I really love how each character's special abilities and weaknesses are so tied to the character's actions on the show. It's very clever.

I really love how each character's special abilities and weaknesses are so tied to the character's actions on the show. It's very clever.

BSG does a great job with the thematic elements. Playing Laura Roslin is a very different experience from playing Boomer, for instance.

With the Exodus expansion, there are now 18 characters to choose from - five in each of the main categories, and three support characters. They're not all necessarily created equal - BSG doesn't strive for perfect balance - but I think they've done well in making them all playable, and (with maybe one exception) not overpowered.

My only regret is they haven't yet written up Doc Cottle.

Playing Laura Roslin is a very different experience from playing Boomer, for instance.

Well, yeah, it seems like playing Boomer blows. (Although someone did mention the fact that she would have been perfect for the guy who had to leave halfway through the game. She only gets to play half a game, really!)

Well, yeah, it seems like playing Boomer blows. (Although someone did mention the fact that she would have been perfect for the guy who had to leave halfway through the game. She only gets to play half a game, really!)

Having played Boomer in game 4, I'd dispute that assessment. Playing her actually made for a pretty enjoyable challenge. She's not handicapped either, in fact, far from it. Over 70 games on Boardgamegeek, only Roslin has a better victory record. Boomer performs well either as a human or as a Cylon.

She is less forgiving for newbies, and not such a popular choice (even given her success rate). I wouldn't recommend her for someone's first experience (although omnis played her in the very first Buffistica game, and wound up becoming the hero of the resistance). But for me, I found her greatest weakness to be that she doesn't draw XOs.

In the game we played, President Baltar and Admiral Adama were Cylons from the start. Baltar revealed herself before the Sleeper phase, and I became President Lee. (And she gave all her Loyalty cards to me after the Sleeper phase.) My motherfucking brother was Adama, and he did not reveal until near the end of the game: instead he spent the whole time giving us newbies bad advice since we didn't know better. Dirty bastard.

We had a very interesting skill check early on, though, where one player was able to narrow down the potential Cylons because a couple of us hadn't played any cards AND we had three negative cards AND the color of the negative cards was only drawn by a couple players. We couldn't pinpoint anyone, though, so we didn't pursue her suspicions any further.

In the game we played, President Baltar and Admiral Adama were Cylons from the start.

Yeah, you were royally screwed from the outset there. Having two starting Cylons is bad enough, but if they happen to be Admiral and President too? That's gonna hurt.

Yeah, my brother chose to discard a nuke this one time. It didn't seem like a great idea so early in the game at all, but what did I know, I'd never played before! Dick.

And of course because he chose the Destinations...

The reason he didn't reveal is because he was waiting for an awesome time to do it. His favorite thing to do is be XO'd to Communications and then move the civilian ships TOWARD the Vipers before revealing.

The reason he didn't reveal is because he was waiting for an awesome time to do it. His favorite thing to do is be XO'd to Communications and then move the civilian ships TOWARD the Vipers before revealing.

Comms is one of my favourite locations. It works so well for either side. Let me tell you a thing about the Pegasus expansion. Dee's special ability is "Efficient: When you activate Communications, you may look at every civilian ship on the board and move any of them."

Think for a moment on what a Cylon Dee might be capable of.

Oh yeah, my brother pointed that out too. Heh. That would be the mother of all reveals.

I have seen a Cylon Dee pull just that. On her turn she moved nine civilian ships into the line of fire; then on her Crisis, she made it Reckless, used Fast Learner to pull Treachery, and added cards that would add a tenth civvie and then activate raiders. Nine civvies gone in the first wave, and they dropped from 10 Pop to 2, just like that. The game ended two turns later.

At least it was quick.