Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This game can be very entertaining, but it is slow and complex, meaning it won't be for everyone. The biggest problem I have with Android is that it takes so long to play, especially if the people at the table are not experienced gamers; don't be surprised when you convince friends and family who are not serious about gaming to try this and it takes the entire day. Despite enjoying the game, I must confess it sets a slow pace and isn't particularly exciting enough to sustain that many hours of gameplay.
The designers definitely could've cut down the number of components the game ships with, there are just too many tiny cardboard pieces to keep track of. Some of these pieces weren't necessary as there are more intuitive ways of tracking game information, but cardboard pieces were probably the cheapest, so it's not difficult to see why they chose this path.
But frankly, Android has the most fragile game board I've ever played with, the number of small tokens, counters, and trackers that must be in exactly the right place mean the slightest table bump or unchecked arm movement can send pieces flying out of position, which is never a good thing.
Another complaint is that, at least in my experience, the complex interactions and variety of strategies and options are often times wasted as it seems more efficient to pursue the most basic action of collecting evidence instead of performing one of the game's many advanced options (killing a suspect, piecing together the conspiracy, etc).
This could just be the steep learning curve the game has, making it a long time before players realize when and how to take advantage of these mechanics, but even among knowledgeable and experience gamers I found that none of us were taking these advanced actions because doing so meant sacrificing several opportunities to place evidence on a suspect and receiving very little gain in return. This is especially true since many of these actions require that you take other actions to make them useful, eating up a lot of time, and if the other players are only placing evidence you'll fall behind since doing so provides the biggest opportunity for victory in the game.
What really surprised me about the slow pace and advanced strategies was the contrast to the twilight cards the game uses. These are basically two decks of cards, one called a Light Deck that is beneficial and can only be played on yourself, and a Dark Deck that is harmful and only used against the other players.
Many of these cards are startling powerful in comparison to the rest of the game, forcing players to discard all of their cards or favors, preventing them from acting on a turn, etc. Worse yet, there seems to be no way to counter a card (and they're very easy to play), so once they've been used you can do nothing but suffer the consequences. Nothing is more disturbing than the sickening feeling you get when other players hit you with these cards during the last two rounds of the game and all the strategy and effort you put in were for naught because your opponents happened to draw one of the more powerful cards available, causing you to lose a game of slow, complex game strategy due to dumb luck and no skill on anyone's part. These moments made me feel like I had stepped out of Android and into another game, they just don't mesh well with the feel and pace the rest of the game offers.
For every one of these powerful cards you draw, there will be several that provide very little benefit and are mostly played to get them out of your hand. You cannot exceed the draw cap in this game and simply discard down to the legal amount later, or discard without spending time during your turn, so being able to get a card out of your hand is very valuable, and most of the game is spent playing these weaker cards in order to do just that, with the hope that the next card(s) you draw will be better.
Lastly, many of the negative effects have stipulations under which they can be played. Many of these stipulations involved the advanced mechanics of the game, giving players even fewer incentives to do anything other than follow evidence around the board, because to do otherwise would put them at risk of being targeted by a powerful card.
Despite these complaints, I do enjoy Android. I do, however, feel that the game could've been streamlined in a few areas, and this becomes readily apparent when you've been playing the game for several hours and realize everyone at the table has been just been placing evidence in the same routine manner while whittling down their decks to find those really powerful cards that will cripple other players by setting them back an entire round or more and require very little strategy to play.
Android is best played with veteran gamers who won't mind the lack of polish, will explore the game's depth out of curiosity, and really get into the rich history and story the game provides through it's setting, characters, and scenarios. In short, if your friends like to read the quotes and flavor text on cards and sheets, they will probably get into this game. If not, then they might not enjoy it since immersing yourself into the game world is a major part of the experience.
Android is brilliant and beautiful, but flawed and unpolished. Be sure you know what you're getting and who your fellow players are before purchasing this game.
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Every Man Has Two Sides. How Far Will You Go To Catch A Criminal?Android is a board game of murder and conspiracy set in a dystopian future. Detectives travel between the city of New Angeles and moon colony Heinlein chasing down leads, calling in favors, and uncovering the sinister conspiracy beneath it all. The detectives must balance their pursuit of the murderer against their personal lives and their inner demons. Android's innovative mechanics ensure that no two detectives play alike. Will you play as Louis Blaine, the crooked cop tormented by guilt and loss? Or will you take the role of Caprice Nisei, the psychic clone who struggles to retain her sanity while proving that she's as human as anyone else? Whoever you choose to play, you've got just two weeks to solve the murder, uncover the conspiracy, and face your personal demons. Better get moving, detective.
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