Infiltration: Android Universe [With 1 Six-Sided Die and Room, Operative, Action, Item, Special, Npc Cards and Tokens, Markers, St [Giocattolo]

Infiltration is a unique board game with unusually fast games. I purchased this game after reading a review on Rock, Paper, Shotgun which I would recommend to anyone interested in the game.

The game is set up randomly each round, and the abilities and items for each player are random, which contribute to a strong replayability. The rules are fairly simple and very consistent; there are only a few rare exceptions to the usual round of gameplay and implementing these exceptions is straightforward. The result of this is that outside of set up time, the game plays very quickly. The first round that we played (three players total) lasted merely an hour, and that was primarily due to taking the rules slowly as we learned them. Subsequent games go much faster and can be completed in as little as thirty minutes, depending on how the players approach the game. The game length does not vary much with the number of players, as turns go relatively quickly. It should be noted, however, that you require alternate rules for two person play; Infiltration is meant to be played with at least three players and only improves with the addition of more.

The art for the game is lovely, and the cards are well designed. One complaint is the use of small chips to account for victory points; these chips need to be stored face-down for the entirety of the game. It can be difficult to keep these chips in order without viewing them. Moreover, the chips can have a value from 1-3, and the number of chips with these values is set. This could cause an issue if chips are lost, as they may imbalance the game (though this is not going to be an issue for all but the most obsessive players).

Infiltration is an excellent game for groups of three or more looking for a fast, easy game to fill time.

Infiltration was a game I was very excited about when I heard about it. I want to try out Android, but it's such an investment for such a complex sounding game that I worry that it won't be a match for my group and that it'll be too confusing. And then I saw this at my FLGS and it was a reasonable price, so I picked it up.

It's a fairly straight forward Push Your Luck game, but with a few added elements to make it more interesting. Players start with a small hand of cards, and cards are very hard to get. There are a few rooms that let you draw cards, but for the most part you're going to be playing with what you have in hand. Everyone is trying to get information chips out of the rooms of the building and then get out, which is harder than it sounds.

The tough part about this game is that the Data Chips that are Victory Points are dealt out randomly. A room gets a certain number of VP chips on it when it's revealed, but they might all be 1s or they might all be 3s, and there's no way of knowing until you've drawn it. And some actions from other players make you randomly discard a VP chip, so again you might end up with getting rid of a 1 or a 3, and there's no way to control that loss.

Overall I liked the game. It wasn't as good as I was hoping for it to be, but it was still pretty good. My gaming group however really disliked it. Too Random was the complaint I heard the most.

BACKGROUND:
I have only played one full game (2-player where each player controls two Operatives) and it was a lot of fun! From beginning to end, the players were really involved with the whole board, the strategy of the gameplay, and the cool items from the item cards. The rules cover a LOT of ground, so they're a little long to get through -- I say make the effort because, when read carefully, they will clear up questions. The ground that the rules DON'T cover is handled by the cards themselves, whether it's an item, NPC, or action card. There was not 1 question about a rule that came up that was not covered by a card or the rules book.

The game we played took about an hour, which would have been shorter if we were more familiar with the game. This was our first time out and it was fun-but-slow (compared to it's intended speed).

GAMEPLAY
Pros: Good explanations through rules or card descriptions that don't leave room for interpretation. Turns are balanced to prevent any one player from having the advantage throughout the entire game. Players can effect each other and really throw a wrench in an otherwise well-planned round. The presence of the Alarm Counter & Proximity Counter add a sense of urgency to the game that allows for several different strategies to win the game.

Cons: It's not as straight-forward as many board games, but that's actually one of the reasons I like it (twists and turns vs. roll and move). The pieces could be swallowed by children. I haven't seen a whole map yet. That's not really a con, but I really want to see them in-play!

LOGISTICS
Pros: Heavy-stock cardboard for the player tokens. Durable stock for the cards (though a child could destroy one easily). All the pieces fit into the box without issue. Nothing that is constructed (i.e., the security wheel or the player tokens) is at-risk of breaking or wearing to the point of unusability.

Cons: There are a LOT of tokens for Infiltration and many of them need to remain face-down during play. That's a bit of setup and there's no good way to grab from a bag (because there's no texture on either side) so they have to be laid out. The biggest con is the number of tokens and the setup time to play the game. It's not bad; it's definitely more complicated that a standard board game (on par with Catan).