have a very casual and friendly attitude.

Actually, I do see a difference as I see the "casual" player in a different light. To me, the Casual player doesn't go to tournaments. They like to play casual games that aren't involved in the "meta". The conflict comes up when regular game nights have too many tournament goers that are practicing their tournament lists vs. lists that are meant to be fun and casual. I've seen a number of players quit over it.

Many believe that casual and competitive are at opposite ends of the same spectrum, but that is not how I see it. I see two different spectrums, where you can be both highly competitive, playing your best to win it all, and have a very casual and friendly attitude.

Actually, I do see a difference as I see the "casual" player in a different light. To me, the Casual player doesn't go to tournaments. They like to play casual games that aren't involved in the "meta". The conflict comes up when regular game nights have too many tournament goers that are practicing their tournament lists vs. lists that are meant to be fun and casual. I've seen a number of players quit over it.

I feel like this sort of thing can easily be solved just with a little communication. If pl both players know what the other one expects, they can self-select or change lists to something more appropriate.

You'd think so, but I still see people pack up and not come back for game nights. I think they get tired of putting it out there? I dunno. Or maybe they feel like the game overall is so bent towards being only tournament level that it's just not the game for them? There are a lot of ex-40kers out there and I think they just go "Oh, it's one of those games. I'm done".

Weird. I feel like HotAC has pretty well shown that you can do a ton of stuff with this game.

That's totally fair, we all have different ideas and definitions of some of these common words and phrases. That's why there can be some misunderstandings between players I guess.

I'm quite looking forward to your upcoming podcast! I'm about to start a league with another player in my local area that is encouraging games to be played in alternate formats outside the standard 100 point dog fight. I'm interested to hear your experiences, and also to see what our league members come up with!

Never believed in or promoted Fly Casual myself. The initial post of it was a jab at players who played with a competitive mindset and made it seem like playing casually made one somehow superior.

It really wasn't.

The aim of Fly Casual, back when X-wing was a new game, was to remind people that we're all ambassadors for the game every time we play in public. So we should conduct ourselves in such a way that someone who wanders over would think "hey, that looks like a cool game, and those people are having fun!"

It doesn't mean you shouldn't know the rules. It doesn't mean you shouldn't hold your opponent to the rules (although it does mean you shouldn't be a jackass about it). It doesn't confer special status on people who prefer non-tournament play, and it doesn't say that you shouldn't play to win. It just means you should strive to be courteous and sportsmanlike--be the kind of player with whom you could shake hands at the end of a game and enjoy the prospect of a rematch in the future.

Weird. I feel like HotAC has pretty well shown that you can do a ton of stuff with this game.

I just pulled out HotAC for the locals, so there has been a lot of time for people to quit before they've seen it. I will say that I'm pulling a number of these guys back into the game this way.

I can say there was a while when I was about to quit that had the PWT's ruling the roost and the variety of lists were real low. I've since gotten out of that and found a number of guys that want to play the game a different way.

Never believed in or promoted Fly Casual myself. The initial post of it was a jab at players who played with a competitive mindset and made it seem like playing casually made one somehow superior.

It really wasn't.

The aim of Fly Casual, back when X-wing was a new game, was to remind people that we're all ambassadors for the game every time we play in public. So we should conduct ourselves in such a way that someone who wanders over would think "hey, that looks like a cool game, and those people are having fun!"

It doesn't mean you shouldn't know the rules. It doesn't mean you shouldn't hold your opponent to the rules (although it does mean you shouldn't be a jackass about it). It doesn't confer special status on people who prefer non-tournament play, and it doesn't say that you shouldn't play to win. It just means you should strive to be courteous and sportsmanlike--be the kind of player with whom you could shake hands at the end of a game and enjoy the prospect of a rematch in the future.

Very much this.

It doesn't mean you don't have to stick to the rules. It means you should strive to not be a prat about sticking to the rules, and maintain decent sportsmanship.

The 'ambassador to the game' thing is even more important now than it's ever been; the hobby is expanding rapidly. Let's not scare off the new folk, and maybe help teach some veterans of more vicious gaming circles that there's joy to be had in actually having fun. A great many people will never even realise that there are communities that can be nice to each other; let's let them know that ours does.

Fly Casual is not yelling in a gaming store at your opponent, scaring off anyone casually walking through.

Fly Casual is laughing when your opponent rolls 3 crits.

Fly Casual is telling your opponent he made a great maneuver when he out guesses you.

Fly Casual is having fun and playing xwing.

At least it is to me.

Fly Casual is not yelling in a gaming store at your opponent, scaring off anyone casually walking through.

Fly Casual is laughing when your opponent rolls 3 crits.

Fly Casual is telling your opponent he made a great maneuver when he out guesses you.

Fly Casual is having fun and playing xwing.

At least it is to me.

This is it exactly. Fly casual means being a good sport win or lose, you shake hands after each game no matter victory or defeat. Be a person, not a belligerent clown.

Also, if your opponent rolls 3 crits it's okay for your laugh to turn to tears, especially if your green dice hit the table all blanks.

The casual in Fly Casual is about behavior and attitude, not the level of competition. It just means to behave like a civilized human being and exercise good sportsmanship while playing, regardless of whether it's the finals of a huge tournament or on your kitchen table with a friend.

Fly Casual has and always will be this:

Don't be a jackass.

It doesn't mean be lenient. It doesn't mean letting your opponent correct mistakes.

It means taking the bad with a laugh, the good with modesty and humbleness.

It means being friendly and welcoming.

It does not mean cursing, yelling loudly, throwing things, or insulting people.

It does not mean cheating.

It does not mean having to let your opponent correct mistakes or having to remind them of "may" triggers.

We have a pretty big community where we play X-wing and we have promoted the fly casual mind set since the start but it's getting harder.

X-wing is very popular and it has a growing player base full of experienced players so people play more and more compedetive. Then it's the part of all the fixes being released that makes it hard for new players too just jump in to the tournament scene.

you wanna to fly darth vader?, better buy the raider

A-wings?, rebel aces

Y-wings? most wanted and prob a k-wing and the list goes on.

The game is very good for veterans since you get more and more cool prizes and fixes for old ships that gives us new ways to play ships. For newer players it's getting more and more expensive to jump into the current tournament scene if you don't wanna place at the bottom most of the time.

See, that's an issue with the community. You "need" X to play this ship is the mind set of a competitive gamer. Vader is still very fun with out the stuff from the Raider.

See, that's an issue with the community. You "need" X to play this ship is the mind set of a competitive gamer. Vader is still very fun with out the stuff from the Raider.

And when I say 'objectively' I mean 'can automatically hit with both attack dice every turn for free'.

Fly casual would possibly involve the generous out there loaning a card for the day, though.

I've rarely play in a tournament game where someone hasn't cheated. At the recent Hoth open, players were forced to share a set of dice because one guy was accused of using loaded dice. At Worlds I had to call a TO in almost every game due to shady activity. That and collusion happens a lot too. The best advice is if you're not prepared for shady activity, it's best not to play competitive (except maybe for seasonal store kits). Leagues like PTL Toronto allow you to show up with fun lists you've always wanted to try and pilots you don't often use. It promotes flying casual.

I think you might have to tell us what games and scenarios for us to believe that Worlds statement. Want to offer some examples?

Our scene in Ireland is quite small (maybe couple of hundred max, 40-50 tournament playing folks) and most people know each other so it’s got a great atmosphere.

I played a lot of GW games before, including at the ETC, and the Polish teams were notorious for being a nightmare to play against for 40k, fantasy and Flame of war. They were aggressive and confrontational and the FoW team was sanctioned for cheating at last year’s event and then stormed off at the closing ceremony.

I’ve met plenty of Polish guys over here who are great to play any games with. Maybe it’s more a local problem in Poland?

I think the Kessel Run Episode XXXVI Nova Squadron Radio Episode 45 ( the April fools gag has thrown me off a little) did a good description on how the term Fly Casual is often misrepresented for what it was intended to mean. Many people think it means go easy on your opponent and think Fly Casual has no room in a competitive environment but it really doesn't.

Just last week I played against a new player and he made a mistake with the turn dial going right when he wanted to go left. Due to the store closing it was the last round. Another player outside the game told him to just turn it over to the other side after other dials have been revealed so I asked do we really want to do that. Well I let him anyways and my opponent end up losing his last T-70. If he kept his move he would have had destroyed more ships than I have and would have had a modified won. So that is an example of how misrepresentation of "Fly Casual" actually caused a newer player lost a match. Now yes it was a newer player and I did in spirit of the term give him some advice and tell him to kill my Y-wings first because they are the biggest threat. Don't worry too much about other ships (I was also using Talonbane Cobra, I didn't think it did too well but it does get a lot of attention). He actually did good by killing one of My Y-wings first but then he focused on Cobra and I was able to pick him off.

It reminds me of something that used to be written in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook and that was the "Golden Rule". That was the most important rule is to have fun. Like Fly Casual I think that it allows for competitive game but in the end you are all there to enjoy playing a game like X-wing. It is not a professional tournament with a >$10,000 prize on the line. No matter who wins you are supposed to enjoy the game even if mistakes were made. Now there has been lots of discussion of the toxicity of the WH40K competitive environment and how some of that has seeped into X-wing as X-wing dethrones 40K from the Table Top scene, to the point where people are such blatant cheaters that people have taken to videotape them in action. Those people I would not consider X-wing players. I wouldn't even consider them true 40K players as they are not there to enjoy the game but instead establish their dominance over others even if it is the most obscure form. For those people it doesn't matter if it is X-wing, Warhammer 40k, or even Dysotopian Wars.

We have a pretty big community where we play X-wing and we have promoted the fly casual mind set since the start but it's getting harder.

X-wing is very popular and it has a growing player base full of experienced players so people play more and more compedetive. Then it's the part of all the fixes being released that makes it hard for new players too just jump in to the tournament scene.

you wanna to fly darth vader?, better buy the raider

A-wings?, rebel aces

Y-wings? most wanted and prob a k-wing and the list goes on.

The game is very good for veterans since you get more and more cool prizes and fixes for old ships that gives us new ways to play ships. For newer players it's getting more and more expensive to jump into the current tournament scene if you don't wanna place at the bottom most of the time.

Funny enough, with the whole business scheme, FFG has made it excruciatingly hard for new players to get all the cards they need for a tournament. And then the way the game is set up, there are basically a few optimal max best builds for certain pilots, and not running them tends to be a disadvantage numerically. (Sorry guys! But the results and numbers say that certain tried and true ship configurations are the best!)

I disagree a little. The "Play Casual" mode is very important in my game experience. Just to be brief...

- Many 40+ players. After a day full of legal tecnicisms, sales report and the like we want a relaxing experience. No discussion about 1 mm short or long. Perhaps you go left because you are tired after a long day, correct. No 5 minute stop while thinking how to move one ship.

- Play the ships you like. If simple house rules are good to the game, OK. Free Heavy Scyk title, 3 pts free to upgrade E wings generics... The players are friends, so we can House Rule with no fear of abuse

- A lot of scenario play. No fear about favoritism, 30 years wargaming together. No need to play "macho" and show the world you are a superb player

Game is much more bigger this mode. From time to time we play "tournament" way. I am happier when flying Casual.

In my opinion (for what ever that is worth lol) a large part of "Fly Casual" is also to follow the rules. That doesn't mean you can't let your opponent take something back such as a forgotten action, or a turn going clearly the wrong way by accident. However it does mean that no one should ever be expected, or told "Just Fly Casual" because they do not. That is co-opting "Fly Casual" to me. It's using it as a blunt object to force your opponent to do something. Mistakes can be made, and we learn from mistakes, we need to remember that is OK.

There was a incident at the Hoth open, that made me really sad. I had finished my game, and was watching a friend of mine finish his. The 4 minute left call went out from the TO, and i happened to over hear discussion on Omega Leader start from a table 1 mat away *so about 4-5 feet), and a TO was called over to settle it. The point of contention and the call are irrelevant, but while the TO was sorting it out time was called "Finish your current rounds and turn in your score sheets". This is where the sadness starts. Player 1 instantly turned his dials over, and said he was set, Player 2 said he had not even looked at his dials because they were resolving the attack, that he was sorry, but the round was over. Instantly player 1 starts with "Lets just go one more round" "I reminded you about your action 3 times" "I let you take back something 3 times" and "I thought we said we were just going to have a fun Fly Casual Game". Player 2 was obviously distraught. He didn't want to play another round, time had been called. The TO was hanging around nearby (most likely because there were very few games left and he was just being a good TO) so he asked the players "Has a dial been set?" player 1 said his dials were set, player 2 said he had not set any of his dials yet. The TO took a quick look at the board and said "I'm sorry but it seams tokens haven't been cleared, which is part of the clean up step before you set dials. I'm going to say dials are not set and the game is over."

You would think it would end here with a TO ruling. Sadly player 1 wasn't going to let player 2 go that easily. He says his dials are set, they can just go one more round, it won't really even change anything, on and on. The TO asked their points destroyed, filled out the sheet, and then went to turn it in. Even now, player 1 would not stop, berating player 2 for not Flying Casual, for slow playing his dials on the last turn, for everything under the sun, while player 2 is just trying to put his things away and escape the tirade.

It made me very sad. Here we had a player using "Fly Casual" as a blunt object to beat his frustrations out on his opponent. Granted this is one extreme example (and the only one i personally saw at Hoth), but we as a community are better then that, we need to be better then that.

To Me

Fly Casual, is not Fly Sloppy

Fly Casual, is not a weapon to win a dispute.

Fly Casual, is not to be expected from your opponent.

Fly Casual, is playing the game to have fun. (this includes your opponent having fun)

Fly Casual, is being respectful of the Game. (this means following the rules agreed upon)

Fly Casual, is being respectful of your Opponent.

Fly Casual, is being respectful of the Venue. (be it a friend's garage, your FLGS, or a Tournament at a Convention)

Fly Casual, is a personal choice. You cannot force it upon others, but you can lead by example.

but, that is just for me personally. I would hope others feel and act the same, but that is their choice to make. You cannot force people to not be ******-canoes.

I try and encourage my small gaming group to 'Fly Casual' ( ie fly to have fun & you don't have to run 'best in slot' lists ), but it can be difficult, the dark side calls to us all, it's o.k. once in awhile.

Pick'up games at lfgs are a different matter, I'm relatively new to X-Wing, and my first pick-up game was my Boba & IG-88b against Fat Han and Super Dash, I started well roughing the Falcon up quite abit, which suprised him I think, then I managed to fly my IG-88b of the board, and things went down hill quickly, he spent the next 30 mins. blocking Boba with Dash while slowly whittling me down, when that is, he could be bothered to look up from he's phone.

My other two games were admittedly a lot better ( despite making a pigs ear of a Phantom list and getting crushed by Bossk )