Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition - Shut Up & Sit Down Review 

The funniest thing about being soooo excited for this game is that the more excited you get, the more impending dread all your friends feel knowing they will have to eventually indulge you. I got an email telling me my copy is on the way and my friends haven't responded to a text message since.

I once convinced a friend for nearly 10 hours that I was only going to stay on Mecatol Rex for "one more round" - and then he could have it. When my mechanized infantry started piling up on the planet, it dawned on him that I was never going to leave.

I backstabbed a friend in TI3 ten years ago and she is still bitter about it

I tried a 14 point, 4-player game a few months ago. There were 8 war suns on the board. It was amazing.

I've just had my first ever game of this today, loved it. Apparently though having a large fleet next to a neighbours border can't be talked off as a "training exercise"

"Until they tap out from a lack of fun to the brain." What a great line!

I negotiated a border conflict into an alliance that turned into a friendship that lasts to the current day

Having played 6 player games of TI4 twice now, I can say it's pretty epic. But, yup, be prepared to commit at least one whole day. The earlier you can start, the better. Bring beer, order food, and settle in for a long haul.

Quin:"You can play a virus" Me watching in 2020: 0_0

now I really want to see a full 8 hour playtrough with shut up an sit down.

I haven't heard as much shouting, laughing, and giggling in a game as when I destroyed a war sun with a carrier.

Quinns: “a hakkon destroyer approached our territory, invalidating the previous handshake agreement we had that you weren’t going to be dicks” I love this writing!

My love affair with TI4 began with seeing this review a year ago, being brand new to the board game space. I had to have it, and purchased the 4th edition, galactic playmat and plastic fleet stands within a week. This was my intro to the board game world. And what an intro it was. It’s hard to explain to outsiders how you can have an emotional attachment to a cardboard box filled with plastic and paper, but the experiences this game contains are special. Getting together with 2-5 good friends on a cold day set aside especially for TI is euphoric . I have since acquired an extensive library of games, but Twilight Imperium is fat and away my favorite. No other game offers the breadth, depth and scale of varying emotions and experiences. I get to play it about twice a month, and would do it every week if I could. #hotforspacelions

That national anthem is just golden.

Not just a Space Lion on the box, also a sexy Turtle.

Wish I had four friends.

17:36 Stalin rolls 3 dice. Stalin gets no hits! Finland rolls 1 die...

You had me at "a game so opulent it's like having a double scotch in the bath." Fine review guys. I'm just waiting on my pre-order now.

Your phrase "set aside a weekend and bring your pijamas" in the review of the third edition convinced me that I need this game. Nothing sounds more fun than having some friends over for 2 days to play games and eat junk.

upvote for the long missed reference pear

I finally played this big crazy rollercoaster of a game, largely in part because of this review. Thanks for helping me see that this game isn’t just famous for being long. It was indeed, really, really, good. Cheers.

OMG you did it again. A truly wonderful review that's really all about why the board game artform is so incredible. And STILL LOLing at the final Skype call. You guys RAWK.

So... a Let`s Play is coming? (please please please please please!)

You can't just hit me with Twilight Imperium and Dark Crystal in the same video like that.

I just love the passion and happiness Shutup and Sit Down bring to these. I watched this a few times and every time I think that I should play it. The issue I’m having is sadly I don’t have enough mates who would or could commit to a game like this. Still, would love to play this!

Gameplay aside, the art and graphic design of TI4 look absolutely fantastic.

Stellaris: I HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED SCI-FI GRAND STRATEGY! Twilight Imperium: ... Am I a joke to you?

This review brings back fond memories of playing TI3 in college. We'd sit in the dorm lobby and bicker late into the night. We almost never fought, just sat back, gathering technology and money, until the very. Then, as if from nowhere, six fleets would manifest as every player spent everything they had stockpiled. We'd actually do combat on an entirely different table, there were so many ships.

I’d just like to thank you so much for this video because it got me into this game, and me and my friends love it so much. We never get tired of it, and whenever we finish a game, we always want to plan our next meetup to play. There’s so much replay-ability, and I just love it so much. So once again, thank you for introducing it to me.

I'm glad you mentioned Eclipse, both are amazing games. Eclipse is still my #1 game but TI is my #2! TI4 has fixed every little nagging thing I felt about TI3, it is waaay superior. You really should try 6 player games though, its best as a 6 player game.

Me, my old man, and my brothers play a lot of board games, but after we played our first game of TI4, it became our favorite game in our library. We have played 1 or maybe even 2 games a month, every month since we got it. It is a fantastic game that gives you a unique experience evey playthrough.

Congratulations on this incredible review reaching a million views! This was the video that introduced me to my favorite board game of all time :)

We work 8h, we sleep 8h, that mean if you can pop up from your work to your house, skip all break and don't eat, you may play a game during the week! I have to buy the game!

Also, TI4 has much of the content that was previously only in TI3 Expansions, which are getting harder to find and thus more expensive.

Well, your review tipped me over the edge. I put an order in and I'm very excited to give it a try. Thanks for the great work.

To say, 4th edition is worth the money. Minimal changes, it includes ALL the expansion races, it plays smoother somehow. It's better.

I love your enthusiasm for this game. My buddy owns 3rd and we've played a few times. It is by far my favorite board game of all time but it really is a doozy to wrangle up people to play. We are gonna play 4th tomorrow and I am so excited! Glad to see it still kicking strong! And my gawd that skit killed me xD

Your enthusiasm for this game makes me VERY happy! I've been looking into some space/scifi themed tabletop games, and THIS looks very good!

My wallet shed a tear when I bought the game. My heart doesnt care about my wallet.. Thanks SU and SD

Table wise, we play it on my pool table - to give you some idea how much space you need. At least if you want to have some elbow room too.

I love this review because of how the video supports the verbal explanations. The simple visual transitions which how the game unfolds from a stacked deck to a fully placed deck of cards etc. It's perfect and is perfectly supported by the explanations. Great job.

The Nekro Virus has some binary code on it. I got curious and looked it up. system_erDIErorDIEDIEDIE

We always played TI3 with 8 players. 12h of pure bliss. Now we have to adjust to 8h of pure bliss and figuring out who can play and who's out.

First video I have seen of yours and I really like it, I’m three years late but I hope you kept up the good work

Hello guys, it might be an old video, but im here to thank you. Thanks to your amazing video i decided to buy this game 6 months ago (actually my first strategy board game.. or complex game like this) and so far ive played it 3 times with friends (3 players, 4 players and even 6 players one time!) and i had a blast with them! Everytime we finish they tell me to invite them next time i decide to play the game again (: ... Anyway, as i said, thank you a bunch ! :D

Love the costumes circa 7 mins. A dressing gown on backwards. Genius.

18:19 back in November we had an experience like this. I had over extended myself and I was about to win. So of course the other players started to scheme about how to stop me. One player waited until all of my tactic tokens were spent. Then he brought his main fleet into my almost completely undefended home system. I had just 2 fighters and a destroyer. I got lucky and his carrier with 4 fighters was destroyed in the black hole he needed to get there. Still, he made it in with 2 dreadnaughts, a cruiser, a fighter and a ground force to take my planet. Hopeless right? Well, I thought so. My destroyer was able to take out his fighter, but in the first round he was able to take out my destroyer and 1 of my fighters. Then, in what can only be described as a miracle, he proceeded to miss every single attack roll while I landed 9 after 9 after 9. Eventually I was able to knock out every single one of his ships with my lone fighter. The energy at the table was insane.

My favourite game was the one where I was playing Nekro and my immediate neighbour was Jol-Nar. Three guesses what my early game consisted of. I swear, it was a completely selfless strategy! Someone has to hit Jol-Nar early, right? May as well be me.

TI4 gave me a board game moment I may never forget. During a lunch break, I figured out I needed other players to pick very specific Strategy cards. I laid out a 3 layered plan, full gambit, if they didn’t fall for my manipulation, I would lose. ....and they ALL. FELL FOR IT!!! I couldn’t believe it!

Is it weird that I just want to collect board games and fully accept I may never play it?

Seeing this review my older brother and I decided to combine our money to buy this colossus game. In the first 2 days we got the game we had a group of friends of 6 people to play this game with us. Money well spent, would suggest as the video did as well. Thanks @Shut Up & Sit Down for introducing this game to my brother and I. Keep up making amazing content.

After seeing this review: Oooh, I like this...

As a new owner of TI4 i felt it was necessary to drum up players, so I wrote this cover letter. You may use/modify it if you like. To all the potential Masters of the Galaxy, This letter is to inform you the fog of chaos is lifting and the conflict that will define ourselves and the future generations is forming. A box of massive proportions whose promise of conflict, glory and devastation draws us. I speak of that which is often spoken in reverence and awe. I speak of "Twilight Imperium 4" by Fantasy Flight Games. It is a light that blinds all who lack the wisdom and courage to wrestle for supremacy on a field of stars, previously bloodied by our forefathers mad unrestrained lust for power. Will your race sit on the galactic throne of Mecatol Rex and free Mother Galaxy from our dark legacy? I pray for all Sentient life on every planet you will heed this call? May The Twilight Bring Dawn, (enter fake title, mine was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports) Hi, TI4 is a massive game that requires a 6 to 12 hours to play. It is immersive and well worth the time. I know you all want to play but when we can get together, is the issue. This letter is to start that ball rolling. Invite your friends if you wish. Below is what is required by each player. Some investment in learning the rules like seeing videos or reading some of the literature at this site (www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/products/twilight-imperium-fourth-edition/). An all day commitment. Players getting heart attacks may be excused if a note from ones doctor is presented "before play". No attitudes. This is a vicious game and anyone who cannot "bless the knives in their back" should not play. If you say you will be at the play location; be there. A meal/break will be at mid point of game. if you have special food needs bring your own food. Feel free to dress like space people. Hope to see ya at the TI4 table. Let us all keep in touch. If you want a particular race (there are 17) let us know ahead of time which one you want. There are some races that are recommended above others. This is one list, in the order of preference, one person suggested. • Universities of Jol-Nar • Clan of Saar • Mentak Coalition • Nekro Virus • Arborec • Naalu Collective • Embers of Muaat • Yin Brotherhood • Federation of Sol • Emirates of Hacan • Barony of Letnev • L1Z1x Mindnet • Yssaril Tribes • Sardak N'orr • Ghosts of Creuss • Xxcha Kingdom • Winnu May The Kinetic Energy Be With You! (your name)

Ive actually been designing a board game surprisingly similar to TI for about a year without even knowing that its existed. Granted, its not as big and a bit more stream lined while still being complex. But the similarities in game politics, currency, lack of battles and general feel of TI is astounding. I will continue my development and see if someone wants to produce the actual parts. But I will also take some inspiration from TI like the different win conditions and a little of the map layout... since mine is just a grid with planets with no names or lore.

I've never played TI, but I played a lot of Risk in high school. I kind of hated the just rolling dice combat where some unfortunate luck could just ruin the best plans. Of course in Risk, combat is the whole game, but in TI, it seems like a choice that does much more than keep the game from bogging down--it's an incredible extension of the lesson that war is costly and unpredictable and maybe shouldn't be the first option very often. Which feels very true to life, and of course promotes all the other types of playing that make the game great.

I, for one, am hot for Space Lions.

Brilliant and inspiring. Still not sure I will buy it, but I do wish I had a regular game club that would want to play it. You really do highlight the aesthetic pleasures of board games like no other show.

Anyone else here after the Eclipse 2nd dawn review?

I have wanted to play this game for so long. It feels so... larger than life.

You guys have the best board game review channel on RU-vid. I love your content!

Your roleplay at 7m were amayzing, thanks for saving my day! :D And so true haha

I bought TI yesterday and it's officially my 200th board game, so excited to play it when we can meet up again.

My first game in more detail: Twilight imperium match report: Woooh it was a rollercoaster! A 12-hour romp of learning, bargaining, forming clicks and backstabbing. Everyone was almost completely new, now that we know stuff it'd go faster (prolly 8-10 hrs for 6 ppl still). I was with the diplomatic peaceful turtle race but I didn't get to play my racial specials much. I ended up allying with my friend who played the merchant lions against what was essentially a 2v4. He kept getting swarmed by the humans who spread like wildfire and have good dropships and infantry, so i kept sending some forces over, with marginal success. My bud was almost completely destroyed at this point, I asked for money to help him and such. I built my flagship which has a nice artillery barrage to beef up... Smth that my death star mass producing, iron maiden looking neighbors didn't appreciate. After having not touched them at all, they destroyed my fleet and took one of my planets. It was war. I bulked up but at that point could only turtle, pun intended. My bud at this point was hanging by a thread bc of the human assaults that I couldn't help with any more. I started building up and pushing out research to take better fights and did manage to get a fleet ppl feared but it was too late: 1 of the 4 players vs us was left alone for too long. He took some fights and planets and got the needed 10 victory points. I was so pressured i could only get 1 lol. It lasted long, wheeew! I love this game and there's still tons to learn. The kamikaze ugly zombies won.

You nailed it! That is exactly how it feels to play this game! And after seeing your video, me and my friends started choosing national anthems for our races... Another example of how this game never stops giving.

The costume sketch is genius! Worthy of Mike Stoklasa’s Best of the Worst!

Pro-tip coming in 5 years late: when you buy Twilight Imperium, also invest in custom inserts, like Folded Space.

Brilliant! Appreciate the passion and excitement. Beyond entertaining and informative!

Also I was lucky enough to have a regular TWIMP group for years, and played the game probably 30-50 times. Easily was everyone's favourite game, and we eventually drafted some amazing house rules to spice up the early game and politics!

I played this for the first time two weeks ago and it was everything I wanted in a game. Mind you...we had to play it on a 6x6 table, completely rearrange the living room (no dedicated game room) and take two days to play...but it was worth it. Epic game, epic stories, were all wanting to play again...were just trying to figure out how. Great review.

I adore you for encouraging others to experience Dark Crystal. Don't think I'll ever be a Twimper, but forever a Podling. Thanks always for the reviews and entertainment!

Best and most meaningfully diplomatic game I've ever played, and even if it weren't, I love any game I can win without ever engaging in combat. Twilight Imperium is legendary, plain and simple.

the dark crystal sent my mushroom addled friend into an uncontrollable frenzy. he destroyed my apt. before i had to dial 911 because he jumped down the stairs twice and had multiple broken ribs and blood all over his face as if he was in a barbed wire cage match, but didn't feel it because of his drug (and dark crystal) infused rage.

I've watched this video 5 plus times now haha

I have not played this game , ive only seen it on occasion in a hobby shop....but ever since i was young when i first saw it . It always looked like a really cool amazeing game.

Just watched The Dark Crystal because of this review. It was awesome!

Damn this is a really good review! Like you style, just great!

Excellent review. You mention everything indeed that makes TI great. I play it maybe twice a year -if Im lucky- but man, I enjoy it every time. The pregame fun, the game itself and the time after the game is great. I could play 2 games TI in a row. I am picking up my copy next week and going to pressure my friends to play it with me. Love it! Thanks for your words of wisdom :'-).....

What a fantastic review!!! It's giving me the itch to play again. The 3rd Ed was popular at the local gaming club for a few years with one person who would only play that game. I haven't been able to attend the club as recently but...

I like you because this is the best TI video, but I love you for the Limits of Control poster in your room.

I love how utterly unpredictable war is in TI. It's oddly realistic. It requires incredible planning cunning and creativity. Yet after all that mostly mandatory work, a single battle can always just go horribly, ridiculously wrong.

So many games I'd love to play, but all of them require friends....

Been playing this game for years now. It is my favorite war game. It has everything and just so many different ways to play. I would recommend 4th ed. the flow of the game is a little better as well. Its worth the cost. But good lord can this game be long, which 4th ed will help slightly with that. Even more so if you have several new players. We have played 8 player games in 3rd ed. It is amazing but you will be playing for 12+ hours.

I got this game for Christmas about two months ago, and my friends and I love it! You should definitely get it if you’re thinking about it. I would recommend using the starter board for your first game, because it makes things easier. And don’t let that 8 hours scare you. That’s just your first game. After a couple games, you know how to play pretty well and things go quicker. Also, that hen thing with Mecatol Rex happens all the time now and it’s hilarious 😂, because we basically all threaten to kill the person controlling the planet if they take imperial, and all of us are really scared of taking Mecatol Rex, yet we eventually take it to do the agenda phase. PLAY THE GAME! LOVE IT! GET IT! MAKE LOVE TO IT! (Don’t actually do that last one)

I think this is a very good review from someone predisposed to liking the game. If you are in on space lions, which I roughly translate to "Do you like Ameritrash games?", you'll love TI. If you don't like those sorts of games, trust your instincts and don't even try to play it. For me, the recommends makes sense and is backed up by what he said... it is a boardgaming experience unlike anything else. It is truly an Epic game with Epic aspirations. There is something of value to just having experienced such a game in all it's glory. Maybe you won't love it, but it sure will be memorable. I traded for TI3 about 3 yrs ago and have played it once. We had 5 players and 12 hrs on a Saturday and it was really amazing. It was about 9 months ago and a crazy series of events surrounding a politics voting phase is brought up every time I see any of the other 4 guys who played. It's a truly memorable experience and it also keeps you engaged and excited 90% of the time. I was never bored and we all looked at each other when the clock struck 10:00 PM and realized we'd been playing for 8 hrs... we wondered how time had flown so quickly. But it has rolling dice for combat. It has some wacky cards that can throw wrenches into plans... it's Ameritrash... don't mistake for anything else... but definitely do find a way to play it.

I just played my first (two player scenario) game of TI today after months of my wife telling me about how much she wanted it and a week of her hyping it up after getting it. It took me a few rounds but we ended with a nail biting finish in which we both agreed I could have won if it had just started my attack one round earlier. There had been no combat up until then and I had her home system corned with one fewer VP in a single round. It was amazing! (also, the Xxcha Kingdom graciously recognized the might of the Mentak Coalition and, due to a long history of trade and ceasefire agreements, took on the former pirates as the new imperial bodyguards)

Hard to get to the table?! I beg to differ. Here it is hard to get a seat at the TI table - and we always run with six players. Fantastic game!

Can i just say I love the way Shut Up and Sit Down explains board games. It's soooo enticing!

Saw an add for TI in a 3rd edition d&d book called "Mythic Races" almost 20 years ago. Looked cool, but never had any friends that were interested. F it, I'm getting it anyway

I got mine in the mail two days ago. This is now the crown jewel of my collection.

Brilliantly done tutorial! Hits all the boxes of informative, clear and, hardest of all, entertaining. No idea how many hours went into this, but you really can see the effort in this most bodacious teach. Will be my go-to linkie for new players.

The ONLY disadvantage about this game is that it takes a lot to set it up. There are at least 50 hex planets/other things that make setting up a lot longer than other games. As well as what Quinns said which is that this game can be smaller but they decided to make it big, which, is good but is also bad.

18:43 hits different in 2020...

Shut Up and Sit Down are doing Twilight Imperium 4th edition? Is it my birthday?

Our second five player game (one new player) took 10 hours :) Absolutely worth it

After playing Eclipse, Twilight Imperium and Star Craft the Board Game, I can say that I like Card based combat system over Dice based combat system. Having said that, none of the 4x games that I listed up here gives me the satisfaction that I desire... Any other 4X game out there with Cards as combat system?

That tone at 7.44 scared the shit out of me. I work as a night manager and that sounded just like our fire alarm

Player TI3 with 7 players once. Started after lunch. When we were done, the sun was rising. Those were some of the best 18 hours of my life.

Just picked this up and so happy they changed the Imperial card; giving a secret objective to players not on Mecatol adds so much more intrigue to the game for everyone at the table.

why are the pieces at 9:02 dancing, I HAVE NOT BEEN DRINKING

There’s going to be a Dark Crystal Netflix series. Whoa.