Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game

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Average Customer Rating:	5.0
Release Date:	2008-11
Brand:	Fantasy Flight Games
Model:	BSG01
ISBN:	1589944607
Language:	Published: English;
Designer	Corey Konieczka
Weight:	4 pounds
Dimensions:	3 inches x 12 inches x 12 inches [Width x Length x Height]

Product Categories

General; General AAS; General; General AAS; Strategy Games

Product description

After the Cylon attack on the Colonies, the battered remnants of the human race are on the run, constantly searching for the next signpost on the road to Earth. They face the threat of Cylon attack from without, and treachery and crisis from within. Humanity must work together if they are to have any hope of survival. But how can they, when any of them may, in fact, be a Cylon agent? Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game is an exciting game of mistrust, intrigue, and the struggle for survival. Based on the epic and acclaimed Sci-Fi Channel series, the game puts players in the role of one of ten of their favorite characters from the show. Each playable character has abilities and weaknesses, and must work with others in order for humanity to have any hope of survival. However, one or more players in every game secretly side with the Cylons! Players must attempt to expose the traitor while fuel shortages, food contaminations, and political unrest threatens to tear the fleet apart. The game includes 10 character cards, 32 highly-detailed plastic ships, high-quality card board tokens, hundreds of cards and a game board with resource counters.

Features

3-6 players

ages 10 and up

2-3 hours

Customer reviews

« Battlestar Galactica »

This is not a little child's gift item; it's for boardgame junkies who can play complex games based on the series. The recipient (26 years old) was delighted with it.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2009-01-07

« Holds true to the TV series »

This game is very true to the TV series it comes from. There is plenty of suspicion and doubt cast around the table as the game progresses and crises are more crucial to survival. The game does run quite long, averaging 2.5 hours for a three player game. Recommended for fans of the series and players interested in a semi-cooperative board game.

Rating: (4 out of 5) @ 2009-01-06

« Great fun game of deception »

This is one fun game to play with a group of people. The game itself, is a bit more complicated than the average board games. At first, it seemed that we were just going through the manuals endlessly. It took us an entire game to figure out the game play. But once you get a hang of it, it was great fun.

Overall, it's a game about decisions and deceptions. What makes this game interesting is that nobody can prove that he or she is not a cylone because game rule prohibits you from doing so. Because of that, cylone accusations often flies left and right during the game until the real cylone is revealed.

The minimum players for the game is 3, but I think you'll need 4 player to get a semi decent game play. You really want to have 5 or 6 players to get the most fun out of the game.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2008-12-22

« BSG Board Game - a great game in it's own right »

This is one of those board games you could wonder about - are they just trying to cash in on a known franchise name? Not here - Fanatasy Flight has a reputation for making outstanding board games and this one is no exception. It has very high quality pieces, cards, and miniatures that complement the fantastic game mechanics. While the game itself is tailored to the Battlestar Galactica universe - and captures that essence - it also has a well thought out game system that keeps players coming back. Equally enjoyable by BSG fans and novices. This will be one of those games that makes you plan events just to play it.

Rating: (5 out of 5) @ 2008-12-16

« Exceptional board game »

Battlestar Galactica: The Board Game is one of the rare games that successfully marries theme (a licensed theme, no less) and gameplay.

Players each choose a character from the cast of the television series. Each player, on his or her turn:

1. Draws skill cards (which double as action cards),
2. Optionally moves to location on Galactica (or Colonial One, or, as a pilot, through the space around Galactica),
3. Activates a location or plays an action on a card (or, as a pilot in a Viper, moves again or fires at Cyclon raiders and basestars in order to protect the human fleet),
4. Draws and resolves a Crisis Card.

Most crisis cards depict a distressing event (with art and text from the television series), be it a food shortage or a lost scouting party, and offer a choice and/or a skill check to be made to minimize the damage to Galactica or her resources. Skill checks are resolved by players secretly contributing positive (matching color/type) or negative (incorrect color/type) skill cards. In addition, many of these crisis cards also activate enemy ships or move the Galactica closer to making its next jump.

But all that would just make for a typical cooperative game. Each player also receives a secret loyalty card that indicates whether they are a treacherous Cylon (skinjob) or a human. The humans attempt to survive the journey to Kobol (by making jumps that total at least eight units, plus one additional jump to end the game) whereas the Cylons do their best to sabatoge the human effort, either covertly (which involves a great deal of bluffing and secretly tipping the scales via secretly played cards) or overtly (by revealing themselves as Cylons and just hammering at the Galactica with all the tools a revealed Cylon has). Furthermore, halfway through the game another set of loyalty cards is dealt, such that there are a total of two Cyclon players (in a five player game; the number of Cylons and sympathizers varies based on the number of players). In this way, the game captures the feeling of paranoia that characterizes the source material.

With accusations flying about and choices constantly being made, BSG is a strong interactive game that really shines. Admittedly, it does run a little long (three to four hours for the first game and around half that once everyone knows how to play), but once the first few rounds have passed, the pace of the game really picks up, as do player involvement and suspicion. BSG is, without a doubt, the reviewer's favorite cooperative board game (compared to Shadows Over Camelot, Arkham Horror, Last Night on Earth, Pandemic, and A Touch of Evil, as well as faux-cooperative games such as Cutthroat Caverns) and, moreover, one of his favorite board games, period. BSG should be well received amongst fans of American-style board games as well as fans of Battlestar Galactica television series.

P.S.: Prospective owners need not worry about the game spoiling the series for those who haven't seen the show. The game makes only oblique references to the events of the series (and even those are limited to the first two seasons). In fact, the greatest spoilers may very well be the line of succession for each of the positions of Admiral (that rank being a minor spoiler in and of itself) and President.