I recently finished a 7 player game using elements from Pegasus and Exodus. All players had played the base game at least once and two had played with Pegasus. It was the first time we played Exodus. We used all elements from Pegasus except New Caprica, and all elements from Exodus except the Ionian Nebula. The game took us around 6 and half to 7 hours to complete. Humans reached distance 6 and admiral had to choose from two -3 fuel locations to make it to distance 8. As there was only 3 fuel left, the humans lost.

Any tips on how to lower the game length without changing game mechanics? How long are other groups game's typically taking to finish? Our group does tend to table talk quite a bit, and there is always discussion and planning going on in every player's turn. It's a very social event which makes the game extremely fun and enjoyable but we are brutally exhausted by the end. There's a lot of "You're a Cylon!", "No you're the Cylon!" banter back and forth. I was thinking about a turn time limit but that seems impratical with the dynamics of the game and all players contributing every turn (skill checks). Does anyone use house rules to limit the amount of time a player has to decide on his/her action? Maybe it's more pratical to assign each player a role to keep the game on track. i.e. one is the banker deals/shuffles skill cards to each player, one is in charge of crisis card resolution (ship/jump movements), one person has the battle results charts, ect. I wouldn't want to do anything to detract from the table talk because that is part of the fun we have, but want to keep the game moving at the same time.

I'd like to play with Ionian Nebula included next time but I fear the game may become too lengthy (8+ hours) for most of our group to take in.

Pre-exodus we finished in about 3 hrs (for games of 5 to 7 players) And yes we do a lot of table discussion too.

Exodus does extend that. The Ionian nebula adds about 30-mins. some in resolving NPC-allies. Some in resolving the nebula effects. A way to reduce this is for someone other than the current player to have responsibility for drawing the next ally card & placing the token on the map. That only saves seconds pre turn, but it's seconds saved every turn .

The cylon fleet board also adds between 5-mins and 1-hour by cylons de-preping the Galatica's hyperdrive.

We've never played a game longer than 3 hours, and nearly all of our games are 2 hours or less. And that includes the new expansion, and games of 7 players. Not sure why your games are taking as long as you say.

Wow.....how do you possibly play the game for more than 3-4 hours?

Ether you're arguing too much about what actions to perform and who is or likely is a Cylon, or you're nitpicking each other about the rules. I'm betting that since it's your first time on Exodus, that you lost a lot of time just referring to how to use the Cylon Fleet board and whatnot.

Our games with Pegasus are usually 2.5-3 hours... since we added Exodus, it has been 4 hours or more.

Surprised to hear that so many other did not have this effect and are shocked!

We attributed it to less jump icons (less scouting) and more time dealing with fleets and civ ships.

BUT... we are also getting stomped by Cylons. I think we need to rethink our playing style for Exodus.

There are really three aspects that can make BSG exceptionally long.

One is the table talk ...without which the game wouldn't be half as much fun. Some groups tend to talk/argue more, some less. I once had a player in my group who felt obligated to explain every step of every player's turn to every player...that took way too long. Where I come from (Germany, that is) board games are a social event much like grabbing a coffee or something. Nonetheless, there is only so much discussion that is healthy per turn. At some point all the arguments have been brought up and the active player needs to make a choice. For my group(s) it usually works quite well to say: "it's your turn, make a decision...for better or for worse."

The other is the fact that both expansions add play time because of the additions they use. Some add more time than others. But they all add time.

Last but not least is the length new players add to any board game that is more complex than apples to apples. Do not underestimate this! Even when everyone has played the core game with or without expansion(s) before, unless they are veterans and can play the game in their sleep, it will take longer.

On top of that, some games will last longer because the admiral chooses destination cards that have low distance. He may or may not have had a choice. Some players tend to plan their turn on previous players' turns, some don't. And in some games players need to discuss certain dangers more than others. Especially when all Cylons are revealed I have seen turns suddenly take longer. I suppose it's because you trust the remaining humans and feel more obligated to listen to their advice.

Mephisto666 said:

Exodus (cylon fleet board) shifts game balence back towards the cylons. I won't say "in favour of the cylons" Because I think the game strongly favoured humans before. Playing exodus the humans need to play efficiently. Time wasting tactics that were OK pre-exodus, will get the humans wiped out with exodus. A lot of players deliberatly played to "give the cylons a chance" up to the half way mark. Since they wanted a chance to win if they discovered they were cylon at that point.

However - Exodus gives the cylons all the advantage they need.!

If additionally humans play sub-optimonally to help the cylons pre the 2nd loyalty card. Then the humans now have no chance.

Right. This is where my group's at too. Humans can no longer play poorly and still win, which is what we were doing pre-Exodus: joke characters, ineffective turns, half-hearted play until sleeper. Now the humans have to play with a little fire beneath them.

Has anyone tried playing a longer version of the game with two destinations? That is New Caprica and Ionian Nebula?
What would be the optimal distances for each destination and how would you set the resources in the beginning?

I was thinking maybe along the lines: Sleeper at distance 4, New Caprica at 7 and Ionian Nebula at 11.

Increasing every resource by two.

blanco said:

I would assume that human players become somewhat suicidal due to frustration...somewhere between the sleeper phase and just after New Caprica.

The New Caprica phase is a very harsh one. You need to secure the civillian ships and make sure you don't lose too many. IMHO the only reason why that worked out in the Pegasus expansion was because the game ended right after New Caprica. If you had to continue for at least one more jump...possibly 2 or 3...man, I'm not sure I would want to be human. 2 more resources to make up for that...nah, not enough.