Hey, I've been looking at this game for a long time now and I was wondering if I should pick it up. All of the information I have read on it has me very interested, the only issue I am having is it seems to be very complicated. The players I game with don't seem to be too interested in the more complicated games unless the game grabs their interest within the first couple turns. It's kind of frustrating, I much prefer a more involved and interesting game experience but I won't have much fun if nobody wants to play. So in your oppinion would this be a worthwhile purchase for me or should I look into something else, and if so any sudjestions would be appreciated.

God, no. This is one of the most complicated games I own (probably only Twilight Imperium 3 and Through the Ages are comparable). If your gaming group doesn't like complicated games, then steer well clear.

I have a similar question. My group is used to complicated games, so this is not an issue for us, but there are few good english speakers. For many games as Arkham Horror is tnot a big deal, so that is the question : how card description is important for the game? Small translation could be enough or it's reauired a more deep understanding?

My gaming group never reads the rules before trying a new game. They always leave it up to me to teach them as we go. So this always causes learning and playing to take a long time. But I took the time to play a few test plays and get the rules down so that I could teach them.
Yes, Android feels complex at first because there are a lot of things to remember but once you've taken a few turns it really starts to make sense and flows quite well.
Rather than calling Android 'complex' I think it's more fair to say it has a steep learning curve. Once you know the game it's not complex. Strategy might be complex but the game is not.
Honestly I find Descent more complex. Descent really has a lot more things to remember and they are often confusing rules or rules that conflict with some other rule. This is not at all the case for Android. What you can and can't do are very clear.

Also, you and your group have to enjoy games where other players play cards against each other. This is pretty core to the game.

Really, the best option would be to play the game first but I realize you might not be able to.

Read the online manual and learn it as well as you would if you had bought it. If you still feel you like it and you don't mind playing some solo learning games so that you can teach your friends then I think there is a good chance it will go over well.

It's like most FFG games. I will take a few games (2-3) to really start to understand it and the games will take a long time to play

Fingolfin80 said:

Aside from Arkham Horror what other FFG games do you play and despite being in English you have no trouble with?

Everyone will have to be able to read their dark and light twilight cards and their own personal plot cards.

I can't help but think that this would be tough for anyone who isn't a good/strong English reader.

Thank you guys very much. You've given me some things too think about. As it sits I am leaning towards buying this game and working it out. I'll let ya know how it goes

Hein99 said:

I can see your point, but in games like Runebound or Descent basically i can translate for those who cannot read english because cards are revealed to everyone, so english knowledge is not required for all players (provided that a good number of them understands it quite well). In a game in wich cards are not revealed, if the content of the card is brief and the number of card types is limited, I could provide a written translation to make the game accessible to eveyone. A good example could be Battlestar Galactica, that we played in this way without any problem.

However I understand by your description that the case of Android is different, so I have to give up the game. Or at least change some player....

Fingolfin80 said:

I really do want you to experience Android but I think it will be too hard if you have to translate cards for players. Each player will have their own hand of twilight cards that are hidden from the other players. And you never know when someone will want to play one. And they get played often.

Here you can read some of the cards as posted on BGG.com yourself and decide if it's too much.
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It's a shame that FFG or some partners haven't been able to translate their games. I would love everyone to be able to play them.

slebreton1178 said:

Let us know what you end up doing. Specially if you get the game. I want to know if I lead you astray or if we done good
Have you had any trouble finding Android? I know it's very expensive at my local shops in Canada. But the price is still normal at amazon.com
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I know it will likely be a long time but post another message if you get it.

Hein99 said:

Thank you, you're posts have been very helpful.

Seen the card, I agree that is impossible to make a quickreference for players, either for the number of cards and for the amount of text on them.

The great part of FFG games has been translated in my language (italian), but Android is not among them. Or at least I wasn't able to find the italian edition, if it exists.

I'll have to pass or find some new player.

I havn't bought the game yet but I intend to get it, i'm not aloud to buy anything until after christmas (so says the fiance), I will make sure I tell you guys what comes of this. I always play new games by myself just to get the rules down just to make it easier on my players

Fingolfin80,

Yeah, for non-native speakers, I think you'd need to pass this game up. Even the flavor text can be relevant to play, since it often foreshadows effects on other cards.

slebreton1178 said:

After Christmas come back to the forums and let us know what you think and what your play group thought of Android.

Well just keep in mind it will be almost double the price in a few days from 25 to 40 dollars in a FOGS of your choosing id say get it now even if you not sure. The only reason I did not order a copy was because someone in my group all ready has a copy ....well and my wife shes so mean i had to pick between conan and android. Now i am just foolishly hoping no one else bought all the games i did from the sale we try not to be too redundant.

lol, my wife frantically searched my history on my browser to see what games i clicked on during the sale. fortunatly for me she picked up Android... she would had picked up connan had she seen it... where actually planning on playing it on New Years Eve

Really love the theme but my group rally hate complicated rules.

Should really find a deeper group....

I've been eyeing this game due to the fact that the groups I game with, and me, really enjoy games that have a strong story element. The complicated games don't bother us either, so after reading this, I think I'll definitely be picking this up or asking for it. Is the game mechanism very similar to anything else, because it at least doesn't sound like a common one. One of the groups I play with kinda get sick of playing games with similar mechanisms. The other main group doesn't care about similarities as long as the game is good. I just want to know if I should avoid playing this game with the one that doesn't like these similarities.

I bought it but have had some problems with the game. These are some of them:

You should be aware that the gameplay does not follow the theme of the game. It is supposed to be a murder mystery but in fact, it is more accurate to say that each of you are competing to direct a murder mystery. At the beginning of the game, each player is given a character that he must try to keep innocent and a character in which he must pin the murder on.

A big flaw of this game is there is no way of determining who is in the lead at the moment. This is a problem because you have to play detrimental cards on one another. Normally, you would play cards on the person hindering you specifically or the one who is in the lead. In this game, you can't tell whether the character you are protecting is safe and whether the one you want found guilty is getting close to that. If you can't justify why you are targeting a player, it can cause hurt feelings and leave a bad impression of the game.

The card aspect. In order to play the beneficial cards, you must play cards that hurt a specific player. In theory it sounds neat but in practice see above.

Very long setup time. My first playtthrough, it took me about 2 hours just to set it up. There is just a horrendous amount of fiddly bits (and I love fiddly bits). In this case, I just felt overwhelmed.

Fiddly rules. There is just too many special cases and we had to constantly refer to the rulebook for these special cases.

What I liked:

This is truly a story driven game. As you play the game, your character goes through life changes. I found that pretty neat.

I loved how you moved around the board (the board is big and beautiful!).

It really does give you that futuristic noir vibe. Too bad the theme does not quite match the gameplay...

What I'm on the fence about:

The puzzle element. I could not grasp it and therefore we left it out on our first playthrough.

Hi thordred,

These are fair comments. Do you think you'll be playing Android a few more times? After you've played about 4-5 games come back and tell us what you think at that point. I'd be very curious to see if any of your thoughts change with more time.
I enjoy the conspiracy puzzle because it's another avenue for the players to pursue and like placing good and bad baggage as well as evidence it can help shape or change the focus of the game. It's part of what keeps the game fresh.

thordred said:

I am also contemplating buying this one. I love how much emphasis is on story and choices. Can't wait to try it.

A friend of mine has this and I skimmed the rules briefly. It looks like awesome fun.

Someone also told me it's the most complex FFG game there is---more so than Twilight Imperium. This piques my interest all the more.

Is it true that the game is complicated?

I'd say it's roughly on par with Arkham Horror (possibly a little more complex, and definitely harder to teach new people since it isn't cooperative, but overall basically in that ballpark) but would love to hear other people weigh in on this (partly because I've always assumed TI would be too heavy for my group).

thordred said:

Two comments on this: first, Jimmy the Snitch is absolutely vital for this very reason. However, even then, there is inevitably going to be an element of uncertainty; the blind bidding mechanic is a fundamental part of the game, and much of one's strategy will consist of striking a balance between, for example, the relatively fixed VP rewards of the conspiracy, and the gamble of the murder investigation. Naturally, the amount of guesswork involved isn't going to be to everyone's taste, but I'd hardly call it a flaw.