First of all, the game's pretty slick in its box. It comes with 1 X-Wing and 2 TIE Fighters, which is pretty basic but more than enough to learn the game. I'll skip going over all the rules, but basically there are special 8-sided dice for attack and defense, cool templates for turns, banks, and all the other maneuvers. I love the movement mechanic, where you assign your orders in secret, then everyone moves and depending where you end up will determine where you can shoot. The first couple turns you can easily shoot anything in front of you, but after the first pass it gets...tricky.
Anyway, I learned the whole game in 20 minutes and was ready to try a 100-point game, which is "regular size" for a decent game. I was Imperials (because they're obviously the best) and had Darth Vader in his TIE Advanced, with 4 additional TIE Fighters at his side, while the Rebels had 2 X-Wings and a Y-Wing with Wedge Antilles, Luke Skywalker, some other random pilot, astromech droids on each fighter, and maybe other stuff. It was a fun game, and while I had an early advantage it came down to Wedge and Vader dogfighting with few hull boxes left - basically the next hit would end the game. He got a bead on Vader and that was that, but it was a hell of a game.
All in all, I had a great time. The game is easy to learn, quick to play, easy to customize, and rewarding in your tactics. There's a surprising amount of tactical depth in the maneuvers, while not being so convoluted that new players are intimidated. I'm really excited about playing again, and I look forward to eventually getting a few minis myself. They're pre-painted, you have quite a bit of army customization (X-Wing, X-Wing with Luke or Wedge or Biggs, TIE Advanced, TIE Advanced with Vader, etc), and it's just plain fun.
Additionally, there are mods that people have made where you can play through the assault on the Death Star Trench or the Battle of Hoth, and I'm sure other notable battles from the movies and the extended universe will make an appearance. The game felt like everything I want space combat to be, and really made me nostalgic for the old TIE Fighter flight simulator game like no other game since.
