I just played as a cylon in a 4 player game. Got my loaylty card from the beginning saying i was a cylon.

It seems to me that to try to disturb in a 4 player game as an undercover cylon is hard.

Is it a good idea to just reveal pretty quickly and go to the cylon options that is pretty powerfull?

Well, even though a hidden cylon can't cause as much damage directly, the received wisdom seems to be that one shouldn't reveal early because the humans can play a lot more efficiently once they know who you are. Whereas in a 5p game, if you get a good reveal opportunity early on, it might be worth taking so that you can attack while your friend stays hidden and keeps the paranoia alive. But once all the toasters have been accounted for, the humans not only know where they stand on skill checks, but can also coordinate their turns in advance and start playing Executive Orders left and right because they no longer have to hedge against the possibility that someone will suddenly try to brig everybody and bomb the ship.

Well, if you are the admiral or president, your ability to damage Galactica indirectly through card choices can be a huge perk, especaillyif oyu have a weaker reveal ability. The humans may try and "meta" a resource into the red to ensure the sympathizer is on the human side, so you can try and avoid that. Revealing can be a hard decision, but in a 4 player game you shuld have more opportunities to hurt the humans than in, say, a 5 or six player game (but there will be more cylons, so it balances).

We play in a group that can usually only muster 4 players, so this is a question facing the cylon player every time. Because the group typically seeks to redline a resource to thwart a midgame cylon sympathizer, it is essential for the cylon - if they are activated in the first half of the game - to stay hidden and work against the goal. After that, I think it has a lot to do with the talents of the player in question. Some of us are simply better at deception, distraction, and subversion of group efforts than others. They can bleed a few key failures that make it worth remaining on board Galactica for few extra turns. On a good day, they can get another player thrown in the brig (!).Even if not, the doubt and confusion encourages humans to "hedge", which is always good for the cylons. But some of us simply enjoy being "out" and stalking the humans front and center. These folks turn their card more immediately. I am keen to see how the Exodus expansion might change our calculation on this question, if at all. But overall, this is a decision that is often made based on our local player skills and enthusiasms. Note: we are a group that tends to produce cylon victories more often than not...