No, I didn't get to meet him in real life. But I did get the next best thing last night...I played the Firefly boardgame with @demmetros. Being the first to choose their captain, how couldn't I pick Malcolm Reynolds as well as choose Serenity as my ship! This was my first time playing so why not go for nostalgia.
First let me say that this game was a ton of fun after getting the hang of it about 30 minutes. Each turn you could perform two actions, with options like mosey (move 1 square on the board without drawing alliance or reaver attention, full burn (move about 5 squares but had to flip an alliance or reaver card to see if I got to keep flying, had an option to stop for a salvage mission, or encountered an alliance or reaver ship which could make bad things happen like death of some crew or illegal cargo/fugitives being seized.) The bulk of this game revolved around resource and turn management. To win, we had to complete three goals in order; be solid with two contacts (by completing at least one job,) acquire 6000 dollars, and then travel to Ezra to payoff the loan shark. I think there are other story cards (and expansions) in the game with different goals to keep it fresh from game to game.
Full Size Image
The game board itself was rather large with the Alliance controlled areas in blue (only the Allience cruiser monitors this space) and everything else was Fringe Areas in yellow (which only the Reaver ship monitors.) At the start of the game you have two contacts, Harkin and Amnon Duul, and a job you can take for each.
Every player chooses where they would like thier game piece (my was orange) anywhere on the board to start off. From there you travel to start your first job, make new contacts, or head to one of the various shops for upgrades, equipment, or crew. Luckily we start with some fuel and spare parts in case of a breakdown.
Every player chooses where they would like thier game piece (my was orange) anywhere on the board to start off. From there you travel to start your first job, make new contacts, or head to one of the various shops for upgrades, equipment, or crew. Luckily we start with some fuel and spare parts in case of a breakdown.
So here's a short version of how this game went.
I can honestly say I felt the full gambit of emotions on this one.
As I mentioned earlier I chose Captain Mal Reynolds as the leader of Serenity. Because he's just so dapper, I just had to buy him a sweet ride, Burgess's Hovering Bad-Ass Space Jeep.
I flew around the galaxy with Captain Mal, finishing a few jobs, only to find out that when a moral crew member does a legal, yet immoral job, they become demoralized and that made Captain Mal sad.
Things took a turn for the better when we managed to complete the next job of delivering illegal contraband, with a demoralized crew I might add. Muuaahaha! Captian Mal made sure we got our full $1600 space bucks and just as we were heading back to Serenity, @demmetros presented us with our first GOAL TOKEN for being solid with two contacts!! Now I needed to make a little bit more money.
Being fed up with the toil and trouble of hiding contraband in the ships stash Mal and I decided to just do legal jobs for a while. The stress of being on the lookout for, or boarded by the Alliance Cruiser crew, was just too much.
And just in the nick of time too, as we did a full burn towards the Georgia system, we caught the attention of these 'space police' who pulled us over and searched our shit. Thank the lord we'd just dumped that stuff off!
After losing precious time being hassled by the cops, we had to book it to make my delivery. Screw the Reavers, Full Burn! We managed to avoid an ambush, got to the planet, unloaded the cargo and got paid! BAM!! With $6000 space bucks in hand, the second Goal Token was in hand!! Next turn I just mosey over the neighboring planet of Ezra and pay off the loan shark to win the game! Victory Shall be Mine! Muuaahahaha!
But then, the competitor named Hopper to my left realizes that he can make his way to the final planet where he would complete a job, giving him the money needed to win. Was my journey across the galaxy with Captain Mal really going to end in failure?!?! Hopper did a full burn, drawing the attention of the authorities...surely this would guarantee our success! But wait, what's that! The perfect card allowing my opponent to slip away from the police.
Oh Noes!!!
Hopper landed on the final planet, got paid for his job, but had used his two actions. Mal nudged me and asked if the paying off the loan shark to win counted as it's own action....since my opponent had already used his two. Nobody was quite sure....so too the rulebook! @demmetros found that indeed paying off the loan shark counted as an action. Hopper couldn't win this round giving me the time I needed to beat him there!! I had WON!!!
Image Sources:
Captain Mal
Firefly Board Game
Harkin and Amnon Duul
Rest of Pictures Were Taken with my Phone