If you always beat someone (my kids), what is the best way to deal with a handicap? Is there a regular way?

Obvious one that jumps out to me is to have less squadron points.

Though could also roll one less defensive die, get no actions, etc.

Maybe no-one plays with handicaps ever, but thought it was worth asking. I'd certainly want one if I ever played a really good player.

Choose to fly sub par or "left hand path" ships and pilots.

3 avengers led by Fel's wrath defend against his squadron maybe?

OR rather than do 100/100 mix it up a little.

Do the missions from mission control or the rulebook, hell, do epic.

When my dad was teaching me chess, he often chose to start without his queen.

You can try less squad points.

But, in the case of playing your kids, I'd probably choose to play lists that I know are hard-countered by the list my kid was playing. If he's playing TLTs, play a Fat Han, that type of thing. It'll give you practice against your weaker match ups and give them a better chance.

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[unnamed Squadron]
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Click to change squadron details

100 points

Pilots
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“Fel's Wrath” (28)
TIE Interceptor (23), Royal Guard TIE (0), Autothrusters (2), Stealth Device (3)

Avenger Squadron Pilot (24) x 3
TIE Interceptor (20), Shield Upgrade (4)

Note: If you seriously start beating people with this list, I will hunt you down and buy you a beer.

You could also give the Heroes of Aturi Cluster a go. That way you play with your kids!

I like to short my points when playing my wife. Playing 100 vs 75 is nice practice for when you freak lose a ship to dice and usually keeps her stuff powerful enough

Well, at first I gave my four year old son 20 extra points, but he kept stomping me so we went back to 100 point each.

He still stomps me.

You could also give the Heroes of Aturi Cluster a go. That way you play with your kids!

We actually do co-op quite regularly, but sometime it's one vs one. They never seem to want to do 2v1 against me though. I also am happy to let the kids play and I just watch/clarify things. Just want them to win half the time on 1v1 so they don't lose interest, and I'm not great at intentionally losing.

BTW, I'm by no means great at the game. Just somewhat better than my kids.

So many ways to handicap your own game but a question may be how well does your opponent play.

If you're using highly optimized, tournament winning, type squadrons flown to perfect we shouldn't be surprised if you crush lesser opposition. You can "fix" this by flying less powerful ships and combinations. Quit being so amazing and start playing with predictable squads and that could help narrow any gaps.

Another things is what problems does your opponent normally run into? Although some like being a harsh teacher there are often ships and combinations available to help avoid certain problems. Maybe you don't like them but Chewbacca and Dash both pilot ships that can help newbies avoid certain situations that may be problematic without artificially giving them a boost.

A long time ago when the game was still relatively new I recall talk of what I believe was the "Secret Force" squadrons. This was a pair of 50 point squadrons to help get newbies into the game. On the Rebel side you had Chewbacca w/ Gunner and another simple upgrade (or two) and it was flown against three Imperial TIEs of some type. The reasons you let the newbie fly Chewbacca should be pretty clear: Chewie gets to flip critical into normal damage eliminating those potential issues. The Falcon gave the ship enough durability to take some hits and keep going avoiding that "you killed me with a lucky shot" feeling. The PWT means that the newbie would be getting to take shots even if they aren't maneuvering the best. The Gunner made for chances to try any misses again. The rest of the upgrades should also help with some of the common problems a newbie may face. Against that you might fly Howlrunner, Backstabber, and another TIE Fighter to demonstrate some of the other principals of the game such as the importance of firing arcs and how team work and synergy can work.

If rocks are a problem then some form of Dash can help with that. You may be able to come up with other things that are easy to fly which helps the situation especially if you fly something less than optimal.

Blindfold.

CRUSH THEM UNTIL THEY GET GOOD.

But actually playing down points is often a reasonable way to do things that feels better for everyone. I think it will be better to play 75 v 100 instead of 100 v 100 but you are purposefully playing utter crap.

Pick ships with limited firepower versus whatever they are running.

Couple of HWKs and Y wings with no cannons or turrets.

Or A YT-1300 Outer Rim Smuggler added to this gives you some ships that are easier to hit and typically move before and shoot after their ships.

Well, at first I gave my four year old son 20 extra points, but he kept stomping me so we went back to 100 point each.

He still stomps me.

I hadn't even thought of giving the opponent more points, just giving myself less points. That might work better as I can use various 100pt squadrons for practice that I can use elsewhere and they can focus on stronger squadrons (they won't be playing competitively yet). The downside of that is if they have more ships with those points, that usually means a slower game. Our games already lasts two-three hours, but they aren't in the groove yet. Maybe I'll say they have to have at least one big ship or something.

Well, at first I gave my four year old son 20 extra points, but he kept stomping me so we went back to 100 point each.

He still stomps me.

I hadn't even thought of giving the opponent more points, just giving myself less points. That might work better as I can use various 100pt squadrons for practice that I can use elsewhere and they can focus on stronger squadrons (they won't be playing competitively yet). The downside of that is if they have more ships with those points, that usually means a slower game. Our games already lasts two-three hours, but they aren't in the groove yet. Maybe I'll say they have to have at least one big ship or something.

Giving your opponent EXTRAS just so they can learn is a BAD idea. If they learn how 120 points works against your 100 points then they're still going to be in a world of hurt when they later have to adjust to how 100 points work. It is far easier to expand what someone can do than it is to start restricting them once the've been given more power.

I don't think you'd want to teach your kids how to budget $100 by starting them out with $120 and then cutting them back. Spending squadron points would be the same thing.

I usually let them take 100 points in ships and then unlimited upgrades.

Usually leads to a pretty fun match!

Choose to fly sub par or "left hand path" ships and pilots.

3 avengers led by Fel's wrath defend against his squadron maybe?

OR rather than do 100/100 mix it up a little.

Do the missions from mission control or the rulebook, hell, do epic.

When my dad was teaching me chess, he often chose to start without his queen.

Your comment about your dad teaching you chess struck a nerve. He started teaching me chess after I found a hand carved set he picked in Holland during the war. I was 8 or 9 at the time. It wasn't until I was a senior in college that I succeeded in beating him. That was the worst feeling in the world. I think that was the last time we played.

Mine taught me when I was younger than four. Not had a chance to play him since I was 19 (a long time ago, younger players wern't born then). He passed away that year.

I gave them a points advantage, slowly narrowing it down as they improve. We're close to parity now, which means I'll soon have to send them to tournaments if I want any shot at winning cool stuff.

It's a weird mix of pride and shame...

I would say drink a lot, but that would generally involve getting sloppy, too.

Maybe it's more a matter of choice? If you want to handicap the game without really looking like you are, you can just make some bad choices. Or....not optimal choices.

I adjust the handicap for each player I'm teaching over time and track them separately. I always give them 100, but start at 90 (or less, for younger or less experienced war gamers) for myself. Adjust 5 points for blow outs and 2 points for close matches.