Hope it's any good

Just saying……..

Its a big, sprawling, fun game.

I played an eight player game a few weeks ago and everyone had a blast.

Kerrin2 said:

Lucky you Ive never played past 5 players…which was chaotic as f***

Saikoro said:

Hopefully chaotic in a good way!

Imho, 7 players is best since then you still have the uncertainty of which SC that won't be picked…

It's interesting that there is little sentiment towards 6 player games expressed in this forum, given the nice, even map layout. Our group tends to play 5-6 player games, 6 preferably.

Whilst the game does have the potential to be hugely immersive with 8 players, this is a game that demands a lot from your players. If you don't want to spend literally all day (not even kidding) playing, then it would be prudent having players who are not only familiar with the rules (at least the fundamentals) but also are willing to sink potentially a whole day into this. If playing a game that could easily run over 4 hours sounds galling to a player, I wouldn't want to subject them to this game- for both their sakes and everyone else's.

The only 8 player game I've played had two player issues: one had "that guy", the gamer who wasn't particular keen to begin with, so as the hours marched on there was a palpable funk around the table when he was nudged into taking his turn, either mechanically following the advice of the others or just doing "whatever" as the hours had numbed his ability to care. The other guy simply dropped out past the halfway point, causing minor chaos in strategy for some. You can't fault the two players though, and the game was still okay, but the detractions had made their presence. More players increases the likelihood of similar scenarios occurring.

Ultimately your mileage will vary regarding your player base, I will say that if you can get establish die-hard player base who can not only relish the time sink of playing but really get into it, then TI truly shines. Whip up their enthusiasm by making it a day event and maybe throw in a little coaching session beforehand to stem some of the more obvious questions beforehand.

I go with 4 normally, but due to how I'm using my game I'm trying to get that up to between 6 and 8. Trouble is finding room for all 8 races in my house… LOL

Lucky. i have trouble finding 3 people to play. I am looking forward to a game convention or something like it to attract a few new players. I really enjoy the game mechanics, but it's overwhelming for most of my friends. They are clearly lame.