What can you tell me about your experiences with note-taking during premier-level play?
I know about casual games and SC and kits - I want to know if FFG or your fellow players have actually been enforcing this rule:

Taking Notes and Outside Material
Players cannot take notes or reference outside material or information during a tournament round. However, players may reference official rule documents or game components that do not contain hidden information at any time or ask a judge for clarification from official rule documents. Official rule documents include all rules documents and inserts available on the X-Wing page of our website, those found in an X-Wing product, or any portion thereof.

See page 7 (https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/44/ec/44ec2498-5833-4c30-a5d8-6edb80609de0/x-wing_tournament_regulations_v21_text_version.pdf)

4 hours ago, Rinzler in a Tie said:

What can you tell me about your experiences with note-taking during premier-level play?
I know about casual games and SC and kits - I want to know if FFG or your fellow players have actually been enforcing this rule:

Taking Notes and Outside Material
Players cannot take notes or reference outside material or information during a tournament round. However, players may reference official rule documents or game components that do not contain hidden information at any time or ask a judge for clarification from official rule documents. Official rule documents include all rules documents and inserts available on the X-Wing page of our website, those found in an X-Wing product, or any portion thereof.

See page 7 (https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/44/ec/44ec2498-5833-4c30-a5d8-6edb80609de0/x-wing_tournament_regulations_v21_text_version.pdf)

Originally I thought it was only for reminders to do something. There was a photo of a Phantom with a "Remember to cloak" note blue tacked to the flight peg. This was several years ago. Now I think the ban on note taking is to prevent slowing game play.

Just now, Stoneface said:

Originally I thought it was only for reminders to do something. There was a photo of a Phantom with a "Remember to cloak" note blue tacked to the flight peg. This was several years ago. Now I think the ban on note taking is to prevent slowing game play.

That and card counting (or similar attempts to grind out information that's technically derivable from the game state but most people can't track in their heads).

Just now, digitalbusker said:

That and card counting (or similar attempts to grind out information that's technically derivable from the game state but most people can't track in their heads).

Never considered "card counting" in X-wing. I guess I'm either too trusting or naive.

1 hour ago, digitalbusker said:

That and card counting (or similar attempts to grind out information that's technically derivable from the game state but most people can't track in their heads).

How would one card count in x-wing??? I assume this is in regards to the damage deck, but how exactly does one drive a benefit from this? And how does one get sufficient info unless they are getting tons of face up cards so they can mentally eliminate what they already can see is used. By the time they acquired meaningful amounts of faceup cards they likely already lost or are crippled.

Isytds perhaps, but even still. You gain what benefit?

1 hour ago, Smitty said:

How would one card count in x-wing??? I assume this is in regards to the damage deck, but how exactly does one drive a benefit from this? And how does one get sufficient info unless they are getting tons of face up cards so they can mentally eliminate what they already can see is used. By the time they acquired meaningful amounts of faceup cards they likely already lost or are crippled.

Isytds perhaps, but even still. You gain what benefit?

You gain the benefit of knowing what Dark Sides you can still be shown. Sure, this is derivable by looking through your discard and any face-up cards, but what if you "accidentally" notice what some of your face-down cards are as you're dealing them, and write that down too?

Or what if you're the one who's showing people the Dark Side and you're writing down information about the contents of their deck that they haven't seen yet? That might allow you to deduce what some of the face down cards on your opponent's ships are likely to be, so you know where to target your Saboteur (*snrk*).

I also don't think it's likely that somebody's going to figure out how to break the game with that kind of information, but I understand not wanting to find out.

12 hours ago, digitalbusker said:

You gain the benefit of knowing what Dark Sides you can still be shown. Sure, this is derivable by looking through your discard and any face-up cards, but what if you "accidentally" notice what some of your face-down cards are as you're dealing them, and write that down too?

Or what if you're the one who's showing people the Dark Side and you're writing down information about the contents of their deck that they haven't seen yet? That might allow you to deduce what some of the face down cards on your opponent's ships are likely to be, so you know where to target your Saboteur (*snrk*).

I also don't think it's likely that somebody's going to figure out how to break the game with that kind of information, but I understand not wanting to find out.

If you are accidentally noticing what face down cards are then you are outright cheating, that's not card counting that's directly cheating.

Isytds was the only application i could come up with however I thought it more you adjust probabilities of what's left in the deck based on what's missing, but couldn't see how that gives an edge i can't think of how it would change your strategy from i always want face up cards on my enemy if i can manage it. Knowing their effect doesn't make me roll the dice harder at a ship.

But that a good point you have 2 cards missing from deck one is a direct hit the other is blinded pilot cause i put it there myself. I know for saboteur that there is a direct hit on the other guy and maybe that's more important right now based on game state. Interesting.

Worth noting in context that technically speaking whenever a ship dies all its cards are discarded face up, so once it's dead you DO know the contents of the remaining deck except for what's in play on living ships.

If "card counting" is recording the known damage cards revealed there is generally little benefit to it outside of ousting "cheaters" who stack their DD or finding those who may have component errors. ISYTDS is basically the ONLY thing in the game that actually cares what's in the DD and can do anything about it. Maybe there are a few other times when having a better idea of "the odds" of a certain card being revealed may influence a decision (Do I use Calculate to turn on eye to a crit or just Focus normally for two+ hits?) but I'd say they are highly circumstance.

I'm sure there is also a least 1 person out there who tried to document every maneuver taken by an opponent so they could look for tenancies. I could see that having a real effect on the game in some cases, besides just slowing it to a crawl.

13 minutes ago, StevenO said:

If "card counting" is recording the known damage cards revealed there is generally little benefit to it outside of ousting "cheaters" who stack their DD or finding those who may have component errors. ISYTDS is basically the ONLY thing in the game that actually cares what's in the DD and can do anything about it. Maybe there are a few other times when having a better idea of "the odds" of a certain card being revealed may influence a decision (Do I use Calculate to turn on eye to a crit or just Focus normally for two+ hits?) but I'd say they are highly circumstance.

THIS! A thousand times this. I've had people argue that it changes the odds on attacks. But this isn't blackjack, you aren't gambling if the next crit will help or hurt. All crits are bad to take. If you can deal one to your opponent, it will help you or at least not hurt you, no matter what is left in the deck.

20 hours ago, thespaceinvader said:

Worth noting in context that technically speaking whenever a ship dies all its cards are discarded face up, so once it's dead you DO know the contents of the remaining deck except for what's in play on living ships.

first time I see this. Did I miss this in some rules?

It's in the rules reference, yes.

Yup. Also since you can see what cards are faceup on the table and you are allowed to look through the discard pile, I'm not sure why taking notes on damage cards is important.

• When a ship is destroyed, its Damage cards are discarded faceup to the discard pile.

• Players can look at the Damage card discard pile at any time.