Expansion of the Year: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: PEGASUS

Of course this expansion to 2008’s Game of the Year is going to win. That being said, there were some shaky bits to PEGASUS and extended play has revealed a couple of spots that should have been polished a little better, but this one comes down to a fanboy vote on my part. You get to be Admiral Cain. You can execute people. There are those Treachery cards and risky skill checks. And Cylons with conflicted loyalty. BSG fans that aren’t excited by the story and theme possibilities that those things represent must be out of their minds. Who cares about “mechanics” when you’re battling it out with the Cylon ace, Scar? All things considered, PEGASUS extended the BSG experience and brought in even more elements from the show, and for that alone it was my favorite expansion of the year.

Best Production: SPACE HULK

Anyone who has taken a look at SPACE HULK will probably use any number of hyperbolic adjectives to describe the quality of this game’s production. Simply put, it is one of the best productions of a board game that I’ve ever seen. And that’s without painting the miniatures. Embossed cardboard pieces, absolutely outstanding illustration and graphic design, and of course those beautiful miniatures made this game absolutely worth the $100 price tag- gameplay notwithstanding, which is worth about $1000 itself.

I’m also impressed by the completeness of the production- the product design conveys a real sense of atmosphere and cohesion, something we don’t often see in games. There’s nothing in the box, except for maybe the egg timer and the dice that you’d mistake for belonging to any other game. It’s just a great looking game from top to bottom, and as games are a visual and tactile medium such quality deserves acknowledgement.