Imperial Decimator

 My board game obsession shifts focus from game to game (and occasionally changes back into an RPG obsession.) One game, however, has been consistent in its ability to hold me enamored since it was published three years ago, and that's Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures, from Fantasy Flight Games.


Like most guys my age, I started out loving Star Wars when I was a kid, and kept a fondness for it into adulthood. But I have never been as "into it" as some people I know. I always had mixed feelings about the third movie, The Return of the Jedi; Episodes I – III were OK entertainment but had widely-discussed problems. I've maintained only a vague, peripheral awareness of all the comics, video games, and novels over the past 30 years. (Though I did enjoy that old X-Wing video game, I hardly played it.)


More than anything else, I think I liked the Star Wars aesthetic. The "look" of the ships, aliens, costumes, and sets is pleasing to me. And the music, of course.


And that aesthetic, combined with a fun game system, is why I love X-Wing Miniatures. It collided with my enjoyment of tactical combat games and my fondness for nice miniatures. Even though I hardly get a chance to play the game—and I want to all the time—I covet the game components and try to figure out how to get more. I even really like most of the "Extended Universe" (read: stuff that was not in the movies, but appeared only in video games, comics, and novels) ships and pilots.


That brings me to my latest purchase. I realized a couple of weeks ago that I had a Barnes & Noble gift card that I had forgotten about, and Barnes & Noble has a decent game section. I spent a couple of weeks debating what to use it on. I realized I had not bought anything game-related since last fall. The board game Sheriff of Nottingham was a leading candidate because I thought it would be fun to play with both my family and my friends, but in the end X-Wing Miniatures won out. I had a hard time deciding between the Most Wanted expansion and the Decimator expansion. Last night I bought the Decimator.


Now I want to add a little bit of paint detailing on my own. I can't wait to see it on the table with my other ships. I hope I get a chance to play a game sometime soon.

I have a similar but milder obsession with Wings of Glory WW1. I really want to save up to get a decent starter set for that. If Barnes & Noble had stocked that, it would have won out over everything else because I don't have any good way to play it yet unless Aaron invites me over to play (he has the rules and a number of the planes.)

My hope is that soon I'll have a chance to invite some friends over to play games on a semi-regular basis (friends who used to come over to play board games pretty frequently. It wouldn't be Star Wars, but it would still be good. Great.)