My ears immediately perked up when I heard about the theme of E.T.I., Estimated Time to Invasion (Eye Level Entertainment, 2008 – Matt, Mark, and Anthony Anticole). Defending the earth from an alien invasion is a good draw. When I read the synopsis and saw that one of the players actually was the alien (reminding me of the concept in one of my groups' favorite games – Shadows over Camelot), I was sure that the game would go over very well when playing it.

E.T.I., despite its lack of detailed graphics, does an exceptional job at presenting the theme. We really felt as if we were preparing for the invasion, although the actual invasion is a little less of a climax than I would have hoped. There is gobs of luck, lots of choices, and a building up of anticipation that really is enjoyable and changes from game to game. The alien player is an interesting addition; but the game would be evil and nasty without it, as players are forced to jump into conflict with one another. The game has a slightly clunky feel to it, but it's thematic enough that I don't mind and will play it often.

Each player is given a game board that shows their company's abilities. There are four tracks (staffing, creativity, security, and analysis), and players place a green token at the beginning of each track. Players can then add three more tokens to one or more of the tracks. Cards are passed out secretly to each player, giving them either a human endgame strategy, or showing them that they are the alien (players can pick how difficult the alien is). Piles of project cards are shuffled, and placed in different stacks from "I" to "V" as well as a pile of research cards. One player is chosen to be the ISSA president, and each player is given three agenda cards of their color. Project cards from the "I" stack are flipped over that are equal to one less than the number of players. In turn order, players place their company token on one of the projects (multiple players can be on the same project). The game then begins.

At the beginning of each turn, the current ISSA president flips over an event card only if they have completed one project. Some events cause effects to some players – with the ISSA player often picking the recipient. Players can negotiate with the president if they want, although they don't have to follow their promises. A few events are voted on by players with players having votes equal to projects that they have completed.

After this, each player picks one of their agenda cards, placing them face down. The cards are revealed simultaneously, and then the agendas are completed:
- Switch Research: Players can switch to another project but may only keep up to 100 research that they have stored so far.
- Conduct Research: Players are given research cards equal to the number shown on their current Staffing level. These cards are placed in fourteen slots around a player's board. Players may not look at any of the cards – unless their Creativity level is high enough, which allows them to look at some of the slots, depending on the level.
- Submit Findings: Players who choose this option can submit their research cards. They can do one of two options – turn in each card for ten research each or turn over the research cards, taking the total amount shown on them. Cards range from "10" to "50" points in value. The cards, however, are greatly affected by the order of the cards. Some cards are multipliers (x 0, x 2, x3), affecting all the cards before them. Other cards are alien threats that destroy the next highest card. This can give a player no points or a huge amount. Players can help themselves out by having a high Security rating, which allows them to be immune to some alien threats. They can also switch some cards around, depending on how high their Creativity is. A player then can store all of their research in a data bank, unless they exceed the research needed to complete the project they are currently researching.

Projects have a difficulty number, which represents the amount of research necessary to complete them, a defense amount (used for the end of the game), a fame amount (victory points), and also award a player points in one or more of their four stats (possibly). When a player finishes a project, they can either add it to their Top Secret Vault ("+5" defense) or their Public Domain Vault ("+10" fame). Any other player working on the project can store up to 100 of their research but must discard the rest and move to another projects. New projects are turned face up – but always one less than the number of players in the game.

After all players have gone, the ISSA badge is passed clockwise, and another round begins. This continues until the end of the game is reached (a certain number of projects are completed – players determine this at the beginning of the game). At this point, the alien player reveals themselves. All of their stats translate into enemy stats (E.T.I., Intel, Tactics, and Brutality), and the alien must fight against the other players after a certain amount of turns. This is done via comparing numbers and stats, drawing cards, etc. If the alien manages to destroy everyone, they win! Otherwise, the surviving player with the most fame points is the winner!

Some comments on the game...

1.) Components: People are likely going to have mixed views on the components and minimalistic artwork. Some will like the fact that their imagination is needed to "see" the aliens; others may prefer something other than stark black backgrounds with a few icons used to delineate different cards. The boards are the heart of the game, and they are very easy to read and follow – excellent design. I especially like how the green alien board mimics the player boards in style, although it means something completely different. The tokens used for the game are green and red plastic tokens and fit pretty easily on the boards. Most of the cards are all large square cards that are usually easy to read, while the research cards are quite smaller (a good thing since they have to be placed around the board). Everything fits inside a fairly fragile plastic insert in the box.

2.) Rules: For once, I will say that this rulebook really needs a dash of color – the eleven pages may have examples and diagrams, but it sometimes is enough to make you cross your eyes with all the text. That being said, I got the gist of the rules fairly well from my initial reading, but we were constantly referring to the game when playing. Players will understand the rules when taught, but they will likely not understand how each of the four traits affect the game – the submit findings phase should be demonstrated before the game. Also, the phase in which the alien reveals themselves has a completely different feel than the rest of the game. In our first game, I decided to wait until the end to explain the alien attack; but I know now that it should be shown at the beginning of the game, so that players can better prepare. A flow chart is included to help players go through the agendas, but I'm not too keen on it – I don't see how it's much easier than simply remembering the order of play.

3.) Choices: Players have two major choices at the beginning of the game – how long the game will last and how powerful the alien is. I would recommend that players skip the "short" game – it's entirely too short and unsatisfying; and even the "epic" game isn't that long – it's the version I like the best. Players also have to decide how powerful the alien is going to be – there are four levels of aliens. The lowest level alien is really too weak – even for beginning players; level two is a much better place to start. Level four is quite difficult – I would rarely use it unless the players really want a challenge!

4.) Alien: The game revolves around the alien player – for there certainly is one, and they will reveal themselves and fight the other players. The keeping of the secret is important to the game, but it's not the end of the world if it gets out. Even if players determine without a shadow of a doubt who the alien is, there's not much they can do to stop him before his attack. On the other hand, players can prepare for the attack if they know how it's going to occur. Aliens can also be blocked out of events during the votes, and players can also try to spoil their research, so keeping the secret is advisable. As I said at the beginning of the review, the battle at the end is a bit anti-climactic, but it does work; it's just a bit quick.

5.) Traits: It's difficult to determine which traits are the best to increase. Being able to draw a lot of cards allows one to quickly jump on and finish projects, but Creativity and Security allow a player to make the most of their cards when researching. There are only four traits, but it's interesting to see the different combos that players put together.

6.) Research: This is the luckiest part of the game; it's often a hair-pulling decision when deciding whether or not to do "safe" research, or to take a chance by flipping the cards. For some, who have the "born loser" syndrome, it will seem that the only times they flip over the cards they do poorly, getting less research than ever. Others will appear to have tremendous luck, as the cards line up, giving them hundreds of research points. I generally go the safe route, but every once in a while, you simply want a thrill of turning the cards over and hoping for the best. Besides, increasing one's traits allow a player to have an idea of how to best manipulate the cards so that the risky option is, well – not risky at all.

7.) Interaction and Fun Factor: It's quite annoying when you are undercut out from a research project, but it's going to happen in the game. Since there is always one less project than players, at least two players will be vying for the same project. The projects are of different types and values; and some will have more draws for players, as they are worth points or award more points in a certain trait. Players have to decide whether it is worth it to fight with other players over projects, or take projects that aren't worth as much. Some people won't like this interaction – it can get almost nasty at times; but I found it quite fun, because a player who is cut out of a project will likely get a jump on the next one. So while it can be a setback, it's not permanent. Besides, the player who just got cut out might be the alien! E.T.I. is fun because the more players involved – the better!

E.T.I. is not really a cooperative game; as players may work together to stop the alien invasion, but only one can win. This causes backstabbing and fighting to occur throughout the game (which, considering players control government agencies – makes sense), and the alien is not so much of a unifier as just an opponent who was worse than you thought! This is a game that needs a full complement of players to be completely enjoyable – I would recommend this game to folks who are intrigued by the theme – it completely comes across in this game. The first board game from the makers of the funny "Nature of the Beast" card game -- this is an excellent foray, and I hope to see more from Eye Level Entertainment. Meanwhile, I'm going to stop the alien invaders with everything I have (okay – that's a lie; I'm really planning to destroy earth. Or am I?)

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com

Good review Tom.... *reaching for wallet*