Twilight Imperium - 3rd Edition

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. 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.