RIP BSG?

It is sad. 5 player it is close to perfect, even with the updates in the genre since. My only beef with it is that it could afford to be tuned to be one less jump in length.

Played it again yesterday with some of the Pegasus expansion. It was almost as awesome as the first times we played it. I didn't mind the length of the game (3 hrs) as there was lots of banter, hardly any downtime and lots of suspense. Yes, we played with five, and I think the 6 player version needed a fix. Not all of the expansion parts are an improvement and I personally prefer to stick as much as possible to the core set.

Although you might get the same traitor game with The Resistance, the advantage is that BSG is not just about straight faced lying, but that it really is about trust. When the Admiral makes a 1 step jump for 1 fuel is that really the best card she had? The chance of mood when Cylons reveal themselves cannot be captured. Dead of Winter.

Playing BSG made me watch the TV series. I think that's the best possible endorsement for an IP based game

Jur wrote: Played it again yesterday with some of the Pegasus expansion. It was almost as awesome as the first times we played it. I didn't mind the length of the game (3 hrs) as there was lots of banter, hardly any downtime and lots of suspense. Yes, we played with five, and I think the 6 player version needed a fix. Not all of the expansion parts are an improvement and I personally prefer to stick as much as possible to the core set.

Although you might get the same traitor game with The Resistance, the advantage is that BSG is not just about straight faced lying, but that it really is about trust. When the Admiral makes a 1 step jump for 1 fuel is that really the best card she had? The chance of mood when Cylons reveal themselves cannot be captured. Dead of Winter.

Playing BSG made me watch the TV series. I think that's the best possible endorsement for an IP based game

The banter is so underestimated by people in this game, it so amplifies the theme and traitor mechanic in the game and even better if you know each other and bring over suspicions from other games (brilliant meta-gaming). I remember after only about four games of this the others in the group renamed it to 'Toaster Tom'.
And, yes, trust and holding your nerve can play a fun part in the game - and, again yes, looking at peoples faces when you reveal as a Cylon, for that moment you are dog turd on their shoe.

BSG is long and heavy for a traitor game, but it gives the players something to discuss besides empty accusations. Secret Hitler seemed like a very streamlined traitor game that was going to be fun, but it landed with a thud because there wasn't much to discuss.

Shellhead wrote: BSG is long and heavy for a traitor game, but it gives the players something to discuss besides empty accusations. Secret Hitler seemed like a very streamlined traitor game that was going to be fun, but it landed with a thud because there wasn't much to discuss.

Long and heavy for euro-cubers, to each their own. So say we all !

So say we all.

If the game had that Caprica chick with the apple, I'd play

As an unabashed BSG board game fan, I'll be kind of glad if they stop creating expansions, but would be a bit disappointed if it went completely out of print. Right now FFG has a really great mix of expansions available, and Daybreak really felt like the bookend for the game. Earth being the final destination was a big part of that.

I put my thoughts on the expansions here , and there's just so much content right now that it feels like we've hit the saturation point for what the game's chassis can support. I'm lucky enough to have a group of friends that love the game and we play it with all the expansions and the game still hums along while giving players tons of options all within the setting. We get 5-ish games in with meal breaks in a 12-hour period.

Next month we're getting together again for a marathon day of BSG. We:

• Take the four endings as they correspond to seasons of the show, to be played in order.
• Only season 1 characters are available in the first game, and characters are added at the beginning of each game based on when they appeared in the show (as it corresponds to each ending).
• Same thing is done with Cylon Leaders, Crisis Cards, and Loyalty Cards. The Final Five weren't even a thing in season 1, for example. Special ships like the Assault Raptor don't come into play until appropriate as well. Same for Pegasus and Demetrius, etc.
• Character death is permanent and dead characters are removed for the day. Same for revealed Cylons after the game (since they've been outed).
• Crisis Cards are removed for the day after they're resolved.
• At the start of each new game human (or unrevealed Cylon) characters can stay with their player and keep all their roles/titles. If the player chooses a different character then titles/roles are assigned as normal.
• Loyalty cards are always drawn fresh at the start of each game. Tyrol just might be a Cylon by the last game, even if he didn't know it for the first three. Board is reset also; basically set up is as-written for each ending except that new components are added as timeline-appropriate, and the character thing in the previous point.

Highly recommended. It's basically mini-campaign BSG Legacy except nothing is actually destroyed and the new stuff each game is known.

There's enough content in what FFG's BSG right now to do all that. I don't know any other game that can pull that off repeatedly while being interesting and different every single time.

One thing FFG doesn't do, but I wish they would, is release a proper big box of a game and all its expansions when it leaves the normal print cycle. I'd love to see "collection" or "anthology" boxes for stuff like BSG, Talisman, Cosmic Encounter, their retired LCGs, etc.

Does the Crisis deck get a bit thin by the last game ?

I think they basically did a big box release for Blue Moon, even including all promos in the box.

But I agree. If they aren't producing anymore expansions for a game, call it complete and save the consumer the endless hunt for expansions and just give us a final 'deluxe' big box of the game. Wizwar comes to mind here.

I haven't played this in a long time, but mainly because we usually get 4 players, and BSG shines with 5. I think it will make a comeback at some point.
The most popular games I've played were the Base Game + Cylon Fleet (from Exodus expansion, I think). All other stuff just didn't stick.

Vlad wrote: I haven't played this in a long time, but mainly because we usually get 4 players, and BSG shines with 5. I think it will make a comeback at some point.
The most popular games I've played were the Base Game + Cylon Fleet (from Exodus expansion, I think). All other stuff just didn't stick.

I liked adding Conflicted Loyalties as well, adds a bit of fun and tension when looking at some Loyalty cards.

Southernman wrote: Does the Crisis deck get a bit thin by the last game ?

Nah there's always been plenty of cards.

I ordered a copy of Daybreak (have the other two) since I usually run a game (maybe even two this year) at Geekway and FOMO. Last year, I tried some of the expansion stuff for the first time (Cylon fleet board, and I was a Cylon leader), but I'm not sure whether I'll do any of that or not just go back to the base game.

It's possible there are better hidden-traitor games out there, but I haven't played one that I liked better (including Dead of Winter, albeit just once, and Homeland), and BSG is a theme I enjoy a great deal. For me, anyway, the marriage of theme and mechanics remains still near perfect.

wadenels wrote:

Southernman wrote: Does the Crisis deck get a bit thin by the last game ?

Nah there's always been plenty of cards.

To save me having to think too hard, just in case I ever get 5 gamers in a room again who all like BSG, can you list which characters you bring out for each of the four games (! won't ask for the Crisis cards but if you have them written down some where I won't complain if you post it).

I'll see if I can get a copy of "The Sheet" that has all that info compiled together, I don't actually recall all the details off the top of my head.