<center>http://i.imgur.com/vHwyznJ.jpg</center>
XCOM the video game is a Turn Based Strategy Game where you control a squad of soldiers who are fending off an alien invasion of Earth. After putting in tons of hours playing this on my PC, I just had to check out the Board Game version, and it didn't disappoint.
<center>http://i.imgur.com/LIKUWAv.png</center>
The core idea of the board game is that there are 4 roles to be filled (every player acts as one or more role, depending on how many people join you) that include the Commander, Chief Scientist, Central Officer, and Squad Leader. Each role has certain tasks that they take care of, but they have to work together to stave off the aliens while managing their resources. This game is very unique in that players are ONLY working cooperatively to win the game, it's all us against the invaders.<br>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/qWgSo52.png</center>
<center><sup>XCOM Free Companion App</sup></center>
The game is driven by a free companion app that tells you the scenarios, times decision times and lets you input your chosen actions. I found it convenient to load onto a slightly bigger device like a tablet, making it easier for the group to see it. However, the Central Officer role actually handles and communicates the information provided by the app to other players. 

While the major mechanic in this game is resource management being mixed with efficient strategy (and a little luck,) the underlying goal is to keep the coalition of world countries united under the XCOM coalition. Areas whose panic levels increase too high will leave the group, and when too many leave, the game is over.
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>
## <center>Commander</center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/vlP4VRt.png</center>
The primary task of the Commander is to manage the budget, with everything done by the entire team costing money. Let's just say that really bad things happen when the budget falls short. The person filling this role also watches to prevent countries from panicking due to alien events in their territory as well as buys and places Interceptor planes used to take down enemy ships.

## <center>Chief Scientist</center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Lvj4erb.png</center>
The Chief Scientist is in charge of picking what research projects are undertaken (which provide better weapons, armor, tools, etc,) what scientists are which project and what captured items to salvage (that provides use of alien materials.)

## <center>Central Officer</center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Kp5rgev.png</center>
The Central Officer is the player who hold the device running the companion app, relays all necessary information to other players and inputs decisions back into the app. This role also monitors the board for attacking UFO's, launches satellites into orbit enhancing Earth's defenses and tracks the threat level of member nations and the base itself. (High threat levels can cause nations to leave the coalition or the base to be over-run, both potentially causing the players to lose.)

## <center>Squad Leader</center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/zhHkWvA.png</center>
The Squad Leader chooses the missions to take on (having to pick from 3, the 2 not taken have the associated counties increase their panic level.) This role also hires and upgrades squad members while deciding which soldiers are deployed to missions and/or stays to defend the base itself.
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>
## <center>Gameplay</center>
While the app does try to force quick decision making, the first time you play this game, feel free to pause the timers and take your time. There is a slight learning curve to this, learning what role does what in particular, so don't feel rushed the first time through. It only take once of going through the game to get the hang of things, which drastically speeds things up.

Since the app has about a half dozen "Invasion Plans" to choose from, this game has a good deal of replay value...as it should when costing $60. Each round UFO's move around or appear, catastrophes arise and/or aliens invade the XCOM base itself. Each turn the team can only deal with so many issues, causing the areas with unresolved problems to increase their panic/threat level. Even when a member nation leaves the group, the team loses important funding, even if it wasn't enough to fully end the game.
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Ud04WC1.png</center>
On top of the UFO movements, the team also has to deal with crisis cards that either hinder our team or speed up the alien developments. While sometimes it's alright to not handle every crisis that comes around, a good number of them to need to be addressed or things quickly get out of control.<br>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/7Fjhkyb.jpg</center>
In some scenario's, the team will also have to deal with aliens directly invading our base. While the small, weaker ones can be left for a short time, not paying attention to these attackers can result in the base being over run and the game ending in a loss.<br>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/kLKrM7A.png</center>
The game includes specialized dice (which can be substituted for any 4xd6 and 1 d8) that are used to determine whether actions fail or succeed. Typically the red 8 sided die is used for alien actions, again to determine successes vs failures on their end.<br>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/JWIJ7Mu.png</center>
Winning this game can be quite difficult and takes efficient strategies, especially with so many different ways the team can lose. The only way for your group to win is to complete the Final Mission requirements, saving what's left of the world.
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>
## <center>Final Thoughts</center>
**I do recommend this game for those looking for a unique single player or co-op challenge.**Anyone who likes turn based strategy video games will love XCOM the board game. Don't expect for everyone playing to have the rules down during the first play through. I do recommend playing the introduction scenario the app provides, especially because allows for the timer to be paused while everyone is getting used to things. The introduction game did take us a very long time (a few hours) to get through, but just because of all the extra reading and first time instructions. The next times we played through the games lasted more around an hour, since we didn't have to check the rules and who did what.<br>
http://i.imgur.com/sKiCvWa.png
<center>http://i.imgur.com/Xs4cJOi.png</center>
<center>http://i.imgur.com/tCAIqAB.png</center>
<center>[![](http://i.imgur.com/GAyUO9H.png)](http://www.steemspeak.com)</center>

Image Sources:
[Xcom Boardgame Box](https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/xcom-the-board-game/)
[Xcom Boardgame](https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/xcom-the-board-game/)
[Xcom Companion App](https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2014/9/19/alien-intelligence/)
[Role Cards](https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/xcom-the-board-game/)
[Threat Level](https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/xcom-the-board-game/)
[Mission Card](https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/xcom-the-board-game/)