I usually play in a war gaming group(40k.fantasy) and we have played BSG a couple of times and have had some complaints about the game being nothing more than a politic game between the players. This is usually from the side that ends up losing.I don't believe it is a political game but wanted to get some other peoples thoughts.....

The gameplay itself is fairly simple. Take turns, encounter crisis, move bits. There's lots of rules to consider, but at it's core it's move, action, crisis.

The politics and intrigue is what makes the game fun, and sets it apart from others. I'd say it's at least 50/50.

If there's too much politicizing, where you feel it's overwhelming the gameplay, maybe use a timer (maybe borrow a 60s sand timer from another game). Choose a way to activate it. After time is up, either go around the table family feud style for one last input, or just everyone has to be silent. After that it's up to the player in question to make their choice or what have you.

Don't forget to keep it light, and have fun!

Norgoth said:

What do YOU believe it is? What do the players who are complaining about it wish it was?

BSG has never been a "political game" for my group. People look at their loyalty cards, and play as best they can to achieve victory.

For humans, it's simple: find unrevealed cylons before they can do too much damage, dispose of them, and abuse powerful actions like Executive Order on people you can trust, or who are not in a good position to do a lot of damage with their actions.

For cylons, it's picking your battles, knowing when to reveal and making excuses.

The last part of the cylon gameplay could be construed to be political, but I think it's close to the smallest part of the game.