Balancing Your War Effort and Budget in XCOM: The Board Game

The impending release of Fantasy Flight's XCOM: The Board Game is drawing near, and Fantasy Flight has offered a glimpse at one major aspect of the game through one of the key player roles: the Commander.  The Commander's main role, among other things, is managing the team's budget and resources:

Alien invaders have arrived, the world is under siege, and traditional military units have all proven ineffectual. As the poorest and richest nations alike tilt perilously close to panic, a secret coalition has activated the XCOM project. Now, as XCOM’s Commander, it falls to you to ensure that your resources are used as effectively as possible.

In XCOM: The Board Game, players have four possible roles, and this article discusses the role of the Commander and the challenge of maintaining your team's resources.  Your team's budget is very limited, and the choices of how to allocate your funds are very difficult.  To learn all about how the Commander role works and his or her role on the XCOM team, check out the main article on Fantasy Flight's website.

XCOM: The Board Game is a cooperative board game of global defense for one to four players. As unknown alien invaders press their attack against the earth, you and up to three friends serve as the department heads of XCOM, an elite, international military organization. You must destroy UFOs, research alien technology, complete critical missions, and find some way to prevent the collapse of human civilization. You are humanity's last hope.