I don't post very often, but given recent events I felt compelled to offer up a thread that focuses on the postive aspects of this great game and the countless people who play it.

Ideally, I would like you to offer up your positive experiences with this game, the great times you have had, the people you have met, or optimism for the future. In short, why you love this game. This is a no negative zone, so if you don't have anything positive to say then click on another thread. If negativity rears its ugly head, then don't respond to it, ignore it, and continue to post the positive. Our game and our community need to rally TOGETHER as we venture through this next phase or we may risk losing what we love. I can think of no other way do help do this than to use the power of the positive.

I think its lazy to ask for responses without at least offering up my own:

First, I love this game because its based on Star Wars. If it were based on any other franchise, it wouldn't be the same. Second, I love this game because I have been able to share my love of Star Wars with others and foster great relationships. Third, I love this game because I have developed a sense of self-confidence that might have laid dormant if not for squad building, customizing, and tournament play. Lastly, I love this game because despite the official end of the game, there are dedicated people willing to make outstanding websites to squad build, discuss, debate, as well as take up the flag and breath new life into the game. If this game were not worth it, they wouldn't do this,and I applaud and root for them.

As long as we don't lose sight of the big picture (the game is bigger than all of us), then our future is bright.

I think he was referring to the general "oh no its over" atmosphere that exists currently not the other issue going on at the moment and I applaud you wampafang, good move. Praise the positive, ignore the negative.

I loved that first feeling I got when I saw my bro-in-laws Revenge of the Sith starter box and thought "WHAT IS THIS COOL THING!". I also enjoyed playing the game (tho its only been about 5x so far though i have hundreds of minis) and squeezing my opponents defeated mini between thumb and forefinger in exalted glee dispelling it from the play area (I played mostly my other brother-in-law, we had fun) and I love the maps!

I kindof like that it's over in terms of pieces being produced, time to enjoy what I've got rather than trying to collect what is coming. Let's face it Monopoly has the same old pieces all the time but we still play it.

Plus some great traders: Hothie, Darth_Ted, Dreadtech, Far_Dreamer, Wedge772, Mooloo being some of the ones I've had the joy of transacting with as well as some guys are just really funny and you know who you are ;)

I remember buying the CS Starter Box and that's when I really got into the game. I had bought Plo Koon off of eBay just because I'll buy pretty much anything of him, and after looking at the card for a while I thought "this might actually be worth checking out."

So glad I did. Several years and a few thousand minis later, I still get just as much enjoyment from the game (if not more) than I did the first time I ever played, when the owner of my LGS gave me a bunch of Scout and Stormtroopers just so I'd have enough points to play in their 100 pt skirmish.

Even though in my lifetime I've played hundreds of different games, literally, with thousands of people, I've never really been cognizant of the 'winning is the only thing' gamer attitude until I played this game.
Gaming has always been fun for me, and I've always tried to do my best. There has been some trash talk along the way, but it was all in good fun among friends. Then my Star Wars group saw these booster packs, which initially our reaction was,"Really? Here's yet ANOTHER thing for Lucas to take our money with." So we balked at them at first. But eventually we bought some and decided to try it out. My first booster, I pulled out a cool looking Boba Fett and an ewok, and I was hooked. We learned the rules, found local places that play, and bought tons more boosters along the way. In the beginning, I was pretty much better than everyone else locally, so I developed a bit of an attitude to where I HAD to win every game. I got mad and threw dice if I needed a 2 to hit...we all know the rest of the story. Locally we've had our share of gamers that 'need to win', to the point of bending rules in their favor to try to win. In the past year, though, I've really stepped back from this game and looked not only at other gamers, but at myself and my attitude while playing. I've looked at myself and seen that when I 'needed to win', the game stopped being fun. It took a tournament a year ago to realize there is a distinct difference in playing to win and playing to have fun.
So the past year I've been getting back to having fun with this game. The surprise Anniversary tournament that Lady Hothie threw for me in November reminded me that this game is about having fun and meeting great people, and it may have been the most fun I've had playing minis in a long time.
So, the positive of this game, it has made me a better person. Now whenever our gaming group plays games, we always play for fun, and it doesn't matter who wins or loses. It's about having fun. This is only a game after all. :)

I do as well. My most infamous moment in competitive gaming came when I drew Darth Vader as a destiny draw in SWCCG and I needed a much, much better draw so I did the rational thing and placed the then $50 card in my mouth and started to gnaw on him True story.

I too am going to step away from the competitive side of things for a bit and do some scenario play and customizing...focus more on the lighter side of things.

I don't post often but this is one I gotta do a post on. It's nice too sit back and see what great experiences others have had with this wonderful game. I have been playing since Clone Strike came out and played regularly up until this past Christmas. When I first started all I wanted was Boba Fett (He is my Favorite after all) and to have abit of fun with a new game little did I know what the future would hold. I Have or have had at 1 point or another 1 copy of every miniature (not including promos, gold Jabbas or inflatable Rancors ;) and have played hundreds of games. At first it was just a group of 6 friends playing mass army games every other night (Our first round would take an hour and a half blasted 500 pts of Battle Droids) which evolved into the more time appropriate 250 pts games. Then everyone got lost in other things like drinking (it took some time before we realized the two go hand & hand sometimes) so I pushed the game hard at my LGS. I traded people full armies for a few cards from other games just so they could get a feel for it and you know what it worked! By the time Universe Came out there was about 15-20 people showing up for minis! This lasted until Bounty Hunters Came out then the numbers began to dwindle down still having 8 plus showing up for tournaments. Just before Force Unleashed came out my LGS had stopped holding tournaments but, my 3 best friends & I continued playing at least 2-3 games a night staying up till sometimes 6 a.m. playing Star Wars Minis (Boy wish I could still do that, dang work lol) and it was looking back some of the best times of my life. Cramped in my one buddies shed & freezing cold (It was winter and it gets super cold in Canada) just to play the game we all loved so much. Then I moved to the other side of town and it was harder to get games in, We'd get together once a week if possible and sit down for a game which lasted until Imperial Entanglements came out. Then it just really died in town here, It had officially run it's course just after Galaxy at War because noone was really interested anymore. So in one respect it worked out that this was the "last" set (using the quotations cause you never know) because everyone else seems to be done. They have moved on to other games (even I have jumped back on board the Yu-Gi-Oh train as of late) but you know what, I'm fine with that because this game has meant so much to me. Good times, Bad times, Dark Times we used minis to get through it all. And kept our group of friends together for such a long period of time that I gotta say this is one of the best games I have ever had the good fortune of playing (And I have played LOTS of games) and the people you meet along the way fantastic. I only ever went to one sanctioned tournament last summer at Comic Con in Toronto when my Wife & I were on holidays. I met and played against 3 very skilled opponents including Eric Frost (sorry to the other 2 gentlemen I have forgotten your names) and was fortunate enough to win the tournament but more importantly we all had such a good time. We were all joking around and I found that group to be very accepting especially since I didn't know them prior to that day and here they were asking me to come back for the Sunday Tournament (sadly I couldn't since we were heading back home). So to sum it up This game has been great to me and I only have great memories whether it be my big Toronto Tourny, all the freezing nights in my buddies shed, all the great traders world wide that I have had the pleasure of dealing with, My Boba B.H.'s uncanny Big D list which was in the high 50's last time I checked, or my Trademark Dr. E & Ponda Baba in every army with the Dr Mounted to a Unicorn (Thats right there's no typo there now just gotta get a nightmare for Ponda) or just the thousands of other great things I can say about this game. So thats my very long thoughts & reflections. This post isn't trying to dwell ( I could see how some may take it that way so just wanted to clear that up a.s.a.p.) it's my way of celebrating this game and I hope others will enjoy both the game and reading through this. Thanks to you all and May the Force Be With You!!!

Ryan a.k.a. Fett-87

I second that bud. I don't know about slightly addictive, for me it's more like Highly Addictive! I too have a gaping hole in my wallet.

Thanks wampafang for starting yet another excellent topic on these boards. A very good read I must say.

For me it's all about having fun. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to win, but I have just as much fun when I lose. I start acting goofy and making joke's, getting my son and brother to laugh and we all have a good time together!

For me it's nice to lose to a better opponent. And I say that because you can study how they beat you. Then you will in turn become a better player. Does that make sense to anybody other than me?

Ha! Yeah Sal, me too, me too. Universe is when I first started buying a lot of minis, because that set had Wedge (one of my favorite characters of all time) and I thought the huges were a great idea.

Another similar story here. I was looking for a darth bane action figure on ebay and noticed his star wars miniature. I followed some links and noticed the jedi guardian and sentinel which i recognized as atris and visas marr. KotOR was one of my favorite games so i decided to get them both as they were only about a buck apiece. I used their cards as bookmarks for awhile but then decided to look up the the game online as i had enjoy turn-based strategy video games a lot. I played w/ my sister several times using stand-ins and gradually learned the correct rules. Then KotOR came out an I went all out buying many figures, joining the forums, and teaching my best friend and two teachers to play with a few other students joining in. That summer I joined my newly organized LGS, and the following school year i played regularly after school on fridays and taught many more students the rules. Now that year is over, and I think our LGS has disbanded (due to work schedules i believe). I can only hope for this summer!

You don't necessarily have to give up on competitive play to still enjoy the game. In fact, it doesn't matter if you're playing a 'fun' game or competitive one...I've seen some jerks in both types. It's all about good sportsmanship and fair play. See my play report on the Pa-Md regional. 18 players gathered to play in a competitive setting and exhibited the kind of attitude that makes playing this game even on the highest level satisfying and enjoyable.