Wil Wheaton's show "Tabletop" on the "Geek and Sundry" channel on Youtube has yet to feature X-Wing.  It has brought a lot of positive attention to board gaming/table top gaming but I wouldn't over sell it. Oprah's Book Club it ain't.  Sales of board games has been steadily increasing since 1999, and more of my friends have become interested in all forms of non-video games.  X-Wing seems a perfect introduction to the wider world of miniatures gaming without the high entry cost or time/skill requirement to paint the figures.

There is also thr Shut Up & Sit Down show which was featured on Penny Arcade's Video Channel.  That show reviews a range of board games in humerous videos and blog postings.  I dare say that Penny Arcade had more exposure than Wil Wheaton.  Either way I am happy that there are positive gates into the hobbies I enjoy.  www.shutupshow.com  <- Check it out.  It is a laugh.

It's also not just a question of the sheer numbers of core sets produced, but how they were allocated to the various classes of retailers.

While I have seen lots of reports of the game being scarce in hobby shops and in non-US countries, I have also seen lots of reports of there being tons of stock at Target and Barnes and Noble stores. My own experience bears this out as I have seen several Target and B&N stores with multiple copies collecting dust. I have seen some Targets with a dozen copies on the shelf.

I have no real knowledge of how distrbution contracts with mega chain stores like this function. But it does seem from anecdotal evidence on the internet that FFG allocated too many to Targets and too few to the small stores. But like Lando Calrissian, they may have had no choice if they wanted to deal with the Empire at all. I suppose they will evaluate whether that strategy worked well if they end up with tons of merchandise being clearanced out at Targets while LGSs can't get their hands on them.

FYI: Neil just posted some core sets for sale at The Warstore http://www.thewarstore.com/product73120.html

I've just started to get into this myself, and although i can get starter sets, tie advanced and y wings with little difficulty i still can't find the tie and x-wing expansions anywhere.

Do i have to wait until wave 2 is released to have any chance of getting an extra tie fighter? I just want to be able to field howlrunner :(

Thats extemely generous of you, thanks for the offer.

As it happens someone at the club has quit and offered me their card last night, so i've gone from none.. to the offer of two over night!

Thanks again for the offer though, i certainly wasn't expecting that :)

Linxysnacks said:

Actually, Target recently made a deal with Tabletop where they would sell games that Tabletop reviews as it's getting popular.  That's the real reason for the lack of product.  FFG made what they thought was a reasonable amount for Wave 1.  Target came in and bought a huge amount of starter boxes.  Local Game Stores didn't have enough starter sets.  People wanted to get more and had to buy expansion blisters as they couldn't get starter boxes.  That made the expansions rare.  So, it kind of snowballed until all that is left is a bunch of over priced starter boxes at Target.

heychadwick said:

No offense, but how is $40 USD "overpriced"?

Granted that when Target had it listed @ $25.00 prior to X-mas that was a great deal, but $40 is pretty much MSRP for storefront retailers.

Given the choice, I support my local gaming stores whenever I can, but if they can't get what I want, I look elsewhere (Target, Warstore, Miniature Market, Etc.).  Note that the latter 2 usually refresh their stock every couple weeks…  I see MM is out of the core sets currently, but they constently get new stock in on a regular basis.

Cheers,

D

Hello all, both Rebel Scum and Sons of the Empire. I've been lurking here about a week, and I am relatively new to this game, having just bought a core set from Barnes & Noble about 3 weeks ago (and loving every minute of it). This is a wonderful game, and I hope to buy some of the expansions soon. As the local hobby shops are sadly lacking in this dept, would my local Target have the boosters (I would go back to B&N but it's about an hour away)?

Thanks!

I havne't seen Target have the boosters. Barnes does, though, so you can check there. Your LGS should have them as well, unless they sold out of them. In which case, go make friends with the people who bought them and use their stuff!! :)

I was able to order from Amazon.com

You need to go through the different people offering to sell it to you.  Stork, which is the cheapest by a buck or so won't ship to Canada, but others will.

Barnes and Nobles has the Core set for $35 (minus shipping).  

edit:  forgot link

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/toys-games-star-wars-x-wing-miniatures-game-core-set/25369391?ean=9781616613761

I thought I read a post where someone emailed a vendor and they replied that core sets will be restocked with wave 2, only 2 weeks away so cross fingers:)

Thanks a lot, the LGS around our area has crazy hours, so I'm not usually able to make it there. I'll check Target anyway, just to be safe, but my best bet seems to be either Barnes or the Internet.