Notes to ruling the galaxy

X-Wing requires patients and skilled manoeuvring in order to avoid floating debris, asteroids and other pilots. The game may seem simple enough, but becoming the prey can all be too easy if you don't anticipate your opponents next move.

For example, when a round begins, you have to choose what kind of manoeuvre you are going to make to put yourself in the best position for attack, escape or plan your next assault. By turning your dial to pick your move, you have to consider a couple of things:

• Is the move stressful? Some moves require a lot of focus which can cause your pilot to become stressed (red manoeuvre). By receiving a stress token, your moves are then limited until you can take a calm (blue manoeuvre). This can be the difference between escape and becoming a target in the next few rounds if you can't restore your pilots stress level.

• Where does space end? Sounds a bit difficult to reach the end of space and time, but in this game, there is an edge and it can be a lot closer than you anticipate. Although there is no board, the table or surface you're playing on is the space you are calling the battlefield. Manoeuvring the ship off this surface of your play area causes them to become a deserter and therefore out of the game! This can be big deal if your opponent then only has one or no more targets to focus on and you become less or no longer a threat.

• Can you end up in a Ship Crash? Yes, you don't own all of the space after all. When deciding your movement path, take into account where your opponent may move their ship too as this can end up causing you some problems. If you are second to move and you end up on top of your oppositions ship, you must move backwards until you are no longer touching them. This may mean you get an awkward angle and cannot attack or give them the advantage of escaping your locking systems.

It's important to understand the actions you can take during your phases and how they can be used against your opponent. Different ships have different abilities which you should look at as this will be your way of winning the fight.

For instance, if you fight for the rebellion you will most likely play with the hero of the galaxy, Luke Skywalker! Luke has some pretty handy tricks being a Jedi and all. Having these abilities means he can use any number of force charges he posses to change focus rolls to attack or evade rolls. Quite helpful when taking out a Death Star, but for now we'll stick to attacking Tie fighters.

Each ship has the basics of of how many dice they can attack with (indicated with red guidance system symbol), how many dice they can use to defend themselves (indicated with green arrow symbol) and the health of their ship (indicated with yellow hull symbol) located at the bottom of their cards. Other ships have as mentioned force charges, but some also have shields which can take damage from enemy attacks before they reach your ships hull.

If you dive deeper into X-Wing, you will notice one notorious villain, Iden Versio, possesses a charge ability and explains how it can be used to defend her fellow pilot. These charges unlike force abilities need to be recharged and and must be flipped to red when used. There are many more rules and ways of playing X-Wing and the best way to do this is to start your journey. Grow from an expert pilot to the renown commander of a vast army, all you have to do is begin...