Hotel West Seattle

This week we had our first split game day, playing two games at once. We had 7 people in attendence, which allowed us to play stuff we might not have been able to on a normal week. In the first portion of the evening one group played BSG, while the other played 2 games of Dominion and one of Agricola. They also had 10 minutes to spare.

This leads directly to todays review: Battlestar Galactica.

In typical Fantasy Flight tradition the game is very thematically strong, and the pieces are nice looking and high quality. The board takes up a ton of room, and there are a lot of things to keep track of. The board itself also looks good. In terms of manufacturing quality, its top grade.

The rules are pretty clear and easy enough to understand. We were able to play this with very few mistakes from the beginning. The keys to gameplay are skill checks and information concealment. Players are only allowed to share certain kinds of information and only at certain times.

Secrecy makes the game go. In the beginning each player is given a loyalty card, which determines if they are a Cylon. There is always at least one, and his object is to sabotage the Galactica and prevent their escape. To successfully be a Cylon, however, requires a good degree of subtlety. Its generally good to help them to succeed a few times and only cause failures when it can be done surreptitiously, or when its so important that it wont matter if you are caught.

Another good piece of ammunition in the Cylon arsenal is disinformation. Accusing others of being Cylons, and analyzing everything the players do works right into your hands. This is the most fun part of the game. Without the ability to call each other Cylons (which is a LOT more fun than it sounds) this game would be sunk. Too much seriousness and analysis and the luster is gone.

Around the middle of the game everyone gets a second loytalty card, which can turn a formerly loyal crew member into a Cylon or sympathiser. Late in the game the vital resources the crew are fighting to protect will have dwindled considerably, and the added enemy makes the game much more tense.

The good: Production quality. Everything looks great and is on point for the theme.

Intrigue. You never know who is who or who is telling the truth. This is the majority of what makes the game fun.

The bad: Balance. The Cylons usually win. The boarding party track is worthless and is rarely a threat, but its so easy to deplete one of three resources even with just one Cylon.

Length. You can play two to three other games in the time it takes to play this game. Its just not worth it. The game is certainly fun, but it takes so long to get where its going and drags on much longer than it should. There are plenty of times when the action lulls and the turns are just draw card, play skill check, over and over.

Variety. The card decks are thick, but only have about 4 different cards per deck. Its a whole lot of doing the same thing over and over.

The verdict: I cant recommend buying this game. If you know someone who has it, play it. After a couple of plays you will probably have enough. Its a great game when time is no option and/or there are no other games to play. Its also pretty good for non-gamers. People who like the show will enjoy the thematic elements.