Gale Force Nine Firefly: The Game Is Amazing, Says This Fan

Since there were so many reviews for the main game, I have put off making a review for it and instead opted to review most of the expansions. I think it's about time that I wrote one, so here goes: This game is amazing. I have played it probably about a dozen or so times with varying amounts of players and tried many of the story lines. I'll try to stick with writing about the core game, although (as I will probably mention more than one more time) the game works best with the expansions, IMO. Let me take you through what is included. The board consists of the core (Alliance) space and the border space (technically also Alliance since the unification war was decided in The Alliance's favor). Movement around the board is fairly straightforward and extremely open. There is no set path you must take and your decisions are your own on even how you want to move. You may mosey and move one spot for free and without any drama or you can try to full burn and move as far as your ship will allow on using up a fuel token but be aware, you will have to draw from the Nav Deck every sector (space) you move. You will receive 2 Nav decks (one for moving through core space and one for border space). Some cards will say keep flying, others might have you encounter a derelict ship to scavenge from or maybe you'll end up gathering the attention of an Alliance Cruiser or worse (Reavers!!). There are 5 main supply planets where you can try to pick up gear, ship upgrades, crew, or even a new drive core for your ship. There are also 5 different contacts who you can meet up with to get paying jobs from. Some are on supply planets (like Persephone where you can also deal with Badger), some are on otherwise empty planets (like stopping off for a chat with Patience on Athens), or you can even board the Alliance Cruiser and deal with Harken for some legal and simpler jobs. Find a crew, Find a job, Keep Flyin... The ultimate objective of the game though depends on which story you choose to play. I believe the core game only comes with the "Standard" Setup. [Let me, again, say how this game truly grows dramatically with the expansions. Most (if not all) expansions come with not only story cards, but also new ways of playing them via the set up cards. One story might seem pretty straight forward but when suddenly you play the Browncoat way, or "The Rim is the Thing", it can really spice things up.] Most stories will take about 2 hours as you learn the game, but be prepared for your first match to take about double that as you learn the nuances of the rules. Looking for a friend, but everyone is working/on vacation/etc.? Well you're in luck, because there is single player mode in which you are racing against the clock. I'd still recommend you play with at least one other person. As you grab more friends in the mix, the game will be longer especially if you are introducing new people to the game. There are 4 ships to choose from in the core game but you can have up to 9 ships via expansions. I couldn't imagine what that would be like, but I have played a 5 person match and it was awesome as we constantly were competing for upgrades and crew while racing for the story goals. I don't want to give too much away here, but I can honestly recommend this game to anyone, even if you haven't seen the show or movie. I would have to say it makes a lot more sense to you if you have, but just all the more reason to catch up on the show too! Also the expansions, although not complete must haves, are very highly recommended IMO. My girlfriend and I love this game so much we actually bought a second copy when we vacationed at a family members condo in Florida. We found it funny how small the board seemed after having played with the other expansions, but it was still a lot of fun without them. We left it there with the thought that maybe we'll add something to it every time we go. Tl;Dr: It's fun and worth the purchase.