I've had this game for over two months now (almost 3!) and figure it's about time I post a formal review on it. I guess part of my deterrent is that I want the review to be relatively concise, yet descriptive, and wasn't quite sure how to go about doing that. However, I don't feel my experience with the game has truly hit the level it should until this is done, so here we go.
As with all my reviews, I rate on 4 different areas of the game (Presentation, Mechanics, Balance, and Playability/Fun). Each area has a rating of between 1-10, where 1 would make you wonder how something like that ever got out of design into production, and a 10 would be nigh-perfect (not necessarily without flaw, but none that are detrimental enough to "count").
This review is based upon many full games, ranging from a few 3-player games to a couple full-blown 6-player games. Also, this review is based only upon the rules-as-written (including the official "optional rules" included in the rulebook itself).
=== PRESENTATION ===
One of the first things that caught my eye about this game was the impressive nature of the box. I first saw it in a store, and was immediately drawn to look into it further. It's size was almost daunting, as the box for it was bigger than any game I'd yet really played. As such, it almost seemed "out of reach" for me.
However, the size was a good thing - it showed, visually, the truly epic nature the game itself represents. The artwork on the box was outstanding; it felt like playing the game would truly immerse you into the "universe" the game represents.
It wasn't until awhile later that I actually acquired the game, and got to see everything contained INSIDE the box for myself. I'd seen photos and pictures, but those never do anything justice. When I finally got the first-hand look, I was not disappointed. The quality of the materials inside the box was every bit as good as the outside. My first thought on the pieces was "Wow! They sure didn't cut corners on this one!" And they didn't. Although the game is somewhat pricey, the components themselves seem to be worth every penny; my impression is that the cost is due largely to the high quality of the pieces. 386
And, in many ways, I don't think I'd WANT a "cheap" version of the game; anything less than highest-quality would almost detract from the epic nature of the game.
Included in the game are several sheets of excellent quality cardboard. This cardboard has a nice "finish" to it, which I understand is a kind of linen-based covering. The texture is just amazing, and the level of detail of the pictures on the cardboard components is outstanding. The cardboard itself is of amazing quality; while obviously they would be subject to damage from things like water, etc, they are very durable, rigid, and are very "tactile-functional" (meaning they don't seem slippery or sticky; I had to make up a word to describe it). Punching the cardboard out of the sheets was very satisfactory; while care had to be taken to ensure you don't rip anything, I never had to feel like I was doing heart surgery, either, as most of the pieces popped right out with little effort. And let me tell you, there are a LOT of cardboard bits to the game - 50 something large hexagons for use as the board, meriads of circular counters for various in-game usage, and each race has their own set of nicely shaped (even if oddly shapped in some cases) counters for in-game tracking.
The game also came with cards. And when I say cards, I mean LOTS OF CARDS. I can't remember the exact count without looking, but there are a TON. Despite the large number, however, none of them really seem to be extraneous; Every card has a purpose, and it would almost feel "incomplete" with less cards. Ranging from Action Cards, Political Cards, Planet Cards and player-specific cards, they are very functional. This brings me to one thing about the game that immediately struck me as something I like (and something I've noticed about a lot of FFG games) - Any in-game tracking can be done completely with the in-game components. Some games require a piece of paper and pencil to keep track of certain things which can often lead to more tedium than fun. In Twilight Imperium, however, this tracking is done via cards to show certain achievements, counters to track certain activities during the game, etc. While there are a few things that may not be directly "trackable", those are few, and are easily remembered (as they are usually only of temporary duration anyway). 336