One of the game mechanics I find frustrating in some games* – bordering on a negative play experience – are what I call “NOPE!" effects. There are mechanics that outright cancel a choice a player makes, causing a player to waste a game choice or ability without a way to get it back.

In X-wing, a player has four basic choices per ship: a move, an action, an attack, and a defense. Canceling or forcing these is a “Nope” effect. Note that I regard “Nope” as distinct from a cancellation that comes in part of another player’s basic actions. So rolling green dice (one player’s defense) that cancel out some or all red dice (the other player’s attack) is not a “Nope”, nor is Palpatine (since he modifies the player’s dice who rolled them, not the opposing player’s dice). Stress in standard cases isn’t a “Nope”, since usually the player made a choice (red maneuver, PTL, etc) to get there, or can make a choice (green maneuver) to avoid the “Nope” condition on the select action step.

My theory is that better game design generally avoids “Nope” effects, or provides ways to mitigate them so they aren’t absolute. Let’s look at how X-wing approaches “Nope” design:

Worst Nopes . These are pretty much unavoidable.

1. Biggs. “I attack the Ghost.” “NOPE!” Eliminates attack choice. It can only mitigated by careful flying to put Biggs out of arc or range but put the selected target in arc and range, which is often nearly impossible. The soft nerf of this in the latest FAQ that allows ordnance to attack targets other than Biggs via target lock is slowly pushing this out of the absolute category, but it probably still needs some mitigation.

2. Zuckuss. “Two evades!” “NOPE! Reroll.” Some penalty arises for the using player due to stress, and a reroll isn’t as bad as outright cancellation, but there’s no way to avoid Zuckuss.

3. R7 Astromech. “Three hits!” “NOPE! Reroll.” No way to avoid, other than by not targeting the ship; but as with Zuckuss not as bad as it could be if it were an outright cancellation; and mitigated slightly by the opponent’s need to have a target lock (which is what makes this combo with Tarn Mison so annoying … luckily he’s an X-wing).

4. Multi-stress (Stresshogs, Tactician/Gunner, etc). Effects that deal multiple stress shut down player action choices in the next turn, since green maneuvers only clear a single stress. We see a deliberate move toward reducing the effects of this with the Tactician “limited” FAQ, “Chopper” crew, and the recent release of Inspiring Recruit.

5. Blinded Pilot. Outright lose your attack. The new damage deck removed most outright “Nope” critical hit effects but kept this one – which admittedly is a 2 in 33 chance of occurring, though it may become more annoying with the increasing number of “crit fishing” mechanics like Kylo Ren. Avoidance options are few (Rebels have Chewbacca and Leebo pilots; everyone else has Determination unless they lack an EPT).

Near Nopes . These have specific actions that you must take to avoid, otherwise you’re screwed.

1. Juke. “Evade!” “NOPE!” Mitigated by always taking a Focus – and it’s limited to one result.

2. Sensor Jammer. “Hit!” “NOPE!” The offensive Juke, mitigated by always taking a Focus, also limited to one result.

3. BoShek. “I do a hard 2” “NOPE!” A new one – the first “Nope”-like effect we have that can cancel the player’s movement dial choice after a dial is set. Some mitigation options: don’t get bumped, or select a different maneuver than the one you want and hope you can get BoSheked to your actual choice.

4. Snap Shot + Stress (R3A2, Tactician). Since this triggers before the player can select an action, it eliminates even the chance of a choice at a select action step. The only potential mitigation is better maneuvering to avoid the range of the effect.

5. Countdown. “Three hits” “NOPE!”. An outright cancellation is bad, but inflicting stress does shut this down. Since one damage still occurs, there’s some inherent limit on the effect, but it is unavoidable.

6. Ion control. Since this shuts down your movement dial selection, it’s effectively a “Nope”, though it is difficult to apply: it can be avoided with defense, and is usually a minor inconvenience except when near a board edge, which is why I put it in the “near” category. The game would probably benefit from a “Quick Reboot” upgrade that could allow an ion token to be shed at the end of the round prior to setting dials, though, to provide an additional mitigation option.

Overall: I think X-wing is doing OK, with few “absolute” Nopes that I can think of, but the number of Nope-like effects appears to be increasing and I’m not sure is good for the game. What do you think of the role of “Nope” effects in the game, and what effects have I missed that are worth discussing?

* Note: I’m setting aside humorous or “screw you” games where the “Nope” effect is an inherent part of the design. In those game styles it can have its place, but even then might be better with mitigation. For example, in Exploding Kittens , which has a “Nope” card to cancel another player’s action, it can be eliminated by playing another “Nope”.

The worst part about Zuckuss is the little bastard always lets my opponent re-roll into Evades, but never me. So if I'm using him he's more of a "Yep!"

Also, Palpatine is a semi-Nope because he manipulates the normal "I roll attack dice, you roll defense dice, I hit" into "Nope! No damage."

It can only mitigated by careful flying

I think that's the answer to a lot of these. They're all manageable if you go into facing them with a plan rather than resigning yourself to the awfulness.

And, of course, they're available to you to use as well.

so what is the point of this list again?

If you're complaining about NPE I can see Zuck and Biggs (maybe but not really) but I'm yet to meet anyone complaining about the awful meta-opressing NPEs that are R7 Astromech, Countdown or Ion Cannons.

If you're complaining about game design, then pretty much all of these cards (again maybe not zuck) have point costs that reflect their power. To take Biggs, you must first take a T-65 X-Wing (and they're ****).

If you're just listing cards that personally annoy you, then that's fine I guess.

I don't mind any of these and love using most. Crackshot does fit your arbitrary criteria, too, though. Its guaranteed Zuckuss.

Most game designers agree that taking the gameplay away from a player is bad for a game.

Games with a lot of flexibility in deck/listdesign can get away with a few more of those options because of the fluidity of the game itself; there will always be something as good or better to choose as well.

This is why in MTG you still have Counterspell and land destruction.

Stresscontrol was, to me at least (as for all these things), not so much of a negative. It forced you to consider your maneuvers more; do I want to clear stress or create some distance and breathing space and take a white maneuver?

Biggs, while powerful, does not need to be nerfed further. You're spending at least 25% of your list total on something designed to die and you're restricting the way you fly for as long as he's around making it easier for the opponent to put himself in an advantageous position prior to taking out Biggs.

Zuckuss is only drawing the hate he is because of the list he's in. Without the token stream from Manaroo to the Zuckuss carrier that ship is locking itself down from actions.

Putting Snap Shot / Tactician combo on the list is way too soon. If it turns out to be very dominant, which I doubt as Tactician works at range 2 and Snap Shot at range 1 making only Jonus able to use it, then I'm sure we'll see an erratum.

Rhymer, not Jonus. But yes.

A - like you say - gamers choice is also to KNOW THE NOPES and play accordingly to them.

One of the pilots that I hate playing against is Omega Leader, the Queen of Nope. She screws your attack, defense, and most actions.

That's why I fly her constantly though....

Agree with most of the items on the list. Removing player choice/agency is a surefire way to create a negative experience. Not sure Palpatine needs to be on the list as he only affects the owning layer's dice, he's not actually preventing the opponent from doing anything.

The ion effect is a really borderline scenario; Ion weapons are not being used a huge amount, but I was worried prior to release what the knock on effect from TIE/D would be. As it turns out, not much because TIE/x7 is so good. Ion weapons can effectively shut down non-turreted, low agility ships though. There's been plenty of speculation about Mag Pulse Torps or attacks which cause "Weapons Disabled" results, these would be need to be introduced with extreme care if at all.

I still think Zuckuss should have been worded in a similar manner to Elusiveness. One stress token to reroll one defense dice, cannot use if you're already stressed. Opportunist works the same way as well. Defense dice are already weaker than Attack dice in any case.

Rhymer, not Jonus. But yes.

I always get those two mixed up. Like Tomax and Xamot. .

One of the pilots that I hate playing against is Omega Leader, the Queen of Nope. She screws your attack, defense, and most actions.

That's why I fly her constantly though....

Only if OL has a target lock on you. There are ways around that as well.

Snap Shot can't apply stress via Tactician. As it's only a range 1 attack

A lot of the "nopes" as others have said are avoidable, you want to run a PTL list... fine I can counter that by running some stress. Does it stop you doing what you want, no. But it makes you play differently, Biggs has been around since the core set and there are two approaches to him, either work out how not to shoot him or blow him off the map. Or, you could use stress or tractors or ion mechanics to make your opponent have to fly the rest of their list or he falls behind (or out of position). And I may have nope in my list but so can you.

I'll admit for the cost, Zuckuss is overly powerful if he was limited in some way (max 1 dice per re-roll for instance) he would be much less obnoxious.

As for new player experience, yes. Being shut down can be very, very frustrating for new or young players. When I started playing my kids (9 and 12) at X-wing 2 years ago, did I run TLT's or stress hogs, phantoms or most of the (at the time) nope options. No.. because I want them to enjoy the game and as they have learnt how the game plays and how things interact I (and they) have started to experiment with stress lists, ions, Vader, Omega Leader, etc, all the more complex and surprising elements of the game. Because they are learning how to overcome and deal with nope situations (and inflict a few of their own). For me the onus is on experienced players to not face roll a new player "because he has to learn the hard way" but at the same time I would advise any NEW player to not buy a box and couple of ships, throw a list together and pop down his local store for their store champs. But if they DO and they get their ass handed to them, the onus is on the new player to learn from his experience. Play some pick up games at the local store, yes there'll be the guy that HAS to win all the time with his Palp Defenders or Dengaroo but there are also players that will help a rookie learn how to actually play the game and grow whilst they do.

I honestly think that, X-wing has few truly "nope" moments than the OP has listed. The greatest NOPE I can recall still belongs to GW and 2nd Edition of 40K when Orks got the crazy mek custom shoota (guns) that any single model could have a weapon that destroyed an armoured vehicle with 1 shot... that is a true NOPE. No way to counter it without somehow killing the thing with the gun, which can fire all the way across the table at whatever he chooses. That is a truly demoralizing NPE facing something like that.

Edit: You included Countdown, why not also include Wampa it's a nope, just in the opposite direction.

I'll admit for the cost, Zuckuss is overly powerful if he was limited in some way (max 1 dice per re-roll for instance) he would be much less obnoxious.

Zuckuss is basically self limiting unless you a) run Manaroo and lock yourself into a build or b) accept that the Zuckuss carrier won't ever have an action again.

I honestly think that, X-wing has few truly "nope" moments than the OP has listed. The greatest NOPE I can recall still belongs to GW and 2nd Edition of 40K when Orks got the crazy mek custom shoota (guns) that any single model could have a weapon that destroyed an armoured vehicle with 1 shot... that is a true NOPE. No way to counter it without somehow killing the thing with the gun, which can fire all the way across the table at whatever he chooses. That is a truly demoralizing NPE facing something like that.

The biggest Nope I recall is MTG's Force of Will, which allows you to counter a spell without having anything on the board. But, as with most nope buttons, focusing too much on negating an opponent's actions usually leaves you without a way to win consistently.

Though I do love playing Control, I love slowly building a fragile construction / board state that allows me to dictate how the rest of the game proceeds while dancing a tightrope.

Good observation that perception of Nope and negative play experience is also related to player experience. What's negative for a new player may become a challenge for an experienced player.

When I first came into the game, super Phantoms, Fat Han, and Gunner-Vader-Decimators were pretty frustrating to fly against. Now they're more fun to see on the table.

There are those who would add Autoblaster turrets and cannons to the list...and Carnor Jax, Palob, and Old Teroch too.

And blocking.

And boosting out of arc.

And etc.

And positioning perfectly yet still rolling blanks to hit...

Nothing related to green dice can be npe as that implies green dice are a,part of your input as a player

And not just complete random bull

in fact, if you actually think about it, green dice are the greatest npe

"I outplayed and outmanuevered you to shoot your important ship"

"nah 3 naked evades **** you"

Can't take you seriously when you leave Omega Leader off the list.....

I can't really agree with this assessment or categorization system at all. Everyone is going to have different ways in which they view the game and preferences for what way the game design should lean to promote that kind of play, as well as different things that annoy them about the game.

Also at this point NPE seems to get tossed around so easily it has become basically meaningless and more often than not simply an excuse to whine rather than actually address significant issues in a game

I think people need to get better at reading. The OP's list of cards is not random nor arbitrary. He explains what he thinks leads to NPE (not allowing player choices) and demonstrates how the cards on his list accomplish this. He further explains that the list of cards that do this is growing and notes a negative trend. Unless you argue over his definition of bad design (good luck) you can't really argue about his conclusions, which are correct based on his definitions.

this is why you need a technical definition of Negative Player Experience

which is simply the subtraction of the player from the experience

i.e, your input as a player has little consequence due to X

which none of the list qualify for at all, really, because they can either be avoided (Biggs/stress) or involve dice (zuckuss) which are completely beyond the player's control

Blinded Pilot is a right ***** of an NPE, though. Really shouldn't kick in if you havn't shot the round you got it so you can adapt by blocking or getting out of dodge instead of jockeying for a shot

He actually explained all his reasonings. Biggs takes away your attack choice. He also pointed out that you potentially could avoid Biggs but it would take quite a set of maneuvers to accomplish.

Excessive stress takes away your maneuver choice since it removes some percentage of your dial for however many turns they stressed you.

He did define NPE as abilities that remove player choice in at least one of four categories. Sure, you can absolutely avoid most of his list by not playing the game but that's hardly an argument.

Still don't see what's not explained or defended.

because you can avoid them by playing well

that puts the player into the equation

can't be NPE at the point

it's not like a PWT where you simply cannot avoid it, or raw dice which you simply have no control over

He actually explained all his reasonings. Biggs takes away your attack choice. He also pointed out that you potentially could avoid Biggs but it would take quite a set of maneuvers to accomplish.

Excessive stress takes away your maneuver choice since it removes some percentage of your dial for however many turns they stressed you.

He did define NPE as abilities that remove player choice in at least one of four categories. Sure, you can absolutely avoid most of his list by not playing the game but that's hardly an argument.

Still don't see what's not explained or defended.

Blocking and arc-dodging also take away player choice (can't complete maneuver and take actions, can't attack). By his definition the only thing that isn't an NPE is flying straight at each other and chucking dice.

I think it was on Mynock that they mentioned in some metas early on it was considered bad sportsmanship to block. That only goes to show that what people consider an NPE is highly subjective and based on what they perceive as valid choices. Sometimes introducing elements that limit choice allows for an even more creative response, and therefore a more strategically interesting game.