Some of the San Antonio Board Gamers played three games last night. Some of them (not me ...) played extensively on Tuesday as well. After discussion, we've decided to not play with Cylon Leaders in a five player game (at least until we tweak the agendas). We also usually draw characters randomly (observing the normal rules, though). We're an experienced group, ranging from 20-80 plays each.

Game #1 -- In that order ... Helo, Roslin, Starbuck (Me), Tigh, Dee.

I'm a cylon off the deal. An early bombard hits the admiral's quarters. Tigh steals the presidency immediately, but its just Michael. Roslin keeps consolidating power, leading to grumbling that one or both are Cylons. I get shot out of space by Pegasus (oops) and somewhat riskily tossing in one (huge) bad card anytime I go next (or before Roslin's turn, since she isn't presidency and not likely to XO tigh to brig me), but the deck never helps out and everyone suspects nothing. There's never a great opportunity to just hose people and reveal (by, say Cancelling Roslin's crisis card or spiking a check). Humans get into mild trouble early but coast to the sleeper phase. I decide I'll spike and reveal.

Roslin, on her turn, places a card without a jump. (We play that Roslin picks one, and then rejects or keeps ... not pick two and choose). That's a controversial choice, so I leave it and toss in my only bad card. I reveal and start to reach for Dee to put her into the Brig and Dee says "Don't." Since Dee had plead helplessness on early card checks (including checks with purple), I brig Helo instead.

Pradmiral Tigh goes mildly insane and doesn't brig Dee, believing her story that she was just trying to get me to brig another cylon. She then reveals (of course). We get to work and Blow up Colonial One and generally beat humanity around the head and neck, such that Morale is 1 before New Caprica. And there it resolutely stays until humanity wins ... both of us are unable to find another morale hoser and the humans quickly flee with all characters (but only half the fleet).

Second game -- Ellen Tigh, Helo, Tyrol, Starbuck and Roslin (I think). We win the early +1 Distance check, but Admiral helo draws "0" (flipped to "1" on redraw), "1" and "1". Even after the third "1" nobody agrees with me that the brig or airlock are in order. He reveals after the sleeper phase making my the first enlisted Admiral in a long time. Starbuck scouts and leaves a "President choose" on top, hoping to determine a suspcious Roslin's identity. With food at around 4, Roslin picks the "Lose 2 food" option and is promptly airlocked. (Our group is willing to pay prices like that, figuring that giving Cylons reasonable chances to reveal provides good information to let us start XOing, which is worth the cost). With the teams revealed, humanity arrives on New Caprica and food eventually falls to one. A crisis based execution has humanity decide to let Ellen get executed so that she can reincarnate as Zarek, since Fuel is at 1 and the "Lose a fuel" ship is still around (not to mention the "Lose a fuel" damage chit. The cylons bombard Galactica when it returns (missing anything vital) and we decide to run and give up two ships, rather than give the cylons another bombard. The fuel ship escapes, so another humanity win.

In the third games the Cylons just overwhelmed humanity on new Caprica, just forcing skill check after skill check combined with a run of "No jump symbols." Galactica took too long to return ... if it had arrived, there were Inbound Nukes waiting. As a Cylon Boomer, that was fine with me. Details escape me, but we didn't start that game until after 10pm.

Overall, I like the expansion, with the caveat about Cylon Leaders.

What is your issue with Cylon leaders, out of curiousity?

Not my thread, but the basics are here. SABG had a 5 player game with a pro-human cylon that was just boredom personified.

For me, I personally feel that the heart of the game is the unknown teams. Once teams are known the game is somewhat mechanical. The idea of a leader as someone who could be on either team is intriguing, but I think that in practice, it doesn't work ... but with a better set of agendas it could.

Thanks for the link to my thread. I do agree with you. I think that the agendas are more fun for a sympathetic cylon to get than a cylon leader to, and in a 5 player game it just takes something away from the magic of the game.

I did Brig Jon there. I just didn't do it instantly because he was so subtle.

Ouch, way to nerf Laura!