A few shots of our latest round of Bios: Origins on #tabletopsimulator. I do continue to really enjoy this, and it is (a lot) better with the full compliment of 4 players, in my opinion anyway. But it’s not short, and TTS adds probably at least 10% to the play time. Our game took a bit over 4 hours - honestly not too bad for what the game gives you, but longer than any modern game from #sierramadregames not named High Frontier. Top tip 1: I think you want to be pretty aggressive about challenging the gods in Epoch I unless you *really* need whatever your elder is parked on; foundations last the whole game, give you diversity which can make your culture more durable, and are generally good. Early on, when people only have 1-2 elders, you can usually win if you call. Top tip 2: don’t forget to use the Library action to make the critical jumps to information levels 2 and 3. Top tip 3: Trade is super-strong. Never pass up an opportunity to grab it. Top tip 4: it’s possible to turn around a slow start, but it’s hard. The key is to build up your Free Will and Information levels don’t you can grab foundations, and not to get too distracted until you can have a decent elder pool. With chaos, revolutions, and dictators things can be quite fluid in Epochs III and IV, and advantages in Metallurgy, Mystics, and cities can be quite transient in Epochs II and III. Ideas can provide strong temporary advantages, but they aren’t permanent, and while the Foundations do stick around for an improbably long time, the cultures are just a lot more fluid than in traditional Civ games, so you can play opportunistically in the later epochs and hope to turn the tables. It’s not easy, but it can be done. Last thing: unless I’m missing something about resource distribution, give the experienced players the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. They seem significantly harder than Home Florensis and Homo Erectus. Erectus particularly, with their generally easy access to the Americas, has tons of space while Cro-Magnon is extremely cramped. I think next time I might try the first dispersal game, which probably adds 20min to the game but also might help even out Epoch I a bit. #bgg #boardgamegeek https://www.instagram.com/p/CDDqT73hWXw/?igshid=1pi1s8r5hu7w3
