Battlestar Galactica Board game

Risk 2210, Settlers of Catan, Carcassone, etc.
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NukeHavoc
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Battlestar Galactica Board game

Post by NukeHavoc »

After playing this game three times, I have to say I really enjoyed it. Part of that enjoyment, however, comes from still trying to figure out exactly how the humans can win. Although it seems incredibly difficult, playing through the game last night I was catching glimmers of how to do it -- Executive Orders to make optimal character actions, using Investigative Committee to force everyone to reveal their cards during a Crisis, scouting the Crisis deck to try and minimize the effect of the exceedingly negative cards.

After the game, I poked around Board Game Geek to see if I could find some human strategies that fleshed out the proto ideas in my head, and I came across this thread:

Human Strategies
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/542 ... strategies

The first thing I have to say is that our group's reaction to the game isn't unique. Reading through the forums, you come across a number of references to "the humans can't win" or "running around like a headless chicken" BUT the counterpoint to that is that yes, there is a human strategy ... it's just not as clear cut as in Arkham or some of our other games.

From a strictly mechanical standpoint, I think the key thing you need to remember as a Human (and maybe as a Cylon too) is that the Skill cards are very, very valuable, and specific cards can make a huge difference in the game. It's somewhat like in Risk 2210, where you know that Cease Fire cards lurk in the Diplomacy Desk, and that Landmine Deathtraps lurk in the Land Deck. In Risk 2210, a good strategy is to burn through those decks looking for those particular cards.

I think it's the same with BSG. Investigative Committee (Yellow, Politics) keeps everyone honest by forcing cards to be played face up (minimizing the chance of Bad Stuff happening early on) AND they don't cost any actions to use. Executive Order (Green, Leadership) is good for giving someone two actions. Launch Scout (Purple, Tactics) lets you look at the top card of the Crisis OR the Destination deck and then place the card on the top or bottom of the Deck.

In my opinion, an effective strategy is to go fishing for these cards. There are multiples of each card, so you chances of finding the one you need can be pretty good, depending on your character. Between your own skill draws, using the Research Lab, and playing something like Consolidate Power (a Yellow/Politics card that lets you draw two skill cards of any color), I think you have an excellent chance of finding what you need.

The question is then how to use them best. The Launch Scout card can be used to skip around things like Cylon Fleet cards (which can be devastating) or help skip past Crisis cards that don't have Jump icons. This is like in Arkham Horror when we have a chance to peek at the Mythos card and can determine exactly *where* we want gates to open, or what monsters we want to move. This approach is further enhanced by choosing Laura Roslin as your character -- her "Religious Visions" let her draw 2 Crisis cards and choose 1 to resolve. The other goes to the bottom of the deck. That's potentially *huge*.

There are other cards, but I think you get the idea. To Jon's point ... what the hell DO you do early in the game? I think the answer is ... get cards! Either get some of these cards or grab engineering cards you know you'll need later (like Repair). Also, try and minimize the damage done by Crisis cards ... but don't spend too many Skill cards trying to do it, because you may need them later. Especially don't spend some of the critical cards (like Launch Scout). It very well may be better to launch a scout than it is to win a challenge.

Other player strategies are to get your character where you're most effective. If you're Starbuck, get thee to a viper! If you're the president, get to Colonoial One so you can start grabbing those Quorum cards.

The human goals should be:

* Eliminate or reduce risk through manipulating the Crisis Deck
* Increase jump chances (also by manipulating the Crisis Deck)
* Minimizing damage from crisis when it's useful to do so ... but don't blow important cards from your hands to do it.
* Pay attention to what potential Cylons are doing

If you're following a strategy like this one, then I think it becomes more obvious who the Cylons could be. It requires paying attenton to what's going on -- who's drawing what, who *could* have spent the cards, who didn't, etc. Bob's character, Baltar, had an ability he never used: look at Loyalty cards of another player. Had he played that early in the game (or near to the mid-point) he might have learned that Lance and I were Cylons ... and then proactively thrown us in the brig.

Even if you aren't sure, it may still be worth throwing someone in the brig: they'll still draw skill cards but they won't pull a Crisis card. That might slow you down in terms of moving the Jump track forward but if you're dealing with a lot of crap (cylons on the board, centurions on the ship, damaged areas on Galactica) avoiding a crisis or two could be helpful.

Any way, those are some of my initial thoughts. I know the game's not for everyone in the group, but I'd love to give it another try one of these game nights and see if the above strategy works.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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EvilGenius
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Re: Battlestar Galactica Board game

Post by EvilGenius »

I'd like to try it a few more times to figure out some more of the cards and strategies. I think there are a few things to build upon. It seems that unlike in Arkham, there really aren't a lot of positive things that can happen. There are, actually, a lot of positive things that can happen in Arkham. I don't get the sense that BSG is that kind of game, though.
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NukeHavoc
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Re: Battlestar Galactica Board game

Post by NukeHavoc »

I think this would be a good game to play on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, when we're not stressed out from a week at work. The game is stressful enough in its own right. :)
"Oh, I'm so sorry. Forgive me. I'll try and be a tad more quiet as I desperately struggle to break free -- and save all creation!" -- Doctor Strange
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erilar
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Re: Battlestar Galactica Board game

Post by erilar »

I liked it and definitely want to play it some more.
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Hardcorhobbs
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Re: Battlestar Galactica Board game

Post by Hardcorhobbs »

I'll try it again... but I'm moving towards not liking it. Adversarial games are not my thing. It's also way too gloomy, with only one way to win (which I know is the theme of BSG... but I didn't like that theme in the show either).
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T1Mirage
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Re: Battlestar Galactica Board game

Post by T1Mirage »

I like the complexities the game produces, etc. I'm uneasy with the adversary aspect. I think it adds to the game but yet I'm not always fond of that level of play and if I understand it has to happen (also they seemed unstoppable and still influence - i.e., voting against the party, which didn't click to me).

I think I would need more of an understanding of the cards and the story but not worth the investment / return on investment to play the game.
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Jonkga
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Re: Battlestar Galactica Board game

Post by Jonkga »

I think I was confused because I couldn't understand the connection (or lack thereof) between some of the story elements and some of the game mechanics.

But, that said, I like the game and am more than willing to play it again with you guys.
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Drink and be whole again beyond confusion."
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