Game Overview

1. Strategy Phase

Players choose strategy cards starting with the speaker and proceeding clockwise.

2. Action Phase

Players take turns in initiative order, repeating until each player has passed.

3. Status Phase

Players perform cleanup steps in preparation for the next game round.

4. Agenda Phase

Players draw and resolve two agendas (once Mecatol Rex has been claimed).

Actions

There are three types of actions that players may perform during the action phase:

Strategic Action

A player performs the primary action of their chosen strategy card. Then, other players perform the secondary ability of that card.

Component Action

A player may perform an action granted by their faction sheet, a technology, or an action card.

Tactical Action

A player may perform a tactical action by spending a command token from their tactic pool. They resolve the following steps:

1. Activation
2. Movement
   1. Move Ships
   2. Space Cannon Offense
3. Space Combat
1. Anti-Fighter Barrage
2. Announce Retreat
3. Make Combat Rolls
4. Assign Hits
5. Retreat
4. Invasion
1. Bombardment
2. Commit Ground Forces
3. Space Cannon Defense
4. Ground Combat
5. Establish Control
5. Production

Status Phase

1. Score Objectives
2. Reveal Public Objective
3. Draw Action Cards
4. Remove Command Tokens
5. Gain and Redistribute Command Tokens
6. Ready Cards
7. Repair Units
8. Return Strategy Cards

Planet Traits

Cultural

Hazardous

Industrial

Frequently Overlooked Rules

• Players do not resolve the agenda phase until any player has removed the custodians token from Mecatol Rex.
• Players cannot pass during the action phase until they have performed a strategic action.
• When performing a strategic action, players cannot use the secondary ability of their own strategy cards.
• Players can produce units at a space dock in the active system during their tactical actions, even if they did not move ships or invade planets.
• Ships can only drop off ground forces in the active system.
• Players can exceed their ships’ capacity during combat.
• Players are limited to two PDS units and one space dock on each planet.
• Unit upgrade technology does not satisfy prerequisites.
• Players can exchange only one promissory note each as part of a single transaction.
• Players with upgraded PDS units in the same system as a wormhole can use those units’ “Space Cannon” abilities to fire through the wormhole.
• Players may trade promissory notes that were given to them by another player.
• A player is limited to three secret objectives, including both scored and unscored secret objectives.