Escalation

Description : Players build lists per a predetermined sequence of allowable squad points, called Tiers (e.g. 30, 60, 90, and 120 points). Players start by building a list that is equal to or less than the lowest squad point Tier (in our example, 30 points). Players then, using the exact same list from the prior Tier, add to that list with ships and upgrades equaling up to the next Tier (60 points). Players may add new ships and new upgrades to ships from prior Tiers but may not remove upgrades or ships from prior Tiers. Each list must be legal (for example, you can't have a loose upgrade attached to no ship). You cannot move upgrades between ships.

After each round, all players use the next highest Tier list. There are typically an equal number of rounds in the tournament as there are Tiers.

Useful Links : (none, yet)

On 10/17/2017 at 7:26 PM, gadwag said:

If you add comments with links to other modes, I'll add them here. This list is being actively curated.

Is this post wildly optimistic? Sure. Feel free to discuss your doubts, fears and hopes below. Even if we are ignored, alternate formats are great so it will be handy to have all of them in one place and keep tossing up new ideas.

Big thanks to everyone contributing, and particularly @Rinzler in a Tie who has already compiled a massive list of alternate formats. These have mostly been copied into this top level post, but you can view his thread here .

Edited 6 hours ago by gadwag
more links, sorted into categories ...

Wish I could like this more than once!

7 hours ago, Bullox said:

Wish I could like this more than once!

Thanks! I've just tidied up the links into spoiler tags for easier reading as well. The links are all done now (except hangar bay and reverse hangar bay, which I'll do shortly, but they are already well known)

And as before, keep posting any new ideas, discussions of alternate formats, dream alternate format official releases, etc into this thread.

If any mods know how to get this pinned, or @MajorJuggler if you want to add it to your pinned list of useful links, go right ahead.

Sure, I can add this to the pinned thread.

Here's another category.

Rebalanced for standard 100/6

Cheers, I already had supremacy but I'll move it and your version to a new category

Hangar Bay Format (from FFG Website )

The Hangar Bay format is a brand new way to display even more of your collection, broaden your expertise, and destroy your enemies!

To play these Hangar Bay side events, you will need to bring two standard squads that follow the 100-point maximum. These squads will use the same damage deck and obstacles.

Optional list-building rules include:

- Rivals: Each squad you bring must be from a different faction

- Totally unique: You may not use the same card or ship in both squads. You can use the same upgrade or generic pilot multiple times in one squad, as usual - just no overlap between squads. For example, your first squad might be a crack swarm using the black squadron pilot, crack shot, and Howlrunner. You decide to use rebels for your second squad, but you cannot field the rebel TIE (you have already used this ship) or the crack shot upgrade.

Hangar Bay format rounds each begin by placing your first squad on your left, and your second squad on your right. After evaluating your opponent’s squads, both of you will secretly select which squad to field for this round by using a maneuver dial. Rotate to a 1-speed maneuver to select your first squad on your left, or a 2-speed maneuver to select your second squad on your right, and then place your maneuver dial facedown. Next, each player reveals their dial simultaneously, and removes their unselected squad from the table.

Players normally make all of the decisions about what ships they will deploy for each game before they even come to the tournament. But with the Hangar Bay format, players get to experience that strategic excitement prior to each round of play!

Reverse Hangar Bay Format

The reverse hangar bay format (also known as "Pick you poison") is very similar to a hangar bay event, except that players select which list their opponent will fly.

Each player needs two standard squads that follow the 100-point maximum. These squads will use the same damage deck and obstacles.

Optional list-building rules include:

- Rivals: Each squad you bring must be from a different faction

- Totally unique: You may not use the same card or ship in both squads. You can use the same upgrade or generic pilot multiple times in one squad, as usual - just no overlap between squads. For example, your first squad might be a crack swarm using the black squadron pilot, crack shot, and Howlrunner. You decide to use rebels for your second squad, but you cannot field the rebel TIE (you have already used this ship) or the crack shot upgrade.

Reverse Hangar Bay format rounds each begin by placing your first squad on your left, and your second squad on your right. After evaluating your opponent’s squads, both of you will secretly select which squad your opponent will field for this round by using a maneuver dial. Rotate to a 1-speed maneuver to select their first squad on your right (their left), or a 2-speed maneuver to select their second squad on your left (their right), and then place your maneuver dial facedown. Next, each player reveals their dial simultaneously, and removes their unselected squad from the table.

Two-Face Format

In this format, each player brings a standard list which will be flown by either themselves or their opponent. At the beginning of a round, players flip a coin. If the coin is heads, players use the lists they each brought. If it is tails, they swap and play using their opponent's list. This introduces an element of strategy where players need to bring lists that they can fly well (in case they have to use their own list) but also lists that they can defeat (when flying against them).

This format is an evolution of Reverse Format where each player brings a standard list (worth at least 95 points) for their opponent to fly. Reverse Format often leads to bizarre games with absolutely terrible ships (such as naked hwks or dash rendar with outrider and jamming beam). House ruling to avoid these awful combos can be tedious, so Two-Face Format is a more elegant solution.

I’d like to see a modified highlander format

limit lists to...

1 unique pilot, 1 large, 1 illicit upgrade, 1 ship with bombs, 1 ship with a turret upgrade, 1 PWT, 1 ship with crew, 1 ship with PTL, 1 ship with autothrusters, 1 ship with SLAM, 1 ship with equipped ordnance

there are still quiet a few ships that you could run multiples of and be just fine, but especially the 1 unique pilot and 1 large would open the meta back up to some sidelined ships.

The other idea is to drop ships into classes and limit them

ie: multi role, interceptor, bomber, transport, gunboat, space superiority, starfighter

I’d think limit transports, bombers, and gunboats to 1... interceptors and space superiority to 2... and multirole and starfighters to 3 each?

3-60 "Sabotage" Format

Each player brings three distinct* Squad lists of sixty points or less from the same faction and one damage deck and three obstacles . After players review each other's lists the players secretly choose one of their opponent's lists to remove from the round. Players combine their remaining lists and use both for the round.

Initiative is determined by the combined point cost of both lists.

Secret selection. E ach player numbers their lists 1-3. To secretly choose an opponent's list to remove each player Uses a maneuver dial to select a speed 1-3 maneuver. The list number matching the speed of the maneuver selected is removed. Once selected players reveal their dials simultaneously.

* Distinct: You may not use the same upgrade cards or unique pilot card in more than one squad. You can use the same upgrade multiple times in one squad as usual just no overlap between squads. For example, your first squad might be a crack swarm using the black squadron pilots, crack shot, and Howlrunner. You you may use more black squadron pilots for your second or third squads, but you cannot use Howlrunner or the crack shot upgrade.

The Squads Must Be Crazy

have only tried this a few times, but it was fun. should be considered work in progress and may need some additional tuning. for now, all standard x-wing rules apply unless otherwise stated.

- setup

• played on epic sized board (3x6, 4x6, or larger)
• 200, 300, 400 point lists (or other agreed upon value)
• list must be comprised of multiple squads of the same ship type and pilot skill. (eg. (3)Xwings, (4)Awings, (3)Ywings = 1 list, etc..)
• squads must be comprised of a minimum 3 ships, maximum 6 (small base). 2 minimum and 4 maximum (large base)
• generic pilots recommended. if you use named pilot, ability is ignored and pilot skill may be adjusted to squad value during initial setup only
• upgrades shared across all ships of specific squad (eg. 1 proton torpedo upgrade card, all (3)Xwings have proton torpedo)
• unique or limited upgrades are not allowed
• each player must place a number of obstacles equal to the number of squads in that players list
• obstacle placement should be at least range 2 from edge of board and range 2 from each other obstacle
• squads are set within range 2 of edge, using the majority pilot skill of the squad to determine order
• initiative determined by the following in order: list cost(lowest), number of squads in list(lowest), roll of dice

- play

Planning Phase

• a single dial is used to set the maneuver for an entire squad
• if a unique pilot is part of a squad, they may use a different dial for maneuver. However, that ship and the squad, are then considered out of formation (see below)

Activation Phase

• overall squad pilot skill is used to determine activation order. lowest squad skill reveals first, with ties being chosen by the player or initiative
• reveal dial for squad and move each ship of that squad to match (excluding any previously mentioned unique pilots)
• assign an action available to that squad (eg. 1 focus token = all ships in that squad have focus action assigned)
• a ship is considered out of formation if it either a) performs a different maneuver than squad, b) is beyond range 2 of its designated squad
• a ship that is out of formation, is assigned a stress token and is exempt from squad action
• a squad that is out of formation cannot perform any red maneuvers
• any ship with 1 or more stress tokens is exempt from squad action assigned until that stress is cleared
• re-positioning actions (boost, barrel roll, decloak, etc..) may only be ignored for a single ship if it causes that ship to overlap an obstacle or other ship
• overlap of obstacle by a ship or squad during maneuver, rolls for all damages and is assigned a stress token
• overlap of another ship (either friend or foe), results in a stress token for that ship
• IF A SHIP(S) CANNOT CLEAR AN OBSTACLE, THE SHIP(S) IS IMMEDIATELY DESTROYED AND REMOVED FROM PLAY

Combat Phase

• squads attack in successive order by overall pilot skill for that squad, highest to lowest. ties are chosen by the player or initiative
• unique pilots outside of overall squad pilot skill may attack or defend by pilot skill accordingly, without the squad action assigned
• once an action is used by a squad in combat, it must be observed by all ships in squad in formation
• focus actions must be used for either attack or defense for the entire squad not both and cannot be split within squad

Cleanup Phase

• remove any unused action token
• a squad is considered in formation at this point if it has a) no ships beyond range 2 of it, b) an out of formation ship performed the same maneuver using the same dial, as its squad
• squads in formation at this point may remove any stress tokens

Thanks guys, I've added those to the list! If you refine them significantly and want me to update the list entry, let me know

Speaking of alternate formats, Babaganoosh is now running a vassal version of the greyskull campaign!

Slalom challenge

This game is like a skier making their way down the mountain side and passing through gates along the way. This works on both 2x2 and 3x3 size maps. The goal is to pass through all the gates in the fewest moves possible. One person sets up the map and chooses a ship. After they make a run, their opponent tries to beat their score.

Set-up:

Place pairs of target lock tokens on the battlefield. The pairs are Range 1 apart. 5 pairs are good for 2x2, 8 for 3x3. The target lock tokens should be in ascending order, or use ID tokens to label the order of the gates. Choose one area of the board to be the starting area.

Gameplay:

From the starting area, the chosen ship must pass through each gate in order. The player keeps track of the total number of turns needed to complete the course. Then, the other player tries to beat that total by using the same ship and completing the course in fewer turns.

Notes:

PTL, Boost, Barrel Roll, Adaptive Ailerons, etc., are all great tools to improve movement economy.

Hungry Hungry Hippos

This is a race to pick up the most shield tokens. There is no shooting, but actions are allowed. It can accommodate any number of players.

Setup:

Standard 3x3 with 6 obstacles. 30 Shield Tokens are randomly distributed across the board. All players must use the same unmodified pilot/ship for this game. Turn order is determined randomly each round by drawing numbers, or players can agree on a turn order for the game.

Gameplay:

Players move each turn. Each time they pass over or end on a shield token, they claim that token for a point. Once all tokens are collected the game is over and the highest total wins.

Variant: Angry Angry Hippos

Same rules as above, but shooting is allowed. If a ship is destroyed, then all their shield tokens are placed on the battlefield within range 1 of the ship. Then it is removed. Ships that are destroyed are placed in the starting area at the end of the next activation phase, effectively skipping the next turn. Then they can continue play as normal. As players can respawn, this has a 45 minute time limit. Highest score at the end wins.

Pac-Man

This game has one person trying to collect shield tokens while being pursued by “Ghosts” (Academy Pilots/Binayre Pirates). It is recommended that to Pac-Man not be larger than 40 points.

Setup:

Standard 3x3 map with 6 obstacles. 30 Shield Tokens are randomly distributed across the board. The Pac-Man sets up on one edge of the board, while the ghosts set up with one on each adjacent edge, and two on the far edge.

Gameplay:

The Pac-Man attempts to collect all the tokens while being pursued by the ghosts. Each token collected is another shield added to the original shield total on the ship. The Pac-Man can shoot the ghosts, and once they are destroyed they do respawn, but with a weapons disabled token. The Ghosts can cause damage by bumping or shooting the the Pac-Man. The game is over when all the tokens are collected, all the ghosts are destroyed, or the Pac-Man is destroyed.

Let’s track plays of specific alt formats.

In Toronto we play a variant of the 77+ format called 'Guns for Hire' or 'Mercenaries'. It's proved extremely popular

Players are limited to 77 points of the Rebel and Imperial factions. Standard list building restrictions apply and initiative is based on this number.

Players are assigned a random number and then draft scum ships from a list equal to the number of players +2. We've added the format to our league as well where players roll on a table of 20 ships and are assigned them randomly.

Ships are either created by the organizers or are submitted by participants pre-tournament and vetted.

We try to keep things as simple as possible. Feel free to ask any questions. I can also post our list of ships. We run them a little chunkier, going up to 30 points to work in little jank machines.

On 10/31/2017 at 11:02 PM, TylerTT said:

Let’s track plays of specific alt formats.

I am all for this, if anyone has any suggestions on a method.

I imagine a common thing is going to be that a lot of variants take too long. We only play Pac-Man while wasting time, and in 45 minutes, it is often the case that we have only picked up half the tokens, and that is with no ship destruction. Mario Kart games go even longer, sometimes 2+ hours just to complete one lap.

Other than Top-Gun, has anyone come upon an alternate play that runs about 30 minutes?

I just added 77+ Mercs and Jdlings games to my first comment.

Regarding the length of alternate X-Wing games, I have only played Mario kart but agree that it takes ages (especially if you are screwing around with troll ships like tugboats). I think a lot of alternate formats take a bit longer for several reasons:

1. They need more setup

2. People are less familiar with the rules, so play takes longer as you have to make sure you're playing correctly.

3. People are less familiar with the strategy. Most players get comfortable in Deathmatch es after a while and can make decisions faster, but in other X-Wing based games it might take a while to pick moves and actions because they aren't sure what the best strategy is

On 11/4/2017 at 5:48 AM, gadwag said:

...

3. People are less familiar with the strategy. Most players get comfortable in Deathmatch es after a while and can make decisions faster, but in other X-Wing based games it might take a while to pick moves and actions because they aren't sure what the best strategy is

This is very true. You can't just autopilot through the game.

In an endeavor to get in faster games, we have tried dropping the Pac-Man rules down to just 5 shield tokens on the board. Good piloting gets a win in around 45 minutes for the Pac-Man player. 30 shield tokens was winnable by the ghosts, but they really had to focus fire and bump to get there. Lowering the shield count means that the Pac-Man can't be as reckless and has to plot moves farther ahead. We have also gone down to furball rules (32 points, no Lone Wolf, No Advanced Cloak) for the Pac-Man.

We are still testing three variants of ghosts, with the following observations:

4x AP

The added agility over a z95 isn't in play most of the time. The opponent is running, not shooting. The barrel roll and the straight 5 make it better for bumping and getting back into the fight, perhaps too good.

4x Binayre Pirates/Bandits

The loss of maneuverability is hard to overcome, but not impossible. The ability to target lock and focus gives it a harder punch over the AP, but fewer bump opportunities. Probably the most fun of the three tested.

3x ESP

Added agility and shield doesn't matter. Ghosts just don't get shot down much in any of our games. The target lock and focus is the best of the z95, and the dial and barrel roll is the best of the TIE, so this is in a good spot. Dropping them down to 3x is a fair trade, but that straight 5 is the key to the game and still gives the ghosts a big advantage.

In all cases, this game really felt like mission 2 from the original X-Wing game. This is the mission where you had to buzz all the Imperial ships and get away, not fight. ( http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mission_in_the_Dellalt_system )

Grabbing 5 tokens feels like that, so we might need to re-flavor the game to match that mission.

I recently played the first round of the grayskull campaign (1A, terror campaign) and it was a blast. I had four crack blacks and two gamma vets with seismics (one had EM, one had a harpoon). The bombs were great for getting terror tokens down essentially for "free". Unfortunately the dice were very lopsided in the joust and the match was almost over before it got interesting, with the crippled rebel force fleeing the table. Bring on round 2!

Just curious, are there any formats that are limited to a number of rounds rather than a time limit. So instead of 75 minutes, you play 8 game rounds.

2 minutes ago, mkasunic said:

Just curious, are there any formats that are limited to a number of rounds rather than a time limit. So instead of 75 minutes, you play 8 game rounds.

Yes. A lot of the Death Star Trench scenarios are based on turns, not time. I know mine is based on 14 turns, and Dagobah Dave's is shorter, but certain objectives can be obtained to increase the number of turns remaining.

I've just added the fantastic X-Wing objectives! This is probably our best shot at making a community-founded-alternative-format-that-could-become-official, so I encourage you all to get behind it and give it a go! It's already playtested and ready to run!

http://nationaltabletopgaming.org/tournament-resources

I‘d also like to see the „Age of icons“ mod in your list. Its an OT 100/6 mod with mobile firing arcs and some more rebalancing changes.

thx

I didn't see it in this thread yet, but here's a format that's been around in our area for a few years: 59X or 59-point cross faction

http://www.backtodials.com/59-point-cross-faction-a-quick-and-fun-tournament-format/