Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game Review

For the holiday season, I purchased the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game to play with my two nephews now that they’re older, smarter, and are really digging deep into Star Wars. Being brothers, my nephews are also at that age where they’re competitive with each other. Bedtime, alone, is a tackle sport, and board games are certainly no exception as they wage verbal warfare.

Overview

The X-Wing Miniatures Game is a ship-to-ship combat game for two players (or two teams) played within a 3-foot by 3-foot area. Players choose between three factions (Rebels/Resistance, Imperial Forces/First Order, or Scum & Villainy), and they choose their ships, pilots, and upgrades. Then, they go head-to-head in dogfights, or attempt to complete mission goals.

To play X-Wing, I had to have a core set, which contains enough ships, cards, and tokens for two players to begin playing. There two different core sets available: the original trilogy set (box title is in red) and the “Force Awakens” set (box title is in blue). The “Force Awakens” set was cheaper, and it contained updated rules and damage cards that are intended to replace the original set. For the prices, the core sets are a great value.

As much value as they contain, the core sets do not have enough dice (3 red attack dice, 3 green defense dice). I recommend picking up an extra set of dice for smoother game play.

Additional ships and ship sets can be bought separately to increase the variety and re-play-ability. They span not only the movies, but also the animated series and other Star Wars canon. Every game expansion comes with a ship(s) as well as extra tokens, pilot cards, upgrade cards, punch-outs, and any additional game rules for new pilot/ship features.

Both of the core sets come with an X-Wing and two TIE Fighters. The ships are small, lightweight, highly detailed, and have excellent paint jobs. Most ships are to scale with each other, but huge ships (i.e. Corvettes) have been scaled down to a size that both looks good and is still playable. This is one set of miniatures that I’m glad I don’t have to paint, and when they’re not being played with, they look great sitting out on a shelf.

Every ship needs a pilot, each bringing a unique (or not-so-unique) set of skills that can be taken advantage of. Ships can be enhanced even further with upgrade cards. There are many combinations, and every expansion pack brings more options.

If you do plan on getting a lot of expansions, be aware that storage may become an issue. The box of the core set is pretty small, and should be able to hold several small ships and their components. But, eventually, you will run out of room for ships, cards, and tokens. The box lid also has a large window that is not backed with plastic, so items can fall out if you do not fix that.

Fantasy Flight Games (publisher) maintains up-to-date rules & corrections, and they offer documents on FAQs, tournament resources, and player resources. There’s even a list of every expansion and game accessory available.

Game Play

Before playing, I did some research in how the game plays. I read a couple of recommendations that first-timers should start out small and just learn the basics of moving and attacking. That means using standard pilots that don’t have any special abilities; not upgrading ships with additional weapons, tech, droids, etcetera; not playing missions (3 are supplied with the game); and not using obstacles like asteroids. It’s just too much to take in all at once.

Although the rules are aplenty, they’re easy enough to both remember and follow once you’re actually playing. In fact, my 9-year-old nephew (Nephew 1) took to the game far better than his 13-year-old brother (Nephew 2).

Nephew 1 and I took command of the two First Order TIE Fighters against Nephew 2 and his Resistance X-Wing. Nephew 1 raced along, making wide banks and turns well out of anyone’s firing range. Nephew 2 and I danced around close to each other without getting a good shooting position. It was zany. Near the end, we all developed better control, and I finally took down Nephew 2’s X-Wing, scoring a victory for the First Order.

The major drawback that we encountered was time; it took a lot of time to play X-Wing. Most of that is because we were new and just learning. Flying around without attacking anyone is no fun. The box says that a typical game takes 30-45 minutes to play, but I don’t see that happening until we are fully versed in the game.

Silence. For the first time, I encountered vast silence during a board game. I play board games to enhance interaction with friends and family, and there is usually banter and laughter. X-Wing requires strategy, which requires both time and quiet contemplation. The focus is on strategy.

Nephew 1 liked the game, and got really excited when he thought that he had a firing solution. He really looked forward to shooting someone. When he finally got one single attack in before the end of the game, he completely missed. That had to have been a little disheartening for him. But, he took it like a champ.

Nephew 2 began to lose interest halfway through the game. There were several rules that he had a hard time with, especially the part about attacking and dealing damage. Strategy just isn’t his thing, and the lack of attacks by anyone became monotonous. That was when he started showing more interest in his smartphone.

I personally enjoyed the game, and I look forward to playing the game at its full potential with pilot abilities and ship upgrades. It’s hard to find people who will play strategy games with me. Fortunately, I think Nephew 1 will definitely play again.

Final Thoughts

The game was a big flop for us . . . this time around. To be fair, the game is recommended for ages 14+, and I played with both an 8-year-old and a 13-year-old. The game is flexible, so you can simplify the game like we did for younger players. You can even shrink the play area from three square feet to two if you like. Whatever house rules you use, the important thing is to just have fun.

The game can get slow at times when players can’t make up their minds about which maneuver to perform or which actions to take. But, with more experience come better and quicker decision making.

Next time, I think I’ll play just with my younger nephew. If that fails, there have been some rules developed for playing solo. There are even some apps (Mark 13: X-Wing Solo AI is a popular option) available to expedite play. None of these are official ways to play.

I would certainly love to play with some obstacles or even a mission or two. I haven’t looked yet, but I’m sure that there are a ton of player-made missions online to choose from.

If you’re into Star Wars and strategy games, the X-Wing Miniatures Game may be something to look into. You should definitely download and read a copy of the rules first; it’s not as complicated to play as it sounds on paper. Just be aware that the game can get expensive if you go beyond the core set.

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