Smashbomb

There is a LOT to this game. Like, a lot. Setting everything up requires roughly at least a four foot square space not including each player’s own Firefly board. Basically, it is BIG.
In the simplest game mode (‘First time in the captain’s chair.’) you need the board, which is huge, the plastic ships, around 3 decks of cards, money and crew (all provided). Admittedly, the instructions are not awfully clear and you may end up creating your own variations which work better than the ‘official’. A first game should be dedicated to learning the rules and how to play before any competition starts.
However, once you know what you’re doing you can have several hours of fun. You need to do jobs for money, spend it on upgrades and crew to complete goals, often go to a place and buy or sell something. Think Monopoly meets Risk. Upgrades to Firefly ships are fairly balanced, ones that allow stealthy movements reduce movement range, while increasing range may increase fuel consumption. Although, some are more imbalanced than others, but nothing is ‘game breaking’.
Overall a fun game that takes a little time to really get into.
(Oh, no real knowledge of the series or the expanded universe is required.)

Kudos

Dillon Jacoby-Rankin (202 KP) rated Dragon's Gold in Tabletop Games

Jan 18, 2020

Dragon's Gold

2015 | Fantasy, Medieval, Mythology

6.3

(3 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Great Components (4 more)

Easy to learn to play

Quick Turns

Fast Decision Making

Card Placement Strategy

Shields could be bigger (1 more)

Hard to tell difference between silver and gold in certain lighting

Fast Paced Fun

Players: 2-4

Components: The gems are very good quality of either some sort of plastic or acrylic. They are colored very well except for the silver and gold which can be hard to tell apart depending on how the light hits them. There are limited amounts of each color for different reasons. The cards are nice and the artwork is decent enough but nothing I found to be out of the ordinary that struck me as amazing. The real focus isn't on the cards anyway but the gems.
Easy to Learn: Rules are quite simple. Players will lay down cards until a dragon is defeated. (The strength of the cards is more than the dragon's) then all players involved have a minute to split the loot or no one gets anything. Certain objectives depending on the game being played will make for end game scoring strategies. The mage and thief cards allow for extra bonuses especially when played together.
Quick Turns: Splitting loot only takes a minute keeping the game moving along fairly quickly.
Shields: I feel like the Shields could have been a little taller or something.

Kudos

EasterBunnyKiller (31 KP) rated The Resistance in Tabletop Games

Jul 31, 2019

The Resistance

2018 | Bluff, Card Game, Deduction, Science Fiction, Spies / Espionage

7.6

(22 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Quick Gameplay (1 more)

Simple

Enjoyment is super dependent on who you're playing with (0 more)

Hit or Miss

I was introduced to this game by a friend, and completely forgot about it until it appeared on Wil Wheaton's Tabletop.

The first time I played it, it didn't leave much of an impression. Felt like a more lightweight version of Werewolf.

After watching the Tabletop episode, I gave it another chance and had a much better time. Like a lot of lightweight party-style games, The Resistance lives and dies on the specific people playing it. If you have even just one or two players that have a little bit of buy-in, or what to really get into the scheming and accusations, it can be immensely fun.

However, sometimes you end up with a group of players that eschew the seat-of-the-pants gameplay implied by the quickness and lightweightedness of the game, and by the third mission, the game has become less about being sneaky and playing against people, and turns into a kind of logic puzzle.

Have had some real fun games, have had a few dull ones. Definitely worth a play if you're looking for something light and fast while you're waiting for the one guy in your gaming group to make heads or tails of the rulebook of the big box game he just bought.