“Find a crew. Find a job. Keep flying. Cross the ‘verse to complete jobs and get paid.”

Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/138161/firefly-the-game
Playing Time: 120-240 minutes
Weight: Medium
Genre: Open World Ne’er Do Well Simulator
Designer: Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, Sean Sweigart
Players: 1-4

Image from boardgamegeek.com

Lead a crew of vagabonds across the galaxy in a sandboxy experience where you try to complete missions, run from reavers and avoid scrutiny of the law. There have been a lot of licensed games over the years, but few have succeeded at letting you just LIVE in their respective worlds. Firefly does that, letting you chart your own path while fully immersing yourself in a world that DRIPS with browncoat flavor.

The core of the game is simple. Recruit crew, travel the galaxy and pick up jobs. Some jobs are more illicit than others, offering greater rewards in exchange for more police scrutiny. And the reavers are always lurking somewhere.

Firefly was a mainstay of this list for years before it ultimately fell off because it wasn’t getting a ton of play (it’s a longer game, and longer games hit the table less frequently). Also, it takes just an absolutely ridiculous amount of table space. But it reemerges this year, thanks to the release of the gorgeous big box 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition, which reminded me of how good this game is. If you know a medium-to-heavy who is a big fan of the ‘Verse, this game merits a closer look.