Star Wars: The Force Awakens is headed toward a theater near you!

Next Friday is December 18th, and that means it is time to go watch The Force Awakens. At Fantasy Flight Games, we are as excited as anyone for this next chapter in the Star Wars universe… especially those of us who work on X-Wing™.

In X-Wing, we have already seen the release of The Force Awakens™ Core Set and its two new miniature starfighters, the Resistance's T-70 X-wing and the First Order's TIE/fo fighter. In fact, we have already seen one of the Resistance's top X-wing aces make his mark on the competitive X-Wing scene; Poe Dameron and his T-70 X-wing were included in numerous squads during the X-Wing World Championships, including both of the top two lists.

Still, we expect The Force Awakens to inspire more X-Wing ships and squadrons as time goes by, starting with the December 17th U.S. release of the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack and the TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack. With their miniature starfighters and their new pilots and upgrades, these expansion packs give you everything you need to bolster your Resistance and First Order forces in time to see the movie and fly the ships!

Five Ways to Celebrate The Force Awakens

Since the first The Force Awakens expansion packs for X-Wing will be out just before the movie, we are excited to head home from the theater and go play some The Force Awakens-era X-Wing, with dreams of X-wings and TIE/fo fighters buzzing in our heads. We are also thinking of all the other ways you can join us in an X-Wing-style celebration of this new Star Wars movie.

5) Watch the X-Wing World Championship Finals

The 2015 X-Wing World Championship Finals feature three-time World Champion Paul Heaver exhibiting a masterclass against young X-Wing prodigy Nathan Eide. Notably, both players recognized the value of the Resistance's upgraded T-70 X-wing and its ace pilot, Poe Dameron, as both players included Poe in their lists.

How does X-Wing Poe stack up against movie Poe? Watch the movie, and watch the game. Then decide for yourself!

4) Go Epic

The T-70 X-wing and TIE/fo fighter are not the only X-Wing ships arriving to U.S. retailers in December. This month also sees the release of the Imperial Assault Carrier Expansion Pack, which includes a huge-base Gozanti-class cruiser and two TIE fighters that feature alternate blue paint schemes.

In addition to its ships, the Imperial Assault Carrier Expansion Pack also introduces a wealth of upgrades that look to reinvent the roles of huge ships in X-Wing Epic Play. We saw a number of these upgrades in the article, "Epic Tactics," which explored, in part, the massive impact that the Automated Protocols , Optimized Generators , and Ordnance Tubes modifications are likely to have on your Epic scale X-Wing battles.

There has never been a better time for X-Wing Epic Play, and if the starfighter battles from The Force Awakens have you thinking bigger than your average dogfight, you can fire laser volleys big enough to blaze the stars in some X-Wing Epic battles!

3) Join the Resistance (or the First Order)

With the release of the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack and the TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack, you will have more than enough starfighters, pilots, and upgrades to round out full, 100-point squadrons for the Resistance, the First Order, or both. Take advantage of the movie buzz to experiment with some thematic lists. Since we saw so many at Worlds, we already know what the T-70 X-wing can do; try putting the TIE/fo fighter through its paces.

If you need some hints, here are a couple sample squadrons built from only The Force Awakens Core Set and the new expansion packs.

Resistance Fighters

Total Squad Points: 98

First Order Swarm

Total Squad Points: 100

Remember, it is all about seizing the opportunity to play a new faction and a new squadron. See what these ships can do. Try their new Tallon Roll and Segnor's Loop maneuvers, and play for the love of the game!

2) Imagine All the Possibilities Yet to Come

Now, we do not want to encourage you to head into your first viewing of The Force Awakens with the idea of Star Wars gaming in the back of your head. No, you want to enjoy the movie experience as much as possible. Keep it fresh. Keep it pure and uninterrupted. And save the idea of imagining the possibilities for your favorite Star Wars games for your second, third, or later trips to the theater.

What are those ships, and how would their stats play out in X-Wing? Are there any pilots you would expect to see incorporated as ship cards? Are there any upgrades that have not already made the game? How would you expect to see them? Of course, we will have our own plans and ideas, but sometimes the act of imagining all the great things that might appear can be almost as rewarding as the things themselves.

Take some time to appreciate all that the game still has in store, and we will do our best to bring the movie's ships and characters into X-Wing in a fashion that exceeds your wildest dreams.

1) Recruit New Pilots!

With the release of The Force Awakens, you have a whole new era of Star Wars and a whole new generation of Star Wars fans in the works. Believe it or not, many of these people have never heard of X-Wing… but you can help!

Can You Feel It?

Since 2012, X-Wing has rapidly become one of the biggest games in the miniatures industry, but it still has the potential to become much, much larger. First of all, Star Wars is enjoying a revival, and that means the world will see more fans looking to enjoy the Star Wars universe in new and interesting ways. As one of these possible ways, X-Wing breaks down many of the barriers to gaming with its eye-catching pre-painted starships, easy-to-learn rules, relatively low entry cost, and overwhelmingly positive and welcoming community.

Yes, you are one of the game's greatest assets, and you can help others enjoy the fantasy and action of the Star Wars universe in ways they did not know exist. All you have to do is tell them about the game and invite them to play. In fact, many hobby stores around the nation have received X-Wing demo stations for just this purpose. Perhaps, you can talk to your favorite local gaming store and offer to run a demo day.

The only thing better than celebrating The Force Awakens by playing a game or two of X-Wing is celebrating it with a whole party's worth of new players. Next Friday, the Force will call to you. Be sure to let it in!