I'm not sure how to express my first reading of the Twilight
Imperium, Third Edition (Fantasy Flight Games, 2005 - Christian
Peterson) rules, or my first impression when I saw the box and
components included.  I guess that "stunned silence" might fit the
bill.  All of my childhood I dreamed of playing an epic space game,
with battles and empire growth.  When I finally had a chance to play
Twilight Imperium, Second Edition, it - despite flaws - became one of
my ten favorite games.  The game was everything I had imagined, and
was incredibly fun.  When I heard that TI3 was not going to be just an
upgrade, but a total revamping of the system, I was more than excited.
 After playing the game, I have to say that the upgrade was fabulous
for the system.  Despite having some characteristics I'm not fond of
(lengthy playing time, and player elimination), TI3 ranks as my third
favorite game (out of about 800) - it's that good!  Allow me to go
over several of the features of the game, giving my opinions of them.

1.)     Plastic ships:  There was one thing I absolutely detested about
TI2, and that was the plastic ships that came with the game.  Sure,
they looked neat on the table, but cutting them out took literally
several hours and was not a pleasant task.  Thankfully, that problem
has been rectified.  The ships still come on sprues, but twist off
quite easily, similar to those in an Eagle game.  The ships themselves
are highly detailed figures in nine different models, made of a hard
plastic.  They're very nice - of the highest quality, and really make
the game look nice on the board.  The War Suns especially look pretty
cool (although stepping on them would be a horrifying experience), and
look like the massive attack fortresses they are.

2.)     Box:  TI3's box is, without a doubt, the biggest box for any game
I've gotten in the last several years.  It's humongous and is chock
full of components.  After punching everything out and plastic bagging
everything - I think that the game could have more easily fit into a
smaller box, but in unpunched form I'm not so sure.  The box stands
out on my shelf - an epic box for an epic game.

3.)     Hexes:  The map of TI3 is made up of interchangeable hexes, which
have been upsized to match the size of the new plastic pieces.  The
artwork on the tiles is very nice, similar to that of previous
editions; and when put together, they create a very nice looking star
system.  Of course, this increased size means that the game takes up
more space; and when you included the amount of extra piles of
components, and the amount of space each player uses for their own
personal boards, technologies, etc., this means that your going to
need a fairly large table to play the game.  I'm not sure that I've
seen any game (apart from monster war games) that need as much room as
TI3.  Even Sid Meyer's Civilization takes up less space.  But for me
that's okay - I love the massive board, it helps give the game the
"epic" feel.

4.)     Money system:  Money has had a massive overhaul, in two different
ways.  For one, the entire economic system has been simplified, with
costs much easier.  For example, a dreadnaught costs ten gold in the
TI2, while a technology costs 40 gold.  Now dreadnaughts cost five
gold, while technologies cost eight gold.  The changes to the pricing
really simplify the game, and players don't have to mess with piles of
gold.  In fact - the gold coins have been removed from the game
entirely, replaced by a much easier system.  When a player controls a
planet, they are given the corresponding planet card for the system. 
Each planet card is worth a specific amount of resources and is
flipped over ("exhausted") when used to purchase units and/or
technologies.  Planets flipped over in this way can't exert a
political power or be used to buy anything else until the following
round, in which all planets are "refreshed".  Also, the new trading
system introduces trade good counters, which have two uses - one of
them to be used as resources when purchasing.  All of this translates
to a much more streamlined economic system; whereas players designed
player aids to help with the math in TI2 purchasing - it's all very
simple and out in the open in TI3.

5.)     Strategy Cards:  Mr. Peterson deliberately borrowed a mechanic
used in several of modern Eurogames, including Puerto Rico and
Verrater, with the strategy cards.  If one reads the detailed designer
notes included with the game (also found at the company's website,
www.fantasyflightgames.com, he talks about how several games
influenced his decisions to the TI3, and how he attempts (and
succeeds, I might add) to merge Euro game mechanics with an exciting
theme.  Much of that is due to the strategy cards.  At the beginning
of each round, players choose one strategy card - that will give them
a special "primary" ability while giving all of the other player's a
secondary ability that they can pay to utilize.  Each strategy card
also has a number on it, denoting turn order.  These strategy cards
have changed the game more than any other change, and I really enjoy
them.  Deciding which card to take can sometimes be daunting and may
slow down the game a bit at first, as players learn about which
strategy card does what.  Eventually, though, the game speeds up,
because players automatically know the cards they want (no one else
better take it!).

6.)     Races:  There are ten races included with the game, each with a
very distinctive style and abilities.  The races start with different
planets, starting units, and special abilities - all of which are
noted on a very nice race sheet.  In TI2, there were a few races that
I thought were not quite as useful as other races, but now they seem
all quite balanced, each with the ability to break some kind of rule
in the game.  Some of the special abilities are pretty neat - like the
Naalu always go first, the L1X1X mindset can buy dreadnoughts for four
resources, and the Barony of Letnev can spend resources to increase
their combat values.  On the back of each race card is a detailed
history of the race - really increasing the theme and feel of the
game.

7.)     Fleet Supply:  Aside from the strategy cards, the other great
innovation of the TI3 is command counters.  There are three spots on
each player's race sheet for command counters to be allocated to.  One
is the fleet supply: the amount of counters in that spot indicated the
maximum number of ships a player may have in any system (not including
fighters).  This seems to be very similar with the excellent army
system from A Game of Thrones Board Game, and it keeps players from
building massive fleets.  Players are in fact limited to the number of
plastic pieces they have when building armies, the only thing they
have unlimited numbers of are fighters and ground units - for which
special chips are provided.  I like the fact that fighters are
unlimited; it gives them far more value than previous games,
especially as their cost is 2 fighters for one resource.  Because of
the smaller fleet numbers, players cannot build huge forces and must
make quicker, faster strikes across space.  If a player does want
large fleets, they have to sacrifice the command counters they would
use in the other two spots.

8.)     Command Pool:  Command counters can also be placed in the command
pool area or strategy allocation area.  During the tactical action
phase of each turn, players in turn order take one of the following
actions.
-       Execute the primary action on their strategy card, allowing other
players to use the secondary action, but only if they discard one
strategy allocation command counter.
-       Place a command pool counter on any system on the board that does
not have one of their own command counters in it, allowing them to
move ships to that system, and/or build ships in that system.  Players
can also do a special transferring move between systems.
-       Pass, but only after they've executed the action on their strategy card.
Since players can only move ships into one system at a time, then wait
for other players to move/react, the game certainly takes on a
different face.  No longer are there huge assaults across the galaxy -
but now a series of battles, fought one at a time.  It also keeps
downtime to a minimum, as players are constantly thinking about what
they are going to do next.  Players get two command counters at the
end of each turn and can redistribute them as they wish, so it's
always a balancing act to figure out whether they should put the
counters in the command pool, strategy allocation, or fleet supply.

9.)     Initiative:  The initiative strategy card doesn't have any primary
or secondary abilities.  What it does give, however, is the ability
for a player to go first (giving the owner the Speaker token
associated with this), and allows the player to execute all secondary
abilities for free (no command counter necessary).  This is a big
bonus, as the player gets to pick the first strategy card in the next
round - one of the most important strategy cards to pick.  It reminds
me of the King role in Citadels, but with better powers.

10.)    Diplomacy:  The diplomacy strategy card (#2) allows a player to
force one other opponent to be peaceful with them.  This card can save
the life of a player who is constantly getting bashed on by a
stronger, aggressive nature.  It's not always chosen in the beginning
of the game, but near the end, this card can be a lifesaver.  This
card also helps prevent one of the biggest negatives that people might
have with the game, as player elimination happens a lot less.

11.)    Political:  The political strategy card (#3) gives the player
three action cards and brings the top card of the political deck up
for vote.  The action cards are quite powerful in the game - some call
them unbalanced, but I think they keep the leaders of the game in
check.  Instead of building a huge fleet, a player can concentrate on
building up a hand of powerful action cards - it's like having a huge
spy network.  The political phase of TI3 is very similar to that of
TI2, except that now players can only use the political influence of
planets that have not exhausted.  Since the political card is #3, I
haven't seen this have too much of an effect, but a clever player
could wait until the end of the round, assuring that some player's
votes are curtailed.  The laws don't seem quite as powerful as those
in TI2, but they still can greatly affect the game.  What I really
enjoy is that the person who uses the political strategy card takes
the top three cards of the deck, chooses one, and places the other two
on the bottom.  This allows them to set the next agenda, which keeps
the agendas from being random, and really makes taking the political
strategy card worthwhile.

12.)    Logistics:  Whoever takes this strategy card (#4) gets four
command counters added to their pool, which greatly increases their
options.  Other players may exhaust planets, utilizing their political
power to get command counters also.  As this is one of the best ways
to get command counters (sometimes two a turn is simply not enough),
this is an oft-picked card.

13.)    Trade:  Trade is not nearly as powerful as it was in TI2.  When a
person picks this strategy card (#5), they automatically receive three
trade goods (which can be used as resources or influence).  They also
receive goods equal to their trade agreements currently in play. 
Finally, all players can open trade negotiations, but the trades MUST
be approved by the player taking the trade agreement card.  Each race
has specific trade cards, which provides a varying amount of
resources, so for some races, trading can be next to worthless.  The
cool thing about the trade strategy card, however, is that a player
can forgo everything I've just stated to cancel all trade agreements
in play - a powerful "veto" ability.

14.)    Warfare:  The warfare strategy card (#6), allows a player to
remove one of their command counters from the board - effectively
letting them move a fleet twice.  This is a card that aggressive
players love, allowing them to snatch up some extra planets or make a
double attack against another player.  This brings up a point that
some have complained about - "turtling".  This is where the players
build up a defensive force and then hunker down, trying to win the
game that way.  So far, I've never run into this problem, but then
again I play with fairly aggressive people.  If this is a problem in
your games, be more aggressive!

15.)    Technology:  The technology strategy card (#7) gives a free
technology to the player who chose it and allows the other players to
buy a technology for eight resources.  The technologies are very
similar to those in TI2, with some additions and changes because of
the new rules.  What I enjoyed quite a bit, however, was the fact that
each player has their own deck of technology cards, which helped
greatly; as player's could look through the cards on their downtime
and see the prerequisites they needed for each technology.  This
strategy card seems to be chosen every turn - who doesn't want a free
technology?

16.)    Imperial:  The imperial strategy card (#8) is often berated on
the internet as game breaking.  The reason is that whoever takes this
card gets two victory points, as well as turning over the top card
from the objective deck.  I would argue most vehemently against this,
however, as I felt that the card was merely a game clock, keeping the
game moving.  The person who takes this card is not only the last
person to go (#8), but they also don't get any other benefits.  The
objective cards that are turned over also help push the game along to
its natural conclusion, giving players victory points for such things
as "having five planets outside the home system", "having four
technological advances", etc.  Getting two victory points a turn is a
big deal, but I can't imagine the same player getting the card every
turn, unless the other players are oblivious to what is going on.

17.)    Bonus chips:  In a mechanic that surely comes directly from
Puerto Rico, strategy cards that are not taken have a bonus chip
placed on them.  Players who pick strategy cards with bonus chips can
immediately exchange the bonus chips for a trade resource or a command
counter.  A nice little mechanic.

18.)    Objectives:  Besides the public objectives, which all players can
complete, each player is given a secret objective at the beginning of
the game.  Most of them are extremely hard to complete and often
result in a massive attack on one's neighbors.  But they are
interesting, and I'm sure some people must complete them occasionally
(haven't seen it yet.)

19.)    Rules:  The rulebook is forty pages long, and we're talking big
pages here.  Fortunately, everything is explained very clearly, and I
though it was one of the best rulebooks I've ever read.  With a game
this huge and a rulebook this size, some errors were bound to happen,
but a very clear FAQ has been posted at the website, as well as some
variants for game play -
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ti3support.html.  Explaining the
game to new players is a different matter - I imagine that with some
groups it could take almost an hour.  I taught the game to experienced
gamers, but it still took at least half an hour of rules explanation,
and the first several turns proceeded fairly slowly.  But that's to be
expected in a game this huge.

20.)    Variants:  Several variants are included with the game (they are
the same that are in the expansions for TI1 and 2), such as leaders
and Distant Suns.  Some people are greatly irritated by the randomness
of the Distant Suns variant (planets have random effects for the first
landing parties), but others (like myself) don't mind this randomness.
 The leaders are a nifty idea but can bog the game down a bit. 
Players can also ditch the victory point track or turn it over so that
instead of needing ten points to win, players need fourteen. (I would
never do this, as the game is long enough already.)  With the ten
races included in the game, the multiple technological tracks, and the
piles of options - I can't see the same game of this ever being played
twice.

21.)    Time and players:  The game is long - quite long, in fact.  A
six-player game could take up to eight hours - not something everyone
has in their day.  In fact, the time and dedication it takes to get a
game of this together are the only two reasons that it's not my
favorite game.  I love it dearly, but it takes a commitment from
people.  Three, four, and five player games are okay, but a six-player
game is where it's at; it gives the player the optimal experience.

There are a lot of other things I could say, but this is already one
of the longest game reviews I've written.  I love the War Suns (who
doesn't want their own personal Death Star?), the battles, the
strategy cards, etc.  Yes, there are going to be some niggly little
rules that may bother those who want a pure Euro game.  To those
people I say go elsewhere, this probably isn't for you.  And I have
some advice to those aspiring designers who are seeking to make the
ultimate space empire game - stop wasting your time; it's already
here.  This is hands down the best game of its type, and one of the
best games of all time.  If you have the time and energy to play a
game of this magnitude - then buy it right now!  Yes, it's big,
somewhat expensive (although the amount of stuff you get in it makes
it one of the best deals on the market), and long.  But it's a
tremendous game - a masterpiece by Christian Peterson.  This game is
truly a flagship of games - one that you would be proud to have on
your shelves.

Tom Vasel
"Real men play BIG board games."