I'm going to be doing a demo at a hometown con/reunion in a couple of weeks and am seeking some input from the community on some squads.

The demo needs to fill two hours. I figured for the first half hour I'd be mostly talking about the mechanics of the game and squad building basics. The next hour I would have some planned out moves and actions to show the gameplay (overlap, stress, target locks, etc). I want to keep the squads simple so as not to overload everyone with to specific details on all the pilots and upgrades but make it familiar to Star Wars fans so they get excited about wanting to play it. Then the last half hour or so do Q&A.

I have 2 core sets and 1 each of the expansions. What are your recommendations?

Here is what I'm thinking

Rebel:

Empire:

sorta depends on how many players you have involved.

im assuming it is just a two player battle with others watching?

Luke will make for a longer game because of his defensive ability.

the two squads u have listed look fine to me, as long as the guys playing them have some experience with mechanics of x-wing.

id run one less x-wing and 1-2 less imperial ships if a less xperienced pilot was jumping in and controlling one of the squads.

I would not go with a 100 point build but with maybe a 60 point build. Smaller fleets leads to quicker rounds. More time spent attacking and dodging, less time spent planning and moving.

I would go with Luke (R2 D2 and Squad leader) and a rookie pilot (Proton and R2)

vs Darth Vader (Swarm tactics) and two Black squadron pilots.

Here is a similar thread at BBG

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/983936/suggested-builds-for-1st-time-lgs

Jump toward the end to see what I used but the discussion is good to read to see the logic.

A 2 hour block with 1 hour dedication to instruction alone? I would shorten that instruction block down and keep it simple. The players do not have to to be fully versed in everything the first time they play, you are just trying to get their feet wet. If your instruction block is too long you will also lose player attention and interests.

Any chance you project the videos from FFG?

sorta depends on how many players you have involved.

im assuming it is just a two player battle with others watching?

Luke will make for a longer game because of his defensive ability.

the two squads u have listed look fine to me, as long as the guys playing them have some experience with mechanics of x-wing.

id run one less x-wing and 1-2 less imperial ships if a less xperienced pilot was jumping in and controlling one of the squads.

There really won't be another player. All the moves will be preplanned to show different actions and situations. Probably going to use VASSAL to plan it all out. I think I will drop an x-wing and 2 tie fighters. Thanks

I would not go with a 100 point build but with maybe a 60 point build. Smaller fleets leads to quicker rounds. More time spent attacking and dodging, less time spent planning and moving.

I would go with Luke (R2 D2 and Squad leader) and a rookie pilot (Proton and R2)

vs Darth Vader (Swarm tactics) and two Black squadron pilots.

Yeah, I think 100 pts is too big for a demo. Thanks for the advice.

Here is a similar thread at BBG

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/983936/suggested-builds-for-1st-time-lgs

Jump toward the end to see what I used but the discussion is good to read to see the logic.

Thanks Ken. I'll give it a look at.

A 2 hour block with 1 hour dedication to instruction alone? I would shorten that instruction block down and keep it simple. The players do not have to to be fully versed in everything the first time they play, you are just trying to get their feet wet. If your instruction block is too long you will also lose player attention and interests.

Actually what I said was 1/2 hour for instruction and an hour of gameplay. Thanks for your concern though.

Any chance you project the videos from FFG?

Only if I can figure out how to download it. There is no internet at the location we will be at.

I'm surprised that you start with 100 points and include the named pilots. When I do demos I start at 25pts and scale up 25 points at a time using the following list duplicated however many times. After whoever is learning gets all the way to 100, Ill start swapping for their favorite named characters/etc. I usually introduce asteroids at either 50 or 75 points depending on how the person learning is doing.

Basic 25pt Rebs

Rookie w/Torps

Basic 25pt Imps

Academy Pilot

Obsidian Squadron Pilot

Those lists combined have different PS (so they learn how the order matters), a secondary weapon (which also means an upgrade), all the basic actions, and play pretty fast. I would generally encourage you to have whoever is learning to play Rebels the first couple games and then as Imperials at 75+ because he Navy list scales to a more 'competitive' list. That's not necessarily a requirement, but it will give the person learning an idea of both sides and give them a bigger advantage as you scale up, which generally helps with their overall experience. Obviously once they have the first few games under their belt you can switch to whatever lists you want and go from there.

I'm surprised that you start with 100 points and include the named pilots. When I do demos I start at 25pts and scale up 25 points at a time using the following list duplicated however many times. After whoever is learning gets all the way to 100, Ill start swapping for their favorite named characters/etc. I usually introduce asteroids at either 50 or 75 points depending on how the person learning is doing.

Basic 25pt Rebs

Rookie w/Torps

Basic 25pt Imps

Academy Pilot

Obsidian Squadron Pilot

Those lists combined have different PS (so they learn how the order matters), a secondary weapon (which also means an upgrade), all the basic actions, and play pretty fast. I would generally encourage you to have whoever is learning to play Rebels the first couple games and then as Imperials at 75+ because he Navy list scales to a more 'competitive' list. That's not necessarily a requirement, but it will give the person learning an idea of both sides and give them a bigger advantage as you scale up, which generally helps with their overall experience. Obviously once they have the first few games under their belt you can switch to whatever lists you want and go from there.

I'm going to be showing to a group of people at first. So maybe I'll ask for a volunteer to play one side instead of pre-planning all the moves for both sides. That way the questions they have on what they can do should resemble what others are thinking. Good call. Thanks for the advice.

I seem to recall an article discussing a "Secret Plans" set-up to instruct new players. It was two 50 point squadrons.

Rebels:

YT-1300 (Chewbacca) + gunner + Marksmanship although I imagine you could trade the EP skill

Imperials:

NIght Beast

Winged Gundark

Howlrunner + Swarm Tactics

The idea is that the Rebel side is very forgiving of mistakes while the Imperial side shows how teamwork can work.

The demo went great. Not too many showed up for it but those that did either bought the core set there or are planning on getting them bought soon. Thanks for all the feedback it help immensely.

Just random squad generate it so people can get a taste of everything.

Fill in the blanks and it will make a rebel and imperial list for you:

http://fabpsb.free.fr/#etiquette

Err...too late I see

Here is a good link: Tell me what you think

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/983936/suggested-builds-for-1st-time-lgs

oops, me too. I should have read the date.

I'm surprised that you start with 100 points and include the named pilots. When I do demos I start at 25pts and scale up 25 points at a time using the following list duplicated however many times. After whoever is learning gets all the way to 100, Ill start swapping for their favorite named characters/etc. I usually introduce asteroids at either 50 or 75 points depending on how the person learning is doing.

Basic 25pt Rebs

Rookie w/Torps

Basic 25pt Imps

Academy Pilot

Obsidian Squadron Pilot

Those lists combined have different PS (so they learn how the order matters), a secondary weapon (which also means an upgrade), all the basic actions, and play pretty fast. I would generally encourage you to have whoever is learning to play Rebels the first couple games and then as Imperials at 75+ because he Navy list scales to a more 'competitive' list. That's not necessarily a requirement, but it will give the person learning an idea of both sides and give them a bigger advantage as you scale up, which generally helps with their overall experience. Obviously once they have the first few games under their belt you can switch to whatever lists you want and go from there.

I really like this idea! I've been using this squad to showcase X-wing, except for the Proton Torpedoes. So the Rebels have had a slight disadvantage. I think adding the torps is a great way to even the playing field a little and also expose them to upgrade cards. The other option would be R2-D2...but new players have a hard time focusing fire, so the Rebel player has a distinct (almost unfair) advantage. Yeah, the Proton Torpedoes idea is great. I will use that from now on.