Hey guys,

My dad and i just recently picked up this game and as you can imagine have a few questions about some rules so ill just jump straight into it...

when a pilot with a lower pilot skill (2 for example) executes a maneuver and bumps into an enemy ship with a higher PS (6 for example), then neither of the ships can attack each other because they are touching, this part we understand. however, since his ship is a higher pilot skip, he still gets to perform a maneuver with his PS 6 ship after i perform mine with the ship that bumped him. He is insisting that after he moves away from the ship that bumped him, that i cannot attack that ship because i bumped into it on my maneuver, even though after he moves away we are no longer touching. ALSO, he argues that he IS able to attack my ship that bumped him after he moves because he didnt bump into me during his maneuver. am i right in assuming that if you bump someone, but they move away on their maneuver that you can still attack them with the bumping ship because you are no longer touching at the end of the activation phase? or am i still not able to attack him because i bumped him, even though he moved away.

Ships that are "touching" may not fire on each other. I put that in quotes because "touching" is a particular game state that occurs in X-Wing and differs slightly from the standard English definotion of the word touching.

"Touching" only occurs when a ship attempts to perform a maneuver and is unable to finish it because another ship is blocking the final position. At that point you back the ship up along the template until it can be placed flat on the table in physical contact with the other ship's base (regular English touching). These ships are now "touching" and cannot fire on each other. If two ships end up regular touching because the maneuver was that close but didn't overlap they are NOT "touching" this is rare but possible. Also, when completing a barrel roll, if you are close enough to another ship you can slide the ship up until the bases are touching but this does not make them "touching" (FFG really should have used a different word.

Now to answer your question specifically: if ships are not touching they cannot be "touching" ever. "Touching" is the only time normally ships are prohibited from targeting each other when within range. So yes, once that higher PS ship moves away you can absolutely shoot it even in the same round.

The thematic reason for not being able to shoot when "touching" is it is actually a 3-D battlefield and the ship that bumped would actually be directly above or below the other. Once one moves away thougg this is no longer the case.

23 hours ago, LilTugBoat said:

Hey guys,

My dad and i just recently picked up this game and as you can imagine have a few questions about some rules so ill just jump straight into it...

when a pilot with a lower pilot skill (2 for example) executes a maneuver and bumps into an enemy ship with a higher PS (6 for example), then neither of the ships can attack each other because they are touching, this part we understand. however, since his ship is a higher pilot skip, he still gets to perform a maneuver with his PS 6 ship after i perform mine with the ship that bumped him. He is insisting that after he moves away from the ship that bumped him, that i cannot attack that ship because i bumped into it on my maneuver, even though after he moves away we are no longer touching. ALSO, he argues that he IS able to attack my ship that bumped him after he moves because he didnt bump into me during his maneuver. am i right in assuming that if you bump someone, but they move away on their maneuver that you can still attack them with the bumping ship because you are no longer touching at the end of the activation phase? or am i still not able to attack him because i bumped him, even though he moved away.

He's incorrect. Once you've moved away, you're no longer Touching, and can attack one another assuming you have range and (if appropriate) arc.

“Overlapping Ships” - Rules Reference page 15

“Touching” - Rules Reference page 19

The FAQ covers 3 more touching scenarios on page 7.

2 minutes ago, jmswood said:

The FAQ covers 3 more touching scenarios on page 7.

A very touching scenario.

"Touching" as a game term is very specific. It can only be initiated by an overlap but ends as soon an either ship moves any distance although you could find some rare corner case arguments where a ship could move but still be touching.

When you overlapped you lost your Perform Action step and had to move back off the ship until you were no longer overlapping. That is when you enter the "touching" state with the ship you overlapped and as long as that state is maintained neither of those touching ships can attack each other. If the other ship then moves it becomes fair game as do you.

What disappoints me most in the OP's post is when the father thinks that if he moves his higher PS ship away it breaks "touching" for his ship allowing it to attack but somehow still applies to the other ship. MAYBE if your overlap slides you back onto an Asteroid but then it's being parked on a rock that prevents you from attacking and not a touching condition that no longer applies.