Every once in a while a game comes along that you simply can't pigeon hole and Android is one such game. I've heard the game described as a simulation, ameritrash and a euro on steroids. Truth is all three names apply to this rather unique game. The game uses mechanics that one often associates with euros, has the look and feel of ameritrash and yet has the long term strategy and depth of a historical simulation. While I think you can use any of these terms with merit I think simulation best describes the game. The game is literally a game of Sim Detective.



So what do I get in the box? Is their lots of eye candy?

Let's talk stuff. This is a Fantasy Flight game and if you are like me one of the things you love about Fantasy Flight is the eye candy. Fantasy Flight delivers some of the best eye candy in our hobby and once again they come through in android. You'll find in Android tons of different chits, stand ups for the characters and even what look like jigsaw puzzle pieces.

If you've played Arkham Horror then you basically should know what to expect. For myself I came prepared when I opened my copy of Android with a new Plano storage box for the game. You'd need it. The total number of chits in Android is close to what you'll find in Descent and Arkham Horror so you'll want a way to keep them all sorted. The last thing you'll want to do is sort all of these chits every time you want to play. For myself I picked up one of the regular Plano storage boxes from my local Wal-Mart. You'll find them in the fishing department with the tackle boxes if you've never gotten them before. Alternatively you can go to one of these new fishing superstores like Bass Pro Shops where you'll find even a wider selection of sizes. Either way you go you'll want something besides ziplocks to sort and store all the chits you'll find in this game.



So is this game a murder mystery?

I wouldn't describe this game as a murder mystery but more of a game of sim detective. The basic premise of the game is you're a detective trying to solve a murder mystery in the future. Some people liken the game to the film Blade Runner while others call it cyberpunk. Personally I'm neither a fan of the film or the genre but I do like the thematic feel the game provides. This futuristic theme is well used by the designer, especially in terms of the detectives who vary greatly as characters imersed in this world.

The game takes place over a period of two weeks where your detective tries to solve the murder and connect it to an overall conspiracy. As this detective you travel around the city of New Angeles and to the Moon following leads and putting together the pieces connecting the conspiracy.

Unlike other games however you don't just solve the murder but also deal with the character's personal life. Each of the 5 different detectives you play is very unique with their own story lines that you can't ignore or you risk your detectives personal life to come unraveled. The result is that while you work to solve the murder you also work to try and achieve happy endings for your detective's personal life.



So the characters have plot lines separate from the murder?

They do and this is perhaps the most unique thing about this game. While we are use to playing different characters in games like Arkham Horror and Battlestar Galactica there is no game that I have ever seen where the characters are this unique and play so differently. It's that uniqeness and depth that really sets Android apart.

Each character has three distinct plot lines to resolve during the game (one has two). Only two of the three get played during a game. An example of this is the character Louis Blaine. He's a cop who is on the take to a smuggling ring and who's marriage is on the rocks. He has three plots of which you will have to deal with two during a game. One plot for him involves him dealing with an old murder case that has haunted him for years. Another has him trying to reconcile with his wife Sara. In the third his partner was killed by the smuggling ring he's been getting kickbacks from.

Another detective is Floyd who is an android. His plot lines involve his having to live in a world where he is ruled by his 3 laws of robotics. He is befriended by a Priest who is then kidnapped by a group called Humans First. You as Floyd must decide how to deal with the conflict of your laws in saving the man. What will you do when it comes down to a choice between saving your friend's life and breaking your robotic laws and suffering the consequences?

At the end of the game you earn victory points depending on how well your plot line comes out. You may actually be the one to uncover the murderer in the game but if your personal life is now a shambles you might not be the winner. It's balancing your personal story line versus your attempt to uncover the murder that is the key to the game.



What's the game's main mechanics?

Unlike many games where they are built around one main game mechanic, Android uses a variety of them.

Each turn a player has a number of time to spend and every action takes a certain amount of time. For example moving from one location to another takes 1 time. Following a lead up also takes 1 time. Most players will have 6 time to spend each turn although there are things can can add and subtract time you get for a turn. For example one character named Caprice is a clone with sanity issues. If she keeps her sanity up she gets extra time each turn. if her sanity goes down however she can have less than 6 time per turn.

For most of the game players will move around the board following leads in the murder case. Movement in the game is unique (there's that word again). The game uses a sort of point to point map where you travel by flying car to a variety of locations. However rather than having movement points like in most games you use car rulers. These rulers represent how fast your car can go and each detective can move only a certain distance depending on which detective you get. As a player you take your ruler and place one end on your current location and then see if your car can reach the location you want to go. If it can't you will need to go to another location in between.



So following leads is pretty much the meat of a player's turn?

Most of the time following up leads will be a player's main focus. Following leads can benefit players in a variety of ways. In some cases it may help you with your personal plot line. For the most part however you will either gain evidence against one of the murder suspects or you may uncover a piece of the conspiracy. You will most of the time have a choice and what you choose will be determined largely by your own personal long term strategy.



How do you use evidence to find the killer?

At the beginning of the game players are dealt two cards. One represents a suspect you believe is guilty while the other is for a suspect you believe to be innocent. At the end of the game you receive victory points if your can prove your guilty hunch is the murderer and points as well if your innocent hunch is correct.

The mechanic that deals with this comes from following up leads. As you follow your leads you can either pull an evidence chit or a conspiracy puzzle piece (more on the puzzle in a minute). If you decide to pull an evidence chit you can take that chit and place it on the card of one of the suspects. Some chits will be positive numbers like a 4 while others are things like -2. What you want to do is get as many points on the person you believe is the murderer as you can while trying at the same time to make sure your innocent hunch doesn't end up getting confirmed as the murderer.

So what is all this about the conspiracy puzzle?

If there is any part of this game that is the most talked about it has to be the conspiracy puzzle. The idea behind this is that in addition to trying to find the murderer there is an underlying conspiracy behind it. So it's not just a whodunit but a why and who put him up to it. During the game you will have the chance to draw conspiracy puzzle pieces which you can then use to try and link the murder to a variety of organizations or corporations.

On the game board there is a glued on puzzle piece and a sort of mini board. It's here you will take your conspiracy puzzle pieces (yes, they look like real puzzle pieces) and try to connect the murder at the center to organizations ringing the outside of the puzzle map area.

A good number of extra victory points can be earned through the conspiracy puzzle but a player will have to really plan his use of it to maximize that effect. Simply pulling puzzle pieces and placing them on the board won't help you. You need to plan ahead as to how you want to use it.



On top of all this there's also a card mechanic?

Yep. In fact the cards are an extremely important part of dealing with the characters and their plots. Each character in the game has two decks. One is called the light deck and the other the dark deck. As a player you draw light cards from your light deck and dark cards from the dark decks of other players. This results in you having a mix of your own light cards and other player's dark cards in your hand.

Light cards in your hand are played on yourself while the dark cards you play on other people. These cards do a variety of things but one of the most important is they generate baggage. In your character's life things will happen that will have positive effects on your plots as well as negative. In the game these are called baggage. Baggage is basically emotional baggage although in terms of the game play anything that negatively effects your plot is called bad baggage and anything good is called good baggage. The best way to earn good baggage that ensures a happy ending to your plots is to play light cards on yourself. There's a problem however. You need dark points to be able to play light cards on yourself and you get that from light shifting and dark shifting.

Light and dark shifting is basically taken from a gauge on your character sheet. In short you have to play dark cards on other players to be able to play light cards on yourself and visa versa. So let's say you want to play a light card on yourself that's worth 3 points. You would play the card and then shift on your card your points 3 points towards dark. You don't have a lot of room on your light/dark gauge so most players wouldn't be able to play more than 2 light cards on themselves in a row. In order to get more light cards you would need more light points. You get those by playing dark cards on other detectives. Dark cards earn you light points and light cards earn you dark points.

Dark cards are the bad things that can happen to players and some of them are very bad. Most dark cards have an event that triggers when they can be played. For example one dark card may be triggered simply by the beginning player's turn. Another may be triggered by your character entering certain locations. For example Louis has a number of dark cards in his deck that can be quite devastating to him. These cards however are triggered only when he enters seedy locations. So of course the best strategy is to avoid these locations.

I know some people have complained that some dark cards in the game are to powerful. However these more powerful cards can easily be avoided by playing your character properly. All characters in the game have a small card that has basic strategy for that specific character. One of the things it tells you is don't go to certain locations. Read the card for the character you are playing. Trust me, it tells you some good information. Louis for example can get in deep trouble if he visits seedy locations. So don't go there! If you pay attention in the game and avoid the locations that you should avoid with the character you are playing then you can avoid most of the more serious dark cards. If however you decide to risk it don't be blaming the game when you get slammed.



What would you call this game?

I think one of the problems that people have with this game is they expect it to be something it's not. I think many expect Android to be literally a eurogame on steroids and it's not. The game if anything has more in common with high end historical simulation like Republic of Rome. The mechanics themselves may be very eurogame like but the game as a whole is not. This game is not about using the game mechanics efficiently to achieve a arbitrary goal. It's about simulating 2 weeks of a detective's life while he investigates a murder and the conspiracy surrounding it. At the same time that detective must deal with his life outside of that investigation just like we do our jobs and deal with our own personal lives at the same time.

Bottom line. Will I like Android?

In the end I think Android is an amazing game. It has great depth and is a game that will benefit people who enjoy long term strategy. I think however if you come into Android thinking it's a regular eurogame with just a lot more theme and eye candy you will come away disappointed. With a playing time of about 3 hours for a 4 player game it's not one you would toss out on the table on a weeknight but a game you set up and take your time with.

It's also not a game you can sit down and in one play come away truly knowing the game. This is a game you walk away from thinking about it and formulating in your mind how you're going to play it next time. There is no formula for playing Android as each character is so different. There are multiple ways to earn victory points so there is no one strategy fits all. So if the idea of a long term strategy game with lots of theme is appealing to you then I say give Android a shot. If however you like your games to be about an hour and you don't like the idea of being 2 hours into a game and still trying to figure out what you want to do then give it a pass.

I rate this game a 10