Like in topic.

Next week i can buy one of those games. Would you kindly write positive and negative sides, and your opinions about both games?

Let's cut to the chase. BSG is the better choice. For me, this isn't a matter of choosing between two good games. I don't like AH in the first place.

Both games are going to take a while. With BSG you're always active. With AH, you wait for your turn.

AH is extremely fiddly. You won't believe how many little decks of cards and piles of special pieces you'll have to make room for.

AH is easy to win. I've never seen the Old Ones come close to winning. I'm told that later expansions fixed this, but... so what? The original game should be good right from the start. I shouldn't have to spend even more money to make the game any good. BSG will likely see many Cylon victories, but that makes you savor the human wins all the more. You want to play again and try to do better.

I really don't think of AH as a co-op game. It's just so much more of an RPG boardgame. You gather equipment, spells, allies, etc and build your character up. BSG forces you to cooperate all of the time or you're dead. You don't build up your character. It's all about the team FIRST.

Last thing to consider is how many players you'll have. 5 players is perfect for BSG. 6 is okay. 4 is getting a little weaker. 3 or less is a waste of time. I don't know how number of players affects AH, but I'd assume it's be more forgiving. Any number would probably be interesting.

I'm not opposed to RPG boardgames. I like Runebound. Despite its interesting theme though, AH just fails. And ultimately, I'd still rather play BSG over Runebound too.

pokemon41 said:

Im sure people in the AH forum will say differnently but to me this is a no brainer.

BSG is a just a better game. Even when you lose you had a blast and you dont feel like you wasted your time (something that is very important when you're investing a couple hours)

From someone who loves both games, here comes the unbiased answer and comparison:

1. BSG is faster than AH. 1-2h vs 3-4
2. BSG has a scifi approach, AH a cthulian
3. AH has a lot of cards, tokens, etc, BSG only a few
4. AH has a lot of expansions, allowing you to alter the game drastically, BSG doesn't
5. AH is a fully co-op game, BSG isn't
6. BSG has a traitor mechanic which calls for table talk and metagaming, AH doesn't
7. If you like roleplay being reflected in the game mechanics, AH makes good on that
8. If you like constant high-powered action, BSG gives it to you (AH is climatic, too - just for notice)
9. AH is more complex than BSG

As a rundown, BSG caters (from my opinion) more to the casual crowd who doesn't fear subterfuge while AH caters to the RPG and Lovecraft fans with a faible for complex and longer games.

Before you buy any of these games, find out which setting you like better, then which game mechanics (traitor vs rpg). Also take into account your gaming group - the best game will only collect dust if you have nobody to play it with.

Mike said:

Aren't 1 and 2 saying the same thing? Both games pit the players against the game itself. BSG simply adds the twist that one or more players are trying to help the game win.

Mike said:

Yeah, it could definitely hinge on your group. My group consists mostly of euro-gamers and has a high percentage of RPG/Lovecraft fans, making us an example of just the opposite of who you believe the games cater too.

Mike hit on alot of good arguments. For myself, Arkham Horror is my favorite board game. BSG is my favorite board game of last year. Both are great games, have different play styles and mechanics, and fit different gaming niches. Someone earlier posted tht AH is easy -- I can't necessarily say that. When we started playing the game, we never won. Even now, unless we play the meta game all the way, if the Ancient One wakes up there is no guarantee that we will win. What I love about AH is that it is a self-contained Cthulhu rpg session, without having to do all the prep work of coming up with an adventure.

BSG is a completely differnet game. Trust, table-talk, betrayal, this game is amazing. My wife and I love to play, and every game we ahve played so far one of us (but not both) has been a cylon or the sympathizer. It is a quicker game, but only by about an hour (we can crank out an 8-player AH game in 3-4 hours, and a 5 or 6 player BSG game in 2-1/2 or so).

Talk with your group, and see which way they want to go. I would recommend picking up both games, eventually, if you are that interested in both of the,. But in the short run, get the game that will appeal to the players now. Both have strong replay-ability, so there is no fear on that end. And since Arkham does have the already available expansions, you have more options with how to take it in the future. Also bear in mind that the rules for BSG are far less complex than AH, so you will probably get rto play BSG the same day, while AH might take more prep time, and you'll need to reread the rules a bit more often.

In many ways, I envy you. You get to enjoy these games for the first time.

pokemon41 said:

They're both very good games and I like them a lot. Obviously I like coop games quite well

Both have in my eyes an adequate difficulty level and are great long-term fun; having played Galactica only once last week, it completely hooked us up and we're currently searching for a date for the 2nd game But back wenn we played Arkham the 1st time, it was the same.

The rules of Arkham are IMO written a bit better in their structure as we did less mistakes wrt rules when we first played that and found answers to questions which arose during play easier in the supplied rules.

A "bonus" of Galactica is though, that there's an intelligent counterpart as it is played by a (or two or three) human(s), too, just like "Betrayal at House on the Hill". The constant bluffing and accusations are great fun with trying to find out who's your friend and who your foe. And it can be great fun to be the bad guy(s), too which Arkham doesn't provide.

If you've the chance, I'd maybe go for Galactica now, but definitely you should put Arkham on your "get next" list. Maybe also "Betrayal at House on the Hill", but that might be out of sale right now.