Twilight Imperium 4e - Game 3: Round 6 - Status Phase / Game End

MrBlarney · April 2018

Twilight Imperium 4th edition

Over three thousand years ago, the Lazax ruled the galaxy. But after many millennia of control, the Lazax grew complacent with their position over the other races. The six great races of Sol, Hylar, N'orr, Hacan, Letnev, and Xxcha began to chafe under the rule of the Lazax Empire. And so when a trade dispute over the Quann wormhole resulted in the Sol armada acting against the Letnev, a flame spread like wildfire throughout the galaxy, igniting a civil war between races that had only tenuously been held back by the Lazax rule. In the centuries that followed, the Twilight War eradicated the Lazax race and turned back thousands of years of progress. The great races retreated to their home planets to rebuild, and once the Galactic Council was once again able to meet, it was a shadow of its former strength. And now, thousands of years later, after the long era of the Dark Years, the time is right for a new race to step up and become the rulers of the galaxy, and the guiding hand for all races within its domain.

Twilight Imperium is a boardgame of galactic empire-building on a large scale, often described as a 4X game given physical form. Players build ships, conquer planets, research technology, and engage in trade and diplomacy, all in the pursuit of earning victory points toward claiming the Imperial Throne of Mecatol Rex and rule over the entire galaxy. This is a 4th edition game, using the following variants and options:

Lodor and Quann (planet+wormhole systems) forced to be in galaxy.
Snake draft for position and race after galaxy creation.
For expediency of play, some resolutions such as combat die rolls will be performed simultaneously.
Ownership of all Promissory Notes is public information.

Rules and Utilities

Learn to Play Rulebook
Rules Reference Rulebook
Living Rules Reference v1.1 - official revisions and clarifications to the Rules Reference and FAQs
General Technologies

Other / Previous TI4e Games on PA: Game I, Game II

There are a lot of rules to read through, and the summary I am putting into these opening posts will not be entirely comprehensive. I recommend reading through the Learn To Play rulebook linked above for starters. You might also want to look at other or previous games played on the forum for an idea of the flow of the game.

In general, actions will be noted in bold dodgerblue, bold limegreen, and bold red: see the sections below for specific formatting. Alternatively, players may post actions in bold using their race's color. Except for conversations initiated by the host, all player conversation must be done in-thread. If you have need for clarifications, feel free to ask in bold darkorange.

Game Objectives

In order to claim the Imperial Throne of Mecatol Rex, players must accumulate 10 victory points (VP). As soon as any player has completed 10 VP worth of Objectives, the game ends immediately, even if another player could have gained more VP later in the round. VP are generally earned by fulfilling Objective cards, which include two types: Public and Secret.

The Public Objective line is comprised of 5 Stage I cards and 5 Stage II cards. Two Stage I objectives are publicly revealed at the start of the game, and one Public Objective is revealed towards the end of each round. If there are no more Objective cards to reveal when one would be revealed, the game ends instead and the player with the most victory points wins. In case of a tie, the player who has the earliest (lowest) initiative value wins.

Each player has a hand of Secret Objective cards, drawing one at the start of the game. Secret Objectives may only be fulfilled by the holding player. A player can have at most three Secret Objectives, and must return an unfulfilled Secret Objective to the deck if they draw a fourth.

Races and Special Abilities

A total of seventeen races are available for play, of which six were randomly drawn and drafted.
Sardakk N'orr

- Home System: Tren'lak (1R, 0I), Quinarra (3R, 1I)
- Starting Units: 2 Carriers, 1 Cruiser, 5 Infantry, 1 Space Dock, 1 PDS
- Racial Unit: Exotrireme (Dreadnought): As Dreadought, but Bombardment 4 (x2).
- Flagship: C'morran N'orr: Combat Value 6 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. Apply +1 to the result of each of your other ships' combat rolls in this system.
- Starting Technology: (none)
- Racial Technology: Valkyrie Particle Weave (Red, requires 2 Red): After making combat rolls during a round of Ground Combat, if your opponent produced 1 or more hits, you produce 1 additional hit.
- Racial Technology: Exotrireme II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Blue and 1 Yellow): As Dreadnought, but Movement 2, Bombardment 4 (x2). This unit cannot be destroyed by "Direct Hit" action cards. After a round of Space Combat, you may destroy this unit to destroy up to 2 ships in this system.
- Commodities: 3
- Unrelenting: Apply +1 to the result of each of your units' combat rolls.
- Racial Promissory Note: Tekklar Legion: At the start of an Invasion Combat: Apply +1 to the result of each of your units' combat rolls during this combat. If your opponent is the N'orr player, apply -1 to the result of each of his unit's combat rolls during this combat. Then, return this card to the N'orr player.

The Emirates of Hacan

- Home System: Hercant (1R, 1I); Arretze (2R, 0I), Kamdorn (0R, 1I)
- Starting Units: 2 Carriers, 1 Cruiser, 2 Fighters, 4 Infantry, 1 Space Dock
- Flagship: Wrath of Kenara: Combat Value 7 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. After you roll a die during a Space Combat in this system, you may spend 1 Trade Good to apply +1 to the result.
- Starting Technologies: Antimass Deflectors, Sarween Tools
- Racial Technology: Production Biomes (Green, requires 2 Green): Action: Exhaust this card and spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to gain 4 Trade Goods and choose 1 other player; that player gains 2 Trade Goods.
- Racial Technology: Quantum Datahub Node (Yellow, requires 3 Yellow): At the end of the Strategy Phase, you may spend 1 token from your Strategy pool and give another player 3 of your Trade Goods. If you do, give 1 of your Strategy cards to that player and take 1 of his Strategy cards.
- Commodities: 6
- Masters of Trade: You do not have to spend a Command token to resolve the secondary ability of the Trade Strategy card.
- Guild Ships: You can negotiate transactions with players who are not your neighbor.
- Arbiters: When negotiating a transaction, Action Cards can be exchanged as part of that transaction.
- Racial Promissory Note: Trade Convoys: Action: Place this card faceup in your play area. While this card is in your play area, you may negotiate transactions with players who are not your neighbor. If you activate a system that contains 1 or more of the Hacan player's units, return this card to the Hacan player.

The Ghosts of Creuss

- Home System: Creuss (4R, 2I)
- Starting Units: 1 Carrier, 2 Destroyers, 2 Fighters, 4 Infantry, 1 Space Dock
- Flagship: Hil Colish: Combat Value 5, Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. This ship's system contains a Delta wormhole. During movement, this ship may move before or after your other ships.
- Starting Technology: Gravity Drive
- Racial Technology: Dimensional Splicer (Red, requires 1 Red): At the start of Space Combat in a system that contains a wormhole and 1 or more of your ships, you may produce 1 hit and assign it to 1 of your opponent's ships.
- Racial Technology: Wormhole Generator (Blue, requires 2 Blue): At the start of the Status Phase, place or move a Creuss wormhole token into either a system that contains a planet you control or a non-home system that does not contain another player's ships.
- Commodities: 4
- Quantum Entanglement: You treat all systems that contain either an Alpha or Beta wormhole as adjacent to each other. Game effects cannot prevent you from using this ability.
- Slipstream: During your Tactical Actions, apply +1 to the movement value of each of your ships that starts its movement in your home system or in a system that contains either an Alpha or Beta wormhole.
- Creuss Gate: When the board is created, the Creuss Gate is placed where your home system would normally be placed. The Creuss Gate system is not a home system; your home system is placed in your play area.
- Racial Promissory Note: Creuss IFF: At the start of your turn during the Action Phase: Place or move a Creuss wormhole token into either a system that contains a planet you control or a non-home system that does not contain another player's ships. Then, return this card to the Creuss player.

Federation of Sol

- Home System: Jord (4R, 2I)
- Starting Units: 2 Carriers, 1 Destroyer, 3 Fighters, 5 Infantry, 1 Space Dock
- Racial Unit: Advanced Carrier (Carrier): As Carrier, but Carry Capacity 6.
- Racial Unit: Spec Ops (Infantry): As Infantry, but Combat Value 7.
- Flagship: Genesis: Combat Value 5 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 12. Sustain Damage. At the end of the Status Phase, place 1 Infantry from your reinforcements in this system's space area.
- Starting Technologies: Neural Motivator, Antimass Deflectors
- Racial Technology: Spec Ops II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Green): As Infantry, but Combat Value 6. After this unit is destroyed, roll 1 die. If the result is 5 or greater, place the unit on this card. At the start of your next turn, place each unit that is on this card on a planet you control in your home system.
- Racial Technology: Advanced Carrier II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Blue): As Carrier, but Movement 2, Capacity 8. Sustain Damage.
- Commodities: 4
- Orbital Drop: Action: Spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to place 2 Infantry from your reinforcements on 1 planet you control.
- Versatile: When you gain command tokens during the Status Phase, gain 1 additional command token.
- Racial Promissory Note: Military Support: At the start of the Sol player's turn: Remove 1 token from the Sol player's Strategy pool, if able, and return it to his reinforcements. Then, you may place 2 Infantry from your reinforcements on any planet you control. Then, return this card to the Sol player.

The Arborec

- Home System: Nestphar (3R, 2I)
- Starting Units: 1 Carrier, 1 Cruiser, 2 Fighters, 4 Infantry, 1 Space Dock, 1 PDS
- Racial Unit: Letani Warrior (Infantry): As Infantry, but Production 1.
- Flagship: Duha Menaimon: Combat Value 7 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 5. Sustain Damage. After you activate this system, you may produce up to 5 units in this system.
- Starting Technology: Magen Defense Grid
- Racial Technology: Bioplasmosis (Green, requires 2 Green): At the end of the Status Phase, you may remove any number of Infantry from planets you control and place them on 1 or more planets you control in the same or adjacent systems.
- Racial Technology: Letani Warrior II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Green): As Infantry, but Combat Value 7. Production 2. After this unit is destroyed, roll 1 die. If the result is 5 or greater, place the unit on this card. At the start of your next turn, place each unit that is on this card on a planet you control in your home system.
- Commodities: 3
- Mitosis: Your Space Docks cannot produce Infantry. At the start of the Status Phase, place 1 Infantry from your reinforcements on any planet you control.
- Racial Promissory Note: Stymie: Action: Place this card faceup in your play area. While this card is in your play area, the Arborec player cannot produce units in or adjacent to non-home systems that contain 1 or more of your units. If you activate a system that contains 1 or more of the Arborec player's units, return this card to the Arborec player.

Universities of Jol-Nar

- Home System: Jol (1R, 2I), Nar (2R, 3I)
- Starting Units: 1 Dreadnought, 2 Carriers, 1 Fighter, 2 Infantry, 1 Space Dock, 2 PDS
- Flagship: J.N.S. Hylarim: Combat Value 6 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. When making a combat roll for this ship, each (pre-modified) roll of 9 or 10 produces 2 additional hits.
- Starting Technologies: Neural Motivator, Antimass Deflectors, Sarween Tools, Plasma Scoring
- Racial Technology: Spacial Conduit Cylinder (Blue, requires 2 Blue): You may exhaust this card after you ativate a system that contains 1 or more of your units; that system is adjacent to all other systems that contain 1 or more of your units during this activation.
- Racial Technology: E-Res Siphons (Yellow, requires 2 Yellow): After another player activates a system that contains 1 or more of your ships, gain 4 Trade Goods.
- Commodities: 4
- Fragile: Apply -1 to the result of each of your units' combat rolls.
- Brilliant: When you spend a command token to resolve the secondary ability of the Technology Strategy card, you may resolve the primary ability instead.
- Analytical: When you research a technology that is not a unit upgrade technology, you may ignore 1 prerequisite.
- Racial Promissory Note: Research Agreement: After the Jol-Nar researches a technology that is not a faction technology: Gain that technology. Then, return this card to the Jol-Nar player.

Game Setup

At the start of the game, players each receive five system tiles for creation of the game map. Two of these will be empty or special red-bordered systems, while three will be systems that contain at least one planet. Mecatol Rex is set at the center, with home system locations on the third ring directly outward. Starting from the first player and proceeding in a snake draft (first to last, last to first, etc.), each player places a system title from their hand with the following restrictions:

Each ring must be filled completely before moving on to the next, starting from the center and moving outwards.
Special systems with red borders may not be placed adjacent to one another unless there is no other option.
Systems with wormholes of the same type may not be placed adjacent to one another unless there is no other option.

Six races will be randomly dealt for selection at the same time as tiles are given to players (i.e. before map creation). Once the game map has been created, players will perform another snake draft to select race and starting position. Each player may select either a race to play, a start position on their turn, or the Speaker Token (only selectable once); the draft order will be re-randomized for the race and start position draft.

Once all players have a race and start location, the Custodians of Mecatol Rex token is placed on Mecatol Rex (see Odds and Ends) and the Public Objective line is created. Each player receives 2 Secret Objective cards and chooses 1 to keep; the other Objective card is shuffled back into its deck, unrevealed. Players place their starting units, and starting technologies. Players then allocate 3 Command Counters to Tactic pool, 3 counters to Fleet pool, and 2 counters to Strategy pool. The game begins with the first Strategy Phase.

General Game Flow

The game is played over a number of rounds, typically 5-9 in total. Each round is divided into four parts: the Strategy Phase, the Action Phase, the Status Phase, and the Agenda Phase. In the Strategy Phase, players select Strategy Cards: this determines the special action that player may take during the round as well as play order. The bulk of activity takes place in the Action Phase: here players may deploy abilities specified by their choice of Strategy Card, activate systems for unit movement, space combat, invasion of planets, and building of new units, or to play certain Action cards. Once everybody has passed their turns in the Action Phase, the Status Phase allows for players to score victory points by claiming objectives and refreshes the board setup for the next round of play. Finally, the Agenda Phase is where players vote on political agendas that will affect the board and gameplay rules. The Agenda Phase is only performed after at least one player has taken control of Mecatol Rex.

Strategy Phase

In the Strategy Phase, players select Strategy Cards for the round. Each Strategy Card has a special ability and determines play order in the Action Phase. Starting from the player with the speaker token and moving clockwise, each player will choose a card; each card may be selected by at most one player. To select a Strategy Card, note your selection in bold dodgerblue. Example:

I select the (1) Leadership Strategy Card.

At the end of the Strategy Phase, there will be two unselected Strategy Cards. A Trade Good will be added to each card as incentive for selection in future rounds. A player selecting a Strategy Card with Trade Goods on it gains those Trade Goods.

Action Phase

Starting with the player with the lowest-numbered Strategy Card and moving up in number, players take actions sequentially until all players have passed. There are three different types of actions that players can perform: the Strategic Action, Tactical Action, and Component Actions. Details about the first two actions are contained in the following sections. Component actions can be found on various Action cards, Technology cards, and faction abilities: the acting player declares the card they wish to play in bold dodgerblue, noting its effects. Example:

I play an Action Card: Focused Research.
I spend 4 Trade Goods to gain the technology Sarween Tools.

If a player does not wish to or is unable to make any more actions during the round, they may pass their turn. Players must use the Strategic Action specified on their Strategy Card before ending their turn for the round. Players who have passed their turn will still be able to participate in secondary abilities from other players’ Strategic Actions, but take no further actions in the Action Phase. Players may pass their turn in bold red. Example:

I PASS my turn.

MrBlarney · April 2018

Strategic Action and Strategy Cards

With a Strategic Action, players activate the ability specified on their chosen Strategy Card. After executing the primary ability, all other players, including players who have already passed their turn, will have a chance to make use of the secondary ability listed on the card by spending a Command Counter from their Strategy Allocation. Normally, players make their choices clockwise from the primary player, but for the purposes of the forum game environment, players may choose to pass or play on a secondary ability out of order if they wish. Text of each card and a short explanation and example for each follow below. Generally, use of a Strategy Card ability is noted in bold dodgerblue. Usage example:

I activate the primary ability...
I PLAY the secondary ability...
I PASS on the secondary ability.

(1) Leadership

Primary Ability: Gain 3 Command tokens. You may then spend any amount of influence to gain 1 Command token for every 3 influence spent.
Secondary Ability: Spend any amount of influence to gain 1 Command token for every 3 influence spent.

Notes: Unlike other Strategy Cards, there is no need to spend a token from your Strategy pool to use this card’s secondary ability. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (1) Leadership Strategy Card and exhaust Rarron (3I), placing 2 counters into Tactic pool, 1 into Fleet pool, and 1 into Strategy pool.

I PLAY the secondary ability, exhausting Mehar Xull (3I) to place 1 Command token into my Tactic pool.

(2) Diplomacy

Primary Ability: Choose 1 system other than the Mecatol Rex that contains a planet you control; each other player places a Command token from their reinforcements in the chosen system. Then, ready each exhausted planet you control in that system.
Secondary Ability: Spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to ready up to 2 exhausted planets.

Notes: The primary ability protects a system from interference by other players; if they have no counters in their reinforcements they must take one from their race sheet if possible. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (2) Diplomacy II Strategy Card, targeting the Abyz-Fria system. I ready Abyz and Fria.

I PLAY the secondary ability, spending a Strategy pool token to ready Quann and Starpoint.

(3) Politics

Primary Ability: Choose a player other than the speaker. That player gains the speaker token. Then, draw 2 Action cards. Finally, look at the top 2 cards of the Agenda deck. Place each card on the top or bottom of the deck in any order.
Secondary Ability: Spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to draw 2 Action cards.

Notes: Two Agendas are resolved in each Agenda Phase, which follows the Status Phase if at least one player has previously taken control of Mecatol Rex. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (3) Politics Strategy Card, claiming the speaker token. (The host will then note when the remainder of the ability has been resolved.)

I PLAY the secondary ability, spending a Strategy pool token to draw 2 Action cards.

(4) Construction

Primary Ability: Place 1 PDS or Space Dock on a planet you control. Then, place 1 PDS on a planet you control.
Secondary Ability: Place 1 token from your Strategy pool in any system; you may place either 1 Space Dock or 1 PDS on a planet you control in that system.

Notes: The Construction Strategy Card is the primary means by which structure units are placed on the game board. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (4) Construction Strategy Card, placing a Space Dock and a PDS on Zohbat.

I PLAY the secondary ability, spending a Strategy pool token to place a Space Dock on Lodor.

(5) Trade

Primary Ability: Gain 3 Trade Goods and replenish your Commodities. Then, choose any number of other players. Those players use the secondary ability of this Strategy Card without spending a Command token.
Secondary Ability: Spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to replenish Commodities.

Notes: Each faction has a maximum number of Commodities that they can hold. Commodities do nothing for the player holding them, but they can be traded to other players, which converts them into Trade Goods. See the Odds and Ends below for more on Commodities and Trade Goods. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (5) Trade Strategy Card, receiving 3 Trade Goods and replenishing 3 Commodities. I select Sol and Jol-Nar to make use of the secondary ability.

I PLAY the secondary ability, spending a Strategy pool token to replenish 3 Commodities.

(6) Warfare

Primary Ability: Remove 1 of your Command tokens from the game board; then, gain 1 Command token. Redistribute any number of Command tokens on your command sheet.
Secondary Ability: Spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to use the Production ability of one of your Space Docks in your home system.

Notes: When the secondary ability is used, note that the home system does not need to be and is not activated. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (6) Warfare Strategy Card, removing a Command token from the Centauri-Gral system and allocating it to Tactic pool.

I PLAY the secondary ability, spending a Strategy pool counter and exhausting Vefut II (2R) to produce 2 Destroyers (2R) in my home system.

(7) Technology

Primary Ability: Research 1 technology. You may then spend 6 resources to research 1 technology.
Secondary Ability: Spend 1 token from your strategy pool and 4 resources to research 1 technology.

Notes: Common technologies are divided into five categories and organized into a loose tech tree. (Tech Tree) Most technologies have prerequisites, requiring a certain number of colored technologies in order to research. Note that unit upgrade technologies are colorless and do not satisfy any prerequisites. Certain planets with technology specialties can be exhausted to skip over one prerequisite of the matching color. Each race also has two Race-Specific Technologies only they may purchase. These technologies have their own prerequisites. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (7) Technology Strategy Card and exhaust Wellon (Yellow Tech) to gain "Graviton Laser System". (Graviton Laser System requires 1 Yellow technology as a prerequisite.)

I PLAY the secondary ability, spending a Strategy pool counter and exhausting Resculon (2R) and Saudor (2R) to gain "Antimass Deflectors".

(8) Imperial

Primary Ability: Immediately score 1 Public Objective if you fulfill its requirements. Then, gain 1 victory point if you control Mecatol Rex; otherwise, draw 1 Secret Objective.
Secondary Ability: Spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to draw 1 Secret Objective.

Notes: Each player can hold a maximum of 3 Secret Objectives. Drawing a fourth requires that an unfulfilled Secret Objective card be shuffled back into the deck. Usage examples:

I activate the primary ability of the (8) Imperial Strategy Card, fulfilling "Intimidate Council" and gaining 1 victory point for controlling Mecatol Rex.

I PLAY the secondary ability, spending a Strategy pool counter to draw one Secret Objective.

Tactical Action

With a Tactical Action, players may activate a system for movement, invasion, or production. The following steps are taken in a Tactical Action:

Activation: One counter will be spent from the Tactic pool to activate the chosen system. A system cannot be activated if it already has a Command counter from that player.
Movement: Ships may be moved from other systems into the activated system. Ships cannot be moved out of activated systems and cannot pass through systems with non-Fighter enemy ships. Units with Carry Capacity can pick up units at any time during their movement as long as the systems do not contain enemy ships and are not previously activated.
Space Cannon Offense: After movement, all players in range can use Space Cannon abilities to score hits on space units. Players who are not the active player can only target the active player's ships.
Space Combat: A space combat occurs when ships of different players are in the same system. See section below.
Invasion: Ground forces can be landed on planets to establish control. Ground Combat occurs when units of different players are in the same planet. See section below.
Production: Players may exhaust planets and spend Trade Goods to build units at Space Docks and other units with Production. If in a system with another player's ships, blockaded production units may only build ground forces. A unit's Production value states the maximum number of units that can be produced; see the Units section below for a list.

If a planet is taken, the planet card is received in exhausted state. Example:

I spend a Tactic pool counter to activate the Tar'mann system.
A Carrier with two Fighters and two Infantry from Tequ'ran-Torkan and a Cruiser from Thibah will be moved in. (assuming no space combat,)
I land two Ground Forces onto Tar'mann, taking control of the planet. (assuming the planet is empty)

Building units: I exhaust Bereg (3R) to build a Cruiser (2R) and two Fighters (1R).

Space Combat and Invasions

Before a Space Combat, Anti-Fighter Barrage occurs. In Anti-Fighter Barrage, Destroyers roll dice to try and eliminate opposing Fighters before the start of combat. Once complete, Space Battles are resolved in rounds:

Announce Retreat: Retreats that are declared will occur at the end of the combat round. Ground units can be loaded to space units at this time.
Make Combat Rolls: Both players roll outcomes for all their ships. Every roll above the corresponding ship's Combat Value scores a hit.
Remove Casualties: Both players assign hits to ships to remove from their own fleets.
Execute Retreat: If a retreat was declared, it is executed now. In order to retreat, a fleet must be able to move to a system that contains a planet or unit under that player's control, and no ships belonging to another player. If the system has not yet been activated by the retreating player, they activate the system with a Command token from their reinforcements.

Battle rounds continue until a player retreats or only ships of one kind (or fewer) remain in the system. It is encouraged to have conditional orders in place with me in order to expedite the process.

Invasions flow similarly to Space Battles, but without a retreat option. Pre-combat, the attacker has the option of using Bombardment and the defender may use Space Cannon. For Bombardment, ships must be split between planets if there are multiple planets. Ground forces are allocated to planets after Bombardment. PDS units on the planets being invaded may use Space Cannon to destroy incoming ground forces. The remaining ground forces fight it out in rounds of rolling combat dice, then removing casualties. If the attacker wins with at least one ground force remaining, then he gains control of the planet in an exhausted state. All enemy structures are destroyed.

Units

The number of each type of unit a player may have on the board is limited, with the exception of Infantry and Fighters. Even then, there is a maximum number of 'divisions' of each type. If necessary, units can be removed from non-activated systems to be produced elsewhere. Units with Carry Capacity can support and move Infantry and Fighters in space. Units with Sustain Damage allow them to take one hit without being destroyed. Damaged units are not hampered combat-wise, though a second hit will destroy them. Damaged ships are repaired in the Status Phase. Each unit has one technology that can be used to improve their capabilities.

Space Dock Max Available: 3. Structure. No combat capabilities, but can support three Fighter units. Production X+2, where X = planet's resource value. Maximum of one can be present on each planet, built with the Construction Strategy card.
PDS (Planetary Defense System) Max Available: 6. Structure. Planetary Shield (defend against Bombardment), Space Cannon 6. Maximum of two can be present on each planet, built with the Construction Strategy card.
Infantry Max Available: unlimited in 12 divisions. Cost 1 (for 2), Combat Value 8. Ground unit. Can establish control of planets.
Fighter Max Available: unlimited in 10 divisions. Cost 1 (for 2), Combat Value 9. Space unit. Must be supported by a Space Dock or unit with Carry Capacity.
Carrier Max Available: 4. Cost 3, Combat Value 9, Movement 1, Carry Capacity 4. Space unit.
Destroyer Max Available: 8. Cost 1, Combat Value 9, Movement 2. Space unit. Anti-Fighter Barrage 9 (x2).
Cruiser Max Available: 8. Cost 2, Combat Value 7, Movement 2. Space unit.
Dreadnought Max Available: 5. Cost 4, Combat Value 5, Movement 1, Carry Capacity 1. Space unit. Sustain Damage, Bombardment 5.
War Sun Max Available: 2. Cost 12, Combat Value 3 (x3), Movement 2, Carry Capacity 6. Space unit. Sustain Damage, Bombardment 3 (x3), negates Planetary Shield. Requires tech advance to build.
Flagship Max Available: 1. Cost: 8. Space unit. Unique stats dependent on race.

Status Phase

Once all players have passed their turns, the Action Phase ends and the Status Phase begins. In the Status Phase, the following steps are taken in order:

Score Objectives: Players may qualify for at most one Public Objective Card and one Secret Objective Card per round. A player must control all planets in their home system in order to claim a Public Objective. All players may claim each Public Objective once; players may not claim other players' Secret Objectives.
Reveal Public Objective: The next Public Objective in line is revealed; if there are no objectives left to reveal, the game ends.
Remove Command Tokens Tokens are removed from the board and returned to players' reinforcements.
Gain Action Cards and Command Tokens: Each player gains 1 Action card and 2 Command tokens per turn.
Redistribute Command Areas If a player reduces their Fleet Supply, they must make sure their fleet numbers are in compliance with the new number.
Ready Cards: Planet, Technology, and Strategy cards are all readied.
Repair Damaged Ships
Return Strategy Cards Strategy Cards return to the common area for selection in the next Strategy Phase.

Most steps are automatic; outside of potential Action Card plays, players need only declare how they are redistributing their Command tokens in the Status Phase. Example:

I gain 2 Command tokens, placing 1 in Tactic pool and 1 in Strategy pool., or I gain 2 Command tokens, rearranging my Command areas to include 2 in Tactic pool, 4 in Fleet pool, and 2 in Strategy pool.

Agenda Phase

After a player has taken control of Mecatol Rex for the first time, removing the Custodians token, the Agenda Phase will follow the Status Phase. In this phase, players spend influence to vote on agendas with potentially large impacts. During each Agenda Phase, two agendas will be voted on:

Reveal Agenda: The top card of the Agenda deck is revealed.
Vote: Each player, starting from the left of the speaker, may exhaust planets for their influence values, casting the total influence spent towards a single Agenda outcome. A player can also choose to not exhaust anything and abstain from the vote.
Resolve Outcome: The outcome with the most votes is resolved; the speaker chooses an outcome in case of a tie. Law agendas voted "For" stay in play after resolving the vote; other outcomes are resolved and then discarded.

An example vote: I vote FOR the agenda, exhausting Meer (4I).

Note that planets exhausted after the first vote remain exhausted into the second vote. After two agendas are resolved, all planet cards are readied and the next Strategy Phase begins.

MrBlarney · April 2018

Odds and Ends

At the start of the game, the Custodians token is placed on Mecatol Rex. Before any player may land ground forces and establish control of Mecatol Rex, they must spend six influence. The player that does so gains 1 victory point, and the Agenda Phase is added to each game round after the Status Phase for the remainder of the game.
Command tokens are allocated to three areas. Tokens in the Strategy pool are generally used to play the secondary abilities of Strategy Cards, and counters in the Tactic pool are used to activate systems in Tactical Actions. Command tokens in the Fleet pool are not spent, but instead indicate the maximum number of friendly non-Fighter ships that can be supported in a single system at any time. Each player has a maximum of 16 Command tokens available in the game. If a game effect requires the placement of a token from the reinforcements and none is available, the counter must be taken from one of the allocated areas.
Keep in mind that removing all ground forces from a world after establishing control does not relinquish it. Only when an enemy takes over control does ownership transfer.
Certain map hexes have special features. Hexes with matching-lettered wormholes are considered adjacent, including for Space Cannon offense. Asteroid Field systems are impassable unless a player has the Antimass Deflectors technology. Supernova systems are completely impassable to movement. Nebula systems can be activated, but units may not move through them in a single activation. Ships defend with a +1 bonus to combat rolls while inside a Nebula, but their movement is reduced to 1 when moving out of a Nebula system. Gravity Rifts apply +1 movement to any ship that leaves or moves through the system, but have a chance of destroying any such ship: for each ship a die is rolled and on a 1-3, the ship is destroyed.
Commodities are gained through the Trade Strategy Card, but do nothing for the player holding them. When given to another player, however, they become Trade Goods. Trade Goods may be spent at any time as 1 resource or 1 influence, except in voting. Commodities and Trade Goods can be exchanged by the active player once per neighbor per turn; players are neighbors if they control units or planets in adjacent systems. Transfers may be performed by noting the action in bold dodgerblue. Transactions may also be performed between any pairs of players during the Agenda Phase, once per pair each vote.
Each player also has a hand of Promissory Notes that can be exchanged in transactions. At most one card per player can be exchanged in a transaction; you may also exchange Promissory Notes that are not yours. There are four generic notes held by each player, and one note that is race-specific. Generic notes:
- Ceasefire: After the <color> player activates a system that contains one or more of your units: The <color> player cannot move units into the active system. Then, return this card to the <color> player.
- Trade Agreement: When the <color> player replenishes commodities: The <color> player gives you all of his commodities. Then, return this card to the <color> player.
- Political Secret: When an Agenda is revealed: The <color> player cannot vote, play Action Cards, or use faction abilities until after that Agenda has been resolved. Then, return this card to the <color> player.
- Support for the Throne: When you receive this card, if you are not the <color> player, you must place it faceup in your play area and gain 1 Victory Point. If you activate a system that contains one or more of the <color> player's units, or if the <color> player is eliminated, lose 1 Victory Point and return this card to the <color> player.
When playing an Action Card outside of a Component Action, a player must first declare that they are making an Action Card play, after which all other players may also declare a play, or pass. If multiple players wish to play cards at the same time, resolution is in play order (which differs in each Phase of the game). The exception to Action Card declaration is the play of "Sabotage" cards: these do not need to be declared until they are played reactively to another Action Card being played. To declare the play of a card, note it in bold dodgerblue at the appropriate period in which it will be played.
The maximum hand size for Action Cards is seven. If a player exceeds this number at any time, they must immediately discard down to seven, even if they have more Action Cards to draw. In the latter case, the player may continue drawing cards after discarding down to seven.
To aid in recordkeeping, and as a common courtesy, it is recommended that you list the number of Commodities, Trade Goods, Action Cards, and Command Counter Allocation in bold limegreen after each of your actions. For example, at the start of the game, your status might look like this:

C/TG/AC: 0/0/0
TP/FP/SP: 3/3/2

Game Links
Player Signup Phase, Galaxy Creation, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Race and Location Draft, Galaxy Reconstruction
Round 1: Strategy Phase, Action Phase, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Status Phase
Round 2: Strategy Phase, Action Phase, Update 1, Update 2, Status Phase, Agenda Phase
Round 3: Strategy Phase, Action Phase, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Status Phase, Agenda Phase
Round 4: Strategy Phase, Action Phase, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Status Phase, Agenda Phase
Round 5: Strategy Phase, Action Phase, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Status Phase, Agenda Phase
Round 6: Strategy Phase, Action Phase, Update 1, Update 2, Update 3, Update 4, Update 5, Status Phase, Game End

Having reached 10 victory points, the Universities of Jol-Nar are victorious!

MrBlarney · April 2018

Player Signup Phase

Signups will be open for approximately the next 24 hours. Make sure that you post your sign up in bold, colorful text to make sure I see it. I'll favor players who did not participate on either of the first two games on the forums, unless there are so many signups that there are enough to fill two full games... at which point I'll have to think about things.

MrBody · April 2018

I can't possibly pick a worse race than N'orr this time

MrBody · April 2018

I didn't see any, but are we playing with any variants?

I read one interesting take on the snake draft. You start with a random player, and let them choose a race, starting location, OR the speaker token. Then it snake drafts with every player choosing 1 until you're all done.

MrBlarney · April 2018

MrBody wrote: »

I didn't see any, but are we playing with any variants?

I read one interesting take on the snake draft. You start with a random player, and let them choose a race, starting location, OR the speaker token. Then it snake drafts with every player choosing 1 until you're all done.

Variants are listed at the very top of the first post, in a bulleted list. I in fact used the race and start position draft you mention in a few of my previously-hosted games, and it returns as well for this game (after I realized I left off the Speaker Token from the list of options in the OP).

Preda · April 2018

Sign Up.

Ketar · April 2018

Sign up.

Mojo_Jojo · April 2018

Sign up in the played in one of the other games reserve list

MrBlarney wrote: »

MrBody wrote: »

I didn't see any, but are we playing with any variants?

I read one interesting take on the snake draft. You start with a random player, and let them choose a race, starting location, OR the speaker token. Then it snake drafts with every player choosing 1 until you're all done.

Variants are listed at the very top of the first post, in a bulleted list. I in fact used the race and start position draft you mention in a few of my previously-hosted games, and it returns as well for this game (after I realized I left off the Speaker Token from the list of options in the OP).

Are you the one who suggested that rule to Space Lions Peace Turtles?

discrider · April 2018

Maybe I should try someone else this time

MrBlarney · April 2018

Mojo_Jojo wrote: »

Are you the one who suggested to Space Lions Peace Turtles?

Nope, you're probably thinking of the other MrB (i.e. MrBody). Honestly, I've not paid that much attention to the TI scene or played that frequently. I mostly like the pleasure of hosting.

mindflare77 · April 2018

Sign up, if there are openings left.

El Skid · April 2018

Third time’s a charm to get in, maybe?

38thDoe · April 2018

How terrible is a new player for the balance? Other than probably having no chance of winning? I've been kind of interested in seeing how this game plays out.
Conditional sign up.

discrider · April 2018

38thDoe wrote: »

How terrible is a new player for the balance? Other than probably having no chance of winning? I've been kind of interested in seeing how this game plays out.
Conditional sign up.

Well if enough new players join up, then everyone who's played before gets to wait.
So I wouldn't worry about it.

And in the main, TI is all about not attacking because everyone is as strong as everyone else.
Up until you must attack.
I don't think being new will affect that much...

Perhaps it might do interesting things to the draft.

El Skid · April 2018

Being new should be fine. Ive never played 4 but I have played 3 a few times... Depending on how many changes from 3 to 4 rules I miss you may be better off than I am if you’re totally new...

38thDoe · April 2018

Okay well now I'm reading the rules anyways might as well go to full signup. My only space empire game was dying horribly in Eclipse one afternoon.

Brody · April 2018

MrBody's most recent game was my first game played, and I came in a decent tie with just about everyone for third. I would suggest listening to some of the Space Cats Peace Turtles podcasts. It really helped me get a better understanding of the game. If only I had started listening to them before we hit the midway point, I might have done a lot better.

Brody · April 2018

Also, sign up for reserve/played this before.

Zombie Hero · April 2018

Sign up never played before.

mindflare77 · April 2018

I think my current count is 6 folks who played in the last game, and 4 who didn't. Right?

Brody · April 2018

This isn't phalla, you can't make me do a vote count!

Not Played (4) - Mindflare, El Skid, 38, ZH

Played (6) - MrBody, Preda, Ketar, Mojo, Disc, Brody

Mojo_Jojo · April 2018

mindflare77 wrote: »

I think my current count is 6 folks who played in the last game, and 4 who didn't. Right?

If the previous games established anything it was that I can't count

Hedgethorn · April 2018

38thDoe wrote: »

How terrible is a new player for the balance? Other than probably having no chance of winning? I've been kind of interested in seeing how this game plays out.
Conditional sign up.

My entire TI experience was two rounds of a 3rd edition game twelve years ago, but I won the previous game MrBody ran. So new players can win, so long as you're holding the necessary action card(s) and get the exact die roll you need in the very last round.

Mojo_Jojo · April 2018

Hedgethorn wrote: »

38thDoe wrote: »

How terrible is a new player for the balance? Other than probably having no chance of winning? I've been kind of interested in seeing how this game plays out.
Conditional sign up.

My entire TI experience was two rounds of a 3rd edition game twelve years ago, but I won the previous game MrBody ran. So new players can win, so long as you're holding the necessary action card(s) and get the exact die roll you need in the very last round.

And that's the real meaning of TI

MrBlarney · April 2018

Something something enemies we made along the way.

At ten people signed up, we might be heading towards a double game scenario. I've juggled two games simultaneously before, but I've forgotten how bad that was. So it might happen again. One game for those new to the online TI4e experience, and one for those who have experienced it before? Or something close to that? Too early to tell, there's still a half day before I officially close the signup period.

Lykouragh · April 2018

!Sign up but my feelings will not be hurt if a new player gets a slot instead of me).

PS I love you MrBlarney

MrBody · April 2018

My mind would burn out trying to host another TI so soon after the last one, let alone host 2 at once.

MrBlarney · April 2018

MrBody wrote: »

My mind would burn out trying to host another TI so soon after the last one, let alone host 2 at once.

Hey, aren't you running multiple games on the forums right now? That's still a commendable hosting effort.

Looks like we're currently at eleven signups, so one more will make for a clean dozen.

discrider · April 2018

MrBlarney wrote: »

MrBody wrote: »

My mind would burn out trying to host another TI so soon after the last one, let alone host 2 at once.

Hey, aren't you running multiple games on the forums right now? That's still a commendable hosting effort.

Looks like we're currently at eleven signups, so one more will make for a clean dozen.

Not in parallel I think :P
Also with not as many moving parts as TI that need to be kept spinning.
So whilst definitely commendable, perhaps not Herculean.

I forgot about the Princess game.
You're both crazy.

MrBlarney · April 2018

Player Selection

Eleven people have signed up for the game, including seven who have played in one of the two most recent TI4e games on the forums. The four who have not, 38thDoe, El Skid, mindflare77, and Zombie Hero automatically claim player slots. The remaining two slots will be drawn from the seven 'veteran' signups:

Brody
discrider
Ketar
Lykouragh
Mojo_Jojo
MrBody
Preda

There are seventeen factions in the game, six of which will be randomly selected for play.

The Arborec
The Ghosts of Creuss
The Emirates of Hacan
Universities of Jol-Nar
The L1z1x Mindnet
The Barony of Letnev
The Mentak Coalition
The Embers of Muaat
The Naalu Collective
The Nekro Virus
Sardakk N'orr
The Clan of Saar
Federation of Sol
The Winnu
The Xxcha Kingdom
The Yin Brotherhood
The Yssaril Tribes

Selection rolls will be reported in the next post, as via Orokos.

MrBlarney · April 2018

Player Select: {1, 4}
Player Order: {6, 4, 2, 1, 3, 5}
Faction Select: {11, 3, 2, 13, 1, 4}

Brody and Lykouragh have been selected from the 'veteran' group, with the starting order for galaxy creation being: 38thDoe, El Skid, mindflare77, Zombie Hero, Brody, Lykouragh

The following factions will be vying for the rule of the galaxy:

Sardakk N'orr

- Home System: Tren'lak (1R, 0I), Quinarra (3R, 1I)
- Starting Units: 2 Carriers, 1 Cruiser, 5 Infantry, 1 Space Dock, 1 PDS
- Racial Unit: Exotrireme (Dreadnought): As Dreadought, but Bombardment 4 (x2).
- Flagship: C'morran N'orr: Combat Value 6 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. Apply +1 to the result of each of your other ships' combat rolls in this system.
- Starting Technology: (none)
- Racial Technology: Valkyrie Particle Weave (Red, requires 2 Red): After making combat rolls during a round of Ground Combat, if your opponent produced 1 or more hits, you produce 1 additional hit.
- Racial Technology: Exotrireme II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Blue and 1 Yellow): As Dreadnought, but Movement 2, Bombardment 4 (x2). This unit cannot be destroyed by "Direct Hit" action cards. After a round of Space Combat, you may destroy this unit to destroy up to 2 ships in this system.
- Commodities: 3
- Unrelenting: Apply +1 to the result of each of your units' combat rolls.
- Racial Promissory Note: Tekklar Legion: At the start of an Invasion Combat: Apply +1 to the result of each of your units' combat rolls during this combat. If your opponent is the N'orr player, apply -1 to the result of each of his unit's combat rolls during this combat. Then, return this card to the N'orr player.

The Emirates of Hacan

- Home System: Hercant (1R, 1I); Arretze (2R, 0I), Kamdorn (0R, 1I)
- Starting Units: 2 Carriers, 1 Cruiser, 2 Fighters, 4 Infantry, 1 Space Dock
- Flagship: Wrath of Kenara: Combat Value 7 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. After you roll a die during a Space Combat in this system, you may spend 1 Trade Good to apply +1 to the result.
- Starting Technologies: Antimass Deflectors, Sarween Tools
- Racial Technology: Production Biomes (Green, requires 2 Green): Action: Exhaust this card and spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to gain 4 Trade Goods and choose 1 other player; that player gains 2 Trade Goods.
- Racial Technology: Quantum Datahub Node (Yellow, requires 3 Yellow): At the end of the Strategy Phase, you may spend 1 token from your Strategy pool and give another player 3 of your Trade Goods. If you do, give 1 of your Strategy cards to that player and take 1 of his Strategy cards.
- Commodities: 6
- Masters of Trade: You do not have to spend a Command token to resolve the secondary ability of the Trade Strategy card.
- Guild Ships: You can negotiate transactions with players who are not your neighbor.
- Arbiters: When negotiating a transaction, Action Cards can be exchanged as part of that transaction.
- Racial Promissory Note: Trade Convoys: Action: Place this card faceup in your play area. While this card is in your play area, you may negotiate transactions with players who are not your neighbor. If you activate a system that contains 1 or more of the Hacan player's units, return this card to the Hacan player.

The Ghosts of Creuss

- Home System: Creuss (4R, 2I)
- Starting Units: 1 Carrier, 2 Destroyers, 2 Fighters, 4 Infantry, 1 Space Dock
- Flagship: Hil Colish: Combat Value 5, Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. This ship's system contains a Delta wormhole. During movement, this ship may move before or after your other ships.
- Starting Technology: Gravity Drive
- Racial Technology: Dimensional Splicer (Red, requires 1 Red): At the start of Space Combat in a system that contains a wormhole and 1 or more of your ships, you may produce 1 hit and assign it to 1 of your opponent's ships.
- Racial Technology: Wormhole Generator (Blue, requires 2 Blue): At the start of the Status Phase, place or move a Creuss wormhole token into either a system that contains a planet you control or a non-home system that does not contain another player's ships.
- Commodities: 4
- Quantum Entanglement: You treat all systems that contain either an Alpha or Beta wormhole as adjacent to each other. Game effects cannot prevent you from using this ability.
- Slipstream: During your Tactical Actions, apply +1 to the movement value of each of your ships that starts its movement in your home system or in a system that contains either an Alpha or Beta wormhole.
- Creuss Gate: When the board is created, the Creuss Gate is placed where your home system would normally be placed. The Creuss Gate system is not a home system; your home system is placed in your play area.
- Racial Promissory Note: Creuss IFF: At the start of your turn during the Action Phase: Place or move a Creuss wormhole token into either a system that contains a planet you control or a non-home system that does not contain another player's ships. Then, return this card to the Creuss player.

Federation of Sol

- Home System: Jord (4R, 2I)
- Starting Units: 2 Carriers, 1 Destroyer, 3 Fighters, 5 Infantry, 1 Space Dock
- Racial Unit: Advanced Carrier (Carrier): As Carrier, but Carry Capacity 6.
- Racial Unit: Spec Ops (Infantry): As Infantry, but Combat Value 7.
- Flagship: Genesis: Combat Value 5 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 12. Sustain Damage. At the end of the Status Phase, place 1 Infantry from your reinforcements in this system's space area.
- Starting Technologies: Neural Motivator, Antimass Deflectors
- Racial Technology: Spec Ops II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Green): As Infantry, but Combat Value 6. After this unit is destroyed, roll 1 die. If the result is 5 or greater, place the unit on this card. At the start of your next turn, place each unit that is on this card on a planet you control in your home system.
- Racial Technology: Advanced Carrier II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Blue): As Carrier, but Movement 2, Capacity 8. Sustain Damage.
- Commodities: 4
- Orbital Drop: Action: Spend 1 token from your Strategy pool to place 2 Infantry from your reinforcements on 1 planet you control.
- Versatile: When you gain command tokens during the Status Phase, gain 1 additional command token.
- Racial Promissory Note: Military Support: At the start of the Sol player's turn: Remove 1 token from the Sol player's Strategy pool, if able, and return it to his reinforcements. Then, you may place 2 Infantry from your reinforcements on any planet you control. Then, return this card to the Sol player.

The Arborec

- Home System: Nestphar (3R, 2I)
- Starting Units: 1 Carrier, 1 Cruiser, 2 Fighters, 4 Infantry, 1 Space Dock, 1 PDS
- Racial Unit: Letani Warrior (Infantry): As Infantry, but Production 1.
- Flagship: Duha Menaimon: Combat Value 7 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 5. Sustain Damage. After you activate this system, you may produce up to 5 units in this system.
- Starting Technology: Magen Defense Grid
- Racial Technology: Bioplasmosis (Green, requires 2 Green): At the end of the Status Phase, you may remove any number of Infantry from planets you control and place them on 1 or more planets you control in the same or adjacent systems.
- Racial Technology: Letani Warrior II (unit upgrade, requires 2 Green): As Infantry, but Combat Value 7. Production 2. After this unit is destroyed, roll 1 die. If the result is 5 or greater, place the unit on this card. At the start of your next turn, place each unit that is on this card on a planet you control in your home system.
- Commodities: 3
- Mitosis: Your Space Docks cannot produce Infantry. At the start of the Status Phase, place 1 Infantry from your reinforcements on any planet you control.
- Racial Promissory Note: Stymie: Action: Place this card faceup in your play area. While this card is in your play area, the Arborec player cannot produce units in or adjacent to non-home systems that contain 1 or more of your units. If you activate a system that contains 1 or more of the Arborec player's units, return this card to the Arborec player.

Universities of Jol-Nar

- Home System: Jol (1R, 2I), Nar (2R, 3I)
- Starting Units: 1 Dreadnought, 2 Carriers, 1 Fighter, 2 Infantry, 1 Space Dock, 2 PDS
- Flagship: J.N.S. Hylarim: Combat Value 6 (x2), Movement 1, Carry Capacity 3. Sustain Damage. When making a combat roll for this ship, each (pre-modified) roll of 9 or 10 produces 2 additional hits.
- Starting Technologies: Neural Motivator, Antimass Deflectors, Sarween Tools, Plasma Scoring
- Racial Technology: Spacial Conduit Cylinder (Blue, requires 2 Blue): You may exhaust this card after you ativate a system that contains 1 or more of your units; that system is adjacent to all other systems that contain 1 or more of your units during this activation.
- Racial Technology: E-Res Siphons (Yellow, requires 2 Yellow): After another player activates a system that contains 1 or more of your ships, gain 4 Trade Goods.
- Commodities: 4
- Fragile: Apply -1 to the result of each of your units' combat rolls.
- Brilliant: When you spend a command token to resolve the secondary ability of the Technology Strategy card, you may resolve the primary ability instead.
- Analytical: When you research a technology that is not a unit upgrade technology, you may ignore 1 prerequisite.
- Racial Promissory Note: Research Agreement: After the Jol-Nar researches a technology that is not a faction technology: Gain that technology. Then, return this card to the Jol-Nar player.

MrBlarney · April 2018

Round 0: Galaxy Creation

Current Map: Start of Round 0, Galaxy Creation

Each player has been dealt five system tiles for galaxy creation: two empty or red-bordered systems, and three systems containing planets. All systems with wormholes have been forced to be in player hands. Starting from the first player and proceeding in a snake draft (first to last, last to first, etc.), each player places a system title from their hand with the following restrictions:

Each ring must be filled completely before moving on to the next, starting from the center and moving outwards.
Special systems with red borders may not be placed adjacent to one another unless there is no other option.
Systems with wormholes of the same type may not be placed adjacent to one another unless there is no other option.

Following placement of all tiles, player order will be reshuffled for selection of race, starting position, and the Speaker Token.

Order of Play
38thDoe
El Skid
mindflare77
Zombie Hero
Brody
Lykouragh

Lykouragh
Brody
... (22 more tiles to place)

MrBlarney · April 2018

Alright, all tiles are now out to our players for this game. Since there are five people on the signup list who didn't get to play, I'll leave signups open for the remainder of the galaxy creation process. If someone signs up before then, I'll start up a Game 04 with that player plus the five others. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for the next game to open up!

@38thDoe has the first system tile placement, in the innermost ring.

38thDoe · April 2018

Is there a strategy somewhere on the web for new players setting up the game snake draft? I'm having trouble finding one.

Mojo_Jojo · April 2018

38thDoe wrote: »

Is there a strategy somewhere on the web for new players setting up the game this way? I'm having trouble finding one.

Given you're choosing placement later on, just try to make the galaxy look roughly balanced. So don't try to make a region of it have all the red systems or all the hazardous ones or anything crazy.

I haven't come across anything more detailed than that, but given the build is a variant I doubt you'll find much

mindflare77 · April 2018

Yup. For this, where we're drafting positions and races after the fact, look at balancing tech specialty planets, planet types (cultural, industrial, hazardous), resource value, and influence value.

Resources are how you buy most things. Pretty important.
Influence is how you vote, and get command counters. Also important, arguably less so than resources.
Tech specialty planets let you skip tech prerequisites. For some races, certain colors are a godsend.
There are also objectives that deal with planet types (off my head, the important one is having 4 of the same type), so grouping those up in this style of galaxy building is ill-advised. If you were building per normal rules, it's beneficial to group them up in your home slice, but that doesn't really apply here (since you're not guaranteed to get which one you want).

mindflare77 · April 2018

So, Space Cats Peace Turtles is an unofficial Twilight Imperium podcast. They're currently going through each race with a first round strategy and some tips for how to play them. I'll list them out below for folks, in case people want them.

Ghosts of Creuss:
They don't seem to have done this one yet, my apologies.

Federation of Sol: https://spacecatspeaceturtles.podbean.com/e/ep-019-first-round-strategies-federation-of-sol/

Universities of Jol-nar:
https://spacecatspeaceturtles.podbean.com/e/ep-018-first-round-strategies-universities-of-jol-nar/

Arborec:
https://spacecatspeaceturtles.podbean.com/e/ep-014-first-round-strategies-the-arborec/

Clan of Saar:
https://spacecatspeaceturtles.podbean.com/e/ep-013-first-round-strategies-clan-of-saar/

Emirates of Hacan:
Well, apparently they haven't done one for Hacan yet either. My apologies.

Hedgethorn · April 2018

If you're looking for a 6th player for a second game, I'll play again.

Brody · April 2018

38thDoe wrote: »

Is there a strategy somewhere on the web for new players setting up the game snake draft? I'm having trouble finding one.

Some thoughts from the last game, which may or may not have any benefit with snake draft.

-Hazards next the Mecatol Rex can really screw with some people. Less of an issue since we won't have Winnu, but Asteroid/Nebula/Supernova/Is there a fourth? can really screw with peoples ability to move through the galaxy.

-Wormholes are great. They help you meet new and exciting people.

-Things with colors on them can be useful if they are all bunched together. Try not to bunch them together.

-I found Influence mostly useless early game, while Resources are solid all game long. Placing high resource planets near starting positions will help people build up fast, putting them farther out is more likely to generate conflict, and make people move out faster.

And most importantly, as others have noted, you don't necessarily get to build a slice and then start in it. Once we are done laying out tiles, people will be picking their board position. This provides incentive for the group to make the most balanced board it can.

Penny Arcade

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Twilight Imperium 4e - Game 3: Round 6 - Status Phase / Game End

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