Battlestar Galactica

An exciting game of mistrust, intrigue, and the struggle for survival which places each player in the role of one of ten of their favorite characters from Battlestar Galactica.

One of my favourite TV series captured in boardgame form—who could ask for more? Battlestar Galactica is an exciting co-operative game—well, everyone co-operates except those players who are, or become, Cylons—that recreates the tensions, crises and battles of the fantastic new series. Very thematic and a lot of fun. This file includes rules summaries for the Pegasus, Exodus and Daybreak expansions.

Update Log

Date Version Changelog
Sep 2015 4.4 Fixes to core rules summary: setup and lines of succession
Jul 2015 4.3 Minor layout improvements throughout
Aug 2014 4.2 Added revised Lines of Succession
Sep 2013 4.1 Slight error on Daybreak reference sheet fixed
Sep 2013 4 Included a summary of the Daybreak expansion rules and reorganised the rules for combining expansions
Jun 2011 3 Included a summary of the Exodus expansion rules
Jun 2010 2 Included a summary of the Pegasus expansion rules
Jul 2009 1.2 Game turn error fixed; reference sheet properly centred
Jun 2009 1.1 Error in Setup fixed; icon added on summary sheet
Feb 2009 1 Original release

20 Comments

  • Mark says:

    Don’t forget there is a the Daybreak expansion coming (and the rules are already available at the FFG website).

    A summary page as per the other expansions would be great (and another card for using combinations of expansions.)

  • Kenn says:

    Thanks for these! My wife and I run a BSG game at our FLGS about every other month, and I can’t tell you how helpful the rules summaries and the smaller player “cheat sheets” are for keeping track of the action in this quite complex game. We’ve since downloaded some of the references for other games, but this is the one we can’t live without (and the one that made it clear I needed to donate to keep this amazing resource going).

    Looking forward to the Daybreak update as well!

    • Universal Head says:

      Great to hear Kenn. I wish I could play it more myself—in fact despite all my work I’ve only had the opportunity to play one truncated game! Thanks for the support and look out for the next update to this sheet.

      • Kenn says:

        That’s a shame! Well, should you ever be contemplating an excursion to the States, and expect to find yourself in the Chicago area in particular, we’ll set one up for you. Our local shopkeeper is a fan of yours as well.

        • Universal Head says:

          Excellent, I’ll keep that in mind! If I was 25 again I’d canvas worldwide fans and do a worldwide couch-surfing gaming tour. 🙂

  • Derek says:

    Thanks for all the great work. Love this game and love these references.

    Any chance that there may be foam core plans for this game? Trying to figure out the best way to organize all these expansions into the main box. Right now I’m using a plano and some tuck boxes, but box doesn’t quite close right. Wondering if maybe a foam core insert would solve this.

    Cheers.

    • Universal Head says:

      Unfortunately this game, like most of my collection after a recent move to a new country, is in storage, and my foamcore solution for it will have to wait until I get it back. Not sure if I could successfully fit all the expansions into one box however!

      • Derek says:

        Ah. I may try and give it a go. The number of boards present a problem, though I’m hoping I may be able to figure something out. I worry that the foam core might take up too much of the box (vs the plano), but on the other hand I may be able to lay out things more efficiently.

        • Universal Head says:

          I used to try and consolidate games in one box, but more and more I find myself keeping things separate in their boxes so I can keep the expansions divided easily. Does take up a lot of space though of course.

  • Bud says:

    Hey, I love these summaries! They are really great.

    One suggestion, if I may, is to add a reference sheet that includes Daybreak but not Exodus.
    I believe that Exodus is an expansion that is best played on its own, while Daybreak and Pegasus combine well.

    • Since they’re on separate sheets isn’t it possible to just pick what expansions you want to use?

      • Bud says:

        Oh no, sorry, I think I wasn’t clear enough. What I meant was if you could add a “Play Reference” for Daybreak without Exodus. Play Reference being those small sheets at pages 4, 9 and 12. Page 4 is Vanilla, so it does not have Assault Raptors in it. Page 9 is, naturally Exodus. Finally, Page 12 has Assault Raptors, but it has too much Exodus on it, thus missing all the useful information that is available on Page 4.

        PS: I have found a typo on Page 4, Launch Raiders. “Each launches 3 raiders.” should have been “Each Basestar launches 3 raiders.”
        PS2: You might want to format the Heavy activation, more similiar to the Raider Activation. Maybe like so:
        For each Heavy Raider and each Centurion do one of the following:
        1) Move a Heavy Raider: A Heavy Raider that is not in a Space Area containing a Viper Launch Icon, moves towards the nearest Viper Launch Icon.
        2) Board Galactica: A Heavy Raider that is in a Space Area containing a Viper Launch Icon is removed from the board, and a Centurion is added to the Boarding Party Track.
        3) Move a Centurion: A Centurion on the Boarding Party Track is moved one space towards the Humans Lose space.
        If there are no Heavy Raiders or Centurions in play, one Heavy Raider is launched from each Basestar.

        Or maybe you can split it into two for Heavy Raiders and Centurions. I don’t know, but either way, it would be more concise and convey more information “at-a-glance”.

  • OK, the problem here is that I’ve actually played ONE game of BSG, despite spending tens of hours on this summary, so apart from fixing the typo, the rest is difficult for me to confirm and do without some serious time-consuming study. If you think all these changes are really useful, contact me via the Contact page and you could walk me through them. Happy to make the sheet better, but I don’t have the experience with the game to understand all these changes myself.

  • Tobl says:

    Thanks for the nice overview. I don’t have the game yet, but after watching a few reviews, this was really easy to follow.
    I’ve only read the rules for the base game, but I noticed two small issues:
    1) Under “Setup” (1st Page, 1st column, last paragraph) you say to place two vipers below Galactica. Is that two on the bottom left, bottom right, one each, someone chooses…?
    2) Under “Revealed Cylon Players -> 2. Lose Titles” (2nd Page, 1st Column, near the middle) it says to give the title to the next in the line of succession (e.g. Admiral from Apollo to Starbuck). However, under “Lines of Succession” (2nd Page, 4th column, near the end) you write that it goes to the highest player in the line of succession (e.g. Admiral from Apollo to Adama). Which one is correct?

  • Chris says:

    I just discovered your guides and they are amazing. Thank you so much for making these.

    I do have a quick question, though. On all of these guides they say to print on card. I’m assuming you’re suggesting cardstock, but I was curious if they’re all designed to print at 100% on standard paper or if there’s a specific size that would be required.

    • Welcome Chris! You can print them on anything you like; lately I use gloss paper which I glue together for double-sided sheets using dpray adhesive. I used to use double-sided thin card, which I then laminated, but I can’t access it anymore. Use whatever printing mean are at your disposal! And yes, print at 100%.

      • Chris says:

        Thanks for the quick response! I think I was mainly trying to determine what size the paper should be, because I only have a desktop printer at home, but I think i’m going to take the file down to a local printer and get it printed then laminated, to get it all done at once.

        I just bought this game, too, and these guides make learning the game so much easier. Well done!

        • Your desktop printer will print on A4 or Letter size paper, and it should fit on both, and then you can trim to size using a craft knife and a metal ruler. Or you can do it all at a printer. 🙂 Glad you find the sheets useful.

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