I’ve been playing Firefly Adventures this week, the new skirmish game set in the ‘Verse from GF9.

Now I’m in the camp on this site that holds the first Gale Force 9 Firefly game up as being a modern classic. I love that game and I really had no need for another Firefly game and I definitely didn’t need another skirmish game. But this is GF9 and their approach to theme is consistently great, and even the only miss in their catalogue (Dr. Who) is still a really interesting, fun game.

What do I think? It’s a frustrating, disappointing, interesting and a blast all at the same time. GF9 has always been a little rough around the edges, something I found charming at first, but this game might be a little unfinished. The rules need to be completely pulled apart and put back together. Portions of the game are not explained and they’ve already released a 7 page FAQ that still doesn’t cover everything. The 3D buildings bring the presentation through the roof, but they tend to get in the way more than anything else. The scenarios feel just like episodes of the show, but they don’t always work and with a limited selection of characters in the base game, replayability is a concern.

And yet it’s packed with some cool ideas, mechanics I really love, and has that GF9 understanding of theme that is unparalleled in the hobby right now. I’ve always loved the time mechanic from Thebes and Olympos and it works really well in the skirmish genre. I was relieved to find it isn’t just a “go in and shoot guys” affair, though most scenarios take that turn eventually. Each character can act “casually” or “heroic,” and so long as they’re casual, enemies won’t bother them. There’s usually the opportunity to talk to enemies, in fact. There’s plenty of unexpected twists that can force the heroes to act heroically and the feeling of all hell breaking loose when that happens is so fun to see and nails the IP. “Why can’t things go smooth?”

Everyone I’ve played with enjoyed it, but I did all the heavy lifting. There’s a really great,’innovative and DIFFERENT skirmish game in here, but I’m not sure everyone is going to put the work in to get there. That might be what sinks the game, as it begs for user generated content. As it stands, GF9 hasn’t put enough in the base game for long term enjoyment, and while I fully expect the expansions to fix that (which I’ll gladly pick up), I think the damage will have already been done when it comes to first impressions.

I feel similarly about Firefly Adventures, although probably leaning a little more towards the positive side. I don't mind the rules issues so much as it's a cooperative game and has a miniatures skirmish feel, which naturally tend to have more holes and require more adjudication.

The buildings are a nuisance, but I totally wouldn't trade them. Love the feel of the game.

That's absolutely an issue with limited scenarios, although they're supposed to come out with more online. One thing I really love about the scenarios is that they're very detailed and unique. They have their own event charts and arc of sorts, and they stand up to multiple plays.

I noticed that they used the same icon language for Firefly Adventures that they used for the previous Firefly boardgame. It would be neat if somebody statted up all the characters from the first boardgame for Firefly Adventures, and then created some Misbehave cards that instead drop you into a short scenario for Firefly Adventures.

charlest wrote:
I guess that came across more negative than I had intended. I do like the game quite a bit, and it absolutely wouldn’t be the same without the 3D buildings. I plan on holding on to it and I’m completely on board for the expansions. The TL;DR version of my criticisms are that it’s the least polished thing GF9 has put out to date. Luckily for us, it’s still a GF9 game.

The event charts are super. I love some of the moments they create, like Kaylee getting as much intel as she can get out of a computer terminal, thinking she’s safe, only to have some goon with a machete getting the drop on her. And to make matters more fun, we didn’t think it important to give her a weapon. In comes Jayne with guns blazing.

I’ve played all the jobs, only one I replayed was The Rescue, which is by far my favorite. That one can go in lots of different directions. Haven’t tried playing a campaign (or “story” as they call it), but I think it’s a cool way to handle it. Play 3 jobs and you’re trying to come out at the end with $10,000. It’s a short term commitment and score chasing, which is perfect for where I’m at with campaign games.

I like how Firefly Adventure captured the typical episode. We, the crew, plan out exactly what we are going to do to get the job done. Everything is going well, and it's looking like we are going to be able to waltz in, get the job done, and get away clean, and suddenly it all goes to shit. Kaylee's bleeding out, Mal has no pants and has accidentally shot Zoe, and Jayne is busting down doors.

Just a friendly reminder that a lot of stuff in this thread would be more helpful to the site if it were in the blogs or separate threads. The last several posts are basically a collaborative review of a brand new game. Just gonna get buried and forgotten in this thread.

Mad Dog wrote:
You are right. I busted it out into its own thread. Hope Josh doesn't mind.

ubarose wrote:
Fine with me!

I got Firefly Adventures for Al for his birthday. I actually bought it before Josh brought it over and had to act like I hadn't already gotten it. But Al figured it out anyway, which is why I can never play bluffing games with Al. Anyway, we plan on playing it again this week without Josh "doing the heavy lifting" so I can experience for myself how poorly the rule are written, and how fiddly the Thugs and Cowboys are. I'll report my findings.

I'd recommend giving a campaign a shot if you plan on getting it to the table a few times. Equipment and money roll over to the next job and the goal is to hit a certain stockpile of cash. The arc of increasing your inventory and debating spending that money (which is essentially VP) is pretty interesting.