Hello all. I'm thinking of expanding my current game collection and as such have been browsing the rankings on BGG for ideas.

Ideally I'm looking for something highly thematic that is not overly complicated so I can play with my gaming groups on a regular basis.

I'm a big fan of Arkham Horror and based on the quality of FFG releases I'm considering either Chaos in the Old World or Battlestar Galactica as my next acquisition. While I'd like to get CitOW I'm concerned that the theme of evil/corruption won't go down very well with my groups.

I'd thought I ask experienced players here if BSG is a good idea. My questions if anyone doesn't mind:

1) From what I've read, knowledge of the show is not necessary. Is this really true? Does it affect the theme if a newbie comes into it cold with no prior experience of the show?

2) Is this a game that engenders hostility and backstabbing? From what I've read to date it comes across along the lines of Diplomacy which seems to be notorious for this. It would be a drastic change from the cooperative gameplay of AH!

3) Is there significant replay value to the game? Or will players eventually see it all (cards & techniques) after half a dozen games. I also read somewhere that its better if fresh blood is occasionally drawn into the game sessions.

4) Can the game stand on it's own or is it signigicantly improved with an expansion. If so which one?

5) Would one say it's complex to learn? I beleve that victory is tracked by dials yes?

6) I realize that many games can have from 2 to 6 players. Despite this there is usually a sweet spot for player/enjoyment. I gather that 3 is less than ideal - would 3 players have an enjoyable a time at this as say 6?

Hope one can advise me on this.

Many thanks!

1) From what I've read, knowledge of the show is not necessary. Is this really true? Does it affect the theme if a newbie comes into it cold with no prior experience of the show?

No. We've got people who haven't seen the show and people who have. A short tutorial on BSG is all it takes to get them up to speed.

2) Is this a game that engenders hostility and backstabbing? From what I've read to date it comes across along the lines of Diplomacy which seems to be notorious for this. It would be a drastic change from the cooperative gameplay of AH!

Yeah, it's drastically different than AH. There is at least one player in the game whose job it is to stab you in the back as effectively as he can.

3) Is there significant replay value to the game? Or will players eventually see it all (cards & techniques) after half a dozen games. I also read somewhere that its better if fresh blood is occasionally drawn into the game sessions.

You'll eventually see all of the cards (especially the skill card, which you'll see all of within the first turn or two). But there's a major difference between card X coming up after card Y and it having come up after card C. Also, the characters are different, and each one brings their own twist to the game play. Finally, the bad guy gets his own super crisis card, and while there's only ~6 of them each one feels a lot different depending on when it's played.

4) Can the game stand on it's own or is it signigicantly improved with an expansion. If so which one?

I prefer Exodus + Base myself. Pegasus is good and adds fun stuff, but it's changed end game feels really tacked on.

5) Would one say it's complex to learn? I beleve that victory is tracked by dials yes?

There are several ways to win. Humans only have one: survive a bunch of jumps. Cylons can win by reducing any of the dials to zero or by doing enough damage to the ship.

6) I realize that many games can have from 2 to 6 players. Despite this there is usually a sweet spot for player/enjoyment. I gather that 3 is less than ideal - would 3 players have an enjoyable a time at this as say 6?

4 and 5 is all our group has played, and those work really well. I couldn't tell you about the others.

1) Agree with James McMurray here. You really don't need to know anything about the show. Simply reading the rulebook and flavor text on the cards sprinkles in plenty enough that you won't be lost on the thematics. Admittedly, it is enriching to recognize allusions to particular episodes and so on, but that is really a cherry-on-the-sundae type thing.

2) The game has a traitor mechanic, so yes. Have you ever played "Werewolf / Mafia"? Imagine that, but instead of just talking, you're trying to play a team game with the werewolf on your "team". That gets a little hairy sometimes and it's not to everyone's taste, but if I may editorialize, I find it incredibly awesome.

3) The replay value is through the roof, and that's particularly true when new blood enters the equation. Yes, you see all the cards before long, but because so much of the game is players playing other players, the cards are just a prop. The real gameplay occurs in the dynamic, ever-changing social arena between you and your fellow players, and that's why the game never gets old to me.

4) Yeah, I'd say stick with base game for a while. Then I'd add in Exodus, because it seems like a far better expansion (I think there's community consensus on that point, but I can't claim to speak for everybody).

5) It's kind of complex to learn, I'd say on the same level as Arkham Horror. You know how FFG games are with all their little tokens and various moving parts.

6) 5 is the sweet spot for this one, big time. It's my playgroup's favorite game, but if we don't have exactly 5, we play something different. The next best is 6, but the game really suffers at fewer than 5 players, because you don't have 2 hidden cylons, which makes all the difference in the world.

Hope this helps!

A word of caution though: Since the characters are modeled after the most important traits and events of their show counterparts, playing the game without having seen the show beforehand will contain spoilers if you, like me, think the game interesting enough to start watching the show. Some of them are minor like Adama being (too?) gentle with the men under his command or Cain being able to make a Blind Jump (so at some point, she made one... yeah, that's a big deal...), but others are rather massive, concerning the plot of several episodes or the ultimate fate of a character.

Most of it can be avoided if you see the season the specific game is based on beforehand (1 for the base game, 2 for Pegasus, 3 for Exodus), but they're not quite exact and some characters' traits refer to those of the next season.

Thanks guys! I believe I've watched a few episodes myself from the earlier seasons but probably could not identify any of the major characters and their abilities if put on the spot.

It certainly sounds like an interesting game and based on the comments thus far the base game is the way to go, followed by the Exodus expansion when players get more experienced. I'll have to work at getting a larger gaming group though if I have to bring this one to the table it seems - something that's been on my mind for some time.

Don't worry about expansions, I've played with both and actually prefer just vanilla. The best part of BSG is the metagame and it gets better when all are familiar with the game. While expansions add stuff some of the extra stuff are just distractions. The base game is endlessy replayable.

Holy Outlaw said:

Really? I've found 4 minimum to be enjoyable. I will not touch 3 players though.

We actually had a 7 player game recently (a variant that requires the Pegasus expansion) and running Exodus too. It proved to be rather interesting, though we got side tracked more than once.

People who say Exodus is the best expansion don't speak for all (and I'm not sure they speak for the majority; well, at least not for me). But the essence is, both expansions are cool and add more replayability.

IMO the game is best with 4 or more players. It is less interesting with less players because the Cylon threat is the most interesting part of the game.

With Pegasus you can have a maximum of 7 players. The more players you have, the funnier the game is. There never is real downtime for a player, because all that happens might change your choice of actions once it's your turn. Also many things can affect your character in each turn. Plus of course you have to deduce from the players' actions which ones are Cylon and which ones are not.

redsimon said:

I agree, I'm not sure I like Exodus better than Pegasus; I've never played Exodus without using the Pegasus components though. My impression is that Exodus makes the game lean more toward a Cylon victory, and Pegasus makes a Human victory more likely, and the base game is slightly balanced toward a Cylon victory, especially when playing with new or somewhat inexperienced players.

I like a 5 player game best, and I think it's the most balanced, followed by 6 player.