Stats:
No. of players: 1-6
Amount of time to play: 120-150 min
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: 5-10 min

Pirates and Bounty Hunters introduces PvP interactions to Firefly the game. Now you can steal from others and collect bounties on wanted crew.

Pirates and Bounty Hunters Rules Description:

This post will assume you have played Firefly the game. If you have not, read my overview and review to understand the basic game play. Pirates and Bounty Hunters adds some new cards, ships and game mechanics to the series.

There are two new ships, the S.S. Walden and the Interceptor. The S.S. Walden is a bit slower than your standard firefly, but has a large cargo bay without a stash. The Interceptor speeds around at eight range and requires no fuel to use a full burn. It has a small cargo bay, only two slots for upgrades and has a maximum crew size of four.

In addition to the new ships there are new supply cards and leaders. One of the leaders is made to go bounty hunting while the other is good for salvaging extra loot when pirating.

If you occupy the same space as another player you may attempt to board their ship. To get on you need to pass a tech or negotiate test and then you have a showdown. During a showdown each player chooses with skill they want to use. You roll a die and add the result to your chosen skill’s value. The player with the highest total wins the showdown with ties going to the defender.

There are two reasons to board another player’s ship. One is piracy and this expansion adds piracy jobs to each contact’s deck. If you win a showdown after boarding their ship you complete the job and may steal their un-stashed cargo or even inactive jobs. Piracy jobs are morally subjective. This means moral leaders that commit piracy against other moral leaders will disgruntle their crew.

As the title of this expansion suggests bounty hunting is the second reason to board another player’s ship. The expansion comes with a deck of bounty cards (one for each wanted crew in the game), three of which are placed face-up by the board. There are three ways to apprehend a fugitive, in a rival’s crew, one a supply planet or in your crew. To nab a fugitive from another player’s crew you must board their ship and win a showdown. If the fugitive is in a discard pile on a supply planet you have showdown against them. Win and they are yours. Lastly if you betray a fugitive in your crew all other crew members get a disgruntled token. Once apprehended you must deliver the fugitive to a place noted on their bounty card.

Quick Review of Firefly Pirates and Bounty Hunters:

Pirates and Bounty Hunters is a fun expansion to Firefly that provide the direct conflict the base game was missing. Though it adds a few new rules it does so in a way that flows with the base game.

The components for the expansion are comparable to those from the base game. All cards match color-wise and blend in well with the original game components. The rules are easy to read and follow too. Of course more cards means more real estate so be aware and have a big table.

The biggest pro I have for the Pirates and Bounty Hunters expansion is that it is modular. You can add the aspects you like and leave the ones you don’t out. Some groups might not enjoy piracy and think it is too mean. They can simply play without it.
I like the increased interactivity this expansion brings. Just how it is introduced depends on the scenario you play. The expansion comes with three new story cards and you can still play the originals with these new rules.

The new ships are a mixed bag for me. The S.S. Walden can be helpful in a shipping-based scenario, but might have trouble catching faster ships to actually do some pirating. Meanwhile the Interceptor is cool but almost requires you to use it to bounty hunt and thus use Jubal Early (who gets bonuses to bounty hunt) as your leader. With a small crew of only four and no Jubal Early it is tough to take on larger crews with more skills. It just seems the regular firefly ships are able to maneuver and stack their crew better.

Whether you should pick Pirates and Bounty Hunters up will depend on your group. Do they mind direct conflict games? If so this might not be an expansion they’ll enjoy. If you liked the base game give this expansion a try. You can see what about it you’d want to add (or ignore) if you decide to pick it up.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 3 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 5 out of 6
Complexity 3 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6