Rochester Gamers Community

BSG: TBG is a termed a semi-cooperative game, and it is true to form. The players depict the major characters from the television series and work together to save the human race from being exterminated by the Cylons. The "semi-cooperative" part of the game comes in when 1 or more of the players is secretly a Cylon and is working to sabotage the human effort. It will constantly be compared to SOC (Shadows Over Camelot) for this reason, although I think BSG: TBG does a much better job of employing this "traitor" aspect. The player(s) being the Cylon may not know it until half-way through the game, and the players at the table do not know when, or who is the Cylons. You could be a human, and then halfway through the game your programming kicks in and you realize you are a sleeper agent. This introduces paranoia and misdirection into the game at a much higher level than SOC ever did. The game ends in favor of the humans if they can complete a series of FTL jumps to reach Kobol. The Cylons can win the game if they deplete the humans of 1 of the 4 primary resources (food, fuel, morale, or population), if they can board Galactica and take over the ship, or if they destroy Galactica outright.

The game is very thematic and closely follows familiar things from the new BSG world. It mostly depicts the first season of the show, and is very true to character nuances as they affect the game play. It does a wonderful job of portraying the constant running the humans are doing from the Cylon hoard, and the way the human looking Cylons are tied into the mechanic is very well done. One of the strong points of the game is in how it depicts this theme, and blows SOC out of the water in this regard. As you would expect in a heavily themed game, some gaps in the mechanics arise--more on that later. Additionally each character is heavily themed toward the show. The all have three attributes that provide game adjustments. two are geared toward character strengths, and one portrays a weakness. For example, Starbuck has some bonuses in a Viper, but is also easier to throw into the brig due to her insubordination. Saul Tigh is a drunk, and so has some limitations on his hand of skill cards.

Where this game really shines is in how it handles the Cylon agents (the traitors). Every game will have at least one Cylon in it, and possibly up to three depending on the number of players and the conditions of the game. As a player, you may be a sleeper agent, and not realize you are a Cylon until the game is half done. Like SOC, once a player knows he is a Cylon, he can reveal himself and his gameplay drastically changes. The game handles this mechanically by dealing out every player a loyalty card at the beginning of the game from a draw deck that is seeded with at least 1 "You are a Cylon" card (depends on number of players). Half of these cards come out at the beginning of the game, and half at the midpoint. In such a way, there could be 0-2 active Cylons, but the players do now know. At the midpoint the rest of the cards are dealth out and you know all the active Cylons are present, but you do not know who they are. This is also what triggers your programming if you are a sleeper agent. This is the strength of this game. The Cylons are empowered to provide much deception, and paranoia, and can really change game play a whole lot more than the traitor can in SOC. In addition, a 4 or 6 player game employs a "You are a Sympathizer" card. This helps the Cylons, but it functions differently depending on who is winning at the midpoint (determined by specific game conditions). At best case for the humans, you end up throwing one of your apparent human players into the brig due to suspicion. At worst case, the sympathizer actually is a Cylon and reveals himself as such. Note, this is independent of your loyalty card where you may actually be a Cylon anyway, or may have been a human falsely accused.

Like all cooperative games, the players at the table are competing against a board mechanic, in this case represented by crises cards that are drawn at the end of every turn. The crises cards do a few different things, but a frequently used mechanic is that of a skill check. Some bad thing has happened to the humans, and the humans are collectively trying to overcome the crises. If you pay attention, these all depict plot elements from the first season of the show (maybe part of the 2nd season also). Mechanically, this is done by achieving a skill score that is listed on the crises card. To do this, the players must match the required skills and add up the values of all the skill cards that meet these restrictions. The game has 5 different base skills that you collect cards in, and the crises require anywhere from 2 to 4 of these skills. Where this gets interesting is that any skill cards that are played that do not match the required skill set have their values subtracted from the accumulated total. In such a way, the hidden Cylons can sabotage the skill check and cause bad things to happen.

This sabotage mechanic offers much more secrecy than SOC does, and is one of the strong points for the game. First, all cards are played face down and then shuffled at the end so you do not know who played what card. Second, two random skill cards are added in to represent fate. These may or may not match the skills needed and so could help or hurt you. Additionally, they cast doubt about whether a "bad" card was thrown in by a saboteur, or it was just fate. These are also shuffled in, so it becomes very hard to determine if there actually is a Cylon on the board, and if so, who it is. This mechanic is what makes the game. Cylons can be sneaky and pick the juicy targets to sabotage. They can sow paranoia, and cast doubt on human players. Humans can easily have false suspicions and end up throwing a non-Cylon in the brig. At the same time, the Cylons cannot just go crazy and sabotage everything, otherwise it becomes easier to deduce who they are.

Like SOC, the Cylon player can choose to reveal himself and start wreaking havoc. By doing so he is empowered by a "Super Crises Card" that is nasty when used correctly, and he can execute a set of actions that are reserved only for revealed Cylon players. In addition, the newly revealed Cylon player gets a one-time action that could prove to be devastating for the humans. However, when revealed you give up a lot of power in sabotaging the skill checks, and more importantly you give up the power to sow paranoia and discord among the rest of the human crew. Based on games I have played, if you are going to reveal yourself, it is best to do so somewhere around the midpoint of the game. Otherwise it becomes too late to setup your super crises card. Although, I am not convinced its best to ever reveal yourself unless it very nearly ends the game.

Other things that happen with crises cards other than the skill checks are: control of Cylon ships, hard decisions for the admiral or the president (choosing an outcome from 1 or 2 bad options), global board game effects, and the advancement of the FTL drive preparation for jumping away.

Game play flows by a human player picking up skill cards, optionally moving to another location, performing an action, then resolving a crises card. Actions are can be specific to a location, can be special actions that are detailed on the various cards, or can be used to move or attack with a viper (when piloting one). Some location actions are used to throw players in the brig, others help control the defense of Galactica, and others aid in exercising political power to change game play. Skill card actions are not very diverse, but are themed to the card type (i.e. piloting skill cards have an action to allow more attacks). Each skill only has two different cards, and so there was not a lot of variability in this aspect of game play. In addition, there are special actions for the president, as well as the ability for the admiral to launch a limited supply of nukes.

This game is great for getting people involved that do not want heavy strategy. There is not a lot of tactics involved, and most of the focus is placed on deduction (if you are human), and misdirection (if you are cylon). The game does an excellent job in this regard, and this is where the enjoyment lies. It is well suited for bringing along a fringe gamer and getting them involved, especially for those that are fans of the show. I like the game better than SOC, and it may appeal to a wider audience than your hardcore euro-strategy or wargame crowd. I would rate it about 7 out of 10, and would welcome playing it again.

Like this review? Want to read more?

Check out Siddy's review of this game, too!