So we just finished our first play thorugh of the game and it was a lot of fun. But it seemed like there was a lack of space combat. Now maybe it was just variance but the only other basestar we faced other than the initial one was when the cylon admiral (me) flew the fleet into a cylon ambush. Is the only way for a basestar to come into play is through the combat crisis cards? It also seemed like if a base star showed up late on the jump track it had bery little time to do anything as the humans could just hold it off until they jumped. How many basestars typically show up in a game, it seems like it should be more than two or else the nukes should just be used immediately. Am I doing something wrong I couldnt find anything in the manual?

ianlippert said:

In the base game, yes, the only way they show up after the initial placement is through crisis cards. It's entirely possible through clever use of scouts and some blind luck to never see another basestar.

In Pegasus there's a few more ways to get basestars on the board (Cavil's ability, some of the Treachery cards, and two show up at the very end of the game.)

I just did some math and I think we really just had a game with a low amount of basestars. I estimated the average should be a little over 6 of the combat crisis cards per game. Not including super crises cards. We basically got none until I jumped the fleet into the surprise attack and drew one of the crisis ones a little later. This was probably around the 4th time on the jump track. Just a general feel question, Basestars are usually a significant threat to the humans?

ianlippert said:

The Basestars themselves aren't all that scary, 5/8 chance of Galactica taking a point of damage and they don't fire all that often. However, they launch raiders and heavy raiders, which are fairly significant threats. So while the existence of a Basestar is cause for concern they don't pose all that big a direct risk to Galactica.

ianlippert said:

With basestars, it all depends. If Galactica is damaged, and/or there is a revealed cylon capable of using Cylon Fleet, basestars can be problematic in terms of their missile firing.

The more dangerous feature of the basestar is when multiple raider launch icons appear on crises. At a certain point, masses of raiders become unmanageable and pilot characters can no longer hold their own. If there's two basestars at the beginning of a jump track, this is a real possibility, and it's those moments when I strongly consider using nukes or executive order on someone in Weapons Control.

On the flip side, Basestars that appear even two steps into the jump track are generally toothless.