To me, Nathan Fillion is Malcolm Reynolds. I know that I must have seen him in roles before, and I have certainly seen him in roles since, but they are nothing but hollow shells compared to the gun-slinging, insult-hurling, honour-driven space cowboy that I have come to know and love. And if the poll that I put up is anything to go by, I’m fairly sure that I’m not alone in my love for Mal and his crew aboard Serenity. Firefly may have been a short-lived series, but it’s one that has left a legacy blazing a trail behind it’s untimely demise. The real question then is this – How does Firefly: The Board Game live up to this legacy?

The Skinny

Firefly is a board game that follows the series fairly closely. You spend your game doing jobs for Patience, Harken, Amnon Duul, Niska and Badger, trying to get by and make money, and all the while working towards the end-game which, funny enough, you choose as a group at the start. This can involve anything from looking for trouble by misbehaving to stashing your cash, although they usually include both. Navigate your way across the verse, picking up crew and supplies along the way and making some cash from the odd-jobs that you can find. Try to steer clear of the Alliance Cruiser and the Reaver Cutter, though it isn’t always possible considering how sneaky they are!

The Good

The game sticks to the feel of the series incredibly well. It’s in part the flavour text on the cards and in the rule book, but it’s also just the small touches that have been added. Things like including a cardboard dinosaur as a first player marker, and including a recommendation in the rules that it be replaced with a real dinosaur because “it’s fun to have a plastic dinosaur sitting on the Ship’s dash on your turn!” It’s also things like Yolanda, Saffron and Bridget being included and a rule being listed on their cards that if either of the other two are in play, that card needs to be discarded (since she’s clearly found a better target). And playing the series in the background does allow for a good deal of amusement when what’s happening in the game just so happens to coincide with what’s happening on the screen. I also love that with a small upgrade to your ship and a lot of scowering the different markets, you could end up playing a game with the entire crew of Serenity – Mal, Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, Jayne, Inara, Simon, River and Shepherd Book. Most ships can only support 6 crew members to begin with, but with Expanded Crew Quarters, it’s just possible to fit them all in!

It’s not just the resemblance to the series that makes the game good though. It’s some genuinely backstabbing, nerve-wracking fun! Racing your friends to complete a goal and holding your breathe with every flip of a card in the hopes that it will send the Cutter or Cruiser in their direction makes for a good, competitive atmosphere. The game is well designed and well put together – aside from a few issues with the ships’ “feet”, the components have a good, solid feel to them without being too finicky.

The Bad

Because there is always going to be some bad – no game can be perfect after all! I have found the time estimations for the game to be completely off. Games that are supposed to be an hour long end up taking 2 or 3, and I’m not sure that it is because of a steep learning curve or just a tendency for people to be slow in general. I suspect that they considered this when putting the game together since the rule book includes suggestions like having players look at discard piles so that they can decide what they want during other players’ turns, but this doesn’t stop the game from taking quite awhile. And I’m talking quite aside from the setup time which is another negative aspect. There are so many bits and pieces to the game that the setup for it takes almost as long as Arkham Horror (which, for those who haven’t played Arkham, takes forever)!

That being said, the time is the only really big negative for me. Some people may not be a fan of the paper money, but that doesn’t bother me… probably because it’s just so damn pretty! Some may be bothered by how much space it takes up, but hey guys… it’s a space game! The ‘verse isn’t just going to collapse down to the size of your coffee table, okay! I like that it’s a game that takes up room, personally. There’s a time and space for small games, and it’s not when you’re trying to explore the ‘verse and live out your lifelong dream of being a space cowboy. The whole flipping cards every time you went full-burn bugged me in the beginning, but I’ve gotten used to it now and it feels very much like an integral part of the game. I don’t know how you’d pull in the reavers and Alliance and a PVP aspect without it really.

 Mr. Geekess Says

I’m a huge fan of the series, so when I saw the game sitting on the shelf, I had to use every bit of restraint not to buy it on the spot! I took a bit of time to research it and read some reviews, but of course it didn’t take too many positive reviews before I was convinced, and I can’t say I’ve been disappointed.

They’ve really done a great job of making it feel like Firefly, and the mechanics are borne out of the theme rather than having the theme tacked on to a generic game. With items like Jayne’s gun, “Vera” (which adds to persuation as well as fire power), and “Mal’s Pretty Floral Bonnet” the game is absolutely dripping with flavour and humour from the original show.

There are numerous win conditions and coupled with the large variety of customisations available for your ship and crew, each game feels new and fresh. There’s really very little to find fault with in the game. Personally, I prefer games with less luck and more strategy, but proper planning and a well rounded crew mitigates a lot of the luck factor, and certainly doesn’t detract much from the overall enjoyment I get from the game. It can be a little slow at times, particularly while learning, and player interaction is pretty minimal. The recently released expansion “Pirates and Bounty Hunters” attempts to address this by adding adding missions to raid other players ships or turn them in for a reward (I look forward to shouting “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal”), as well as a slew of new cards and even two new playable ships. Having only just gotten it however (a gift from a wonderful friend), I can’t say much about the expansion just yet.

If you’re a fan of the series and you love board games, why are you still reading this? Go buy the game now and don’t let any power in the Verse stop you. 

I agree, Mr. Geekess!! Weighing up the good and bad, I’d say that Firefly: The Board Game tackles Whedon’s world better than we’d expected. Even thinking about it makes me want to play it again. Anyone keen?