So we had 14 show up this week for our regular Wednesday night run, where we split into a table of 8 and another table of 6, for Aces High. Some quick points;
1) I've never seen so much engagement and smiles at the same time during a weekly game night of X-Wing
2) In the 8 person group which I played in, there was not a single duplicate pilot. Heck, there wasn't even a duplicate SHIP. It was a wide variety of pilots; a Trandoshan Slaver, IG-88B, Fenn Rau, Vader, Blackout, Talonbane Cobra, Ketsu and Poe.
3) Having a person to track points and announce end of round tally makes the game flow much more smoothly. Sharing components also really makes things easier.
4) It's also fun to generally share game state knowledge and win conditions publicly as often as possible. Total politicking and delightful subtle lobbying. Added a whole new level of coercive interaction to the game.
5) Someone always needs to bring a Deadman's Switch to the party. Hilarity ensues.
6) The game is hyper focused on continual exchange, but be warned, there will be tokenless rounds as it is like flying against the Toughest Swarm Ever.
7) We ran right around 2 hours for the 8 person game. The 6 person went shorter than that. That was with us learning the rules as we went.
8) There is strategy here---it isn't just a free for all. First Blood / Fresh Meat hits matter. Sometimes there is value in not shooting and flying defensively. Planning your flight path a couple of rounds ahead is tough, so you need to stay aware of what is happening in the other firefights as target prioritization changes.
9) The game felt at times, I dare say, collaborative. This was super cool as unspoken alliances formed and dissolved quickly.
10) Don't worry about losing a ship early if it means you get points. Coming back into the game gives you new positioning options.
11) There is no clear S-Tier build. Come in with something you think wrecks, you can get easily wrecked and picked apart.
12) Passive mods are ok, but the dice will fail you more often here. Force users are not as OP as they are in 200/6. Regen is worthless, as if you go and heal up you are losing bounty chances while other ships pile on the points.
If a single variant properly executed like this represents the future of X-Wing, evolving into something that involves more people and different strategies, man... we haven't even really scratched the surface of what this game can REALLY be. What I find most encouraging is how many legacy players and veterans are embracing this. Bodes well for the future.
Cheers!