Oh, look at the pretties!

Kaylee ,'Shindig'


Gaming 1: You are likely to be eaten by a grue

A thread for the discussion of games: board, LARP, MMORPG, video, tabletop RPG, game theory etc. etc. and all attendant news, developments and ancillary subjects thereof, as well as coordinating/scheduling games either online or IRL. All are welcome to chime in, talk about their favorite games or learn about gaming of any sort.

PLEASE TO WHITEFONT SPOILERS for video games, RPG modules or anything for which foreknowledge of events might lessen one's enjoyment of whatever gaming experience.


billytea - Sep 01, 2009 6:55:37 pm PDT #3693 of 26134
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

BSG

Congratulations, Team Chrome, for a well-deserved victory; commiserations to the talky meat for your demise so close to your final destination. I had a blast running this, I hope you all enjoyed it too.

This was a hard-fought game, going right down to the wire. Given that the humans spent so much of the game in the Brig, it's a testament to your tenacity that you took it as close as you did.

I can now reveal some of the behind-the-scenes information. Apollo was a Cylon from the start, acting against your interests from the very outset. Roslin, however, only got in touch with her inner toast function at the Sleeper Phase. Yes, way back in round 3.3, when the accusations had started to fly, she honestly did find herself having to choose between two Cylon attack cards.

MVP on the Cylon team goes to Random McNasty. Let’s recap his achievements.

  • Prior to the Sleeper Phase, he managed to waste every single one of his turns. My favourite is Round 1.5, where you were under attack by a basestar, Adama was sitting in Weapons Control ready to take it out, and Apollo XO’d Boomer to buzz it with a piddling little Viper (Adama had a 75% chance of hitting at least once; Boomer had to spend a valuable card just to get up to a 42% chance.) However, an honourable mention goes to his taking his Alert Viper Pilot butt over to Colonial One, where his special ability becomes unusable. Oh, and he spent 2 cards to get there and back, so he could draw… 2 cards.

  • He spiked a skill check with a frakkin’ monster RED 5, and then convinced everyone that the culprit must be whoever threw in the piddling single solitary Yellow 1.

  • He spiked the first attempt to brig Baltar, and convinced everyone that Roslin had done it, despite the fact that Roslin had initiated the check. (Though if Roslin had been a Cylon at that time, and pulled what Apollo suggested, it would’ve been a brilliant move.)

  • Finally, of course, he spiked the check that landed Adama in the Brig and left him as the only remaining player with the run of the ship. I think we can agree this was the moment the human fleet was irrevocably boned.

This is not to belittle Roslin’s achievement of getting the Fleet to trust her again (after even the Cylon thought she was a Cylon), escaping the Brig and throwing down a Cylon attack in the very same turn – then rebrigging the only free human the turn after. Kudos, Roslinbot.

The human MVP is Pradmiral Sharon “Van Halen is my co-pilot” Valerii. For over half the game, she was the only free-range human player, the only one able to mount any sort of defence against the frequent Cylon assaults. She also managed to destroy a basestar by flying her raptor into it, and we can now reveal that her Recon missions buried no less than four Cylon attacks.

Sadly, we can also reveal that she decided not to bury the Cylon Accusation crisis that led to Adama’s brigging. In addition, her Cylon-dar proved distinctly unreliable: trusting her skinjob CAG up until he was the only player unbrigged; standing by while the Adamas locked up the all-too-human Baltar; keeping Adama in the Brig when he tried to escape; helping to brig Roslin when she was human; and letting her out again when she wasn’t. Still, the rest of Team Human didn’t fare much better. Without Boomer's efforts, the Fleet would have been destroyed long ago.

So it's toast tonight and every night at the Kobol Klub de Karnage. Don't forget to tip your Centurion (it's just like tipping cows, if cows had guns in their hooves and a single bouncing red eye), and I might just see you back here for Season 2. Meanwhile, if anyone else would like to contribute their take on the game, please be my guest; and if you have any questions about what happened in the game (specific or general), we'll see what we can do.


omnis_audis - Sep 01, 2009 8:12:05 pm PDT #3694 of 26134
omnis, pursue. That's an order from a shy woman who can use M-16. - Shir

her Cylon-dar proved distinctly unreliable: trusting her skinjob CAG
ya, dual trusting. 1) in character, since I was a pilot, and he was the CAG. 2) I was a newbie, he was experienced. I was doe-eyed trusting sucker. I tip my cap, sir. Genius!

if you have any questions
anyone wanna play again?


billytea - Sep 01, 2009 8:16:25 pm PDT #3695 of 26134
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

ya, dual trusting. 1) in character, since I was a pilot, and he was the CAG. 2) I was a newbie, he was experienced. I was doe-eyed trusting sucker. I tip my cap, sir. Genius!

True this; with the majority of players being new to the game, I think Apollo was able to get away with a lot more than he would've in more experienced company. In particular, there was some early confusion about the role of the Destiny Deck (which muddied the question of who was spiking what), and unfamiliarity with what different characters drew and what special abilities they possessed.


Pete, Husband of Jilli - Sep 01, 2009 8:49:54 pm PDT #3696 of 26134
"I've got a gun! I've got a mother-flippin' gun!" - Moss, The IT Crowd

What's the maximum number of players?


billytea - Sep 01, 2009 10:35:47 pm PDT #3697 of 26134
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

What's the maximum number of players?

Six players all up, though on BGG they've run some experimental games with ten. You interested?


omnis_audis - Sep 01, 2009 11:02:39 pm PDT #3698 of 26134
omnis, pursue. That's an order from a shy woman who can use M-16. - Shir

Pete wants to be a cylon!!!!


billytea - Sep 02, 2009 2:27:37 am PDT #3699 of 26134
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

And you can be his Cy-girl.


StuntHusband - Sep 02, 2009 4:35:11 am PDT #3700 of 26134
Electromagnetic candy! - Stark

And you can be his Cy-girl.

Oh, you're so dead.

I would LOVE to be in another game.


Volans - Sep 02, 2009 5:07:06 am PDT #3701 of 26134
move out and draw fire

Finally, of course, he spiked the check that landed Adama in the Brig and left him as the only remaining player with the run of the ship.

I am embarrassed to admit that this was finally when I figured it out. I was totally convinced up to that point that it was Roslin and maybe Baltar what were the cylons.

Random bought my trust in large part by looking at my card and telling the truth. Which, in retrospect, was brilliant, because it meant he could hide behind my, uh, skirts...and then when he was revealed as a cylon it cast doubt on me.

I found it a LOT harder to play online than in person, FWIW. I guess I'm just way too visual; I had problems with everything from remembering which cards were what to counting cards in checks and drawn to remembering what actions people had taken. I also found it a lot harder to table-talk; my gift of gab appears to be verbal, not typed.

In conclusion, very much fun, I'm still stunned we got w/in one jump of winning, but if you guys want to do it again, I will relinquish my seat at the table.


billytea - Sep 02, 2009 5:17:08 am PDT #3702 of 26134
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.

Random bought my trust in large part by looking at my card and telling the truth. Which, in retrospect, was brilliant, because it meant he could hide behind my, uh, skirts...and then when he was revealed as a cylon it cast doubt on me.

He'd been psyching himself up to out you, but at the last moment decided the credibility war would be too risky. In hindsight, he got a much better payoff the way it played out. In fact, I had a running dialogue with him as (to me, who after all knew his loyalty card) his acts of sabotage became more and more outrageous. Mostly to the effect that surely this time someone would notice. But even Roslin, who was I think the only person not convinced Roslin was a Cylon, suspected you instead of him.

In conclusion, your husband is a lying liar who lies. It was a thing of beauty and a joy to behold.