Gale Force Nine Firefly: The Game

Since there were so many reviews for the main game, I have put off making a review for it and instead opted to review most of the expansions. I think it's about time that I wrote one, so here goes: This game is amazing. I have played it probably about a dozen or so times with varying amounts of players and tried many of the story lines. I'll try to stick with writing about the core game, although (as I will probably mention more than one more time) the game works best with the expansions, IMO. Let me take you through what is included. The board consists of the core (Alliance) space and the border space (technically also Alliance since the unification war was decided in The Alliance's favor). Movement around the board is fairly straightforward and extremely open. There is no set path you must take and your decisions are your own on even how you want to move. You may mosey and move one spot for free and without any drama or you can try to full burn and move as far as your ship will allow on using up a fuel token but be aware, you will have to draw from the Nav Deck every sector (space) you move. You will receive 2 Nav decks (one for moving through core space and one for border space). Some cards will say keep flying, others might have you encounter a derelict ship to scavenge from or maybe you'll end up gathering the attention of an Alliance Cruiser or worse (Reavers!!). There are 5 main supply planets where you can try to pick up gear, ship upgrades, crew, or even a new drive core for your ship. There are also 5 different contacts who you can meet up with to get paying jobs from. Some are on supply planets (like Persephone where you can also deal with Badger), some are on otherwise empty planets (like stopping off for a chat with Patience on Athens), or you can even board the Alliance Cruiser and deal with Harken for some legal and simpler jobs. Find a crew, Find a job, Keep Flyin... The ultimate objective of the game though depends on which story you choose to play. I believe the core game only comes with the "Standard" Setup. [Let me, again, say how this game truly grows dramatically with the expansions. Most (if not all) expansions come with not only story cards, but also new ways of playing them via the set up cards. One story might seem pretty straight forward but when suddenly you play the Browncoat way, or "The Rim is the Thing", it can really spice things up.] Most stories will take about 2 hours as you learn the game, but be prepared for your first match to take about double that as you learn the nuances of the rules. Looking for a friend, but everyone is working/on vacation/etc.? Well you're in luck, because there is single player mode in which you are racing against the clock. I'd still recommend you play with at least one other person. As you grab more friends in the mix, the game will be longer especially if you are introducing new people to the game. There are 4 ships to choose from in the core game but you can have up to 9 ships via expansions. I couldn't imagine what that would be like, but I have played a 5 person match and it was awesome as we constantly were competing for upgrades and crew while racing for the story goals. I don't want to give too much away here, but I can honestly recommend this game to anyone, even if you haven't seen the show or movie. I would have to say it makes a lot more sense to you if you have, but just all the more reason to catch up on the show too! Also the expansions, although not complete must haves, are very highly recommended IMO. My girlfriend and I love this game so much we actually bought a second copy when we vacationed at a family members condo in Florida. We found it funny how small the board seemed after having played with the other expansions, but it was still a lot of fun without them. We left it there with the thought that maybe we'll add something to it every time we go. Tl;Dr: It's fun and worth the purchase.

Very thematic to the show, although it plays well enough that you don't absolutely need to know the show in order to enjoy it. Has obvious fanservice (ie, Jayne's Hat, the swapping of YoSaffBridge) but also is very in keeping with the larger themes of the show. To wit: get a ship; get a crew; get jobs; keep flying. You need to choose between legal and illegal jobs; moral and immoral jobs; short low risk jobs that don't pay well and long high risk jobs that pay more. You need to choose between running afoul of the Alliance, or running into the Reavers. Either are bad news depending on the choices you've made. You need to choose between which "contact" to piss off, and you'll recognize each of the contacts (with their own discrete characteristics) from the show. You manage that risk through acquiring crew cards representative of characters and their traits from the show. There are a lot lot of fiddly bits. It's manageable, but it takes a fair bit of space to lay out the game tokens and each players tokens. Many of the fiddly bits are high quality--the money is gorgeous printed paper, and most of the tokens are high quality card stock. Setup requires a good amount of time, mostly in the shuffling of the various event card decks. Play time goes slowly at first but is much quicker when the players get the hang of it, and can largely act independently of each other so can start 80% of their planning before the previous players have completed their turns. There is a fair bit of calculated risk, and card counters would do well. However, many of the cards are face up also. I've played two games so far, one including a 10 year old, and the 10 year old got the hang of their basic choices pretty quickly. OTOH, the adult won both games because the play rewards being able to keep many risk factors in mind at once.

I haven't purchased this game yet but I am about to. I was invited over to a friend's place for a dinner party and we played this game. For the three guests it was our first time playing. Excluding dinner, it took us about 5 hours to play one mission card - but it was a fun 5 hours! Since then I've played this game two other times, and each game lasted almost exactly what the expected time printed on the mission card said. PROs: You feel like you're in the series! You can play around with your favorite characters and come up with interesting crew combinations. You get to act out some of your favorite jobs from the series. My favorite, and coincidentally my first big job, was the Hospital Job on Ariel. It was a lot of fun! CONs: All of the little pieces and the big stacks of cards take up a LOT of space! This is not a game for a small coffee table. You will need a nice sized dining table or just play on the floor. There are a lot of cards with characters from the series that are "nobodies," like most of the Mercenaries (Mercs). The makers also changed the canon from the original format of the solar system. In the series, there's one (1) sun, with several planets, and dozens of moons, leading to possible locations in the low hundreds. In this game, there's several suns with several planets, leading to dozens of possible locations. This isn't a deal breaker but I'm not sure it was necessary to create stars which didn't exist in the original canon. Just list all of the planets and only some of the moons and it would have been fine. As it stands, there are no moons in this game. Other: We usually play with some modified rules. We are more lenient in the initial picking phases so everyone is happy with their canon choices. Also, you can't move the Alliance cruiser or the Reever vessel onto the same location as another player (when you draw those cards), unless the player who would be attacked has already completed at least one goal on the mission card. This is to prevent the lead player from constantly sniping the second place player and taking a demanding lead that no one else can challenge and to cut down on the overall playing time. The disadvantage is that the first person to complete a goal then has every other player gunning for them - but hey, aren't they already?! Don't be intimated to play this if you aren't familiar with the series, newbies should be encouraged. The first game I played, a guest who had never played before won the game without breaking a sweat. This game is a must-have for any Firefly or board game fan. NOTE: This review only applies to the original board game without any expansions. I have never played the expansions so some of my comments may be outdated. EDIT: It is possible to bootleg a fifth player without buying an expansion. New revised rules: All Reever cards are treated as "empty space - keep flying!" cards. The cruiser acts normally. Concept: The red Reever ship becomes the fifth Firefly vessel. Scan one of the other Firefly boards and GIMP the color to red and give it a customized name. Print out and laminate. The basic game set includes more than 4 captains and enough other pieces to accommodate the fifth player (with the exception of a basic drive core, but this can easily be edited onto the custom board you print out). You now have a fifth player without needing to buy a fifth gamepiece! You can also do this for a sixth player using the Cruiser but I think people are more likely to fight over who can be the Cruiser because it is visually very big compared to the Reever vessel, which closely resembles a Firefly. Choose whichever option results in less fighting. Enjoy!

This game does an excellent job capturing the raggedy-edge feel of the Firefly. As you play, you are constantly on the brink of breakdown or running out of fuel and are forced to dodge Alliance Patrols and Reavers alike every step of the way. Of course, you could keep your ship well-stocked with fuel and spare parts and stay off the edge, but what fun is that? Besides, your more daring competitors will leave you in the dust despite their setbacks if you aren't willing to take risks, too. The characters of the game include the original crew of Serenity, but it doesn't stop there. A multitude of characters from the show make appearances. Captains include Mal, Nandi, Womack, Burgess, Monty, and Corbin (the guy Jayne betrayed to join Mal's crew in the show). Some other favorites from the show make it as crew, including Yo-Saph-Brig. Pros -The game an pieces are wonderful and very well set up and thought out. -The game, while it seems intimidating at first, is actually very simple to play. -It feels like Firefly. -It is fun to win and even to lose. -There are a number of different play scenarios for you to try, including a solo game. -Filled with lovable little tropes. Cons -It requires a large table to play (A regular card table is not nearly big enough for even a one player game.) -The box says 2 hour gameplay, but for a 4 person game, expect to take at least 3. Not exactly a drawback exactly, but if you have a limited time it can be tough to squeeze it in unless you are really, really disciplined about keeping the turns flowing. - If a player has never experienced Firefly, they will be able to play, but they will be confused at times.

Though an extremely card heavy game (like 13+ decks!), the Firefly board game is an absolute blast! It's thought provoking, creative, and thrilling. It's also competitive, but easy for anyone (and I mean EVERYONE) to get a hang of. Play times are long, but the game doesn't try to hide that. Actually, the challenge card (stating the objectives of that particular game) tell you the estimated play time right on them — usually between an hour and two. Expect your first few games to be a bit longer (our first was 4+ and we didn't even finish!). Reading the entire manual (don't worry, it's not at all dry!) before hand will help speed up the process and you'll learn to how to move the game along faster between turns. And make sure, especially if the first game is played just between a husband and a wife, that both parties read the rules to avoid extreme frustration! (If not both, at least make sure the wife is the one who knows them =P). As the wife in my situation, I can say with confidence that this is a valuable tip for your marriage! The rules are plenty and sometimes a challenge; there are some minor, rare situations that my husband and I still aren't clear about handling. But at that point, we just establish a house rule! Also, as a female, I recognize that a lot of women (not all) aren't into strategic board games. A few of the girls in our group of friends are definitely like that. But this game has proven an exception, especially if someone has watched Firefly and Serenity! Comparing the Firefly game to other intense board games I've played, these are some of the main points: it's more mentally stimulating than Risk but you don't need to have a mind for war tactics to win; it's more exciting that Settlers and you don't depend so much on luck; there's a lot more going on than in Small World, but it's not just about fighting the other players to win — it's more about beating the game; a race to win the challenge first. You can be a passive or an aggressive person, a peace-keeper or combat-oriented, yin or yang — I haven't yet found someone who didn't enjoy this game! I bought it for my husband for Christmas and we played almost every night for nearly a month! Really, this is so much fun. You'll find yourself searching for some of the best (or your favorite) characters from the show just to make the most amazing crew. There is some element of luck, but as I said earlier, MUCH less than most games; really, luck only comes into play for your dice roles and drawing cards. The game is much more about efficiency and knowing how to work your jobs. Before long, you'll be working the 'Verse like you've been doing it for year! A great party game for an evening in--I can't wait to get the expansion! Be sure to buy a plastic dinosaur with the game! And definitely go online and print off some sheets of Firefly's Chinese profanity!

Full Disclosure: I am a fan of the TV show Firefly, so this may be coming from a slightly biased place. I feel that this game captures the spirit of Firefly very well. The board, cards, and miniatures are all beautiful, in my opinion. Each player gets to choose a ship and a captain (In the base game these are all very similar, but can vary more with expansions). There is a mission for each game that you are trying to complete before the other players that can range from collecting a certain amount of money to completing various objectives (usually by misbehaving). As you fly through the galaxy, you'll stop at many of the planets from the show to pick up supplies, missions, and crew members. You'll also be trying to dodge the Reavers and, if you're wanted, the Alliance. Most of the missions require you to go to a planet, pick something up and take it to another planet. Some of the other missions will have you doing things like robbing trains or breaking into an alliance facility, which is all represented by drawing cards from the "Misbehave" deck and passing the checks on the card. This game is very open and you can go an entire game without even paying attention to the objective if you want. It gives a great sense of being a ship captain in that universe. I have heard that some people complain about having to draw cards to move which can sometimes cut your moves and turn short if you have bad luck, but to me, this mechanic fit with the theme, as in the show, sometimes the characters just had a string of bad luck. I have also heard people complain that there wasn't a lot of interaction between players, which is true. You can add in interaction with some of the expansions (like the Pirates and Bounty Hunters one), but I personally didn't mind. One thing I do wish was different is the amount of time it takes to set up and organize everything. In the base game, there are 13 different decks of cards that all have to be shuffled and set up in addition to tokens to represent cargo, fuel, passengers, and other things. Getting all of this out and organized takes awhile. The other thing that I think is a valid complaint is the time it takes to play. I personally don't mind longer games, so this really doesn't bother me that much, but it can take awhile, especially with more players, to have a full round of turns. This can be mitigated somewhat by starting another players turn while the previous player is looking through the deck to buy supplies. A final thing that I will add is that, while the base game is good, I do feel as though it needs a couple of expansions to really get some mileage out of it. I have the Blue Suns expansions, which makes the Reavers more of a threat and the Pirates and Bounty Hunters expansion, which includes two new ships and rules for pirating other players. Which expansions you prefer may change depending on what you are looking for, but if you enjoy the game, I would definitely say to pick some up to make it even better. Overall, I would recommend the game, especially to fans of the show. If you read this review and none of the things I mentioned would bother and frustrate you, then I think you'll enjoy it!

This game is a lovingly crafted, well-designed homage to my favorite show, though I honestly feel you don't need to even know the show to enjoy this game. Game mechanics are very important to me and this one has rules that, while involved, are not overly complicated. After an hour or so of reading and messing around we figured out how to play. We played it three times over the holiday weekend, if that gives you any indication of how much we loved it. Yes, there are a lot of decks and tokens, but everything serves a purpose, and the combination of different jobs you can take, stories and goals you need to fulfill, and random stuff that just happens on the way make this a different game every time. It would be easy enough to make up your own stories and goals after fulfilling the ones provided. Complete five jobs for each contact first comes to mind as an easy one. The map of outer space is very nice, the money is frankly gorgeous, and the mechanics make you feel like you really are a space captain, making difficult decisions while trying to survive. Just a note: this is not for little kids due to some subject matter. I'd say twelve and up would be best. Another caveat is the story cards lie about the time limit. We're still playing the heist one after six hours of play. Had to put it on hold to go to bed (school night!). The card says two hours. The card lied. I don't mind, though. This game is so much fun to play that losing is (almost) as fun as winning.

I got this game knowing it would take a little bit to understand, but now that I'm used to it I love that it's so complicated. The game is really involved, there are ways to take risks to make more money, or you can just 'mosey' about without burning fuel. Like Firefly, the game is 'smart' meaning you have to pay attention to the perks and downsides of a job or a card. It took me and my roommate about 2.5 hours to play our first game, but that included setup and several outbursts of "WHAT IS THIS DECK FOR?" You do have to look at the photos in the instruction manuel to figure out what are nav-decks, cards to buy from, etc, but it wasn't too bad to figure out. Playing is pretty fun, especially when you're with another Firefly fan - our first game included Mal and Nandi as leaders with Inara on Nandi's ship, so the two of us joked around about her being there to make sure Nandi didn't have any contact with Mal, etc. The first time we played, we excluded the more confusing rules just so we got the gist, and it worked fine, and after that we played with all the rules in place since we'd added a bit of new information (the rules we excluded the first time) to info we already knew (the rules we played by the first time.) Sometimes it is a bit confusing - at least for the first game - as to what counts as a 'turn' and what doesn't, but the instruction manual explains it pretty clearly. All in all, I see absolutely no negatives to this game and it's definitely worth getting if you're a Firefly fan - you can tell that it was made by genuine fans of the show, or at least people that paid very close attention!

Great game, is an absolute bargain for the price as well. My brother has the UK version, but the only difference between that and the US one is the box is bigger and it comes with the Artful Dodger ship (it isn't the full Artful Dodger ship expansion pack tho as only has the ship card and token, not all the extra cards you get with the other ship expansion packs). However for the same price as buying the UK version of the game I bought the pirates and Bounty Hunters and the Breaking Atmos expansions as well as the US version of the game, which has tons more cards to add to the game and a couple of extra ship variants in it so is (in my opinion) better value. The only issue is you can only just squeeze all those bits into the box now but for just over £50 gives me a pretty decent size version of the game with plenty of variation. Enjoy and Keep flying!

テレビや映画を題材にしたゲームはうわっつらだけ素材を持ってきているものが多いですが、これはちゃんと「好きなひとたち」が作った感じがします。英語版しかありませんが、Firefly や Serenity 好き (マニア？) には楽しめると思います。

Jeu en ANGLAIS, vendu aux USA uniquement pour le moment, acheté vers 40€. Il est sorti en Septembre, 2013 donc récent, malgré la fin de la série il y a peut-être 10 ans. J'en suis tombé accro... comme dans le temps de la série TV. ==> Pour résumer ce jeu est un juste milieu entre un jeu de plateau et un jeu de cartes (style Magic, LOTR et quelques aspects rappelant Star Trek CCG pour ceux qui connaissaient) où vous avez la gestion de 1 à 6 personnages + vaisseau voyageant de planète en planète afin d'accomplir vos objectifs ("Jobs"). Je détaille cependant plusieurs aspect du jeu ci-dessous. Il est à l'image de la devise du jeu (ou de la série): "Find a crew, find a job, keep flying". Comme il y de nombreux éléments liés à la pioche de cartes dans différents "decks" (tas de cartes), aucune partie n'est identique, sans compter l'objectif final pour gagner lui aussi dépendant d'une carte choisie au début (l'une d'elles étant même spécialisée dans le jeu solo). Il peut plaire aussi bien aux fans (Firefly + film Serenity) qu'aux personnes voulant découvrir un univers sympa et original créé par le papa de Buffy ou Avengers au cinéma (Joss Whedon), un "western spacial", avec une pointe d'humour... et quelques "frissons" à la fois. Dans cette série et si bien retranscrit dans le jeu on trouve pas mal d'éléments, vous serez donc amené à commander un vaisseau de contrebande non armé avec un équipage léger à choisir soigneusement: aventure, action, boulots en tout genre (livraison, transport, contrebande...), même les Reavers / Saccageurs (sorte de "Morts vivants") sont de la partie, à éviter, à bord d'un vaisseau sans système de survie (je l'ai dit: à éviter...), gestion d'équipage, d'équipement, modifications de vaisseau, système de réputation pour les Jobs, mécontentement des équipiers qui peuvent vouloir quitter le vaisseau ... Tout en restant assez facile d'accès (pas de millions de règles à retenir comme d'autres jeux "hardcore" spaciaux: ici mots clés ou icônes, la simplicité reste de mise). Vous jouerez lentement la 1ere partie, la suivante vous aurez assimilé 90% des règles. Au niveau interraction entre les joueurs pour le moment on peut piquer un membre d'équipage (Crew) mécontent, ou s'échanger-vendre à volonté matos, stock, matériel à condition de se rencontrer dans le même secteur... A vous de voir. Vous pouvez aussi bien vous la jouer plus ou moins sympa dans le jeu en accomplissant plus des jobs "légaux", ou au contraire plus "illégaux" (rapportant plus mais plus dangereux...), voir "immoraux", dépendant de l'équipage sympa ou de gredins, pouvant être déjà "recherchés" par l'Alliance (sorte de Police de l'espace), que vous aurez recruté. 3 stats principales (sous forme d'icônes simples): puissance "de feu" (au sol), techno et négociation, qui servent pour les divers tests du jeu - les "mots clés" de personnages ou équipement ayant aussi leur rôle pour se tirer de mauvais pas. Le jeu est même fourni avec 2 jolis dés alors qu'un seul suffit. Pour ces tests vous tirez des cartes "aventure" de 2 types: soit en vous déplaçant dans l'espace (avarie, rencontre, bonus...), soit en accomplissant vos "Jobs", quand vous débarquez sur une planète de début ou fin de mission. Comme la série fait très western, le design voulu presque vieillot ou simple, et "cartes de poker" des cartes s'en retrouve fortement imprégné et c'est à la fois pour le plus grand bonheur de l'immersion dans la série et ce qui crée une réelle originalité de ce jeu par rapport aux autres. Un des buts étant de faire de l'argent à noter que les billets imprimés (au nombre de 150-160 quand même), tout bonnement sublimes, ne sont pas sans rappeler ceux du Monopoly... en bien plus beaux ! A noter que le jeu prend "de la place" (déjà plateau spacial superbe mais de 6 "portions" pour seulement 6 figurines ET il faut un espace pour chaque joueur et les nombreuses piles de cartes autour: vaisseau, 3 series de cartes "aventure", billets... et surtout 10 decks à piocher dont: 5 planètes de ravitaillement, 5 contacts pour chercher des Jobs). Chacune avec une "discard pile" nécessaire: le jeu est très bien pensé, les discard restent UP (visibles) de façon à déjà repérer dedans ce qui peut intéresser même en dehors de votre tour (à votre tour vous sélectionnez 3 cartes, soit déjà visibles dans la discard, soit en complétant autant qu'on veut jusqu'à 3 par la pioche (invisible); et en acheter jusque 2 - si vous avez l'argent !) si vous vous rendez à une de ces planètes. A noter enfin qu'il dispose déjà d'une petite extension (50 cartes de plus), dispo vers 10-12€, et qu'une ou plusieurs vraies extensions sont prévues; qui sans être aucunement indispensables vont ajouter à la diversité du jeu pour ceux qui le souhaitent (il parait même la possibilité d'attaquer un vaisseau-joueur adverse pour piquer sa cargaison, à voir). Une FAQ est disponible sur le site officiel du jeu si une fois la 1ere partie essayée vous vous posez quelques questions mais le manuel est très bien fait et clair.

Sorprendentemente ágil para ser un juego de mesa de este tipo. Tras la primera partida, sabiendo las normas los turnos se hacen bastante rápido y el juego es divertido, siendo competitivo pero no enfrentando directamente a los jugadores.

It was a great game! Love the fact that you don't actually have to play it "cut-throat" and kill the other players, especially because we play it as a family. It does take a long time to play, especially the first time because you have to get the hang of the game. Next time it will probably be quicker...no looking up the rules about things. We all had a great time playing and can't wait to get together and play it again!