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XCOM: The Board Game Review

Fantasy Flight has released its first board game with a digital app required and it's worth it.
This article is over 9 years old and may contain outdated information

Shortly after the XCOM games became available on mobile devices, Fantasy Flight Games has announced one of their more ambitious ideas: the XCOM board game has a companion app that is required to play. There are plenty of board games that can benefit from a companion app or have been completely converted into a mobile format. The XCOM Board Game can’t be played without the app. At first, FFG caught a lot of heat about this. Consumers cited battery life, outdated devices and concerns when FFG would stop updating the app as reasons they didn’t like the idea.

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At this point, I can tell you that those concerns are unnecessary. I’ve played the game several times with my three-year-old phone and have had no hiccups, except the day I started the game with a low battery.

Because this game has so many elements to observe, I would like to tackle each one as a separate subject: the app, the components, and the gameplay.

The App

The app is a quick and easy download that was available several days before the game’s release, preventing any release day fiascos. It’s available on iOS and Google Play. The app can also be downloaded to your PC or MAC and can be run through your browser if you don’t want to download anything to your device. Each of these applications performs in exactly the same way once started, making it simple to use even if you change formats.

The app runs you through the basic rules of the game in a tutorial instead of finding a full-blown rulebook in the box. The only rules you will find in the box is one sheet of how to set up the game and board and prepare for your app to take control from there. Whenever you have a rules question, you just have to click the item in question and you will be given a detailed explanation of all rules regarding that action.

The phases of the turn are similar each round, but can change based on circumstances, such as UFOs left in orbit. The app will ask you to enter some information each round such as the number of UFOs hanging out in space and the current panic level of each country. It then uses this information on your next turn to determine how much money you will earn and if the phases of your turn might be scrambled. If they do get mixed up, you might likely have to assign fighters or satellites blindly before you know the full extent of their threat.

From FFGs XCOM page

The only real issues I have with the app are that it doesn’t have many energy saving options. There are plenty of screens that have moving parts that could be made static for the sake of saving battery power on smaller devices. There is a news ticker, while interesting to read, could have an option to turn off for more savings. The only thing you can really change right now is

The only thing you can really change right now is sound, but you won’t likely want to turn off the sound effects completely, as specific sounds are paired to their actions. Players with keen hearing will know their turn is up without having to hear from the Communications Officer.

The app provides and additional function to the game that many just don’t have, more stress! Each action is timed from deciding what to research to deploying fighters and satellites. Any time you don’t use becomes ‘free’ time at the end of the turn for the whole group to use. Each player, in a four-player game, has one task they are supposed to keep up with and the board is designed to place all cards necessary in front of the proper player to make an easy to use play area.

Verdict (9/10): The app is an essential part of the game. It runs smoothly on all platforms and reduces production costs of rulebooks in the game box, allowing for higher expenses on components. I would love to see a light UI that reduces battery fatigue.

The Components

Fantasy Flight always aims to impress with visual quality in their games. X-wing is a fine example of the standard they strive to achieve in every release. X-COM doesn’t fail here, either. During last year’s InFlight Report at Gencon, Christian Peterson pointed out that the reduced costs associated with not having to print a large rulebook or several card decks allowed them to produce more and higher quality game components instead while keeping the game at the expected price point. There are 44 highly detailed plastic figures in the box alone. Not to mention the board, cards, and dice are all included in the box as well.

From FFGs XCOM page

Thanks to the app, the board isn’t cluttered with decks of cards and piles of tokens that no one can find. The board is arranged in such a way that four players, the maximum for the game, can each have their own side at the table and be comfortable. Each position’s tasks sit right in front of the player making their job much simpler even while the app is pressuring you for time.

Verdict (9/10): Fantasy Flight delivers the same high quality that is expected of them. The fact that more money was spent on components instead of rule books only served to improve upon that standard. This game makes you feel like the price was too low. The one thing lacking is enough dice for an average roll when using troops, so you might want to incorporate a few of your own die.

The Gameplay

XCOM is a fully cooperative game for 1-4 players that puts the players against the app. The app tells you where and when enemies arrive and what actions to take. Depending on the results of a previous turn, your actions could be scrambled in order and force you to deploy your defenses before you even know how many UFOs will be attacking.

The Timed Phase

The game is divided into two phases: timed and resolution. During the timed phase, the game pushes you to make decisions under pressure. You aren’t allowed to fall into the commonly known ‘analysis paralysis.’ The turn typically follows a pattern. Once you’ve played the game a few times, experienced players will know what phases to expect before they even happen. A key role in playing the game is the role of the Central Officer. The Central Officer must operate the app and must communicate to the players what tasks they must complete. Learning how to tell the scientist to draw cards quickly can save the team time that they can later use to relax and assess the situation at the end of the turn.

From FFGs XCOM page

There is a pause timer in the game that accrues extra time the less you spend on decision making during the round. This pause time allows the team to stop and spend a few extra seconds deciding what is best for the game. All the information in the game is open. 

Each player can show cards in his hand or options he has to the whole team. There won’t be much time for deliberation, though. When the app has guided you through all your actions in a turn, the remaining time on the pause timer will count down, giving you one last chance to use any abilities with the “timed phase” limitation. Once time is up, you can’t use those options anymore.

The Resolution Phase

During the resolution, each player can resolve the tasks he set up during the timed phase. These tasks stay in the same order every turn and there is no time pressure to get the tasks done. The Commander has to make sure XCOM has enough money to operate. If they have a surplus, they can hire new troops or fighters, but any unspent money is lost. If they have a shortage, the countries with the lowest panic levels will move up the panic tracker.

The Scientist gets the first option to make dice rolls. Each blue die has two success symbols out of six total sides. You also have to roll the red ‘alien’ die with each dice roll that is numbered 1 through 8. The red die is a chance that your task fails and the operatives assigned to the tasks are exhausted. When using troops or fighters, they are destroyed on a failure. Even if you fail thanks to the red die, you are still allowed to accrue successes from the blue dice that were part of the same roll. This allows soldiers to finish a mission, but still die in their victory.

A player may attempt as many rolls as they want before they roll a failure. The red die has a tracker that starts at 1, meaning the roll is a failure if the red die shows a 1. Each time a player chooses to roll again, the failure number goes up by 1, making failure more likely the farther you push a project. Failure potential maxes out at five, but that means you already run the risk of failing more than half the time once you’ve reached that number. Sometimes it’s better to save the resources and try again next turn when the failure rate is lower.

After the team completes certain tasks, the app will require input about the current state of the game. It will use this information to put together your next turn. The Resolution phase becomes an opportunity for the players to talk about what can help on future turns without having to watch the timer. Once the Resolution phase is over, you’ll set up to go against the clock again.

You win the game by completing the final mission. Each regular mission you complete gets you closer to the final mission. The game will let you know the turn it will be available, letting the players devote all their resources to that outcome if they wish. Beat the mission and you’ll win the game.

Verdict (9/10): The board game represents the XCOM struggle on a global scale. The time pressure provided by the app is helpful in simulating the pressure from the video game. The only downside here is that the tactical side of the video game isn’t represented in detail. Sending troops on a mission only represents a few skills where the video game thrived on highly skilled soldiers of all classes.

Final Verdict (9/10)

The game has few shortcomings. It delivers on the promise to integrate a mobile app and make it add to the game instead of detracting from it. XCOM is an excellent attempt and one of the first of its kind. It can remind players enough of the video game to make them want to play again and is engaging enough to stand alone as a game without players knowing the XCOM universe beforehand.

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XCOM: The Board Game Review
Fantasy Flight has released its first board game with a digital app required and it's worth it.

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Landon Sommer
While I do play some of the greats like Civilization and X-com, consider me your Tabletop guru here at gameskinny. Want to know about a tabletop game? Just ask!