Just opening the box, this is an intimidating game, and I had about 10 minutes with the rules before I was supposed to help everyone learn how to play. And it wasn’t even my game!
The first thing you’ll notice is that there are a LOT of pieces. How many other games can you think of that use 12 different decks of cards?? You’re going to want a BIG table to play this on.
Luckily the rulebook does a fairly good job of walking you through the game, and even suggests the best way to play your first game. The scenario suggested, and the one we played, was to steal the crown jewels of old England. To do this, you need cash, so off we went, picking up jobs and stuff, fumbling our way through the first couple of rounds.
There are a number of planets on the board, but only 5 of them sell stuff, and 5 have contacts who give jobs. There’s some overlap, but you’ll be moving around the board a lot. If you stick to Alliance space the jobs are generally less well paying. Boarderland jobs, even if they take you into the Alliance territory pay better, but are much higher risk.
One downside to the game is that there isn’t a whole lot of player interaction. No real team work, and the only way you can really hurt anyone is by sicking the Alliance Cruiser or the Reavers on someone, but that isn’t easy either. Turns can take a long time too, especially if there’s shopping for stuff or jobs going on, especially at the beginning with new players.
I do recommend starting on a planet that both sells stuff and has jobs. If the other players claimed them for their first turn, pick one that offers one or the other. Don’t worry too much about the scenario right away either. Chances are you aren’t going to be able to start it very quickly. Also, be very careful with your crew. If you let them get unhappy, other players can buy them off of you if they’re in the same place on the board. That’s how I lost both Simon and River Tam ( a great combo if you can get it), not to mention my other crew members.
If you’re a fan of Firefly, and of games like Ticket to Ride and Monopoly, and you have a few hours (or an afternoon) to kill, this is a good one to get. It isn’t fast. In the 4 or so hours we played, 2 players succeeded in getting ⅔ goals, one got ⅓ and one was on her way to the first goal. This was a scenario that the card suggested would take 2 hours.
This is what we found too. Trying to absorb the rules takes several games--and none of them have been less than five hours. But it's fun to visit pieces of the 'Verse and hold them in our hot little hands. :)
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