Designed by Corey Konieczka, Battlestar Galactica is a game of politics, betrayal and survival. Throughout the game, the humans are on board Battlestar Galactica, trying to protect civilian ships and defending the onslaught of the enemy cylons, while at the same time finding out who are the cylons that are already on board. The problem is: these cylons look just like the humans.
It Oozes Theme
Battlestar Galactica: the TV show is one of my favorite. Upon finishing each episode, I found myself wanting to go on to the following episode, just to see if the humans will survive. While playing the board game, all the great memories of the TV show just flooded through my mind and for the next 4 hours, I found myself immersed in the game as I played Admiral William Adama. Little did I know, I was a sleeper cylon.
My gaming group that afternoon consisted of 5 other players who have not seen the TV show. Initially, I was worried if they will be able to sustain the long gaming sessions. However, it seems that they enjoyed the game quite a lot that by the end of the game, none of them complained of the length of the game. We did play a few rules incorrectly, but they weren't enough to kill off the game. Looking back at why our gaming experience turned out great, I believe it's a combination of the game elements and the chemistry of the gaming group. Each character plays an important part in the game. Whether it is the Laura Roslin the political leader, or "Chief" Galen Tyrol the engineer, they each have a role to act, and the skills they possess contribute greatly to the survival of Galactica. The players in our gaming group really played the roles as if they were on the ship. Is that because they role-played them well? I doubt it since they did not enjoy Pathfinder. I believe the tension caused by the crisis cards, the roles each character has to fulfill and the difficult decisions they have to make throughout the game infused a great gaming element to it.
This game introduces to players the concept of backstabbing and betrayal. It implements the role of traitors perfectly. When the time comes to fulfill a certain crisis, every player can choose to play skill cards. 2 destiny cards will also be added to the pile of cards so as to ensure a lower chance of suspecting who may be trying to sabotage the missions. This game mechanic, in my opinion, works wonders. Although The Resistance and Panic Station implements them to a certain degree in their games, the Battlestar Galactica's version works best. Why? Because players are so busy trying to survive the crisis that trying to pin-point who the traitors are become less important. That's not to say that not finding out the cylons are not important. Also, when someone is revealed as a cylon, he or she can still do a whole lot of stuff in the game. I sometimes feel that by revealing themselves to the others, these cylon players actually have a better advantage at winning the game. It is at this time that the humans have to work as one in order to survive. And this really reflects the great moments of the TV series.
The game is best approached by players who are looking for a fun thematic experience and do not mind longer than usual gaming hours (our first sessions with six players took around 4 hours). At its core, Battlestar Galactica does not have a deep game mechanic. It can be broken down into (1) draw your character's skill cards, (2) move to a location on the board and do an action of the player's choice, and then (3) draw a crisis card and resolve whatever's written on it (most of which are usually not so good). If you are looking for some form of deep strategy to win the game, then you'll be completely disappointed. What it makes up with is the strong interaction between the players. This is where the game succeeds amazingly.
But our gaming group did not mind the length, and that testifies to the greatness of the game. I admit I was worried a few times during the game since my gaming group did not experience the TV show. However, they all testified that Battlestar Galactica is better than Panic Station and Resistance, both of which are brought out onto the table on a weekly basis. The reason, I believe, is because this game brings the best experience of betrayal and survival. The length of the game just deepens the players' bond with Galactica and their characters. And trying to survive the last jump when the cylons are doing everything they can to destroy humanity's last hope, that climatic experience will probably be etched into the minds of our gaming group for years to come.
Conclusion
If you like games that involve lots of player interaction, you should at least try this game. If you are into thematic games, you have to try this game. And if you like games that involves survival, betrayal, politics and theme, you owe yourself to buy this game. If not, find someone who has it and ask persuade them to let you play the game with them. As for me, Battlestar Galactica is currently my favorite board game.
Overall: A+
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