No Power in the ‘verse can stop me!
Today I’m going to be
writing about the events that definitively set me on the path towards my
infatuation with the board game world. With that, I’ll also be talking about my
first heavier game purchase. Firefly: The Game.
I had just finished serving three years on shore duty and
was preparing to rotate back to a sea going command. Prior to checking in to my
new command, I was required to attend a 3-month school in Mississippi on
Electromagnetic Spectrum Management (Being an IT in the Navy doesn’t always
mean fixing network problems and working on computers). So as the date of my travel approached, I
packed up my truck and prepared for the 3 day, 2800 mile drive from Washington
to the southern coast of Mississippi. As I finished loading up the truck, my
wife fished out our copy of Settlers of Catan and asked, “Do you think people
at the class would want to play this with you?” Remembering how much I loved
playing it and how excited it got me about board games, I packed the box into
the backseat of my truck, hoping the opportunity to gather around the table and
bond over an ice cold six-pack and some casual gaming would present itself
during my brief visit to Keesler AFB.
The Monday after arriving, class began, and as the days
progressed, we all came to know one another through various interactions,
meetups and study groups. One day, during one of our many breaks (endless PowerPoint
presentations require frequent pit stops), I casually asked if anyone had ever
played Settlers Of Catan. Many in the class had, but upon further inquiry, I
was met with a myriad of responses that all boiled down to, “We’re not underway
bro” or “Yeahhhh…maybe, I don’t know, probably not.” The conversation shifted,
and I was left feeling a little disappointed, I had looked forward to playing
with a new group and it now seemed my copy of Settlers of Catan would simply
gather dust for the next three months in the backseat of my truck.
Little did I know that the weekend to follow would open my
eyes to a whole new world and firmly place me on the path of My Cardboard
Journey. Waking up Saturday morning, I received a text from one of my
classmates from the Air National Guard, he was headed to a gaming store in
Pascagoula to pick up some new miniatures for one of his Warhammer armies. I
had never really been into Warhammer, but I wasn’t going to turn down an
opportunity to get out and explore the local area a little bit. On the way to
the store, he revealed to me that he had been part of a board gaming group at
his last command and briefly told me about a few of the games he had played
while there, I thought I may yet get to play a game or two with someone.
Arriving at the store, we walked through the front doors, and I was immediately
smitten. I had played MTG in the past and been to smaller stores, but they were
always centered solely on MTG or Warhammer. This store was outfitted with a
full lineup of products to cater to all types of tabletop gamers, and littered
throughout the rows of cafeteria style tables were several groups of gamers
playing board games, MTG, RPGs and miniature war games. I immediately walked to
the rear of the store and began to take in the wide selection of board games
traversing every theme I could possible imagine. I even sent a picture to my
wife, relaying my amazement at the cardboard oasis that had just been revealed
to me.
I looked over several games until
my eyes locked onto a beautifully displayed copy of ‘Firefly: The Game’. Shiny!
The price tag was higher than I had seen for the board games I was used to, but
after a quick review of the box, I called the boss and requested permission to
make a purchase, my wife begrudgingly approved my request and I excitedly
purchased the game that would change my entire outlook on board games. To put
it mildly, I was excited. Not only was the Firefly logo plastered across the
front of the game, it could’ve been a box of nails and I still would’ve bit,
but it actually looked like a game that would be enjoyable regardless. There were
so many components and the sprawling layout on the back of the box did a good
job of making me feel like the game was full of depth and theme. Before leaving, I took some time to look over
the many other offerings on the shelf and spoke to the manager at the desk
about the different gaming events they would be hosting in the coming weeks. I was certain that I would return, the fire
had been stoked and I wanted to know more, but that night, I was heading back
to my small hotel room to misbehave while traveling the ‘verse in my very own
Firefly Class ship.
So How did it go? I’m glad you asked! Let’s get to it.
As I opened the box the first thing I noticed was the rulebook. It was longer than I
expected, but I hadn’t played many board games and I would soon find out that
the length was pretty commonplace in hobby board games. Despite my initial
shock due to my lack of exposure, I
found the rules easy to understand and, with only some sporadic referencing
during gameplay, I was able to read through them once and enjoy the game while
simultaneously teaching someone else.
Prior to setting the game up, I examined each of the components as they were laid out on the
table. The board is pretty, the
colors are engaging and the spaces are nowhere near cluttered. There are some miniatures representing your ship, as
well as the Alliance Cruiser, and Reaver Cutter. The cardboard
tokens representing fuel and cargo are pretty standard fare, but I do
really like that the cargo/contraband and passenger/fugitive tokens are simply
printed on double sided tokens. It’s a minor detail, but it stands out because
it eliminates a lot of clutter and frees up valuable space on the table. But
what really makes this game come alive and establishes the theme for me are the
cards. There are a lot of cards, but
they are easily differentiated, serving specific roles and never seeming
overwhelming. The cards are filled with characters and scenery from the Firefly
show and universe and they really dragged me into the game and gave me a really
strong sense of immersion. Overall, the components were appropriate
and felt neither overproduced nor underdeveloped, for me it was a perfect
balance to put me in the game.
During setup, a
scenario was chosen, and each player received their starting package of a ship,
captain, and some credits before choosing a spot to place their Firefly on the
board and start their adventure. There are
a few decisions to be made during setup and the components take a bit of time
to get laid out all nicely, you should be prepared to spend a good chunk of
time on this game when you pull it off the shelf.
The game is played with
turns rotating around table, each player taking 2 actions during their turn. On
their turn the player can choose from the following actions:
Move: A player can choose to conserve fuel and
safely mosey through space or travel much further but at the cost of fuel and
potential encountering events of varying consequence.
Buy: If located
on a supply planet, a player may use the corresponding supply deck to purchase
equipment, upgrade their ship, or hire new crewmembers.
Deal: This is how
players get new contracts. If a player is docked on a contacts home world, they
can deal with that contact (via their contact deck) and choose a new job to
work.
Work: The
contracts you earn are mostly of a pick-up and deliver nature and this action
allows the player to complete the tasks listed on their job cards. As long as a
player meets the prerequisites listed to work their job, they can choose and
equip members of their crew to work a job.
Shore Leave:
Sometimes your crew will get disgruntled (For example, having moral crew
members working an immoral job). Instead of working, you can give your crew a
day of shore leave in order to restore faith in their captain and remove their
disgruntled tokens.
Players continue taking turns and working towards the goal
satisfaction until one player has completed the scenario goals and is crowned
the victor. There are three main attributes that you will acquire throughout
the game, Tech, Fight, and Negotiation. Different crew members and equipment will contribute to your overall level in these
skills, as well as providing keywords that fill prerequisites for various
tasks. These skills are used to pass
different skill check encounters in the Misbehave Deck, some job requirements,
and certain goal completions. There are
a lot of neat mechanics that contribute to the theme and gameplay. I view this
game not as a retelling of the Firefly show, but rather, it places you in the
Firefly universe and your own unique story is created as you start alone in the
big black with nothing but a few credits and an empty Firefly.
Final Thoughts:
Let me start by disclosing that I am huge fan of Firefly, it is definitely one
of my favorite shows and had it continued, it would’ve probably left everything
else far behind in the dust on my favorites list. Because of this, I went in
with high expectations, and I wasn’t disappointed. Even if the universe was
different, I would still rate this as a very good pick-up and deliver game with
some nice additions to the core mechanics. But the theme is Firefly, and for
fans of Firefly you will delight at all the Firefly moments packed into this
box.
However, the game is not without its flaws. For one, the base game is severely lacking in player
interaction. For the most part, you’re all just doing jobs throughout the
galaxy and only checking the news feed occasionally to see how your competitors
are doing. This could be a good thing for some players, I personally didn’t
mind, and it does get fixed with the Pirates and Bounty Hunters Expansion.
Another thing that felt kind of clunky to me was the movement mechanic. When
you aren’t moseying, you have to draw a navigation card after each movement to
see if an event happens, there were several times that I revealed a card, went
to keep moving and had to ask, “Wait, how many spaces have I moved, I lost
track.” But for me, the flaws are pale in comparison to the strengths and I
love this game. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who fancies the idea
of taking command of a ship, completing jobs, and causing trouble all while
making a name for themselves as the best Firefly captain in the ‘verse.
Later in the week after I reading about some board games
that could be played solo, I returned to the game store in Pascagoula, and it was then that I first discovered the
horror that never dies... In my next post, I will be talking about my first
exposure to both a favorite game of mine, Arkham Horror, as well as my experiences
with solo gaming and how I feel about it. Until next time, Ph'nglui mglw'nafh
Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!
