Sure, we're immersed in the board game world. We scour sites for news. We pore over press releases. We follow every publisher and player we can on Twitter. But sometimes, things just slip through the cracks and we don't find out about them until later. X-Wing Mission Control from Fantasy Flight Games is one of those things...

Now, we have no idea when this was released, or if it was done quietly, or what. But it looks very cool. 

First, in order to access the features, you'll need to create a profile on Fantasy Flight's Web site. Once you do, you can use the (currently) beta version of Mission Control, an area that lets you create, download, and test out missions for the Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game. 

The editor lets you create maps, define deployment zones, add asteroids, include any currently available ships in any number, and give specific mission rules and details. 

Then you can upload the mission, and other people can download them and "like" them--which pushes your mission higher in the rankings. That means, of course, that there are a slew of scenarios for you to download, even if you have no desire to create your own!

You can also use Mission Control to keep track of your own collection--which ships you have and how many. Then when you're looking at user scenarios, you can see at a glance if you have the right ships for that mission--and it will show you just what ships you're missing, too. 

And it's all free. 

We've seen these sorts of tools before--notably with the Heroscape line of toys--but they're almost always something the fanbase creates. To see a publisher give us this kind of support for a game is refreshing and appreciated. 

Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures had a lot of replayability, already. This makes the replayability off the charts!

Check out Mission Control for yourself, right here. Below we've linked to a helpful video that explains it all in 4 minutes. When you're done watching, pick your jaw up and start creating! And sharing!

Thanks for reading!