BSG

Really, thinking about it, Helo is kind of over-powered. His once-per-turn ability is incredibly useful (I think I got to use it more often than I didn't) and his once-per-game can literally be a game-changer, even though I never had occaision to use it this time. But it was comforting to know, once I suspected Zarek was a Cylon, I could potentially undo one of his Presidental decisions.

---

BSG

Some thoughts from my end. First, congratulations to the humans. See, it is possible for Team Human to win a game. Commiserations to the Cylons. Helo mentioned that the humans got some good luck this game. You don't know the half of it. For instance, you had 12 skill checks over the whole game (and yes, you passed every one). Four times, Destiny added two positive cards (most notably on that last check, where you got more than halfway to passing before anyone added a card). It added two negative cards only once. Every single time it was split (one positive, one negative), it either just cancelled itself out or gave you a boost. On average, it was good for 2 points per check. Destiny really, really hated the Cylons.

Actually, it was even worse than that. Zarek was a Cylon from the very start. Not that anyone would know, since for a third of the skill checks, every single one of his cards counted positive anyway. Most of the time, when he could spike a check, he could only throw in a single card, and with Destiny so friendly to the humans, it never made a difference. No wonder you couldn't detect any sabotage. (Just to rub salt in, Zarek had about three turns, in a row I think, where he didn't draw anything higher than a 2. One round he drew all 1s.)

The first jump cycle was certainly the most exciting. You drew three attack cards to go with the initial attack, and at one point had all twelve civvies on the board. But it looked a lot worse than it was. You had three pilots on board, which meant a lot of red cards to help defend the civvies. I had great fun putting everything on the board like that, but it wasn't really going anywhere. I never felt like it was going to become more than you could handle. (And still you kept destroying my basestars. Bah.)

I don't really have any suggestions for the humans. You played well, with some good team action. For the Cylons, this was a tough game. The cards never gave you a break. When that happens, you have to make your own breaks. Reminder: the object of the game is not to remain undetected. (Nor is it to get out of the Brig.) It's to destroy all humans. Remaining undetected is great as long as you can use it to stuff them around - spike checks, sow suspicion, stop them working as a team. In this game, the cards never really let you do that. Remaining hidden loses its value then.

Have a look at the first two games. In game 1, Apollo was a madman. He spiked everything, spun everything and got the President and the Admiral at each other's throats. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it. In that game, staying hidden was valuable, because he was doing lots of damage. Even if he got found out, it was worth it. In the second game, both Cylons wound up outing themselves for effectively no value - they got caught spiking Detector Sabotage. But they won the game, not because they tricked the other players, but because after the Chief revealed, he got to choose nasty crises to throw at the humans from Caprica. Revealed Cylons are still pretty powerful.

A comment on one specific card. Legendary Discovery, under the right circumstances, is a game-changer. Shortening the game by an entire jump cycle is huge. Stopping it is therefore equally huge for the Cylons. The fact that a failure would hurt the fleet's lowest resource and kill a raptor (already scarce) was just gravy. For the Cylons, if that card turns up (and there's a decent chance it'll shorten the game), you can pretty much pay any price to make it fail and it'll still be worth it. (In keeping with the general tenor of the game, the Cylons were unlucky that it ever saw the light of day. Boomer could've scouted it away, but her scouting die roll failed - a mere 25% chance.)

In the end, though, in this game it probably wouldn't have changed the final outcome, just made it closer. The humans were never seriously threatened. (I imagine it felt like it at times, especially when all the civvies were on the board.) This was a game where team Toaster just couldn't catch a break - hellishly frustrating for both of you.

I'll add some comments about characters in a little while.

---

---

BSG

HUMANS WIN!!

Hot damn! And there I was updating my spread sheet, trying to remember what cards I tossed.

Great game everyone. Thanks bt for GM'ing again. Fab job. You are awesome at it.

Deathquaker, thanks for stepping up and filling in. Hope you'll stay with us on the board. Great shooting story.

For the record, my spidey senses were spot on. I suspected Liz first, and Deathquaker 2nd. I wasn't sure if Sean was or not due to posting problems. But I didn't suspect Deathquaker until wanting to spring Laga, which turns out to be for, ironically, humanitarian reasons.

It was crazy how long revealing took. For a bit, I thought bt was messing with us, and made us all human.

---

BSG

Concerning characters. BSG isn't a game that strives for finely honed balance. Nonetheless, from what I've seen, I think all the characters are playable - none of them are too overpowered or underpowered. On the other hand, I think there are some very big differences in how easy it is to play them well, and Boomer is at the bottom of that list. Her weakness is one of the worst in the game. (Roslin is a contender for that title too.) Like Baltar, you're about even odds to become a Cylon. Unlike Baltar, you probably won't know for sure until the Sleeper phase, so for the first half of the game, you won't know how to act. (Note: probably getting a toaster card isn't really a drawback, being a Cylon can be fun. The fact that everyone else knows it, that's the drawback.) You're guaranteed to wind up in the Brig; there's absolutely no guarantee you'll get out again. You can't point to how human you've acted all game, because they know it's most likely you only just turned. If the other players don't know (or think they know) who the Cylons are, they're not likely to help you get out. Meanwhile, you're the only player that doesn't draw Green, so while you're in the Brig, you can't XO anyone else.

So why would anyone choose her? Well, she has some of the best strengths in the game too. The Recon ability can be great for either side. In game one, omnis-as-Boomer buried four attack cards. In this game, Boomer buried jump icons, and came very close to burying Legendary Discovery. It's probably one of the two best regular abilities in the game. (Again, and not coincidentally, Roslin is the other contender.) Her OPG is one of the stronger ones too. Like Chief, Starbuck and Helo, she can pretty much decide the outcome of a given crucial Crisis Card. Compare to (say) Tigh or Zarek, whose OPG abilities are very context-specific. Her skill set can be fun to play too, as it's out of the ordinary. She can't XO, but she can scout, pilot a viper and repair stuff. And if she's a Cylon, they're great colours for spiking checks.

Suggestions for playing her:

1. If you choose Boomer, you're accepting that you're about even money to be a Toaster. If you don't want to play a Cylon, don't pick her. For this reason too, it's probably best not to play too human before the Sleeper Phase. There's a very good chance you'll find you've been working against your own interests. So... hold something back. Hoard cards a bit. Save your OPG.

2. You will wind up in the Brig and under suspicion at the mid-game. You may be there a while. If you're human, this can be a drag, but you're not powerless there. You can still scout, and your Recon still works. You can do your team a lot of good even behind bars. You probably won't be there too long anyway. Sooner or later, the Cylons will make mischief; or, you'll use your OPG on an important check and prove yourself.

3. If you're a Cylon Boomer, don't get hung up on escaping. You may well not be able to (not easily, anyway). Fortunately, as brigged Cylons go, you're probably the most dangerous one. Your scouting and Recon allows you to mess with the Crisis deck and there's not much they can do about it. Your OPG is a good one and works fine from there. But ultimately, it's very possible you'll find your best option is revealing fairly soon and causing trouble from the other side.

In summary, then, she can be very frustrating and is a hard character to play well. She has one of the worst weaknesses, and conversely some of the strongest benefits. Her card draw is unusual, which can be rewarding but creates challenges. She can be played profitably, but the experience is likely to be different from choosing any other character.

---

Amych, your Dragon Age post cracked me up.

The last few days, I've been playing a bit of Batman: Arkham Asylum.

Hum. There's a lot to like about the game. First and foremost, getting to be mothereffing Batman. I love that they used Kevin Conroy, Mark Hammill, and Arleen Sorkin as the main voices. Predator mode is AWESOME. It's a lot of fun hunting criminals, and Inverted Takedown is just too much fun (though the game makes sure you only have very limited circumstances under which you can use it). Combat is okay - great when you're on, but frustrating when you're off rhythm.

The visuals are absolutely astounding, and there's some great vistas within the game. I particularly like the nightmare visions of the various Scarecrow sections.

However. The game suffers from a LOT of Do It Again, Stupid, which I hate. And really, most games are trying to veer away from that model. Assassin's Creed II had a small amount of DIAS, but it was bearable because of how little it was used in such a vast game. Arkham Asylum, however? Every major challenge is a Do It Again, Stupid. You hit the checkpoint that starts the challenge. There is one correct solution to the challenge (more or less), and you get it right, or go back to the checkpoint and do it again, until you get it right.

Do It Again, Stupid.

The DIAS problem is compounded by the fact that, for what is supposed to be a sandbox game, I'm being led by the nose through the whole thing. Funneled by plot points and locked doors. B:AA is easily the most linear game I think I've ever played. Which is not sitting well in my sanbox game.

So.... A real mixed bag, for me. The awesome stuff is AWESOME, but the bad stuff is really dragging me down. I don't really know what's in store for AA2, but they better make some major improvements in those two areas for me to want to play that one. Ultimately, what I'd like is this Batman engine (with maybe a few tweaks here and there), in a full free roam of Gotham.

If Assassin's Creed 2 can pull it off, the Batman people should be able to, too.

---

For the record, my spidey senses were spot on.

Almost spot on. The timing was a bit out. You suspected Boomer from about the first jump on, but Boomer only became a Cylon at the Sleeper phase.

Great game everyone. Thanks bt for GM'ing again. Fab job. You are awesome at it.

Aww, thanks.

Deathquaker, thanks for stepping up and filling in. Hope you'll stay with us on the board. Great shooting story.

Yes, thanks very much for stepping in halfway through. Sorry the odds were so heavily stacked against you. It would be great to see you in another game from the start.

---

BSG

Some other character notes, just for fun. These are just my thoughts.

Roslin. Has perhaps the most powerful regular ability. (By the way, note that revealed Cylons get pretty much the same ability by activating Caprica. Revealed Cylons can be pretty dangerous.) Also has one of the worst drawbacks. Some subtle aspects: she always starts as President, but she actually makes a poor one. Her weakness means she can't use the President's Office as much as she ought. In addition, her regular ability is strong, but it leaves her very open to suspicion. If you get two poor choices (esp. two very poor choices, like Cylon attacks) - which will probably happen sooner or later - you may have a hard time convincing people "the other one was worse".

Baltar. Magnificent bastard. His regular ability is quite flexible. Oddity: it means that he draws an extra card in Sickbay, but loses a card in the Brig. Playing Baltar is a different experience. It's all about loyalty - he has a nifty OPG for checking suspicious players, but his own loyalty issues mean people may not believe you. (And may well be right not to.) I think he's harder to play well than most, but the role-playing alone is a blast. (My best BSG experience was playing Baltar in a forum game.)

Zarek. A fairly straightforward character. Strong in Politics - good in the Press Room, makes a strong President. If he's a Cylon president, though, his ability to manipulate Administration and Brig checks make him hard to deal with.

Adama. The only character in the game whose regular ability is one-sided. It's good for the humans, but not for the Cylons. His abilities are probably weaker than most other characters - his OPG can be useful, but is rarely a game-changer like Helo's or Boomer's. Makes up for it by being guaranteed to start as Admiral.

Tigh. Popular character. Great anti-Cylon abilities. With his OPG, he makes a dangerous Admiral. He's never really appealed to me for some reason, though.

Helo. A solid all-rounder. Decent abilities, not the best in the game, but widely useful. His weakness gets worse as you go down the turn order (and with more players) - I wouldn't pick him if I were playing last, especially with six players. However, once it's done it's done. Anecdote: I once saw a Cylon Helo screw the players over from Caprica (they were under heavy attack and drew Sleep Deprivation; Helo used his OPG to change the Admiral's decision and bench all the vipers). Then, thanks to being Stranded, no one could brig him before his next turn, when he arrived and immediately revealed for more mayhem.

Apollo. Probably the best pilot in the game. Has a flexible card draw, which is a bugger for GMs but useful for the player. His abilities are very combat-specific - if the fleet doesn't come under attack so often, they're not that useful. Surprisingly high up in line for both the Admiralty and the Presidency.

Starbuck. Potentially very strong in space, but her skill set is maybe a little weak. Good OPG, but Roslin's or Boomer's regular abilities pretty much trump it in power. A Cylon Starbuck is easier to brig than most.

Boomer. Already covered in excruciating detail.

Chief. Great at what he does, and he would've been very useful this game; but if there's not much needing fixing, he can feel a little superfluous. His skill set is pretty good, as is his OPG. Seems less noticeable than other characters - can fly under the radar a bit. His OPG can be nasty - spike a skill check and still have everyone waste their cards on it.

---

BSG At the risk of repeating myself---What screwed me over, suspicions-wise, was that Investigative Committee that came in shortly after I joined the game. It was a check which Yellow cards counted against. I had really and truly nothing in my hand but Yellow cards at the time. Even before IC was played, I was at the time thinking I should lay low and play nothing (or only spike the deck with one card). With the IC, it was play the Yellow cards and definitely be suspected, or play nothing and only possibly be suspected (which is why I was so frustrated that I did indeed earn the suspicion--by doing the lay-low/helpful thing).

Hindsight being 20/20, I should have played every card in my hand and then revealed on my next turn. The lesson I learned: if you're a Cylon and you're at risk of being suspected, you may as well reveal sooner rather than later. I could have done a lot more once in the Cylon locations.

I was hesitant to because I had some cool abilities (not powerful, but neat and useful) and I wanted to play with the Quorum. I think what's hard for Cylon players to realize that every thing you lose in your human abilities you gain a lot of good abilities as a Cylon.

On Characters Zarek seems to be a good all-around character. In the series, he's actually my least favorite character, go figure. But he's good for being human or Cylon and as Billytea says, makes a strong President... if played competently *whistles*.

The other two characters I've played in face to face games are Roslin and Starbuck, both of whom I've enjoyed and would play again.

Roslin: Her weakness can be a big drawback but you can work with it if you think ahead. She gets Yellow cards, so one trick is early on is to build up your deck by playing Consolidate Power--lose one card for two. The other thing is to go ahead and spend a few cards early game to activate the President's Office a few times (as if she's in the game, she's at least starting as president). Once Roslin gets a good Quorum hand going she can play those as her actions with no need to spend cards out of her hand for awhile, and Quorum abilities tend to be powerful. Even if she spends one card her first turn, she'll end up with three Quorum cards and can use those for her next several cards before needing to activate a location again.

The real trouble with Roslin is that she's crap for taking to Galactica and helping over there, because it essentially costs her two cards instead of one---she's better off playing an XO to get someone on Galactica to do what she wants for her (which is actually pretty in character). On the other hand, if Roslin is a Cylon, running around and activating locations is a good way for her to spend down her hand while appearing to be helpful--and then she'll legitimately have no or few cards to put into crises. But that's still probably the weakest thing you can do with her either way.

Her Religious Visions do have the side effect that if she really does have to choose between a rock and a hard place, yes, she can unfairly build up suspicion quickly. But I think that's a fair tradeoff as, if she is the Cylon, she can really screw the fleet over and quickly. If you're the human, just do your best that on the next crisis, draw the nicest one and use the Quorum to restore resources (many of the Quorum cards do that). The best thing otherwise is to play Roslin--be diplomatic as possible and deflect suspicion from yourself. If Roslin is the Cylon and people are suspecting her, then she should reveal. If her abilities have become drawbacks there's no reason to hold onto them.

Starbuck: Starbuck is tremendous fun to play in piloting with her extra actions (and she's hella fun to roleplay), and she has a fairly flexible hand. She can help in a lot of situations. She can be easily brigged, but if she happens to be the only pilot in the game, then the other players have to be really careful before they decide to brig her because they could shoot themselves in the foot without having Starbuck to defend (continued...)

---

( continues...) them.

A very bad thing is if you have Starbuck and Tigh in the same game and they're not getting along (although I can't imagine that ever happening), because his strength works against her weakness.

---