Ah, a new year. It's been a busy one for the X-wing community. Here is a quick synapses of this past year, off the top of my head:

A year ago today, we were all abuzz about the Kessel Run Events and all of the new spoilers that they brought us. Many of us all had brand new pretty Wave 2 ships, albeit in very limited quantities, to play with until the wave released at the end of February. We were all enjoying the new interceptors, and I was trying unsuccessfully to fly that new Firespray model.

The end of February saw the release of Wave 2, so now we all had shiny new toys to play with. At the end of February I did something that will be having a large impact on where my 2014 will go, but more on that in a minute.

April saw the beginning of the Regional events. I think many of us met new friends, saw new squads, and had lots of fun. The community grew enormously, as seen by the 44 that attended the FFG May 4th event tournament.

With the community deep in the Regional season, FFG released spoilers of wave 3. We were all excited about new ships and new pilots, even though the dials weren't spoiled until Gencon. Gencon had a wave 3 release for those who attended. Also, Jake won the grueling almost-20-hour-event that was the National Tournament, and I got to put faces to a lot of names on these boards. Also, the National Tournament showed how this game has grown even more with its cap of 100 people, with 84 showing. Also announced were the Huge ships and a new Epic play format.

September saw the wide release of Wave 3. The following months saw Rebel players loving their B-wings and Imperial players trying to figure out how to fly the shuttle successfully. The Imperial Aces expansion pack was announced, getting people excited to fly Interceptors again. Also in September I started the "Fly Casual" campaign, which I think was quite successful at reminding people that this is just a game, meant to have fun and bring people together.

In November, there were 114 participants from all over the world in the X-wing World Championship. More friends were made, especially those from overseas. Paul Heaver won the tournament, and there were some amazing stories from the tourney. If you don't know, just look for the Jonathon and Dustin story, as well as Paul winning the Team Covenant tourney and the World Championship in the same day, missing his plane flight in doing so, and FFG's response to that. FFG is truly a great organization, and we have the best gaming community out there.

Which leads me to where we are headed. I'm not allowed to say much, but I think we are all looking forward to Imperial Aces coming out soon, as well as the Huge ships and the new format. The Organized Play format has changed so that we can now have Store Championships, and fewer, but more true, Regional Championships.

One of the friends I made this year is a man I haven't yet met, although I look forward to meeting him and his boys one day. His screenname on here is InstantAequitas. He is a soldier in Afghanistan. I saw him post on these boards, and I knew he had a zeal for this game, even though he was so far away from it. So I packed up one of every ship (including ships from my just-arrived wave 2 Miniature Market package), core set, map, sleeves, and some of the tokens I had won from the World Championships, and shipped it all to him. The thread in the Battle Reports section shows pics of him and his boys playing. The joy that something like this game can bring to our soldiers overseas is immeasurable. Trust me, I know.

So, this year I am going to focus on my "Let 'Em Fly" campaign. I will post that in a separate thread, as I know this wall o' text is getting long. So let me just conclude by saying thank you all for making this community such a great one, and for making this game so much fun to play. So for this year, Have fun, make new friends, and continue being the best community out there. Thank you.

On a smaller scale but no less gratifying I sent a starter set and 4 additional fighters (3 from my own collection) to a friend here in New Zealand. I introduced him and his 8yr old son to X-Wing a few months earlier at a gaming weekend and they were hooked. I know they were blown away when they got the package because they were not expecting to get the complete game - just a few extra components I was no longer using

The small player base in my area is the biggest challenge to organized play. This year I am initiating a championship series format at my LGS. With only 4 players at this time we are hoping to attract a few more new players and get them involved. They are out there but are hard to pin down - one guy I met at the store didn't have the internet or a mobile phone!

Players will face two different opponents each session in 100pt squad battles and may change their squads in between sessions (but not on the same day due to time hassles). After a certain number of swiss rounds (depending on numbers) we will cut to a championship bracket and playoff top4 and top2. New players can be lent ships and components if they are just starting out )we have all been there).

This has arisen out of my dissatisfaction of lack of opportunities for organized play. I am adopting a "Build It and They Will Come" approach and am hoping to grow the interest and player base. If this works then we will look to introduce prize support and an entry fee (negotiable by the players but will likely involve the Game Night Kits).

Good to see you posting a bit here and there Hothie! Happy New Year to you and your family!

Well, said, Hothie. Yeah -- The game can only get better from here, with what Fantasy Flight has coming down the pike. with the Imperial Aces Expansion and the Epic ships.

. . . And a Happy and safe New Year to you and yours. . . . . Oh yeah, and a fun 2014 too.

Having only gotten into the game just after Wave 3 getting released I have to say it really has helped renew my love of classic Star Wars and have gotten some new friends. My local people have only gotten more and more into the game as well and I happily fly every few Saturdays with them. As the local guru of the game, I happily lend people ships and cards from either faction and am willing to doll out unsolicited advice. X3

That said, Happy New Year and let's have a blast with the new ships of 2014! :3