From the 4th edition previews, it seems to be the same game as 3rd edition. Are there any major differences? I mean....there must be, right?
How does 4th edition differ from 3rd?
I think the bottomline many of those drew who tried to pinpoint it mostly was something like this: 'Each and every single change looks small at first glance, but the sum of them makes for a greatly increased experience.'
For more detail you might check out the following review. It (later in the video) dedicates a few minutes to comparing the two editions and IMHO pretty much nails it:
Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition - Shut Up & Sit Down Review
Also The Dice Tower did a dedicated comparison video:
NoIt has the same core but, from reading through the rules, cards and races all of the small rough edges och the third edition have been fixed. Some unecesary stuff like transfer action is gone.
Trade is redone and looks way more fun and well structured. Race balance looks fine with small fixes and unique stuff.
All in all it seems like the good things third edition + expansions blended together with some new stuff. It feels fresh, and easier too teach bit Still offer the same experience.
Will have too wait until saturday for our first game. If you got both expansions for third and don't get too play that often, the Price tag may not be worth it but, I'm exited as all ****
Core mechanics are the same, but tech, trade, and politics are all radically different and there are a tone of little details and tweaks that have been made.
No imperium Rex
The core concepts are the same, but so much is different. I'd say the three biggest changes are:
1. Voting is now its own phase each round and covers two agendas; the Politics SC lets you "stack the deck" (in addition to other useful perks) instead of triggering a vote.
2. Trade Agreements have been completely replaced with a commodity/trade-good system that relies on physical proximity and incorporates Promissory Notes.
3. Technology has been overhauled drastically. No more tech tree; everything is based on colored prerequisites. Half of the tech cards are "unit upgrades" that go onto your sheet and don't count as prereqs.
(These aren't in order of "bigness," just the three biggest in general, IMO.)
It's still Twilight Imperium, but it's definitely a different game.
My group played 4th ed for the first time last weekend and we all loved it far more than 3rd ed. The game runs much more smoothly. The tech and political changes are indeed great, but the biggest difference for us was in the transactions and trading. That made interacting with our neighbors much more nuanced and fun and was probably the main reason we enjoyed the game more.
I appreciate all the helpful replies. I don’t own any versions of the game but have played TI3 several times and loved it. Would I need to buy existing expansions if I was to purchase TI4? Getting opportunities to play it is a big problem. Nobody seems to play it in the Milwaukee area. (I’m a member of three large gaming groups.) So the investment is an issue with such limited chances to play.
10 minutes ago, Schmiegel said:I appreciate all the helpful replies. I don’t own any versions of the game but have played TI3 several times and loved it. Would I need to buy existing expansions if I was to purchase TI4? Getting opportunities to play it is a big problem. Nobody seems to play it in the Milwaukee area. (I’m a member of three large gaming groups.) So the investment is an issue with such limited chances to play.
No, existing 3rd edition expansions aren't compatible to 4th edition.
From what I gather, 4th edition base game incorporates the best expansion content. That's why there are 17 races now and flagships. Don't be surprised if expansions come out later (it's still FFG, after all), but don't expect TI4 to feel like it needs expanding.
I would strongly expect an expansion with most of the leftover stuff; mercs, distant suns, representatives, nexus, artifacts, trade stations etc. + something new to satisfy people like me, that used many of those optional rules. I think it was a good/smart move to make the core game as streamlined as possible, and then add the chrome later for those who want it. I also noticed that the plastic insert has room for more tiles and also another off table tile like the Wormhole Nexus.
Wether they expand from there, I don't know.