Today, I got an email about the crowd-funded Tenth Anniversary Edition of Firefly: The Game by Gale Force Nine. (Click here to see what I’m talking about — campaign closed months ago though).
So some background: Husband and I like board games. When we got married, we had a very small collection between us. We liked to host game nights and we expanded on it. Here’s a picture from one of our first game nights.
Look at that adorable baby game collection in a blurry photo taken from a flip phone. So we added a “few” games ourselves. Plus his family does Christmas Wish Lists, so I add a few good games to ours every year. So over the years, we’ve been gifted a lot of games. His aunt even cleaned out her collection and sent us about 15 games. So now, after 11 years, we’re at this:
So, we kinda collect board games. Husband likes the harder strategic games with no chance involved. I like lighter games with chance so husband doesn’t always win. I also like trivia games so we have a bunch of great ones I’ve been gifted, but husband won’t ever play them. Which is stupid. I love trivia!
Anyway, he wanted to get me to play a longer more involved game which I had refused. So he tricked me with Firefly. Because I love Firefly. So fine, I’ll play a two hour game but if you steal Zoe, so help me god I will quit. That was an actual thing that happened and I’m sorry for being such a sore sport about it. So we have Firefly and one expansion – Pirates and Bounty Hunters — which I think is how he was going to steal Zoe from my crew. But there are loads of expansions; we just never got them all. Probably because if I get a good crew member, I don’t want you to be able to steal them. THAT’S NOT FUN. So, then came the 10th Anniversary edition. The game, all 5 expansions, EVERY promo card ever made (and those aren’t easy to find — I only have like 3 plus the Big Damn Heroes), a brand new expansion, plus a big damn box to organize it all!
Do not underestimate a big damn box. I bought the Terraforming Mars storage box (yes, JUST a box) and it’s a life saver. It saves so much time setting up the game. (Note: The game collection photo does not show the giant Terraforming Mars box. It’s downstairs. You can see all the expansions there though). Also, have you SEEN how many decks of cards Firefly has? You need a separate card table to play it effectively. This box, has them all ORGANIZED. So I ordered the Firefly game for $220. Honestly, just the game and expansions would cost more than that. And you wouldn’t get the box or the custom hand-painted ships, storage trays, huge neoprene game mat (the original board plus two expansion boards), custom dice for every ship, plus the extra ships that were released to buy separately. All of that in one, huge, organized box. WORTH IT. (Plus I’m still banging my head on a wall for missing the all wooden Catan 25th Anniversary edition that is SO AWESOME. Yall know how I feel about quality game pieces).
So yeah, I bought the Firefly Anniversary Edition. So today I got an email about it. They’re getting the first loads of games into the warehouse! On schedule to arrive in February. Sweet. Whats this suggestion? A Witcher game?
Tell me more about this game whose entire run has somehow escaped me until less than an hour before the campaign ends. Goal reached in under 5 minutes. Impressive. Almost 4.5 million raised by almost 30,000 backers? Wait, 45 stretch goals unlocked?
Yeah, I bought it. It was really the stretch goals that sold me on it. They have to include a-whole-nother damn game box (matching, of course) to hold all the stretch goals. The original game has 3 stories. Well, with stretch goals, you’re getting 8. Cause they raked in 4.5 million dollars in PREORDERS. I sprung for the deluxe pledge so I can have all the miniatures instead of cardboard cutouts. Oh, and the first day freebie I missed of the alternate figurine of Geralt on Roach.
I did not spring for the expansions on this one. I figure 8 stories is a lot. And the stories are replayable — so that’s a lot of games. I’m excited to get husband into The Witcher. He’s also excited because this is a story driven game so more like D&D meets board game. I’m hoping we’ll play a story and then he’ll want to watch that episode.
But the point is, that email tricked me! You can’t show a collector shit they collect and tell them they won’t be able to buy it in an hour. Fuck you. Now I have to buy it.
We’ve REALLY got to start hosting game nights again. They died off with COVID. This year we had exactly ONE to try out some new Christmas games – Charty Party, Puns of Anarchy, and Ransom Notes. The latter is the winner of that group.
Anyone wanna come pay a trivia game? I have 90’s Trivia and Geek Trivia that’s never been opened! Plus there’s Smart Ass and The Art of Science. Husband was even gifted Star Wars trivia (also unopened). Or we can play Christmas games! I have Christmas Vacation and the Santa expansion for Catan! He gives presents when you roll his number!
Oh. Also… a confession. Yeah, I got in on The Holiest Crap Kickstarter too. That shit looks funny as fuck. The trailer is hilarious. The concept is hilarious. It’s going to be hilarious to play and my inlaws WILL NEVER SEE IT.
Yall, that game trailer looks like a Saturday Night Live skit or a commercial for Log (It’s big it’s heavy, it’s wood!)