Star Wars - X-Wing Miniatures Game: A review

So I finally picked up the new Star Wars game from Fanasy Flight.  I bought it for $40 at Target (you can also get it at Toys R Us or your local game store).  As a Star Wars fan since I was 7 (when the movie came out), I've collected just about everything that has come out, whether it be action figures, books, and video games.  So when I saw this little gem, I had to get it since it combined my love for the movies and miniatures. 

So with less ado, here's a review.

When you open the box, everything is nicely packaged.  The ships are packaged in a seperate plastic container that includes the bases and six stems (nice thought to double the stems since you know they're going to break at some point).

The ships themselves are very well detailed and remind me of the old MicroMachines ones that came out many years ago.  In fact, when you take a side-by-side comparison, its almost as if they took the old molds and refined them.  The Tie fighters have larger foils but the cockpit is the same.  The X-wing is the exact same size as the MicroMachines but with more detailed laser points.

Game pieces on the right, Micro-Machines on the left.

Tie fighter has same body but bigger sails.

Both X-wings almost identical.

After punching out all of the counters (and mind you, the counters are on very thick cardboard.  Not thin like some other card punches) it was time to try out the game.  The game can either be started with the Quick Start rules or by using the whole rule book.  Some more on the differences in a little bit.

We started by place only one Tie fighter and X-wing opposite each other.  The start up suggest a board of 2'x2' but we played on a picnic table since it was a nice warm day.  The first phase is the action phase where you get a little dial and select your move onto it without your opponent seeing.  Once this is dialed in, you both place your dials next to your ship.  The Imperials move first by placing a movement template corresponding to the dial.  Then the rebels move. 

Place the template to match the dial.  (I know, its backwards)

Final position after moving.

The attack phase is pretty simple.  Check range using the range ruler and if the enemy is in your front arc you can shoot at it.  Eight sided dice are used with different symbols on it.  These are rolled with the amount matching your offense and defense stats on your ship.  When they are rolled, certain symbols cancel each other out.  If you are left with a 'blast' symbol, then your enemy takes a hit. 
This will be on the shields first, then when they are gone, against the ship.  If you have no more hull points left, your ship explodes.  Very simple.

 

Out of range!

Moving in for the kill.  Tie fighter does a 180!

 

Tie fighter gets the first shot.

X-wing takes a hit lowering the shields by 1.

X-wing fires back.



Tie takes a hit but has two more left.

Maneuvering again.

Making another pass.

Head to head!
 

Tie figther shoots but misses.



Now its the X-wing's turn: shoots, scoring two hits.



Scratch another Imperial.

 

You win when your opponents are destroyed.

So, now for the differences between the quick start rules and the real rules.  The play area is suggested as 3'x3' or bigger depending on the amount of ships you use.

Lowest pilot skill goes first to manuever.  This is broken by initiative if a tie.  If thats a tie, the Imperial goes first.  Combat, the highest pilot skill goes first.

Actions gain tokens that can be spent in that combat phase.  These tokens can change the die results.

Range has different benefits.  1 (close range) you gain an extra attack die.  3 (long range) you gain an extra defense die.

Depending on the type of damage die rolled, you can either suffer regular damage or critical damage which either affects your pilot or the ship.

You can't crash into other ships.  Unlike Gothic, there is no ramming.  The pilots are smarter than that.

With the advanced rules, you can have a fleet of up to 100 points.  Each pilot has a value as the ships are all the same.  An X-wing rookie is 21 points where Luke Skywalker is 28.  An Imperial academy pilot is 12 points and the veteran Imperial pilot is 17.  According to the rulebook, if you have two starter boxes and use all the ships, it adds up to 31 points.  There are also upgrade cards:  proton torpedoes, astromech droids, etc to help you out in combat.

You can also throw in obstacles as asteroids, etc.  "future expansions may introduce new typse of obstacles".  How about a Death Star later on?

There are also three missions that you can play where the objective is not about blowing each other up.

The last pages have the making of the game, including the making of the models.

For those who have played Battlefleet Gothic, this is actually a harder game.  Your manuevers are layed out for you in the templates.  You have to move depending on what you pre-determined before hand and can't change.  This might put you in a better position or be out-smarted by your opponent.  There is no "I'll move three inches forward, no, I'll move two inches to the left instead".

Since all the ships are the same depending on faction, the only advantage you have is on the pilot you use.  This can be good for those who want a fair fight and rely on tactics only to win the day.

Overall, the game is very fun to play and fast.  You don't get bogged down in lengthy steps for each little aspect.  It mimics space ship to ship combat very good.  You fly, you shoot, you hit, then evade.  And a game only takes about 30 minutes.  A little longer if you're skilled at evading.

And with expansion sets in the form of other ships: X-wings, Y-wings, Tie fighters, Darth
Vader's Tie advanced, and the Millineum Falcon, you can build an impressive fleet.

My opponent for this game was my five year old son.  He grasped the mechanics of the game quite quickly.  He's still working on the tactics though.  The game recommends 14+, but if he can play it, I'm sure most people will get the hang of it pretty easy.

A worthy opponent.

I give the game five fortifications out of five.  The only negative I have, even though the miniatures are great, is you can practically play the game without them.  The counters are enough to play the game.