Six months ago I did not even know this game existed, let alone how much I needed it. Fantasy Flight’s new Star Wars card and dice game is a Collectible Card Game(CCG), something I have not played in many years. I never dreamed that I would get back into the world of CCGs, as the cost and commitment are something I thought I was done with as a dad and adult. Sure, my six year old son has shown interest in Pokemon, and my wife and I have let him buy some cards and play with my old collection, but I myself had no intention of picking it back up. The occasional game with my son was all I had in mind. But when FFG announced Destiny, I was intrigued. This could be just the game for which I’d been looking. Little did I know.
The Age of Star Wars
Star Wars is huge in my house. We have Star Wars toys, costumes and games aplenty. For the boys, we have Loopin Chewie and Star Wars Operation, and of course I have a good amount of tabletop Star Wars games like X-wing, Imperial Assault, and the Star Wars RPG. I grew up with the movies, video games and books from the 90’s onward and I am excited that Star Wars is so big culturally right now. With a new movie almost every year, it is a great time to be a Star Wars fan. It’s also the perfect time to release a well designed and crafted game! The timing of the Destiny release follows the huge success of Force Awakens which, ironically, “awakened” the masses of casual Star Wars fans. Rey is thought of fondly and given the same treatment as Elsa from Frozen. Star Wars is on Cereal boxes and soup cans and can be found in every category at the store. So a brand new Star Wars CCG, that is easy to learn and fun to collect seems like a no brainer. It is the Golden Age of Star Wars.
Destiny as the Gateway to Tabletop Gaming
With each new Xwing Miniature, or each new RPG sourcebook from Fantasy Flight games, I dream of the day when I can play tabletop games with my boys; granted they need to learn to read first. My sons’ interest in my tabletop games to this point has only been asking to play with “Daddy’s toys.” However, my six year old was immediately interested in Destiny, since it has many similarities with Pokemon. After showing him the wonderful Fantasy Flight tutorial video a couple of times, he had the rules down very well and was able to play without much help from me. This makes it so much more enjoyable for me, that I do not have to spend the whole time looking at his cards and helping him along. He’ll get the strategy part of it as he gets older, but the basic mechanics were simple enough for a 6 year old to grasp. Join that with the relatively short game time, and it is perfect for beginning his tabletop journey. From here it is a small step to strategy and role-play games.
A Family Community
Grayson and I had the privilege of attending the pre-release event at Team Covenant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Grayson decided to go as a Stormtrooper, and as far as I know, was the only cosplayer at a Destiny Pre-Launch event outside the 501st. I was thrilled to see, however, that there were several other children there with their parents; both boys and girls of varying ages. It was refreshing and exciting. Friends and podcasters that I follow have talked about getting their spouses to play, who are not usually gamers themselves. This game is both accessible and complex, and looks to provide both casual and competitive play in a way that reaches a wider audience. The Destiny community has flourished even as the game has barely been released to retail. And it has found a way to include both younger and older players in way that game like Magic and pokemon haven’t done, because after all, it’s Star Wars.
Star Wars Destiny barely made the cut, launching in December of 2016, but it entered my gaming world with such force and with so much promise for both me and my sons. It is a CCG that is easy enough for my six year old to understand, about a subject he loves, and has the complexity to teach him key concepts for future tabletop games. Star Wars Destiny took up more of my time and money in the final month of 2016 than all my other tabletop games did over the whole year. All this and the promise of so much more, are why I chose Star Wars Destiny as my Game of the Year.