Firefly The Board Game Review

I’m a pretty big geek. I know that’s not that big of a surprise, I write a blog where I review board games. One of the things I geek out about is Firefly. I like introducing new people to the series by lending it to them and telling them to come back when they want season 2. When these people come back I laugh in their faces like a Fox executive so they can feel true geek pain. Then I lend them Serenity and the comics because I know the need for more. I’m not a total jerk.

Because of my love of Firefly and a desire for more I picked up Firefly the board game and gave it a go with some not so brown-coated people.

There are a lot of pros and cons to Firefly the board game. There are also some elements that really depend upon personal taste on whether you will love or hate it.

The game has limited player interaction. It gives the feel of a multiplayer solitaire game. Each player is running their own ship, getting jobs done, hiring crew and buying gear. There really isn’t much in the way of interacting with other players. This can be nice when you really want a game where you control your own fate but it also dulls the conversation and attention between players. So it’s a plus if you want a night without player fighting but it also sucks out the player back and forth.

I do have to say the limited interaction is good in that you can play the Firefly Board Game strictly solitaire and still have the same gaming experience. The game scales well from 1 to 4 players without taking away from the experience.

What the Firefly board game does very well is it allows a player to control their fate in the game. Players have so many options and are able to immerse themselves into the role of a ship captain that you really get the feel of being in the universe. A player can chose to be the heroic do-gooder running completely legal and legitimate careers, or they can run Robin Hood style crime jobs playing fast and loose with misbehaving, or they can play the bad guy doing immoral jobs to make money at the universe’s expense. For a board game the role play element is superbly designed. In fact even though this is a tie-in product for a TV show it is crafted in a way where you really don’t need to know the property in order to become immersed in the universe. Anyone who would enjoy being a spaceship captain will enjoy playing the Firefly board game.

I do have to warn players that, as with any game based on a licensed property, the rules could have had some fine tuning. The rule book should have been streamlined in order to find rules easier and the rules are sometimes needlessly complicated. You will need to play through a few times and keep going back to the rule book in order to remember all the special circumstance rules. I would advise playing the single player goal a few times to fully understand the rules before trying to run a game with friends.

The pieces are interesting and there are a lot of them. This game takes up significant real estate on the table so make sure you have plenty of playable space. While I do love having huge complicated games I actually found that for the style of the game there were too many pieces and the set up is a tad complicated. I did have two issues with pieces in that one ship stand was deformed a little and the alliance cruiser looks smooshed from being in the box… it looks like a sad alliance cruiser. Both pieces are completely usable but they end up looking a bit off.

To sum up I’d have to say I do recommend this game for some players. Any player who wants to be a ship captain with a universe of options for running their own crew and picking their own jobs should definitely get this game. This becomes truer if you want a game where everyone just gets to play their best game with limited interference from opponents. But if your players aren’t willing to invest time in learning a complicated rule system or are looking for some heavy competitive action this probably isn’t the game for you. Personally I will enjoy playing this game in the future and look forward to getting some Browncoats in on the action.

Until next time… I’ll be in my bunk. Playing this game of course.

Twilight Imperium Strategy tips

With every passing day I become increasingly obsessed with Twilight Imperium. I've been reading strategy guides and every tip I come across. I need to play it more. I figured I would write a strategy guide for the game as well. No I'm not going to tell you how to play each race, others have done an amazing job of it so I won't rehash that. I'm going to cover more of a broad overarching strategy guide to apply to how to think about your strategy. And yes I like using quotes from literary, military, and other geniuses to highlight what I have to say.

First off is remember it's only a game. At the end of the session "your" plastic units and cardboard planets will be put back in a box and left on a shelf. There is no continuing glory or ownership, it all ends when the game ends. Above all else the goal of the session is to create fun memories with the other players.

When you do start the game remember that all of the players are in it to win it. Nobody sits down all excited about a chance to lose. Every other player will be working towards their own goals and agendas. These goals will inevitably run up against yours and conflict will happen. This isn't personal it's how the game is played. This is a game of both politics and cards so expect friendships to hold little sway during the session.
Of course what this really means is you should never expect other players to help you simply out of friendship. You need to find a way for them to see the benefits of aiding you, be it taking the small end of a trade deal or pointing out how you gaining hurts those who will oppose them, or some other trick up your sleeve.
Getting other players to help you is your problem not theirs.

Prepare for the game. Always have a long term plan. Read the rules which are available for free online. Read the FAQ, read every strategy guide out there. Have some sort of idea of how you are going to progress through the game. Evaluate the entire map and how you can exploit every aspect of it. Those who fail to plan plan to fail. It is a truism that you cannot escape.

Now that you have a plan prepare to throw it out the window. Other players have made plans and plots. They will be doing things which will make parts of your plan difficult or impossible to execute. Constantly review the plan: revise it, edit it, or junk it. It is just a plan, YOU DO NOT MARRY A PLAN. It it just an idea, one that can be made stupid through no fault of your own.

The art of war is a must read.

Always remember that Twilight Imperium is a game of limited resources. You cannot do everything in this game. You cannot research all technologies, you cannot build every ship, you cannot own every planet. Be brutal with your economics, everything is a cost benefit analysis, every expansion of your borders, every research, every battle must be weighed  and analyzed precisely.

Analyze every weakness and every strength in the game. Especially your own. Every weakness can be closed or exploited. Oh yes I do advocate exploiting your weakness. Especially a weakness you create. Like a prey species who feigns injury to draw a predator away from the flock. Use your weakness to draw your enemies to wherever is most advantageous to you. An example from my first game: I took over Mecatol Rex with a small vulnerable seeming fleet. This drew in an opponent. I was able to use direct hit action card because he believed he could soak the damage on his dreadnought in the first volley. I completely wiped out a stronger (expensive) fleet with a few fighter losses.

Twilight Imperium tends to be played by groups of players. Remember that every person at the table is competition. Don't get caught up in focusing just on your neighbours. Players across the table can be a bigger threat if ignored. Their politics, their diplomacy, their trades, technology, or even access to wormholes can allow them to disrupt your plans. Everyone must factor into your strategy.

Twilight Imperium is NOT A WARGAME. It is easy to look at all those cool spaceships, fighters and troops and become trapped in a war mentality. Always remember that you do not win by waging war, you win by completing victory objectives. War is a tool in your toolbox. Use the right tool for the right job. Sometimes other tools may be more precise, diplomacy, trade agreements, or bringing a new law into play can cost you less and gain you more than a battle would.
You can win a game of Twilight Imperium without engaging in a single battle. Of course where is the fun in that.

Diplomacy is a very integral part of the Twilight Imperium experience. You are building space empires, and one thing that every empire in history has done is talk. Talk about war, talk about peace, talk about trade, talk about who has what right to claim which system. Talk, talk, talk, then talk some more. But more importantly LISTEN. What is being said? What is not being said? What deals are happening between other players? How will this effect me? Pay attention to every word, every meaningful look. Diplomacy rules Twilight Imperium.

One of the most important facts of Twilight Imperium is that you cannot win a war on multiple fronts. Allied players can grind down another player easily. The best way to combat this is to ensure your enemies have enemies. Sow discord and discontent between all other players while building good will and trust for yourself. You need to build allies from enemies. It's hard work but every enemy conflict will create losses, meaning lost troops and resources that will not be directed against you. I used this concept to my advantage in my first game. The player to my right was used as a shield against an aggressive player. To my left was a large swath of empty space that my other neighbour had no way of crossing quickly. Instead of easily wiping out my weakened opponent to my right I left him in his desperate war and used the opening to expand quickly into uninhabited space, claiming Mecatol Rex in the process.

With that in mind, remember every player is trying to con you into wars. It is a favourite tactic of mine, and many other players. Rhetoric spewed about honour, glory, not being a loser, etc. It's meant to keep you occupied and consume your threat level.

Sometimes diplomacy is all that stands between you and total annihilation. Keep talking and bluffing long enough to get into a better position. Strong enemies can often be bought off, or with a little swagger and an air of confidence you can make others believe they are playing into a trap.
Put on whatever airs are necessary. A little diplomacy can cause an opponent to pause, become confused, or redirected. (remember the best weapon against an enemy is another enemy)

Diplomacy is an art. Be artful in it's use.

A big part of diplomacy is lying. In games involving diplomacy lies are common language. You need to be able to see through lies, learn your opponents tells, watch for actions that announce deception. But most of all work at stifling your own tells. Opponents seeing through your lies at the wrong moment can spell doom for your plans.

Since lies become an integral part of diplomacy and politics in Twilight Imperium, the truth can be more powerful than any lie. When players are used to looking for the hidden agenda the plain bold truth becomes a lie in their head. In a sea of deceit the person telling the truth either becomes an ally or an enigma. Bold truths and bold lies are hard to tell apart. I've saved many of my plans by laying out the complete truth to my opponents. The truth calms a wary foe.
"The devil always lies, except when a truth will hurt you more"

Now I've annoyed many people I know with this little Simpsons clip. But it changed my life.

The truth is open to manipulation. Peoples opinions and feelings about the truth make it completely open to interpretation.

It's all about presentation. The nuances of the language you use can make an ugly truth palatable or a silly truth a threat.

For example: park a fleet in an ion storm near a fighter dependant player in the hopes of drawing them into the tile. Simply overstate the truth on the fleet not being a threat... trust me. The opponent will think more about how the fleet is a threat and how to rid themselves of it instead of how to defend against the threat. Paranoia draws them into foolishly attacking.

The political element of the game allows for new laws to be ratified or voted down in a galactic senate. These laws can drastically influence the game. As such I believe the designers of Twilight Imperium were very apt with calling the political currency influence. I believe every player should carefully assess each law that gets brought forward. Laws that may have no effect on you can drastically impact other players. Voting for or against these laws can empower or weaken others. It can win allies or create enemies. Many laws change how the game board works throwing your opponents into chaos. If you aren't playing the politics game you can be costing yourself opportunities and missing out on a key part of the game experience.

Although it often happens that politics and diplomacy break down and war becomes inevitable.

Only start a war that is profitable to you. Always consider how valuable the battle will be. Small gains tend not to be worth the lost units. I tend to avoid battle unless it can directly gain me the ability to complete a victory objective or block an opponent from gaining a victory objective. It all boils down to the cost benefit analysis.

Every battle will cost you time, resources, and command counters. It can also cost you allies and influence. Nobody trusts a warmonger. Always make sure you can profit from a battle, that you won't lose to many resources, and that you can justify the battle to the other players.
Battles are major events in Twilight Imperium, they change the pace of the game and everyone pays attention. Everyone rides the tides of war.

If there is any opportunity to end a war I suggest you take it. I have watched players get drawn into grudge wars. Remember that it is just a game. You aren't losing "your" system, you are losing "a" system. Sometimes you have to "suck it up buttercup." In a game of galactic empires you are going to end up on the losing side of battles. Will it benefit you to fight over perceived slights or the loss of something that doesn't help you win the game? Or will you be able to use diplomacy to make you opponent out to be an aggressor and appear a bigger threat? A battle lost can help you strengthen your diplomatic position or on future galactic council votes. It all comes down to cost vs. benefit. And the cycle of revenge is a costly downward spiral.

If you do start a war end it quickly. Wage the war precisely and remember that war is hell so fight accordingly. Salvaging a relationship in the game after a war is nearly impossible so I suggest you forget about it in the savagery of battle. Wage the war to gain what you need as quickly and decisively as possible. After all you should have already exhausted every political and diplomatic means prior to the start of the war.

Turtling is a big factor in games like Twilight Imperium. What this means is players carve out their sector of space and set to work building a protective shell. In doing so you provide other players the insight into what is important to you. How a player is building forces can be a signal of future plans which allow your enemies to plan a counter to them. Sometimes it is better to attack before opponents know what is happening or before they are able to solidify their plans. The more you allow your opponents to analyze your strategy and the more you allow them to prepare the more difficult, dangerous, and costly your plans become.

An analogy would be: if you are hungry beside a tree. You could climb the tree and spend time finding the perfect fruit (risking that you may fall) or you can shake the tree to see what falls out. Sometimes you need the perfect fruit, sometimes it's just easier to give it a whack and take what life gives you.

You are going to screw up in Twilight Imperium. Other players are working to deceive you, dice may not fall in your favour, or you make errors in your plan. Whatever the reason you will have blunders. Take them as a matter of course, revise your plans, and work past the errors. "Failure is not an option" is movie dialogue garbage. The real options are: overcome failures or lose the game.

Lastly is the advice of a space opera character. Perhaps the most vital bit of advice there is.

What? Don't you understand Chewbacca? That's because some advice is totally useless. Embrace only the advice that makes sense to you.
Some strategies, tips or bits of advice won't work for you. It all depends on how you play the game, or how the game is playing you. Feel free to ignore that which does not work for you.

Most of all remember this is a game and have fun.

Star Wars Edge of the Empire preliminary review

So much stuff

I’ve been talking RPGs with the brother in law for a while now. He finally decided we needed to get one going and arranged things in a surprisingly short period of time. We’ve started in on a game I’ve never played before: Star Wars Edge of the Empire. Today I thought I’d give my opening thoughts on the game.

Victor (the brother in law) bought the Beginner Game pack. It includes a thinned down rule book, an adventure book, 4 pre-generated characters, a double sided map, custom dice, and a stack of tokens. It’s a great way to introduce new players to the game as the rules and dice are different than I was used to. I think this is a fantastic pack for getting players directly into the play style because it’s hard to get new people into role playing while slogging through character creation. Fantasy Flight Games does well understanding this even adding some extra characters for free under character resources on their site. This is also a considerably cheaper option for trying out the game as it costs half of what the core book does. This is the best option if you really aren’t sure about role playing but are willing to give it a try.

I want to fly my own Millennium Falcon.

To really get into the game though I think you definitely need the core book. It goes deeper into rules and provides significant information. Players have more options for character design as well. It is a better resource for both players and game masters in an ongoing campaign. Personally I liked having both versions of the rule book at the table this weekend because we had several players creating characters together, anyone looking for in depth information grabbed the core rule book while those needing some simple information grabbed the beginners book.

Our group has yet to pick up the Game Master kit but I think that might happen soon. As we are all new to the game I think whoever ends up running the game could benefit from having more resources at hand.

I love that the game seems more character driven. Most of character creation is aimed towards the story element and players even figure out a story as to how their characters came together. Personally I prefer working at my role over rolling dice (but diceless role playing is blasphemy to me.) I've been burned in the past by genre games that were simple veneers of the source material over some clunky rules. I'm glad to say this is not the case with Edge of the Empire, you really do get a feel of the Star Wars universe while you play. It helped that we are all mega-geeks who played the theme music on our phones for scene changes.

Making role playing dice more obscure and nerdier. Yay!

I’m still unsure about the dice for this game. Interpreting them can be a bit of an oddity. You roll an assigned number of dice and sum up the results. The ability, proficiency, and boost dice give positive markers while the difficulty, challenge and setback dice have negative markers. Certain results cancel each other out: Success vs. failure, advantage vs. threat, and triumph vs. despair. This all leads to the need to create a rationale for the results. A player can roll a strong failure and a triumph together. Maybe they Jar Jar Binksed it up and tripped over a destroyed combat droid… accidentally causing it to shoot at the exact right thing. (Yes I hate myself for referencing Jar Jar Binks) Of course the opposite happens, strongly successful but with a lot of threat… you managed to leap the dangerous gap away from the storm troopers chasing you and landed in a room full of battle ready storm troopers. Whoops. Sometimes this caused some speed bumps in the flow of the evening but I found that once people got into the narrative of the story, ideas on how to resolve these results came from everyone and entertained the group

There are free dice apps in the google play store and whatever you apple people use so getting your own set is easy.

There were a couple of other problems; some of the rules needed more clarification in the book. Melee weapons should be brawn + weapon damage but it isn’t worded clearly in the book. It caused some friction between the gm and I but we worked it out. Issues were rather minor so the hurdles they created didn't derail the game.

I'm taking his leadership advice to heart.

For my first character I rolled up a Wookie hired gun-mercenary. I was a little bummed I couldn’t afford my bowcaster but I’m just going to use that as something to work for in the game. I’m also looking at a vibro-axe but then I’m going to need to dump some exp into melee too… I went more for a heavy weapon, brawling, leader type in character creation. I wanted to play someone who was equally comfortable in a cantina brawl as he would be in thermal detonator diplomacy.

I’m psyched for the next session but I’m worried about when that would be. This long weekend is being spent with the wife, and then there is Gamealot, nieces’ birthdays and Edmonton Expo. September is booked solid. Although two nieces are only 1 and 2 so they don’t party too late.

I will update more on Star Wars Edge of the Empire after we put some serious time into the campaign