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I'm sorry, this is my first time doing a session/review, so if it goes on for way too long, I'm really sorry. Then again, people patient enough to play this behemoth of a game are probably patient enough to wade through this post. So here goes:
The other day, me and my friends decided to try the Fall of the Empire scenario. I thought that it would be a new twist on the standard twilight imperium game. I was wrong. I was amazed at the dramatic differences between this and a normal game. I guess I should start with a brief sessions report before I get into my 'review'.
There were only four of us; I was the Barony, and I was playing against the Emirates, the Federation, and, of course, the Lazax.
The Lazax start with an empire that is a lot larger in person than it looks on the map. Their empire also includes 3 green, 3 red, and 3 blue tech specs, making tech super-cheap for them. The Barony of Letnev "slice" lacks any production centers (thank goodness for their home system), but has Arinam and Meer nearby.
With our game set up, we decided to expand. A noble goal considering how small (most) of our empires were. So that's how the first few rounds were spent, just as a usual vanilla game would be.
The Fall of the Empire game uses the base game strategy cards. IMO, the SE SCs are better for a normal game, the SCs used in this game were well suited. The only cards that were replaced were the Imperial (too powerful) and Political (too weak) cards, with Industry and Civilization respectively. The use of these 8 strategy cards had a dramatic effect on gameplay, 99% of which was positive for this scenario.
The only major difference in the early game resided around the technology strategy card. With the Lazax monopoly on tech specs and the base 8 cost for tech secondary, tech was far too expensive for anyone to buy. This was interesting as it forced players to deploy more ships. In this scenario, where combat was already encouraged, the increased number of ships increased the tension in the existing conflict.
Anyway, back to the game. Early expansion, check. Because we had 2 new players, we delayed distributing the objectives until everyone had finished early expansion. I hated several of the objectives that FFG gave me*, so I removed a couple, and it ended up with all 3 of us set against the Lazax.
*See Support of the People and Unstoppable Army, but that's a rant for another time.
The Lazax had their standard objective (either you or the original owner must control each home system by the end of round 8).
I had the Traitor objective (win by conquering a home system, excluding Mecatol Rex).
The Federation of Sol had the objective that required him to conquer Mecatol Rex.
The Emirates of Hacan had the Anarchist objective (you win if the Lazax loses).
So already, the alliances were established. Barony + Federation + Emirates vs. Lazax. Don't feel bad for the emperors. The Lazax player, despite this being his first time playing, was able to hold off for a significant period of time.
Did you see what just happened? Combat, real, solid, goal-oriented combat was happening throughout much of the board during the mid-game!
Anyway, the Emirates, not fully understanding the rules governing treaties, offered the Federation their (4) treaty while offering me their (1) treaty. Since lower treaties take preference, if the Emirates won, I would win because my (1) treaty would beat the Federation's (4) treaty.
As the Emirates and I closed in on Mecatol Rex, it became clear to us that the Federation of Sol would win if they captured MR. So, the Emirates and I agreed that the Emirates would take MR, and deny the Federation victory. As the game ticked to a close, the Emirates and I would win (via treaty) while the Lazax and Federation would lose.
Sounds simple, huh?
The Federation realized that he would lose. The Emirates and I were no longer his friends, so he turned to the Lazax. The Lazax, eager to find an ally, offered their (1) treaty card. Thus, if the Lazax won, the Federation would win too.
The 3 v 1 was about to become a 2 v 2. I decided whose team I wanted to be on. I entered into the negotiations and 'stole' the Lazax treaty away from the Federation, and into my pocket.
Now it is Barony + Lazax v Emirates + Federation
See what I mean about the gameplay being so different? In an instant, the alliances changed. I had built up a fleet to strike MR, but instead I sent it towards the Emirates.
Sidenotes at this point: Command counters cost 3. Command counters are really, really, really expensive. This game especially rewards strategic planning and effective use of this precious resource.
I began to plunder the Emirates territory. In fact, at one point, I used morale boost, into the breach, emergency repairs, and my racial ability to give every one of my ships a +3 to combat rolls. Yeah, I can do that. Without the Emirates on their flank, the Lazax was quickly able to overpower the rampant Federation fleets and restore their empire to full power.
More sidenotes: While it sounds like I'm describing a simple 2 v 2 war, it's actually significantly more complicated. Yeah, I was helping the Lazax out by attacking the Emirates, but I was also positioning myself to capture the Emirates' HS to win the game for me and me alone. And, because of the treaty, no one suspected me.
But I digress. As I came closer and closer the Emirates HS, they armed themselves with WS to push me out. And then the timer ran out. People had to leave (I know, geeks with a life!). Everything that I've described? About 5 rounds of the game. This was only a little over half done. Crazy, huh?
Anyway, I'm sorry that I've been rambling on for hours. I'm going to summarize my thoughts on the game, because there really is a ton of insight that the scenario provided.
First: gameplay style. Remember that cold war scenario, where there was very little conflict, and no one declared open war? That melts away as the game starts. As geeks, we can sit here prattling on and on about ways to increase conflict, but when you get to the root of it, there is one problem with the base game that will never be solved: conflict won't win the game. This is why the Fall of the Empire Scenario is so different, in that conflict is often the only way to win the game.
Second: strategy cards. I brushed on this earlier, but it really is an important point. Civilization offers some level of choice of agenda combined with some level of randomness. The Agenda Deck is much more smooth and pruned than the Political Deck, and offer mush more powerful, controversial, and interesting cards. Logistics forces people to be very thrifty with command counters, something that I found interesting, especially when everyone needs extra command counters to attack and build. Also, in an all-out war game, everyone immediately sympathizes with the Jol-Nar. However, given the extreme cost of technology, their advantages give them an edge in almost every fight.
Third: mechanized units (in general). Yes, they are expensive. Yes, they are difficult to move around. Yes, it would probably be better to buy 4 GF. But I've found them to be an invaluable asset. Unlike GF, MU are damn near invincible. Before the game ended, the Emirate fleet was about to attack me with two war suns and a star of death action card. My fleet was screwed. But my fleet also carried 2 MU with it, and they were safely stationed on the planet underneath. War Sun bombardment would have ensued and annihilated the defending GF. Star of Death would have obliterated all GF, SD, PDS, and leaders on the planet (if there were any) before returning it to neutral and irradiating it. This is god-level weaponry. And my stubborn little MU would have sat there, ignored the bombardment, refused to be obliterated by Star of Death, scrapped the radiation domain counter, and recaptured the planet for me. As far as cost-efficiency goes, MU are meh. But when it comes to their immunities, don't mess with them.
Fourth: the Barony (in general). I love them. Six resources and a massive production base is nothing to scoff at, and, although their trade ability is next to useless (especially with the Trade I SC), it can give them the edge in critical battles. But mainly their home system. If you don't like them in theory, there is nothing to do but play them, and you too can be converted.
Fifth, amidst all of these optional rules and variants, it becomes harder and harder to appreciate the relative simplicity of vanilla TI3. I don't think that it's right for all gaming groups, but I know that, some players, especially new ones, will enjoy the relatively easy-to-follow rules that Fall of the Empire sets out.
And sixth, I address the dreaded Gravity Drive. Normally, I'd agree with everyone and say that it is too generous with its benefits. But it works perfectly with Fall of the Empire. Given that there are no Ghosts of Creuss, no gravity rifts, and half of the wormholes aren't even in the main galaxy, there are only a handful of key systems that gain the coveted movement bonus. I believe that this is exactly what FFG intended, but failed to implement in normal games.
I'm sorry for taking so long with this post, and rambling on and on where I probably could have made this shorter. But seriously, I don't ever want to play objectives again. I wish there was some way to transplant FoE (yay! It gets its own abbreviation) victory system into regular TI3. But then again, would it be TI3 if it had a different victory system? For some reason, the small, inconsequential objectives are just less satisfying than one, long-term, difficult (but not impossible) objective. But that may be just me.
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Scott Milbuta
United States
Winter Springs
Florida
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Excellent post describing the political intricacies of the Shards Expansion special Scenario. I look forward to playing this one myself now. I had stayed away from it because most of my group did not now how it would play out compared to traditional TI game play.
Good job ,  + for Effort and time put into Session report!
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Dan Cunningham
United States
Milford
Ohio
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Excellent report. I would, honestly, like to hear MORE!
One question: How long was your session??
Dan
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We played for four hours (including lunch). We had midterm exams that day and one of the players had to leave early (he told us ahead of time), so that was all of the time I could eke out. Having said that, there were only four of us, there were very few optional rules, the new players caught on quickly, and command counters weren't squandered on stalling (less of a viable tactic, since you can't claim VPs, even after other people have passed). We hope to set up another Fall of the Empire game soon, though, on a day off, so that we might actually finish!
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Brian Petersen
United States
Texas
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Gravity Drives gives the Lazax the movement they need to police the galaxy with the limited opportunities they have to acquire technology. Other races don't have much use for it since the majority of the space surrounding the wormholes is empty.
Jol-Nar only need a few rounds to get Lightwave Deflectors, which is a godsend for any objectives requiring system control, and a nightmare for the Lazax.
The Lazax/Hacan alliance is downright impossible to break, especially if Hacan is Loyalist allied with Jol-Nar. As Sol I was able to take Quann and Mecatol easily, but couldn't find a way to penetrate through Hacan/Lazax PDS grids + counter-attacks all the way to Hacan's Home System. There would be no honor in taking Letnev's Home System, since we had allied from the near start. I put my money on Sol in each Lazax scenario over 4 players. They seem to be able to achieve more than half the objectives, and key assistants in the rest.
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