“Firefly: The Game” Blue Sun Expansion
Last week, my sister and brother-in-law bestowed upon us not one, but two expansions to “Firefly: The Game” (which they had also gotten for us (a year ago)), which was exciting. While I have written previously about the supply decks in that game, I wanted to first write about one of these expansions, Blue Sun.
Additional third of a board adds a lot of playing space
The biggest thing with this expansion set is a new board addition, adding a whole one-third extra playing space. If one felt crowded with the standard board, you will enjoy this new extra 33% boost, called Rim Space. There are, of course, new worlds, but also two new contacts, a new shopping place, and more in Rim Space. Additionally, Rim Space comes with its own nav cards, just like in Alliance space or other space, although it also offers more lucrative possibilities.
Crew, Gear, Ship Upgrades, and Drive Core at Meridian
Let’s start with the familiar and exciting: a new supply deck! Meridian is a new place to shop and pick up gear, crew, ship upgrades, and a drive core. There are 7 crew, 11 gear(!), 6 ship upgrades, and 1 drive core available at Meridian. The best crew to pick up is Sheydra, with two diplomacy, one tech, and fancy duds. Another good crew to pick up is Cortland, who has one tech, one firepower, and is a soldier and a mechanic. Two others worth noting are Head Goon and The Middleman, the former of which has two firepower and the latter of which has one firepower and one diplomacy, although he is wanted. Notable gear: Love Bot, which has one diplomacy and counts as a companion; Mal’s Frontier Model B, which is a firearm and has two firepower; The Operative’s Sword, which counts as a knife and has two firepower; Kaylee’s Parasol, which has a diplomacy, but costs nothing and does not count towards gear limit; and Simon’s Sonic Stun Baton, which is a fake ID. Amongst the ship upgrades are four cards that give the player benefits with regards to Reaver cutters. The only problem is that it is sort of isolated, but, if you can make it there and not have it take away from your getting to where you need to go, then it can be worth it.
Two new captains
There are also two new captains, Murphy and Atherton. Murphy has two tech and one firepower, and is a medic and a mechanic, which is a lot (although he is moral); and Atherton has two diplomacy and one firepower and has fancy duds and fake IDs; so both of these new captains are quite useful!
There are two also two new contacts: Lord Harrow, who is located next to Meridian, and who has a lot of shipping/smuggling jobs, and Mr. Universe, who is really quite unlike any of the other contacts. Mr. Universe’s jobs are not stand-alone jobs as the other contacts have; rather, his are add-ons, which can super-size the payout. One challenge, however, of getting to deal with him is that he is close to where the Reaver cutters start out, which brings me to a big addition of the expansion.
Two new contacts and new jobs
In addition to these new contacts, each of the original five contacts receive five new jobs.
Two additional Reaver Cutters add danger
Perhaps the biggest adjustment with the Blue Sun expansion is the increased presence of the Reaver cutters. Not only are there two new Reaver cutters, but there are also Reaver cutter tokens. The addition of the two new Reaver cutters makes it so that the three Reaver cutters are more frequent, but the Reaver cutter tokens also add an added danger. Whenever a Reaver cutter has been on a space, it leaves a token there; when a player wants to land on that space, they have to roll a die for a number that is higher than the number of Reaver tokens there. This addition of the two Reaver cutters and the tokens increase the chances that one will have run-ins with Reaver cutters, highlighting the need for having a pilot and mechanic on one’s crew.
New Story and Game SetUp Cards
There are three new story cards and a new game set-up card. We played one of the new story cards: “Any Port in a Storm”, which was very enjoyable, although it can take a while to amass the amount of money necessary. It was, nevertheless, fun to play with havens in this story card, which is a new facet of the game. As part of this story, you can refuel for free, amongst other cool things about the havens. Additionally, this expansion set includes 70 reaver/Alliance tokens, 7 haven chips, 7 disgruntled tokens, and 4 Goal/Warrant Issue tokens. There are also ten border space nav cards that replace existing border space nav cards, which, according to the rulebook, represent “the increased Reaver threat and addition of Rim Space to the game.”
Additional tokens
Having played Blue Sun several times with my sister, brother-in-law, and others, the two biggest changes to the game with the Blue Sun expansion are the less crowded feeling one gets by playing with an additional 33% of board, which is great, as well as the additional risk and danger of the reavers. Of course, it is also good that there are new nav decks, new supply decks, and new contacts. I’m looking forward to continuing playing!
