Russ (Rabit) asked if I'd played this game. (https://greaterthangames.com/comment/57850#comment-57850)
Yes! Played a solo mission last night. Enjoyed it. Would play again. Would have played again last night if I'd had time.
Looks like there isn't a whole lot of interaction between players during the game itself, actually. You can trade stuff with each other in the (I'm guessing) rare cases when your ships are in the same place. You can also hire away disgruntled crew. Mostly, though, I think it's just a race against the other players to get things done faster. There's no ship to ship combat, for instance.
I played the solo mission where one tries to become 'Solid' (successfully complete a job) with each of the five contacts in the game in a limited number of turns. I cheated a bit to use more money than strictly allowed for my starting crew so I could have Mal, Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, and Jayne all on the ship. I later picked up Book, too.
It's unclear to me how much I will want to keep playing the game after the thrill of getting to be/have these characters in these situations rubs off. I'm not sure, for instance, how much the fun will diminish for me the first time I play the game using one of the other captains besides Mal.
The new expansion, Pirates and Bounty Hunters allows direct interaction as you can pirate other's ships, and if they are wanted you can capture them for bounties.
It is a fun game, and the least fun part (lack of sustained player interaction) should be addressed by the new expansion.
If you are completely unfamiliar with Firefly some things don't make as much sense, and you probably won't enjoy the feel of the game as well as a Firefly fan will, but it is still a good game if you don't know the material.
Having seen only one Firefly, a rather long time ago, I can attest to the game being quite good apart from the show. It scratches a space merchanty itch...
my recommendation would be to make yourself thoroughly familiar with Firefly. I don't know if it makes the game experience any better, since I haven't played the game yet, but it will definitely enhance your life in general.
Being a Firefly fan definitely makes the game more enjoyable, the card art is all stills from the series and all of the game terminology references the show. That said, if you like a pickup and devliver game it scratches that itch but there's no exploration like there is in Merchant's of Venus.
Essentially, it is a fun pickup-and-deliver game that benefits from a great theme. Half the fun with friends is considering the funny situations that arise. One time, a friend hired hired Bester (Serenity's first mechanic) as well as Kaylee (who replaced him). I just had to ask him, "What do you need two mechanics for?" Of course, he had to reply, "I really don't." (except he really did, for tech skill points)
Or you can dress Jayne in a Fluffy Pink Dress.
Plus, I like that things do seem pretty well-balanced, provided everyone's got a decent idea of what to expect and how best to prepare (that can take a couple of sessions to grasp, though I have drafted up my own Starter's Guide that can be found on the same site as my review, for those who are interested). The various Leader/Crew combinations can make for varied playstyles, which along with the different story card scenarios, makes for a bit of replayability, too.
Due to its playtime and fairly languid pace, though, it's certainly best suited for a lazy Sunday rather than a 'game night' or anything like that.
