Well the title says it all...

How long does the game take the first time you play it (all newbies)

And how long does a normal game last after you have had some experience?

I have only gotten to play one game so far. It was a three-player game and all of us were novices to the game. Only I had read the rules.

It took us about 4 1/2 hours to finish. I am confident that if we played a second time we could do the same game in 3 hours.

Thanks.

Would you say that you are experienced board game players or casual board game players?

Play time can vary tremendously  based on who wins.  In one night we finished two games inside of an hour because of cylon victories.  I would say the game runs 2-3 hours for human wins if your players know what they are doing.

Dax said:

Two of the three of us were/are pretty frequent board game players.

I can tell you that on average the games I have played have never lasted longer than about 3 hours, but by the same token I have never had a game finish in less than a little over 2 hours either.  Safe to say then anywhere between 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours on average.

Bohemond said:

+1

Bohemond said:

+1

EDIT: GAH double post, just ment to edit.  Anyway, I think the key in the above statement is the phase "2-3 hours for a human wins"  if the cylons have a decisive (but not runaway) victory, I think the average is closer to 1.5 hours (usually the humans are dead with the jump track between 3-6).  The thing to remember is that the game slows down the moment the cylon is revealed as there are less crisis cards being drawn.

I agree certain "Cylon situations" can speed up the game play time, but in general I find this one runs 2-3 hours.  That may be a bit longish for some groups, but I've always felt the game just sped by, with everyone involved in every turn.  There's more "discussion" in this game (or, there SHOULD be) than most "euros", because humans should be talking through failed skill checks trying to deduce the identity of the traitor, while cylons should be sowing discord and doubt.

TK

Our games average about 2 hours, though we did play a three hour game Sunday. We also almost had a game end before the first Denstiny Deck was exhausted. In the first three turns, all the cylon markers were on the board, the cylon player revealed himself, and we were down to one population. The humans made it out -- barely -- but about an hour later the cylon guy finally won.

In my experience game length varies depending on what happens in the game.

An early Cylon declaration means there are less opportunities for the galactica to jump, which can lengthen the game - especially in 4+ games where there is a 2nd cylon to keep the humans guessing.

If players get brigged early or often, that can slow the game too, as less crisis cards are revealed.

But the main factor is the players, how much time is spent discussing options and deciding on card plays etc.

Not played that many (2 - 6 player and 2 - 3 player) but it has varied from about 2 hours to nearly 4.

Being familiar with the game  helps a bit, but not much as players then get into the meta game of who's a cylon and who could have put in that card etc.