for 2, 3, or 4 Players. Assuming most of the players have played it at least once already?

Is it, in general, quicker to play than Twighlight?

It is much quicker than twilight. A two player game will take thirty minutes to an hour(they can be much shorter), then add an hour per player after that.

in our games i would say PLAYERS = HOURS

2 Player Games are pretty fast, 30-60 minutes.

For games with more players I agree on the player = hour rule of thumb.

This might of cause shift from time to time as sometimes the universe setup is strange (like last 3 player game we had only 5 single cp on the map, 4 of it on air only areas =) ).

My normal rule is:

two player = 1,5 hours

add 45minutes per additional player, +/-15 minutes after their playing style.

In my games usually took from 2 to 3 hours top with 4-5 players , with all player knowing rules well.

varies strongly depending on players. Some people take abominably long turns - some conduct their thinking much faster. General broadline would be around 1 horus per player - at least for our local group.

And yes. Much much MUCH shorter than TI3.

i used to play 2 players game 5 min !!!!!!!(the game already set up)

aldaris place his last order token on 4 Mengsk's order

build

attack

attack

mengsk end

Do these 1hour/player approximations apply to the game with the expansion, or just the basic set ?

We're planning our first game soon, with expansion, and while we're all veterans of many, many board games we're worried about the time issue.

And while we havent played before, we've all read and learned the rules thoroughly.

Thanks for yer responses!

don't rush to the expansion. The basic game has much to offer and basic strategies to become familiar with before you want to indulge yourselves with additional material. It does, however, solve a few balancing issues and adds much more diversity to the game.

As for playtime, not too thoroughly modified - I would say another 10-15 minutes per player in total playtime. If we're talking first game here, however, with the expansion (again - unadvised), then prepare for a rather excrutiating experience. 1.5-2 hours per player easily.