Battlestar Galactica and Spimatic Meaning in Games - Game Play: Paratextuality in Contemporary Board Games - page 81

Figure 4.1 he Battlestar Galactica game board. Battlestar Galactica: A Parker Brothers
Game ©Parker Brothers 1978. Photo by the author.
of the representation of three-dimensional space in a two-dimensional form,
the Vipers are only able to travel on the outer edges of this sphere (except
via the magic portal of the black hole, which, upon entering, the player can
move to any other black hole space on the board—through the sphere, as it
were). Aesthetically, this game board links the spatial economies of the original
Battlestar Galactica television program with the spatial realities of board game
play. In actual game play, these economies thus put the player in the same plane
as the pilots (pun intended), who are trapped in the same science-ictional two-
dimensional “excess of surface” as those in the original text. his spatial player/
character collusion invites identiication with the media text and encourages
immersion within the cult world.
In contrast, the BSG08 game does not attempt to mirror the spatial
environment of the original reboot text, focusing instead on the temporal
unfolding of a narrative. he game board for BSG08 depicts the Galactica in
the center of the board and the Presidential ship Caprica One of to the side.
Cylon Basestars, Raiders, and Heavy Raiders can attack around the board while
the human civilian ships are positioned behind Galactica . Rather than a true
spatial positioning of the ship, locations are marked in approximate areas, in
line with the direction playing pieces are moved around the board, thus focusing
on a temporal awareness of narrative rather than a spatial awareness of the ship
(Figure 4.2).
BSG08 focuses on the temporal development of the narrative. his temporal
awareness its within the scope of the paratextual connection to the original text
as well. he reboot Battlestar Galactica series uses “temporal displacement” to
develop narrative complexity: lashforwards and lashbacks indicate changes in