Review of Twilight Imperium Second Edition

Not only does the update of Fantasy Flight Games' flagship title, Twilight Imperium Second Edition, show the depth and intelligence that the company is capable of, it also shows how far FFG has come in terms of production quality and presentation.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Twilight Imperium is a game of space politics, exploration and conquest that improves with more players. Players not only fight for territory, but also vote on laws, build up income and develop new technologies. The biggest innovation in the original was invidual hexes for board spaces, which allowed a different setup every game.

Of the contents, the rules have improved artwork and layout. The text was readable and complete, addressing many past and potential gametime controversies over interpretation that is the fodder for FAQ message boards. One glaring error: The combat value for the PDS unit is not printed on the back of the rule book.

However, the value is now printed on what is one of the more impressive additions to the game, the race cards (no, not the ones that politicians like to play). Not only do these have nice color representations of a member of the alien race you are playing - I feel like a Hacan just by having it in front of me - it also has a digest of each races' abilities (The power of the Letnev has been cut to a more acceptable level), additional starting units (A much needed addition that allows the scramble for planets to start much sooner), and the turn sequence and unit tables that allow all players a quick reference that was lacking in TI1.

The new plastic pieces are good - not great, but good - and are much easier to handle than the thin chits from the original. Although the pieces are not race-specific as they only differ in primary colors, which is both good and bad - no race has a distinctive look, but uniformity in shape likely prevents confusion. The pieces also add the possibility of manual recreations of the space battles (i.e. a cruiser being flown around by a gleeful opponent who adds bad strafing sound effects on your last dreadnought after a hit).

Technology gets a bump in the new introduction of chits, which are fortunately easy to handle. While the old system used individual tracks with six levels of three different types (Weapons, Propulsion and General), the new one simply has the chits, with five levels of four different types (Biological is the new one). Furthermore, higher advances in each area now require technologies from other areas as a prerequisite. The folks at FFG could've added a technology tree in the box, but players can pull one off the website.

The hexes, which made the old game great, look better - that is, they look like actual planets and are printed on a better stock. The number of printed hexes were also cut down, as there were too many in the old game, and new setup rules for fewer players shrink the board, thus forcing players to mix it up sooner.

The other counters, to use the erudite term, suck. The money chits are a little bigger and more distinctive, but players will soon find themselves robbing the Monopoly game for good old bills. The multiple counters (similar to the chips in Axis and Allies, but with numbers on them) are welcome but simply too few, as are the improved control markers. Distant Suns markers are too small, but getting them without needing to buy an expansion allows me to forgive.

As for the gameplay, it's a new, souped-up engine in the old chassis. The addition of starting units for each race makes the game start a lot quicker, and the turns are a bit more streamlined. Both the political and actions cards have been retooled for much better play, especially so in the political deck. In the past, most laws were quickly shot down, but the new laws apply possible short-term penalties if not passed, which will spark a bit more debate and thought. In the action deck, gone is the Alien Artifact, Elite Fighter and race-specific cards, which is in itself addition by subtraction.

Much of the remainder of gameplay is the same, but with some well-placed touch-ups Trade Income and Recieve Credits are now in the same turn, while the battles again look lifted from Axis and Allies, but, then again, it's a pretty good system to rip off. Technology purchases are made better by the chit system, which forces players to diversify their research instead of just buy General Tech, hell bent for "Master of Production" (now "Integrated Economy").

For those not familiar with the series, prepare to be hooked. For those who bought the original, it's a great upgrade that you can see the value in immediately. Twilight Imperium Second Editon shows the aesthetic improvements of a rising company, and the depth of gameplays that indicates how it got there.