Review of Firefly Adventures: Respectable Folk Crew Expansion Set

Blurb from the publisher: 'Not everyone can be judged by the company they keep. Some pursue respectable work while in the company of scoundrels. A companion in good standing with the quid, Inara Serra is a welcome sight on any planet. Shepherd Book is a wandering preacher who has fallen in with a Crew who needs tending.

This Firefly Adventure Crew Expansion Set includes two new playable crew members, three new jobs, and 10 new equipment cards. All cards can be used along with the crew from the Firefly Adventures core set.'

What you get: Your EUR 20 or equivalent will buy you the Firefly Adventures: Respectable Folk Crew Expansion Set, an expansion for the Firefly Adventures game line. It is reminded that Firefly Adventures: Brigands and Browncoats, the line's basic game, is a light, cooperative skirmish game for one to five players that lasts around two hours. Even though both lines take place in the Firefly universe and they are both published by the same publisher, the present line should not be confused with the Firefly: The Game game line, an asymmetrical game with many elements (mostly pick-up-and-deliver).

In addition to the 2-page rulebook that can be also found on the publisher's website free of charge, the game contains the following items: 2 Casual plastic Figures, 2 Heroic plastic Figures, one Industrial Yard Building, 11 tokens, 10 Equipment cards, 2 Crew Character cards, 2 Downed cards, and 3 Job briefings. The box's bottom side is an active part of scenery.

Gameplay: The Respectable Crew Expansion Set is a more-of-the-same expansion that brings Inara and Shepherd Book into the Firefly Crew. Inara is very good at negotiations irrespective of status, while the Shepherd can dabble in both negotiations and combat. The Shepherd is fast (move 4) and allows uninjured heroic crew next to him act casual. He can reroll job event rolls, move a goon's time marker and effectively stall its movement, as well as assist. In his heroic mode he goes a bit slower, yet he can heal crew, he can brawl, negotiate, and act casual. Inara on the other hand can reroll failed negotiations, she can alter the status of goons or draw them towards her, and assist. In her heroic mode she goes faster, she can reroll negotiations, she doesn't allow enemies to shoot her twice, she can brawl (of course!) and act casual.

The items are varied and thematically appropriate. They include things like Guild Papers (automatic success in a Negotiation test), a Companion Knife (speed increase plus brawl), and the Good Book (allows a one-die reroll irrespective of test).

The three new scenarios are Dockside Unrest, Shanty Sweep and Garden Gala. Each of them lasts either 40 or 50 minutes of in-game time and has a number of special rules. The first scenario is a run to get the most loot possible out of four Crates. Interestingly enough, the reward increases for every goon that is alert; this is not a scenario to tackle silently. The second scenario is about the characters escaping a maze of a shanty town. Fun fact: the shanty town is discovered as the characters proceed; they start from the first building, and have no clue about how to exit. Rules provide for the placement of new buildings, goons, tokens etc. The third scenario is about one of the characters beginning with exhausted and stolen gear. They need to get that back and get out in time, or at least act casual about it.

The strong points: In many ways, the line's basic game was just a tease; four major protagonists were missing. Here's two of them. They go a long way towards improving the game's replayability and options, seeing how they do very different things. Do you want to reposition goons or to alter their status? Inara. Do you want to stall them, or even hide the Heroic crew in plain sight? Shepherd Book. And all that, before they become heroic themselves. Inara can be cleverly used as a runner, seeing how nobody can shoot her twice in a row. The Shepherd on the other hand might not heal others as fast as Simon from the Wanted Fugitives Expansion, he can hold however his own. I applaud the equipment's thematic rigor; what you saw in the series and the movie makes a comeback here. There is only one equipment card copied between the two expansions, namely the timed demo charge (which is admittedly useful in many jobs). All the other cards are unique.

Characters aside, the expansion's new jobs are a major selling point. The basic game had only four, and this expansion alone increases that by 75%. The scenarios are very different in nature and very entertaining. Garden Gala might be the least spicy one; I patently enjoyed the 'I don't know what's going on' nature of Shanty Sweep, as well as the push-your-luck risks that need to be taken in Dockside Unrest.

The materials are of the same high quality as the ones in the basic game. The expansion provides a brand-new building (a garden), that can be used in the existing jobs or in the ones you will concoct in the future. This means that you should not retire this box (which is what I usually do with expansion boxes, if it is possible to fit their contents in the basic game). The casual versions of the characters are more static than the heroic versions which are caught in action poses. Good work, all in all.

This is not the game's only expansion. Wanted Fugitives (including Simon and River) was also released back in 2018. In all honesty, Firefly Adventures games are substantially more interesting with the full gamut of characters, scenarios and gear at your disposal. If you are into the game you are better off buying both of them.

The weak points: My biggest issue with Firefly Adventures (and thus with the present expansion as well) has to do with the marketing of the game. Four major characters missing from the basic box? Ten total scenarios, dispersed in a ratio of 4/3/3 throughout the line's products? I liked the basic game, yet it was clearly average when it came to options and replayability. In that sense, buying at least one of the expansions (make that both, because each of them has different things to say) is a forced purchase for the fans of the franchise and the game. I don't like that. I will not penalize the grading of the expansions for this, yet it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

The expansion does not correct the issues that the game initially faced, namely the randomness and the algorithm behind the goons' behaviour. If you didn't like how that was handled (and I had a few issues with it), none of the expansions will fix it for you. Just download the FAQ and take it from there.

The box/building is once again a cool idea, make sure however that you weigh it down. Things can become very problematic with clumsy players in the Shanty Sweep job where almost everything is interconnected and each building is lighter than the other.

I didn't like the aesthetics of the basic game's artwork, and I don't like them in any of the expansions either. On the other hand, I have gotten used to it. If you felt the same when you set your eyes upon the box, I dig it. I am happy however that I didn't shy away from a game just because the box and the Character cards are a partial let down.

Conclusion: If you liked Firefly Adventures you cannot afford to miss any of the two expansions that came out for it. The contents of Respectable Folk increase the game's options and replayability and are a cool add-on in a game that wins over me the more time passes. If only the overall marketing plan were different.

For more info on Firefly Adventures: Respectable Folk Crew Expansion Set and Gale Force Nine, visit www.gf9.com as well as the dedicated Firefly game line page.

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