twilight imperium rules - fantasy flight games imperium 3... · trade, and political intrigue....

RULES OF PLAYA G A M E B Y C H R I S T I A N T . P E T E R S E N

To J.R.R. Tolkien, for endless inspiration and the courage to dream of new worlds

To George Lucas, for he once understood the star in our mind’s eye

To Frank Herbert, for bringing intrigue and spice to the stars

To Gene Roddenberry, for his continuing mission

To Isaac Asimov, for showing us to look in, so that we may look out

To Dad, for the quest of knowledge, and for the games

To Gretchen, for her love

To Lars, forever

- CTP

My name is Mahthom Iq Seerva.

I am the Winnaran keeper of the Custodian Chronicle, and I write this from theancient Tower of Annals in old Mecatol City. Since inheriting the duties of thechronicle from my father, I have enjoyed the view of our city from my wide win-dows; enjoyed the old buildings, ancient towers, and bright lights that proudlystretch into the remote distance. Yet, like the shadow at my feet, I can never escapeor forget the lethal finite borders of my city. I cannot cast aside the fact that lessthan a hundred leagues from this tower, our city shields rise to protect us from thepoisonous dust that is the Sea of Desolation. The terrible wasteland that covers ourplanet.

My people, the Winnarans, have kept this city safe for more than three thousandyears. Ever since the time of the great scourge, we have been the custodians of theimperial throne, the imperial records, and the galactic council here on Mecatol Rex.We have indeed been faithful to the promise that we made to the last emperor.

My hands tremble as I write this. Events are now unfolding which I believe to bethe harbinger of great change. I foresee that, in my lifetime, our custodianship willcome to an end. This is why I have contacted you. I will here seek to give you abrief, but true, summary of the recent history of our galaxy. I give this to you,because I know that you will spread this knowledge far and wide. As we enter thedangerous years before us, I fear that the galaxy shall have a great need of the past.

It is told that the Lazax emperors arose from the ashes of the Mahact kings. Little isknown of their early ascension, but it is impossible to deny that the Lazax musthave been a profoundly intelligent, benevolent, and wise people. After their prehis-toric rise to power, we know that they chose the central planet of Mecatol Rex astheir home world. The year that the Lazax first arrived on Mecatol Rex is recordedin the Imperial Chronicle as "first" and marks the beginning of my account.

For untold ages, the Lazax ruled the known galaxy. As new races came into contactwith the empire, they would be allowed to join the Galactic Council that representedthe needs and voices of the empires people. The great races: Xxcha, Hacan, Letnev,Hylar, Sol, and N'orr were all represented in the council during the last time of theLazax empire.

Yet, as the years passed, discoveries of new races and planetary systems began toslow. Little by little the mood of the empire changed as technological and intellectu-al growth began to diminish. In their need for advancement, the great races beganinstead to look to the power of the Lazax and the resources of their neighbors.Greed and ambition slowly grew in the hearts of statesmen and councilors. Thespirit of the empire turned suspicious and fearful. It is during this time that the firstconflicts between the great races are recorded in the Imperial Chronicle. TheGalactic Council became a seedbed of intrigue, ushering in an era of spies andassassins. First in secret, and later in public, the great races began at this time tobuild their military capabilities. Many started territorial expansions that extendedbeyond their original charter. Border strife and resource disputes began to prolifer-ate, gnawing at the very foundations of the empire. This was a time of growingdarkness that is now known as the Age of Dusk.

Throughout most of this age, the Lazax held authority without question. Except fora few minor and unsuccessful rebellions, few dared to openly challenge the emper-ors. Yet, blinded by assurance of eternal rule, the Lazax did not perceive the threatof ambition that grew around them. As years passed, tensions between the greatraces grew deeper, and so did their hunger for power. In the end, they held only onething in common: They hated the Lazax, hated the imperial rule, and hated thebenevolent arrogance of the emperors.

A small affair near the Quann wormhole was the spark that set the galaxy aflame.

In protest over imperial trade oversight, the Baron of Letnev had begun a blockadeof trade traffic through the Quann wormhole. As this had been far from the firsttrouble with the Letnev, an unconcerned Lazax emperor sought to solve the conflictpeacefully in the Galactic Council.

Then, without warning, the blockading Letnev ships were attacked and annihilatedby a Sol task force acting without imperial mandate. Losing valuable trade-income,the Sol federation had lost patience, and had acted in its own interest.

Angered, the emperor attempted to consolidate his control by issuing the Maanduedict, which would place all warships under direct imperial supervision. TheMaandu edict would be the stone that shattered a brittle empire. After this procla-mation, the Letnev, Sol, and Jol-Nar civilizations announced their immediate with-drawal from the council, drawing the galaxy into civil war.

The Quann conflict marks the beginning of the Age of Twilight.

As race fought race, as a thousand territorial disputes erupted over a few years, theLazax desperately sought to assert their authority. Holding together a crumblingempire, Lazax fleets fought across the galaxy. The final days of the Lazax began inthe seventy-third year of the war. Without warning, an alliance of Sol, N'orr, andHacan attacked Mecatol Rex itself.

Of all the planets in the galaxy, no planet was more war-torn than Mecatol Rex.Over the course of only a few years, the planet’s ecology was ravaged by bombard-ments, its population decimated, and its green fields blasted into a toxic wasteland.The last Lazax emperor and his entire family were executed during an early Solincursion and no successor was named.

After the death of the last emperor, all semblance of Lazax control collapsed. TheLazax people became hunted across the galaxy in the vengeful wave of murder thatis known as the great scourge. Lasting only twenty years, the scourge resulted in thecomplete annihilation of the Lazax race. Until now, no Lazax had been seen in theknown galaxy for more than 3000 years.

The Twilight Wars continued for centuries. Yet no race was powerful enough toseize the throne and risk the fate of the Lazax. Slowly the strength of the great civi-lizations failed as their economies crumbled and whole technologies were lost fromthe strain of long war.

The Twilight Wars died in a slow whisper. The time that followed, now known asthe Dark Years, was a period of economic, cultural, and intellectual collapse. Thegreat races had by then retreated into their own small, safe areas of space.

With time, the Dark Years did come to an end, and a calm but uncertain period ofrebuilding began. As I write this, the great races have regained elements of theirformer strength. In my city, the Galactic Council is growing in influence oncemore, while the great races are embarking on the colonization of neighboring sys-tems, abandoned during the Dark Years.

The signs of great change are everywhere. I taste it in the air I breathe. This year,as if walking out of ancient prophecy, the Lazax returned from the darkness of his-tory in a foreboding cybernetic form. To me, their coming is like the first wind of aterrible storm. I feel as if the galaxy is waking. As if an ancient beast stirs fromslumber in a dark cave.

The day will soon come when a new empire will rise. For the sake of all, may thenew emperor not only have the power to seize the throne, but the strength to con-quer the peace.

If not, I fear that a sea of desolation will drown us all.

Welcome to a galaxy of epic conquest, interstellartrade, and political intrigue. TWILIGHT IMPERIUMis an exciting board game in which 3-6 players seekto build a galactic empire by the cunning use of strat-egy, diplomacy, and resource management. By takingon the role of a great interstellar race, players willseek the ultimate goal: to claim the Imperial Throneon Mecatol Rex and lead the galaxy to a new age ofglory.

But the road to the Imperial Throne is long and thegalaxy holds many dangers. Do you have what ittakes to lead your race out of the troubled TwilightAge? Do you have the determination to move yourrace forward using a balance of diplomacy, carefulplanning, and the use of force? Are you ready todirect the scientific development, military might, andeconomic growth for an entire interstellar civiliza-tion?

If so, your time has come!

To win a game of TWILIGHT IMPERIUM ("TI"),players seek to accumulate a total of 10 victory pointsby achieving objectives and carefully choosing help-ful strategies. The game ends when one player gainshis 10th victory point or immediately after any othergame-ending condition applies (see later).

Enclosed in your TI box, you will find the followingcomponents.• Six frames of highly detailed plastic componentsin six colors. Each frame contains the following:

- 5 Dreadnoughts- 4 Carriers- 8 Cruisers- 8 Destroyers- 2 War Suns- 12 Ground Forces- 10 Fighters- 6 Planetary Defense Systems (PDS)- 3 Space Docks

• 144 Technology Cards (24 each in six decks sepa-rated by color)• 51 Planet Cards• 103 Action Cards• 60 Political Cards• 30 Objective Cards (Secret and Public)• 20 Trade Cards (2 each for 10 races)• 10 Race Sheets• 30 Leader Counters• 8 Cardboard Strategy Cards • 160 Command Counters (16 each for 10 races)• 150 Control Markers (15 each for 10 races)• 8 Bonus Counters• 40 Trade Goods Counters• 23 Fighter Supplement Counters• 23 Ground Force Supplement Counters• 1 Speaker Token• 1 Victory Point Track• 43 Hexagonal Board Tiles• This rules booklet• 4 10-sided dice (note that in TI, the "0" resultrepresents the number "10")• 44 Domain Counters

Before you play your first game of TWILIGHTIMPERIUM, carefully detach the plastic componentsfrom their frames and separate all cards into individ-ual deck types. Carefully punch out the cardboardpieces so that they do not tear. Be sure to keep allcomponents out of the reach of small children andanimals.

We will here summarize the various components ofTI, so that you may recognize them while readingthese rules.

The Map HexesBefore every game of TI, players will create a uniquegame board by connecting the provided hexagon mappieces. Each individual piece is called a "system." Thesystems of TI each represent an area of space, itsplanets, and/or other elements of interest. Systems thatcontain an interior yellow outline are Home Systems

from which the great races hail. Systems containingan interior red outline are Special Systems (such asAsteroid Fields) governed by special rules.

The Plastic Game UnitsThe detailed plastic pieces of TI (collectively called"units") represent the military personnel, shipyards,defense systems, and spaceships that players willcommand. Units not employed on the game board arekept in a player’s reinforcement area.

The Planet CardsRepresenting the multitude of planets in TI, PlanetCards are used by players to indicate ownership overeach individual planet and are "exhausted" (turnedface down) when their owner "spends" the planets'resources or influence.

The Technology CardsAt the beginning of the game, each player receives anidentical Technology Deck (separated by color) con-sisting of 24 technology advances. Throughout thegame, when a player purchases (or otherwiseacquires) a technology, the corresponding TechnologyCard is taken from his deck and placed face-up beforehim.

ComponentOverview

Game Contents andPreparation

The Object of the Game

Welcome

The Action CardsThe Action Cards of TI provide players with a varietyof helpful events, maneuvers, bonuses, and otheradvantages. Players receive Action Cards throughoutthe game by a variety of activities.

The Political CardsOften the representatives of the great races must meetin the hallowed halls of the Galactic Council onMecatol Rex to debate, deliberate, and enact policyfor the custodial imperial charter. When a player exe-cutes the primary ability of the Political Strategy Cardduring the Action Phase (see later), he must draw andresolve the top card of the Political Deck. EachPolitical Card contains an agenda that all playersmust vote upon. The effects of an agenda can rangefrom a minor formality, to a major change in the verystructure of the game.

The Objective Cards (Public and Secret)In order to win TI, players need to accumulate 10 vic-tory points. The primary way for players to receivesuch is by qualifying for the requirements of anObjective Card. The victory points provided by PublicObjective Cards are attainable by all players, whereasthose from Secret Objective Cards are individual toeach player.

The Trade CardsEach race has two Trade Contract cards which theycan use to form trade agreements with other players.Each Trade Card has a numerical trade value whichvaries from race to race.

The Strategy CardsEach of the eight cardboard Strategy Cards representsa powerful short-term strategy. During the StrategyPhase of each game round, each player will select oneStrategy Card and must later use its primary ability.Each Strategy Card also enables an important second-ary ability that other players may execute after the pri-mary ability is resolved.

The Bonus CountersAfter all players have selected a Strategy Card duringthe Strategy Phase, there will (in a six-player game)be two Strategy Cards remaining in the common playarea. Before the Strategy Phase ends, the two remain-ing Strategy Cards both receive a Bonus Counter thatis placed on top of the Strategy Card itself. A playerthat later selects such a Strategy Card will be able touse the Bonus Counter to receive an additionalCommand Counter or Trade Good.

Command CountersThe Command Counter in TI is the abstract but inte-gral resource representing the domestic mandate,budget, organization, logistics, and preparedness ofyour race. When a player receives a CommandCounter from his reinforcements, he must place it ineither the Fleet Supply area, Strategy Allocation area,or Command Pool area on his Race Sheet. In order toexecute tactical actions (such as moving, building, orinitiating combat on the board), take advantage of thesecondary abilities of Strategy Cards, or manage hisfleets, a player must wisely allocate and spendCommand Counters.

The Control MarkersAt the beginning of the game, each player is providedwith a generous number of flag-shaped ControlMarkers, each bearing the insignia of that player'srace. The Control Markers are used to represent a racewherever appropriate, such as on the Victory PointTrack, on successfully achieved Objective Cards, and(most often) to indicate ownership of planets.

The Trade Good CountersThese counters represent the wealth and rewards ofinterstellar commerce. They are primarily obtained byactive trade agreements while the Trade Strategy Cardis being executed. A player's Trade Goods can be usedas a direct substitute for either resources or influence,and are frequently used as currency among players topay for bribes or other considerations.

The Victory Point TrackThe Victory Point Track is used to indicate each play-er's accumulation of victory points. Note that the mainside of the Victory Point Track has spaces numberedfrom 0 to 10, whereas the reverse side is numbered 0to 14. The reverse side is be used with the optionalrule “The Long War” found on page 32.

The Speaker (First Player) TokenThis token is claimed each round by the player whoselects the Initiative Strategy Card during the StrategyPhase. The player who controls the Speaker Tokenalways chooses the first Strategy Card during the nextStrategy Phase.

Ground Force and Fighter UnitSupplement TokensThe Ground Force and the Fighter units are the onlyunits in the game that players may purchase unlimitedquantities of. All other unit types are limited to thefigures provided with the game. The Fighter andGround Force supplement tokens represent the extraFighter and Ground Force units that players may addto their forces.

The Race SheetsEnclosed in your game, you will find 10 large card-board sheets, each representing one of the great racesof the TI universe. After selecting a race to play, eachplayer receives the corresponding Race Sheet, which

provides each player with specific information for hisrace as well as helpful game information tables. TheRace Sheet is also used for keeping track of a player’sactive Command Counters and Trade Goods.

These rules are written assuming that you will beplaying TI with 6 players. TI plays just as well withfewer players, and rules for playing with 3-5 playersare provided on page 31 of this rules set.

Before you start playing, follow the steps below:

Separate the 10 Home Systems from theother hexagonal gameboard pieces. Randomize theHome Systems face down and allow every player todraw one at random. This process determines whichrace a player will control throughout the game. Allplayers then take the Race Sheet, Control Markers,Trade Cards, and Command Counters correspondingto their race.

Each player selects one of the six availablecolors and takes the plastic units and TechnologyDeck corresponding to that color.

Find an area of the table that is convenientfor all players to reach. Designate this space the"common play area." Then shuffle the Action Carddeck and the Political Card deck and place them sepa-rately in the common play area. Also place the Fighterand Ground Force Supplement Counters in the com-mon play area.

Each player takes the individual PlanetCards corresponding to the planets of his HomeSystem and places these face up in his play area.Place the remaining Planet Cards, representing theneutral planets at the start of the game, in the commonplay area.

Place all the Trade Goods Counters in a sin-gle pile (the "Trade Supply") in the common playarea.

Now place the 8 Strategy Cards side-by-side in numerical order with their "active" side up,prominently in the common play area.

Create the Objective Deck, by followingthe directions in the "Preparing the Objective Cards"sidebar. Do not forget to place the unused Secret andPublic Objective Cards back in the box, while allow-ing no players to look at them.

Now place the Victory Point Track in thecommon play area and place one Control Marker foreach player in the space marked "0."

Players must now create the game board (or“galaxy”). Please read and carry out the instructionsfor doing so in the "Setting up the Galaxy" sidebar onpage 8 before proceeding.

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Game Setup

Number of Players

REINFORCEMENTS

Every player maintains a “reinforcement” areaconsisting of his unused plastic units andCommand Counters. Whenever a player builds aunit, it is taken from his available reinforcementsand thereafter placed on the board. (An exceptionto this is the Fighter and Ground ForceSupplement counter, see later). Whenever a playerreceives a new Command Counter, it is takenfrom his available reinforcements and placed inone of the three appropriate boxes on his RaceSheet (Command Pool, Fleet Supply, or StrategyAllocation).

After the galaxy has been created, allplayers place their "setup units" (as indicated by theirRace Sheets) on their Home Systems. If a HomeSystem contains several planets, any Space Dock,Ground Forces, and PDS may be placed among themaccording to the player’s wishes. All players then findand place their "Starting Technology" cards face up intheir respective play areas.

All players now take their startingCommand Counters from their reinforcements, plac-ing them on their Race Sheets as follows: 2 Com-mand Counters in the Strategy Allocation area, 3Command Counters in the Command Pool area, and3 Command Counters in the Fleet Supply area (withthe "Fleet" side up).

You are now ready to start the game.

After you have finished setting up the game, playerswill begin playing the game by starting with theStrategy Phase of the first game round.

TWILIGHT IMPERIUM is played over a consecutivenumber of game rounds with each round consisting ofthe following phases:

1) The Strategy Phase2) The Action Phase3) The Status Phase

After every Status Phase, if no player has yet declaredvictory, simply begin another game round startingwith another Strategy Phase, etc. In this way the gamecontinues, repeating the three phases above, until aplayer has achieved 10 victory points or until anothergame-ending condition is met.

Victory points are generally claimed during the StatusPhase as players fulfill the requirements printed on thePublic and Secret Objective Cards. In order to meetthese various objectives, players must seek to expandtheir empires, forge alliances with other races, negoti-ate for the best outcome during the Galactic Council,and choose the optimal Strategy Cards during theStrategy Phase.

THE STRATEGY PHASE

During every Strategy Phase, each player must chooseone available Strategy Card from the common playarea (The chosen Strategy Card grants its player aspecial ability during the upcoming Action Phase.) Atthe beginning of every Strategy Phase, there are 8possible Strategy Cards (or "strategies") that players

may choose from. These are: Warfare, Political, Trade,Initiative, Imperial, Logistics, Diplomacy, orTechnology.

Not only does the Strategy Card provide an importantability, but it also determines the order of play (asindicated by its number; see the the sidebar on page11 for more information on the order of play).

At the beginning of every Strategy Phase, the playerwho controls the Speaker Token (the "Speaker") maychoose the first Strategy Card from the common playarea. When selecting a Strategy Card, a player simplychooses and takes an available Strategy Card from thecommon play area and places it before him (with the"active" side facing up). That card is now no longeravailable for selection by the other players. After theSpeaker has picked his Strategy Card, the other play-ers, in clockwise order from the Speaker, each selectone of the remaining Strategy Cards. In this way

The Game Round

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Before the game begins, the Secret ObjectiveCards must be distributed and the PublicObjective Deck properly prepared.

First separate all the Objective Cards into thethree different types: Secret Objectives, Public“Stage I” Objectives, and Public “Stage II”Objectives. Then proceed to the following:

1) Shuffle the 10 Secret Objective Cards anddeal a random card face down to every player.All players should read their Secret ObjectiveCard and then place the card face down in theirplay area. A player is never allowed, for whatev-er reason, to show an opponent his SecretObjective Card. Place the remaining SecretObjective Cards back in the box, allowing noplayer to look at them.

2) Now take the 10 Stage II Public ObjectiveCards and remove the “Game Over” card.Shuffle the remaining 9 Stage II cards and draw3 random cards (at all times keeping them hid-den from all players). After drawing the 3 ran-dom cards, take the “Game Over” card and shuf-fle it with the 3 randomly chosen cards. You

should now have 4 randomized Stage II PublicObjective Cards, one of which is the “GameOver” card. Place these 4 cards face down in astack in the common play area. Place theremaining Stage II cards back in the box, allow-ing no player to look at them.

3) Then shuffle the 10 Stage I Public ObjectiveCards and draw 6 random cards. Place the 6cards on top of the 4 Stage II cards, now form-ing a single deck of 10 Public Objective Cardsin the common play area. This deck always con-sists of 6 random “Stage I” cards on top of 4random “Stage II” cards (one of which is the“Game Over” card). This deck is the “PublicObjective Deck.”

NOTE: It is important that the unusedObjective Cards (Secret, Public Stage I & II)are placed back in the box so they remainhidden from players both before and duringthe game. Otherwise, experienced playerswould be able to deduce which objectives arein play before they are revealed.

Preparing the Objective Cards

A STRATEGY CARD

TI uses a unique game board consisting of multiplehexagon pieces (“systems”) that are broughttogether in a unique combination at the beginningof every game. Before a game of TI begins, playersbuild the galaxy by following these steps:

1) After all players have drawn their HomeSystems, find the Mecatol Rex system and place itin the middle of the table. Then randomly deter-mine one player to be “first player.“ Give the“Speaker“ Token to the first player. He then shuf-fles the remaining 32 systems, randomly removestwo systems (by placing them back in the box with-out looking at them), and deals five systems, facedown, to every player. Players may look at theirdealt systems but should not show them to theother players.

2) The first player now selects one of the sides ofMecatol Rex, and drags his Home System abouttwo feet towards himself in a straight line awayfrom the chosen side (see diagram). Then the play-er to his left does the same, etc., until all playershave chosen a side and placed their Home Systemson the table (note that the sixth player must chosethe last remaining side of Mecatol Rex). Playersshould now shift their seating around the table tobest accommodate their Home System placement.

3) Then players, in clockwise order, starting withthe first player, begin creating the galaxy by plac-ing, one at a time, a single system face up adjacentto the Mecatol Rex system. After the first ringaround Mecatol is completed, players continue toplace systems in the second ring until that is com-pleted, and then finally proceed to the third ring.When all the systems are placed, the galaxy isfinally created.

The following rules apply to placing systems:

• A system cannot be placed in the second ringbefore the first ring surrounding Mecatol Rex hasbeen completed. Likewise, a tile cannot be placedin the third ring before the second ring is complet-ed (see diagram).

• As soon as the correct placement for your HomeSystem becomes available, connect your HomeSystem to the galaxy at its fixed spot (which isexactly 3 systems out from the chosen side ofMecatol Rex, see diagram). Connecting your HomeSystem is automatic and does not cost you a place-ment “turn.”• You may not place a Special System (with aninner red border) adjacent to another SpecialSystem, unless you have no other option.

• The order of placement switches counterclock-wise after all players have placed a round of tiles,and yet again clockwise after that, etc. This ineffect will make the player who placed the last sys-tem, place the first system in the next round (thusactually placing two systems in a row). Example ofturn order: P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P6, P5, P4, P3,P2, P1, P1, P2…

• If you placed a system that did not contain a plan-et during your last placement, you must, if able,place a system that does contain a planet duringyour next placement. If you are unable to do so,you must reveal your remaining systems to theother players to prove this. Then place one of youravailable systems.

When creating the board, the actual shape of thegalaxy and the position of Home Systems will dif-fer depending on the number of players. If you areplaying a game with less than six players, pleaseconsult the optional rules on page 31 of this rulesbooklet.

Creating the Galaxy

every player will pick an available Strategy Cardbefore the Action Phase begins. Note that being far-ther clockwise from the Speaker gives a player anincreasingly limited choice of Strategy Cards (i.e., theplayer to the immediate right of the Speaker will onlyhave three cards to choose from).

After all players have selected a Strategy Card, therewill be two cards remaining in the common play area.The Speaker places a Bonus Counter on the tworemaining unchosen Strategy Cards.

In this way, should a Strategy Card not be picked forseveral consecutive rounds, multiple Bonus Counterswill accumulate on it. The presence of BonusCounters makes a Strategy Card more attractive insubsequent rounds. When a player selects a StrategyCard that contains one or more Bonus Counters, thatplayer may immediately exchange each BonusCounter for either a Trade Good or a CommandCounter (either of which is immediately placed on theplayer's Race Sheet).

After all players have chosen their Strategy Cards andthe Bonus Counters have been placed on the remain-ing cards, the Strategy Phase ends and the game pro-ceeds to the Action Phase.

Note that the last player to claim the Speaker Tokenwill keep the Speaker Token until another playerselects the Initiative card during a future StrategyPhase.

THE ACTION PHASE

The Action Phase forms the heart of TI. It is duringthe Action Phase that players will execute the specialabilities of their Strategy Cards, produce new units attheir Space Docks, conquer new planets, and movetheir fleets into battle. The Action Phase is resolvedover a number of player turns in which each playermay take a single action. Each player turn is taken inthe order of play (see sidebar on the next page), withplayers one after the other taking one action to com-plete their turn. After the last player in the order ofplay has taken his turn, play returns once more to thefirst player in the order of play who may take anaction, followed by the second player, and so on. Inthis way, players keep taking one action at a time, fol-

lowing the order of play, until all players have passedand the Action Phase ends.

A player that is currently in the process of taking histurn (i.e., action) is called the active player.

The Player ActionWhen it is a player's turn to take an action, he mustexecute one of the following:

1) Strategic Action2) Tactical Action3) Transfer Action4) Pass

These actions are described in detail throughout theyellow sections below.

A player must, at some point during the Action Phase,execute a Strategic Action (except for the player hold-ing the Initiative Strategy Card, who has no StrategicAction). When a player chooses to take his StrategicAction, he first reads and then resolves the PrimaryAbility as printed on his Strategy Card.

After the active player has finished resolving thePrimary Ability, the other players, in clockwise orderfrom the active player, may each spend oneCommand Counter from their Strategy Allocation areaon their Race sheet to execute the Secondary Abilityof the current Strategy Card.

The Strategic Action

Suggested Player Area

Action Cards(kept hidden)

Secret Objective Card(kept hidden)

TechnologyDeck

ControlMarkers

Active Technology Advances

Available/Exhausted Planet cards

Available TradeContracts and active Trade

Agreements

Reinforcements Area

Active CommandCounters

Available CommandCounters

Available Units

Trade Goods

Race Sheet

A BONUS COUNTER

Special Exception: Players do not have to spend aCommand Counter from their Strategy Allocationarea when executing the Secondary Ability of theLogistics Strategy Card.

The active player may never execute the SecondaryAbility of his own Strategy Card.

After all players have completed (or passed on) theSecondary Ability, the active player's Strategy Card isflipped over onto its "Inactive" side and the playeraction is over.

A player may only take one Strategic Action perround. Likewise, a player may only execute any givenSecondary Ability once (but a player may, if he has asufficient number of Command Counters in hisStrategy Allocation area, participate in the SecondaryAbility of several Strategy Cards).

The initiative number on each Strategy Card onlydetermines the order of play. Players may executetheir Strategic Action at a time of their choosing,regardless of its initiative number. It is likely, forexample, that the player holding the Trade Strategywill take his Strategic Action before the player hold-

ing the Logistics Strategy, even if the LogisticsStrategy has a lower initiative number.

Details for each s pecific Strategy Card can be foundon pages 36-38.

The Tactical Action is the primary function forengagement on the game board. It is during a TacticalActions that you will move your fleets on the board,engage in space battles, transport your Ground Forcesto new planets, build new units, etc.

The process of taking a Tactical Action always fol-lows the "Activation Sequence" below:

TTHE AACTIVATION SSEQUENCE

1) Activate a system2) Move ships into the system3) PDS fire4) Space Battle5) Planetary Landings6) Invasion Combat7) Produce Units

Except for the first step (the activation itself), eachindividual step of the Activation Sequence is onlyresolved if the condition for its resolution applies or isinitiated by the active player. A player, for example,may activate a system to produce new units there dur-ing step 7, but does not necessarily have to move anyships into the system during step 2. Or, a player mayactivate a system and move ships into the system, butif the system contains no enemy ships, there is noSpace Battle during step 4, etc.

On the other hand, step 2 through 7 cannot be execut-ed unless preceded by the initial activation. If a playerhas no Command Counters left in his Command Pool,he cannot take a Tactical action, and therefore notmove ships, fight battles, produce units, etc.

The Tactical Action

Suggested Common Play Area

Strategy Cards (presented before a Strategy Phase)

Active Laws

Revealed Objective Cards

Victory Point TrackAction Card

Deck

Political CardDeck

Trade Supply

Bonus Tokens

Fighter/Ground ForceSupplement Tokens

Objective CardDeck

“Friendly“ and“Enemy“

When the cards and rules of TI refer to a“friendly” unit or planet, it refers to a unit orplanet belonging to you (i.e., a single player).Although you may have an alliance or be per-sonally friendly with another player, for the pur-poses of TI rules, only your own units and plan-ets are “friendly.“

When the rules refer to an “enemy” planet orunit, it refers to any unit or planet not controlledby you (i.e., controlled by any other player).Even though you may have an alliance withanother player, and even though you may con-sider the other players your personal friends, forthe purposes of TI rules, the units and planets ofother players are considered “enemy.”

Neutral Planet cards

THE ACTIVATION SEQUENCE INDETAIL

Below, each step in the Activation Sequence isdescribed in detail. Rules for how to resolve SpaceBattles and Invasion Combat can be found on pages 15 through 18 .

11)) AACTIVATE A SSYSTEM

Take an available Command Counter from yourCommand Pool and use it to activate a system byplacing the Command Counter directly on a system(place the counter face up so that your race's insigniais showing).

You cannot activate a system if one of your CommandCounters has already been placed in the system (by aprior activation or by other means). You can, howev-er, activate a system that contains one (or more)Command Counters belonging to other races (youmay ignore their presence).

A system that contains a player's Command Counteris considered to have been activated by that player.

In summary: When the TI rules and cards refer to an"activated" system, this means a system that containsa Command Counter of the player in question. As ageneral rule, for purposes of activation and move-ment, a player can ignore the presence of CommandCounters on the board belonging to other players.This means, for example, that every race can activatea specific system. In such a case, that system wouldcontain a Command Counter from each race andwould be considered “activated” by all players.

Although the Command Counters on the boardbelonging to other players do not limit where you mayactivate a system, it can be helpful to study whichsystems an opponent has activated, since those sys-tems cannot be activated again by that player thisround, nor can his ships in his activated systemsmove.

22)) MMOVE SSHIPS INTO SYSTEM

After you have activated a system, you may movefriendly ships (within movement range) into the acti-vated system. Only movement into the activatedsystem is allowed.

The rules for moving ships during a Tactical Actionare as follows:

• Every ship (except for Fighter units, which movewith Carriers or War Suns) has a movement valuefound on the unit table located on every player's Race

Sheet. A movement of "1" indicates that aship can move from its current systeminto an adjacent system. A movement of2 indicates that the ship may move up totwo systems from its current system, etc.

• A Carrier/War Sun may pick up GroundForce and PDS units at any stage during themovement step (before, during, and even inthe activated system itself). Ground Force andPDS units aboard a Carrier, however, cannot be"dropped off" by the Carrier until the PlanetaryLanding step of the Activation Sequence. If the lastGround Force unit on a planet is picked up by aCarrier, the owner of the planet must place aControl Marker on the planet to indicate that hecontrols it.

• A ship is never allowed to move through a systemoccupied by enemy ships (except Fighters). The onlyway to enter a system that contains enemy ships is toactivate that system itself.

• A ship may not move if it is located in a systemthat already has been activated by the active player(i.e., contains a friendly Command Counter placedprior to the current activation). It therefore followsthat once a ship has moved into an activated system,the very Command Counter used for the activationwill prevent the ship from moving again during thesame round. Ships are allowed to move through sys-tems containing friendly Command Counters.

Certain effects by Strategy or Action Cards canremove Command Counters from the board, allowingsystems to be activated again by the same player (andallowing any friendly units in such a system to moveagain, etc).

In summary: Only ships that can actually enter theactivated system may move. Ships that are out ofmovement range, that need to pass through a systemcontaining enemy units, or are in a system alreadyactivated, may not move. Remember, any ship movingmust always end its movement in the system that wasjust activated. See the detailed graphical example of aTactical activation and movement on page 13.

33)) PPDDSS FFIRE

After the active player has finished moving his shipsinto the activated system, enemy PDS in range mayfire at the active player's fleet. For every "hit," theactivating player must remove a casualty from thefleet (note that Dreadnoughts and War Suns can takeone "Damage" before they are destroyed, see page30).

After enemy PDS units have fired, any PDS in rangeowned by the active player may then fire at enemyships in the activated system. For more details onPDS units, see page 29.

ORDER OF PLAY

Each Strategy Card has an Initiative Numberprinted near its top. This number representswhat place in the order of play its owner willbe. Thus, the player who has the InitiativeStrategy card is always first, followed by theplayer who controls the Diplomacy Strategycard, etc.

The order of play, as dictated by the StrategyCards, is as follows:

1 Initiative Strategy 2 Diplomacy Strategy3 Political Strategy4 Logistics Strategy 5 Trade Strategy6 Warfare Strategy7 Technology Strategy8 Imperial Strategy

When the turn order advances to an unchosenStrategy Card in the common play area, simplyskip it and proceed to the next number. If, forexample, no player picked the InitiativeStrategy card during the Strategy Phase, thefirst player in the turn order would be the play-er who selected the Diplomacy Strategy.

44)) SSPACE BBATTLES

First determine whether a Space Battle will occur inthe activated system.

If the active player has moved one or more ships intoa system that contains ships controlled by an opponent(even a Fighter) a Space Battle must be initiatedbetween the two players. A Space Battle will continueuntil only one player has ships remaining in the sys-tem.

If a Space Battle is initiated, the active player is theattacker, and the player whose ships were in the sys-tem before activation is the defender.

For complete rules of how to resolve a Space Battle,please see the “Space Battles” section on page 15.

55)) PPLANETARY LLANDINGS

After any Space Battles are completed, the activeplayer may now commence Planetary

Landings by landing Ground Forceand PDS units from his Carriersonto planets in the activated sys-tem.

If a system contains multipleplanets, the active player may

split any landing forces betweenthem in any way he sees fit, but

may not change his mind oncethe Invasion Combat step

begins.

There are three types ofPlanetary Landings.

Friendly Landing: Aplayer lands units on aplanet already under hiscontrol. Simply add thenew units to the onesalready there, if any.

Neutral Landing: A player lands units on a neutralplanet (i.e., a planet controlled by no other player).After landing at least one Ground Force unit on theneutral planet, the active player takes the correspon-ding Planet Card from the Planet Deck and places itexhausted in his play area.

Note that only a Ground Force unit can take over aplanet. If a PDS unit lands alone on a neutral orenemy planet, it is immediately destroyed.

Hostile Landing (also called an "Invasion"): Aplayer lands units on a planet containing one or moreof an enemy player’s Ground Force units. This willresult in an Invasion Combat during the InvasionCombat step.

If a player lands units on a planet that is controlled byan opponent, but does not contain any enemy GroundForces, the planet falls without resistance. The invadersimply removes the opponent’s Control Marker andtakes the corresponding Planet Card from the oppo-nent, placing it exhausted into his play area.

66)) IINVASION CCOMBAT

After planetary landings, should any planet containGround Forces of two different players, that planetmust now engage in Invasion Combat. If a system hasseveral planets engaged in Invasion Combat, the bat-tles are resolved one-at-a-time in the order decided bythe active player.

Landing PDS units with an InvasionThe invading player is allowed to land PDS units withhis Ground Forces during the Planetary Landings step.Such PDS units do not participate in InvasionCombat, nor can they be taken as a combat casualty.If the last invading Ground Force unit is destroyedduring Invasion Combat, all invading PDS are imme-diately destroyed with no further effect.

Details for how to resolve Invasion Combat are foundin the “Invasion Combat” section on page 17.

66)) PPRODUCE UUNITS

As the final step of a Tactical Action, the active playermay produce new units at one or more friendly SpaceDocks in the activated system.

During this step, it is also possible for the active play-er to produce a new Space Dock unit on an eligibleplanet in the activated system (provided that the plan-et has been under the player’s control for the entireround).

See more information on how to produce units underthe Space Dock on page 26.

Concluding a Tactical ActionAfter resolving the steps of the Activation Sequence(Activate a system, Movement, PDS fire, SpaceBattles, Planetary Landings, Invasion Combat, andProduction), the Tactical Action is over and the oppor-tunity to take an action proceeds to the next player inthe order of play.

The Transfer Action is a simple reorganization ofunits that cannot be effectively handled by the TacticalAction. The Transfer Action simultaneously activatestwo adjacent systems that only contain unitsbelonging to the active player and allows units ineither system to simultaneously move between thetwo systems. In addition to this movement, the activeplayer may also produce units in one of the two sys-tems if a Space Dock is present in either.

The process of taking a Transfer Action always fol-lows the steps of the Transfer Sequence:

TTHE TTRANSFER SSEQUENCE

1) Activate two systems 2) Movement between systems3) PDS Fire4) Planetary Landings5) Production (in one system)

Below, each step of the Transfer Sequence isdescribed in detail:

11)) AACTIVATE TTWO SSYSTEMS

After announcing a Transfer Action, the active playertakes one Command Counter from his Command Pooland activates a system by placing the CommandCounter upon it. Then the active player takes aCommand Counter from his reinforcements and acti-vates another system adjacent to the one just activat-ed. Both activated systems must contain at least oneunit controlled by the active player and must containabsolutely no enemy units (including Ground Forcesand PDS).

REMINDER: When "activating a system" the activeplayer places a Command Counter physically on thesystem itself (with his race insignia facing up). It isnever possible for a player to activate a system that isalready activated (i.e., already contains one of hisCommand Counters).

The Transfer Action

Definition of a FleetFor the purposes of the TI rules and cards, a fleetis defined as all spaceships (Fighters, Cruisers,Carriers, Dreadnoughts, Destroyers, and War Sununits) controlled by one player in one system atany given time.

Example of Activation and Movement

In the example above, the N’orr player has just initiateda Tactical Action during the Action Phase. As the firststep, he takes a Command Counter from his CommandPool and places it on the system occupied by the Xxchafleet and planet.

After activating the system, he proceeds to the second step in theActivation Sequence. As the N’orr player may now move ships into theactivated system, his movement options are as follows:

The Dreadnought has a movement rate of 1. Since the activatedsystem is 2 spaces away, it is too far preventing the Dreadnought frommoving into the activated system.

Although these two Cruisers are in two different systems, theyeach have a movement rate of “2,” which allows them to reach the acti-vated system. The two Cruisers may move into the activated system. Thetop Cruiser will move through a system that contains another N’orrCommand Counter, which is perfectly legal.

This fleet of one Destroyer, one Carrierand four Fighters are all within movement range, and

may all move into the activated system. If he wishes, theN’orr player may split the fleet and only move some of the

ships (although the Fighters should stay with the Carrier).

These two Destroyers are within movement range of the activatedsystem, but their system was already activated earlier by the N’orr player.This prevents them from moving to the activated system.

This N’orr Cruiser is within movement range to reach the activatedsystem, but it cannot move through the Supernova or through the systemcontaining two Xxcha Destroyers. This prevents the Cruiser from movingto the activated system.

After moving units into the activated system (being careful not to exceedhis Fleet Supply) the N’orr player will engage in Space Battle against theXxcha fleet there.

5

4

3

2

1

22)) MMOVEMENT

The active player may now move friendly shipsbetween the two activated systems. As during aTactical Action, Fighters, PDS, and Ground Forceunits must be transported by Carrier/War Sun.

33)) PPDDSS FFIRE

After the active player has finished moving, enemyPDS in range may fire at the active player's fleets inthe activated systems. PDS units that are in range ofboth activated systems may fire at only one of the sys-tems, not both.

44)) PPLANETARY LLANDINGS

During this step, any Ground Force and PDS unitsonboard Carriers in the activated systems may land onfriendly planets in their system. Note that during aTransfer Action you may only land forces on friendlysystems, not neutral planets or planets containing anenemy Control Marker.

55)) PPRODUCTION

The active player may now produce units at his SpaceDocks in one of the activated systems (but not both).

If a player does not wish to take any additionalactions, he may choose to pass. A player is onlyallowed to pass if he has already taken his StrategicAction (except for the player who controls theInitiative Strategy, who has no Strategic Action). Allplayers must therefore, at some point during theAction Phase, take their Strategic Action (and therebyallow other players to execute the Secondary Abilityof their Strategy Card).

After a player has passed, he is no longer allowed totake any additional actions this round. When it nor-mally would have been his turn in the order of play,simply skip him, and proceed to the next player.

Exception: A player who has passed, is allowed toexecute the Secondary Ability of Strategy Cardsthat are resolved later during the phase.

Example: After taking several actions, including hisStrategic Action, the Xxcha player decides to pass.After doing so, the game goes on for several addition-al cycles until the Letnev player decides to take hisStrategic Action. After the Letnev has resolved thePrimary Ability of the Strategy Card, the other play-ers, including the Xxcha, are allowed to execute itsSecondary Ability.

END OF THE ACTION PHASE

The Action Phase continues, repeating the order ofplay, until all players have passed. This could poten-tially result in a remaining player taking several con-secutive actions, while all other players, havingpassed, must wait for him to finish his actions.

Once all players have passed, the game proceeds tothe Status Phase.

THE STATUS PHASE

The Status Phase, when compared to either theStrategy or Action Phase, is a straightforward experi-ence. It is during the Status Phase that many of thegame functions are "reset," such as players refreshingPlanet Cards, discarding Command Counters from theboard, etc. It is also during the Status Phase that play-ers may gain victory points by meeting the require-ments of a Public and/or Secret Objective Card.

To resolve the Status Phase, follow the StatusSequence below:

The Status Sequence1) Qualify for Public/Secret Objective Cards2) Repair Damaged Ships3) Remove Command Counters4) Refresh Planet Cards5) Receive 1 Action Card and 2 CommandCounters6) Redistribute Command Areas7) Return Strategy Cards

The Status Sequence steps are described here indetail:

11)) QQUALIFY FOR PPUBLIC//SSECRET OOBJECTIVES

In the order of play, each player may announce that hehas met the requirements of one face-up PublicObjective Card and/or his Secret Objective Card.

After a player announces that he has met the objec-tives of a face up Public Objective Card, he mustprove to his opponents that his claim is valid. After

doing so, the player places one of his Control Markerson the claimed Objective Card (indicating that he hasclaimed that objective), and then advances hisControl Marker on the Victory Point Track the appro-priate number of spaces.

Once a player has received Victory Points for a spe-cific Objective Card, he may not qualify for thatObjective Card again.

In addition, if a player has met the requirements of hisSecret Objective Card, he may now reveal the card,prove that its objectives are met, and then claim itsvictory points.

Important Exception: A player may never qualifyfor a Public or Secret Objective Card if he does notcontrol all the planets in his Home System.

Winning the GameWhen a player advances his Control Marker to the10th step of the Victory Point Track, he has gained thepower needed to claim the Imperial Throne onMecatol Rex. The Winnaran Custodians will stepaside for their new emperor, who must lead the galaxyto a new age of prosperity and peace.

As players, one at a time, qualify for Objective Cardsby following the order of play, one player will alwaysreach 10 victory points first. That player is the winner

Passing

The “Imperium Rex“Objective Card

While the Primary Ability of the ImperialStrategy card is resolved, it is possible that the“Imperium Rex” objective card is drawn fromthe Objective Deck. When this card is drawn,the game ends immediately and a winner isdeclared The winner is the player who has themost victory points (the active player does notreceive the 2 victory points). If there is a tie,then the greater number of resolved ObjectiveCards breaks the tie; if there is still a tie, thenthe greater number of planets, then unusedCommand Counters, and then the total numberof Command Counters on a player's RaceSheet. If still tied, then the game ends in adraw between the tying players.

of the game, even if other players would also haveachieved 10 or more victory points later in the orderof play.

It is also possible for a player to win the game duringthis step if he is the first to meet the requirements ofeither the “Supremacy” or “Domination” card (provid-ed that either card is face up in the common playarea).

22)) RREPAIR DDAMAGED SSHIPS

All damaged Dreadnought and War Sun units arereturned to their normal upright position on the gameboard. They are no longer considered to be damaged.

33)) RREMOVE CCOMMAND CCOUNTERSEach player now removes all his Command Countersfrom the game board, placing them in his reinforce-ments pile.

44)) RREFRESH PPLANET CCARDS

Each player refreshes his exhausted Planet Cards byturning them face up.

55)) PPLAYERS RECEIVE 11 AACTION CCARD AND 22CCOMMAND CCOUNTERS

Each player now receives one Action Card from theAction Card deck and two Command Counters fromhis reinforcements (placing each Command Counterin either of the three appropriate areas of his RaceSheet).

66)) RREDISTRIBUTE CCOMMAND AAREAS

Each player (in order of play, if necessary) may nowredistribute the Command Counters between theStrategy Allocation, Command Pool, and Fleet Supplyareas on his Race Sheet. If a player reduces the num-ber of Command Counters in his Fleet Supply,remember to check that all of his fleets on the boardare in compliance with his new fleet size limit.

77)) RRETURN SSTRATEGY CCARDS

Each player now returns his Strategy Card to the com-mon play area. Here the eight Strategy Cards will beready for the beginning of the next game round.

END OF A ROUND

After the Status Phase has been completed (and pro-vided no winner has yet emerged), the game round isover and another game round begins with a newStrategy Phase. In this way, the game is played over aseries of game rounds until a winner has been deter-mined.

If the active system contains ships belonging to theactive player and ships belonging to an opponent, aSpace Battle must be fought.

A Space Battle is fought over a consecutive number ofcombat rounds until only ships of one player remain(or the ships of both players have been simultaneouslydestroyed).

Before CombatBefore the actual Space Battle begins, resolve anypre-combat actions such as Destroyer Anti-FighterBarrage and then Sabotage Runs (the SabotageRun is an optional rule found on page 35).

Destroyer Anti-Fighter BarrageBefore the first round of Space Battle, roll two dicefor each Destroyer unit in the battle. For every resultequal to or higher than the Destroyer's combat value(all combat values can be found on the unit table onevery player's Race Sheet), the opponent must takeone Fighter unit as an immediate casualty. Such elimi-nated Fighter units are removed immediately andplaced back among a player's reinforcements; they donot receive return fire and will not participate in theupcoming Space Battle.

A fleet containing no Fighter units is unaffected bypre-combat Destroyer fire.

The Battle RoundAfter finishing any "before combat" actions, continueto the actual combat. A Space Battle always followsthe Space Battle Sequence:

The Space Battle Sequence1) Announce withdrawals/retreats 2) Roll combat dice 3) Remove casualties4) Execute withdrawals/retreats

After step 4, if both players still have ships remainingin the system, repeat the Space Battle Sequence untilonly one player has ships remaining, or all ships inthe system have been destroyed.

Below, each step of the Space Battle Sequence isdescribed in detail:

11.. AANNOUNCE RRETREATS//WWITHDRAWALS

The attacker first has the option to announce his with-drawal from battle. If the attacker chooses not todeclare a withdrawal, then the defender may declare a

retreat. Note that if the attacker does decide to with-draw, the defender may not declare a retreat.

Any actual withdrawals/retreats occur at the last stepof the combat phase. This means that all Space Battleswill have at least one round of combat.

22.. RROLL CCOMBAT DDICE

During this step, both players simultaneously roll onecombat die for every one of their spaceships in thebattle (with the exception of the War Sun, which rollsthree dice). For each result that is equal to or higherthan the combat value of its ship, a "hit" is scored (allbase combat values can be found on the unit table ona player’s Race Sheet). Players must remember thetotal number of successful hits as they move to thenext step.

Example: The attacking player has a fleet of threeCruisers and one Dreadnought. During the first battleround, he rolls for his attacking ships. He takes threedice for the Cruisers (Combat Value 7) and rolls a 2,5, and 7 -- one hit. Then he takes one die for hisDreadnought and rolls a 6 -- a hit. The attackingplayer announces that he has inflicted a total of twohits on the defending fleet. The defending player hastwo Fighters (supported by a Space Dock in the sys-tem) and one Destroyer. He takes two dice for theFighter units and rolls a 3 and a 5 -- both misses.Then he takes one die for his Destroyer and rolls a 0(a 10) a hit. The defending player announces that hehas inflicted one total hit on the attacking fleet.

Space Battles

33.. RREMOVE CCASUALTIES

Each player must now take a number of casualtiesequal to the number of hits scored by the opponent instep 2.

First the attacking player removes his casualties. Forevery casualty, he must destroy one of his ships of hischoice or damage one of his Dreadnoughts or WarSuns (if a damaged Dreadnought or War Sun receivesa second hit, it is destroyed). Destroyed ships areplaced among a player's reinforcements, and becomeavailable for production once again. After the attack-ing player has removed all his casualties, the defend-ing player must then remove his casualties.

Note that whenever a player removes casualties in TI,the casualty is always determined by the affectedplayer. Since Fighters are the cheapest unit to pro-duce, they make effective "cannon fodder" and arethus typically among the first units to be chosen ascasualties.

Example: The defending player scored one hit. Theattacking player then chooses to damage hisDreadnought (soaking up a casualty). The attackerscored a total of two hits. The defending player choos-es to remove two Fighter units as casualties andplaces them back with his reinforcements.

4. Execute Withdrawals/RetreatsIf the attacking player announced a withdrawal or thedefending player announced a retreat during step 1 ofthe Space Battle Sequence, that player may now exe-cute the withdrawal/retreat, following the rules below.

• A withdrawal or retreat is not allowed if, at thispoint in the battle, the opposing player has no unitsleft in the system. Even if a player announced a with-drawal or retreat at the beginning of the combatround, if he has somehow managed to destroy all theopposing units, the withdrawal/retreat is cancelled andthe units must remain in the system.

Space Battle Example

1In this example, the Xxcha player has just acti-vated a N’orr system, moving a fleet of oneCarrier unit (carrying two Ground Forces),three Fighter units (also supported by theCarrier) and one Cruiser unit.

As the N’orr has two Destroyer units in thebattle, and the Xxcha has Fighter units, theN’orr Destroyers each will roll two dice fortheir pre-combat “Destroyer Anti-FighterBarrage.” The results are 2, 2, 5, and 6 (allmisses). The players then proceed to the firststep of the Space Battle Sequence. The Xxchaplayer announces that he will not withdraw,and the N’orr player announces that he doesnot wish to retreat.

2The Xxcha player now rolls combat dice forhis units. His Fighters roll a 3, 5, and a 10 (onehit), his Carrier a 6 (a miss), and finally hisCruiser an 8 (one hit). The Xxcha playerannounces that he has made 2 successful hits.

Then the N’orr player rolls three combat dicefor his spaceships. The N’orr Cruiser rolls a 8(a hit) and the two Destroyer units roll a 9 anda 10 (both hits). The N’orr player announcesthat he has made 3 successful hits.

As casualties, the Xxcha player elects todestroy three Fighter units. The N’orr playerremoves his two Destroyer units.

3The second round of Space Battle combat nowbegins. The Xxcha player declares that he willnot withdraw, and the N’orr that he will notretreat.

The Xxcha player then proceeds to roll a 9with his Cruiser (hit), and 1 with his Carrier (amiss). The N’orr player rolls a 3 with hisCruiser (a miss). As he must sustain one casu-alty, the N’orr player must destroy his remain-ing Cruiser, and the Space Battle is now overwith the Xxcha player victorious.

During the Planetary Landings step of theActivation Sequence, the Xxcha plans to landthe two Ground Forces on the N’orr planet,starting an Invasion Combat.

• When executing a withdrawal or retreat, a playermust withdraw his entire fleet to an adjacent systemthat has previously been activated by the with-drawing/retreating player. If a player has no previ-ously activated systems adjacent to the contested sys-tem, he may not withdraw or retreat.

After a successful withdrawal or retreat, make surethat the withdrawing/retreating player is still in com-pliance with his Fleet Supply (see rules for FleetSupply on page 21) and has sufficient Fighter capacity(see the Fighter units description on page 29) in thenew system. If not, he must immediately destroy theexcess ships.

EEND OF A SSPACE BBATTLE

After the first Space Battle round is completed, if bothplayers still have surviving ships in the system, anoth-er Space Battle round begins. This continues untilonly one player has ships in the system (or the shipsof both players have been eliminated).

After the active player has landed one or moreGround Force units during the Planetary Landingsstep of a Tactical Action, an Invasion Combat must befought if the destination planet holds any enemyGround Force units.

Invasion Combat is executed almost identically toSpace Battle, with the notable exception that no with-drawals or retreats are allowed.

BBEFORE CCOMBAT

Before the actual Invasion Combat begins, playersmust resolve pre-combat actions such as planetarybombardments and defensive PDS fire.

BombardmentsDreadnought and War Sun units in the activated sys-tem may bombard a planet before the player under-takes Invasion Combat (exception: a War Sun unitmay bombard a planet even if no Invasion Combat isabout to take place). Simply roll one combat die forevery Dreadnought, three for every War Sun, andremove one enemy Ground Force on the contestedplanet for every result equal to or higher than thecombat value of the bombarding unit.

Remember that a Dreadnought may not bombard aplanet that contains at least one enemy PDS due to thepresence of a planetary shield.

Ground Forces destroyed by bombardment areremoved immediately, do not receive return fire, andwill not participate in the upcoming Invasion Combat.

PDS Fire After the attacking player has finished his bombard-ment, the defending player may fire a single shot witheach PDS unit on the contested planet. The defendingplayer rolls a die for every PDS unit present, and forevery result equal to or greater than the combat valueof the PDS unit, an invading Ground Force isdestroyed. Attacking Ground Force units destroyed bydefending PDS do not receive return fire and will notparticipate in the upcoming Invasion Combat.

TTHE IINVASION CCOMBAT RROUND

After any bombardment and defensive PDS fire hasbeen resolved, the players proceed to the InvasionCombat itself. Like a Space Battle, Invasion Combatis fought over a series of consecutive combat roundsuntil only one player's Ground Forces (or none)remain.

To resolve an Invasion Combat round, follow theInvasion Combat Sequence:

The Invasion Combat Sequence1) Roll combat dice2) Casualties are removed

The sequence is here described in detail:

1) Roll Combat DiceBoth players simultaneously roll one die for everyfriendly Ground Force unit on the planet. For everyresult equal to or higher than the combat value of theGround Force unit, the player scores a "hit." Playersmust remember their total number of successful hitsas they move to the next step.

2) Remove CasualtiesEach player must now take a number of Ground Force

Invasion Combat

The Races of TWILIGHT IMPERIUM

Universitiesof Jol Nar

The NaaluCollective

The L1z1xMindnet

The MentakCoalition

The Baronyof Letnev

The XxchaKingdom

The YssarilTribes

The Emiratesof Hacan

The SardakkN’orr

The Federationof Sol

Receiving PlanetCards

Whenever a player receives a Planet Card, byeither successfully taking over a neutral planet orby successfully invading an enemy planet, heclaims the corresponding Planet Card and placesit exhausted in his play area. A newly claimedPlanet Card is always received exhausted, even ifthe previous owner had not yet exhausted it.

unit casualties equal to the number of hits scored bythe opponent in step 1. Casualties are, as always,returned to a player's reinforcement pile.

If, at this point, both players still have Ground Forceunits remaining on the planet, another InvasionCombat round is initiated. This continues until onlyone (or no) player has Ground Force units left on theplanet.

Invasion Success?If all defending Ground Forces were destroyed and atleast one attacking Ground Force survived the battle,the invasion is a success. All defending PDS units andany Space Dock on the planet are immediatelydestroyed. The attacking player then claims the PlanetCard from the previous owner and places it, exhaust-ed, into his play area.

Since combat is simultaneous, it is possible that allthe Ground Forces on both sides were destroyed. Ifthis is the case, the defending player retains controlover the planet and simply places one of his ControlMarkers on the vacant planet to indicate this.

THE SYSTEMS

There are three types of systems in TWILIGHTIMPERIUM:

Home Systems (Interior Yellow Border)These represent the starting systems for each of the 10great races. At the beginning of the game, players ran-domly draw one of these systems to determine whichrace they will play.

Special Systems (Interior Red Border)The Special Systems represent three unique types ofinterstellar terrain, governed by the following rules:

AASTEROID FFIELD

A player's ships may not move through an AsteroidField unless that player has gained the Anti-massDeflector (Red) technology. If a player does have therequired technology, he may move his ships throughan Asteroid Field, but it is never possible, by anymeans, for a ship to end its movement in anAsteroid Field. An Asteroid Field may never be acti-vated.

NNEBULA

A Nebula is governed by the following rules:

• A Fleet defending a Nebula receives +1 to its com-bat rolls during any Space Battle here• Ships can never move through a Nebula (but shipscan move into a Nebula via normal activation)• A ship leaving a Nebula always has its movementreduced to 1 (regardless of technology modifiers andAction Cards).

SSUPERNOVA

These fiery dying stars are incredibly dangerous andabsolutely impassible. A Supernova may never beactivated.

RREGULAR SSYSTEMS

Regular systems are either empty, or contain one totwo planets (see the "Planets of Twilight Imperium"sidebar for more information). Some regular systemsalso contain an end of either the Alpha or BetaWormhole. The large majority of the TI galaxy con-sists of regular systems, and they form the battle-grounds and points of contention for the great races.

Other Game Concepts and Rules

Although considered a regular system, the MecatolRex system always forms the center of the galaxy andis never randomly distributed to players before thegalaxy is created.

WORMHOLES

In TI, Wormholes are spatial anomalies that connectdistant areas of space. A system containing one end ofa Wormhole is considered adjacent (even for the pur-poses of a transfer action) to a system containinganother end of its Wormhole type (Alpha or Beta).

For example, a ship with a movement rate of 1 maymove from a system containing a Beta Wormhole,directly to another system containing a BetaWormhole (remember that all movement is still partof an Activation Sequence in which ships must endtheir movement in the activated system).

If only one Wormhole of a type is in play, it has nofunction and is ignored.

UNIT LIMITATIONS

Except for Fighters and Ground Forces, players arelimited to the number of units provided in the game.If all of a player’s units of a specific type are on theboard, that player may not produce additional units ofthat kind until one is destroyed and returned to theplayer's reinforcement pile.

Example: A player has been using all of his 5Dreadnought units in his campaign against theLetnev. Last round, he was unable to build anotherDreadnought unit, since all 5 of his Dreadnoughtunits were in play. During a Space Battle this round,however, the player loses a Dreadnought. Thedestroyed Dreadnought is placed back with his rein-forcements, allowing the player to build theDreadnought unit again (provided that he has theresources to pay for it and a Command Counter in hisCommand Pool to activate a system containing aSpace Dock).

Scuttling unitsAt any time during the Status Phase, players areallowed to scuttle (destroy) any of their own units onthe board. Scuttled units are simply returned to theplayer’s reinforcement pile and become available forproduction during the next Action Phase.

THE FIGHTER AND GROUND FORCESUPPLEMENT COUNTERS

Unlike every other unit type, players are allowed tobuild more Fighter and Ground Force units than sup-plied with the game. To build these additional units,players must use the Fighter or Ground ForceSupplement Counters. These counters are neutral, canbe used by any player, and are governed by the fol-lowing rules:

The presence of a Supplement Counter simply states"there is one additional unit of this type here!" Theremust always be at least one actual unit (controlled bythe same player) of the appropriate type in the samesystem, or on the same planet, as a SupplementCounter.

Players may, at any time, replace any number ofGround Forces and/or Fighters in a system/planet withan equal number of Fighter/Ground Force SupplementCounters as long as at least one original unit remains.The actual units are placed back among a player'sreinforcements, and the appropriate SupplementCounters are taken from the common play area andplaced on the board in the same spot.

Likewise, players may, at any time, replaceSupplement Counters on the board with actual unitsfrom their reinforcements (if able). Players must dothis when they want to split the forces without suffi-cient actual units present.

Example: On a planet containing three Xxcha GroundForce units, the Xxcha player may replace two of theGround Force units with two Ground ForceSupplement Counters (by placing the actual unitsback with his reinforcements, and placing the twoGround Force Supplement Counters under theremaining unit). The planet is still considered to havethree Ground Force units, and the Xxcha player maychoose to replace the Supplement Counters with actu-al units from his reinforcements at any time. Note that

the Xxcha player may not have replaced all threeGround Forces with Supplement Counters, since oneactual unit must always be with Supplement Countersof its kind.

Be careful that, in multi-planet systems, each planetwith Ground Force Supplement Counters contain atleast one actual Ground Force unit.

The real points of interest in the TI galaxy are itsplanets. Each planet is printed with its resourcevalue, influence value, and possibly a technolo-gy specialty. When a player successfully invadesa planet (neutral or enemy), he immediatelyclaims its corresponding Planet Card.

Resources represent a planet's economic surplus,which can be used by its owner to purchase unitsand technology.

Influence represents a planet's population, knowl-edge base, and/or political importance. Influenceis used to acquire Command Counters, to playcertain Action Cards, and to provide vital votes atthe Galactic Council.

Technology specialties represent a certain localknowledge or a natural resource important to aspecific area of science. This provides the ownerof the planet with a discount resource towardspurchasing advances of that technology type.

The Planets of TWILIGHT IMPERIUM

ResourcesInfluenceTechnology

Specialty

PlanetName

It is only really necessary for a player to useSupplement Counters if he is about to run out of actu-al units in his reinforcement pile. In some instances,it is possible that there is too little physical room on agiven planet/system, and that a player may wish tocreate more room by replacing some GroundForce/Fighter units with counters.

A player may, during production, produce SupplementCounters, but only if the producing system/planet con-tains at least one actual unit of that type after the pro-duction is complete.

As stated, Supplement Counters are simply additionalunits of the indicated type, and therefore also mustbehave under all the same rules as the actual unit. Inother words, Fighter Supplement Counters must havesufficient Carrier/Space Dock/War Sun capacity inorder to exist. Ground Force Supplement Countersmust be transported by a Carrier in order to move toanother planet, etc.

Note that when Supplement Counters are transportedby a Carrier or War Sun, at least one actual unit ofthat type must also be transported by that sameCarrier/War Sun.

If a Supplement Counter is on system/planet withoutan actual unit of its type, it is immediately removed.

An easy way to manage your Supplement Counters isto always place them under an actual unit of theirtype in the area. As long as a Supplement Counter isunder an actual unit of its type, it will always conformto the rules.

THE COMMAND COUNTERS

At the start of the game, players are each providedwith a total of 16 Command Counters. During thegame, these counters will be either on a player's RaceSheet or with his reinforcements.

The Race Sheet

The Race Sheet provides a wealth of usefulinformation and is used to manage a player’sactive Command Counters. Here is a briefexplanation of the player Race Sheet:

Race Title and SymbolThe symbol and title of the represented race.

Starting Units and Special Abilities The starting units/technologies, and the spe-cial abilities of the race.

Phase and Sequence TablesA detailed overview of the important phasesand sequences of the game round.

Unit Data A detailed chart with the costs, combat value,movement rating, and special abilities of eachunit type.

The Strategy Allocation AreaCommand Counters herein can be spent toexecute the secondary abilities of Strategycards (and a few other special functions).

The Fleet SupplyCommand Counters herein are flipped totheir “Fleet” side, so that they do not mixwith the other Command Counters on theRace Sheet. The number of CommandCounters herein determines the allowablesize of a player’s fleets.

The Command PoolA player must spend Command Countersfrom this area when activating systems on thegame board (when taking a Tactical orTransfer Action).

The Trade Goods AreaWhen a player receives a Trade Good count-er, it is placed in this area. A player may giveTrade Goods to other players at any time, oruse Trade Good as a substitute for spendingeither one resource or one influence.

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Whenever a player receives a Command Counter fromhis reinforcements, he must immediately place it onhis Race Sheet in one of the three following areas:

- The Strategy Allocation Area- The Fleet Supply Area- The Command Pool Area

These three areas represent three distinctly differentvital areas of managing your race. Once a playerplaces a Command Counter in one of these areas, hemay not move it to a different area until the upcomingStatus Phase. Decisions on where to place and how tospend Command Counters are among the most impor-tant that a player will make during the game.

When a player spends a Command Counter, or uses aCommand Counter to activate a system, he mustremove the counter from the appropriate area of hisRace Sheet and return it to his reinforcements.

In detail, the effects and rules for each of the threeareas are as follows:

TTHE FFLEET SSUPPLY AAREA

The number of Command Counters in a player's FleetSupply area dictates the maximum number of ships(not including Fighters) that a player may have inany given system on the board. A player may nevermove units, build units, or otherwise acquire units inany system so that the number of ships herein (again,excluding Fighters) exceed the number of CommandCounters in his Fleet Supply area. If, for any reason,the number of ships in a system should exceed thenumber of Command Counters in a player's FleetSupply, the owner of those ships must immediatelyremove enough ships from the system (by placingthem back with his reinforcements) until thenumber of ships is again in compliance with thenumber of Command Counters in his FleetSupply area.

When a player places a Command Counter inhis Fleet Supply area, it is placed with the"Fleet" side up, to indicate that it is a part ofthe Fleet Supply area. In this way, other play-ers can easily identify your fleet limit fromacross the table, and it helps prevent yourcounters from mixing with the CommandCounters in the two other areas.

As a player increases the number of CommandCounters in his Fleet Supply area, he may increase thesize of his fleets on the board correspondingly.

It is important to note that a player may have anynumber of active fleets on the board, as long aseach fleet contains a number of ships that is equal to,or less, than its owner's Fleet Supply limit.

As noted, Fighter units do not count toward the FleetSupply limit. A player may thus have any number ofFighter units in a given system, as long as he has thecapacity to support them (see the Fighter unit on page29).

The Command Pool AreaAfter a player decides to take a Tactical or TransferAction during the Action Phase, he must take anavailable Command Counter from his Command Poolin order to activate a system on the board. If a playerhas no Command Counters remaining in hisCommand Pool, he is not able to take Tactical orTransfer Actions. In other words, the number ofCommand Counters in a player's Command Pool dic-tates the amount of activity he can initiate on theboard.

The Strategy Allocation AreaGenerally, Command Counters in the StrategyAllocation area are spent to execute the SecondaryAbilities of Strategy Cards. Some races have specialabilities and some Action Cards require their playersto spend Command Counters from their StrategyAllocation area for other effects.

SPENDING RESOURCES ANDINFLUENCE

Throughout a game of TI, you will need to spendresources and influence for many different purposes.Both resources and influence are provided by theplanets under your control, and you will use their cor-responding Planet Cards to keep track of your expen-ditures.

Exhausting PlanetsWhenever you want to spend influence or resourcesyou must exhaust one of your Planet Cards by turningit face down. This provides you with the resources orinfluence of that planet. Each Planet Card (and theplanets on the board themselves) shows the specificinformation on how many resources and how muchinfluence is gained from exhausting that specific plan-et (see the diagram above). A face down Planet Cardcannot be exhausted again until it is refreshed duringthe Status Phase (or by another effect). When a card isrefreshed, it is simply returned to its face-up position.

When you exhaust a planet for itsresources or influence, it providesyou with all of its resources orinfluence. You cannot use theresources or influence of aplanet partially, nor can yousave a portion for later.

Resource Value Influence Value

Planet Name

Note that when exhausting a planet, it will provideyou with either its resource value or its influencevalue, but not both. Before exhausting a planet, youmust announce whether you are exhausting it for itsresources or for its influence (in most cases it is clearfor what purpose you are exhausting a planet).

Paying CostsWhenever a player wishes to spend resources or influ-ence, he simply announces the total amount ofresources/influence that he wishes to spend, and thenexhausts the number of Planet Cards with that (orgreater) combined amount of resources/influence.

In other words, when a player is producing units at aSpace Dock during the Production step of theActivation Sequence, he may simply announce how

many resources he is going to spend in total. Then heexhausts the appropriate number of planets and placesthe produced units on the board (see rules for produc-ing units under the Space Dock unit on page 26). Thismeans that you are not producing (and spendingresources on) a single unit at a time, but rather pur-chasing the production with one lump sum. The samegoes for spending influence.

Any spare resources or influence provided by anexhausted Planet Card are lost.

Special Note: You do not have to exhaust a specificPlanet Card to pay for the cost of production atthat exact planet; any resources will do.

THE ACTION CARDS

Throughout the game, players will come into posses-sion of Action Cards. Action Cards should be kepthidden from other players.

An Action Card can only be used given the specificcircumstances (or phase) printed on each individualcard.

Example of Spending Resources and Production

The N’orr player has just activated a system containing one of his SpaceDocks. As the final step of the Activation Sequence, he now wishes toproduce units in the system.

The N’orr player takes 1 Carrier, one Destroyer, and one Cruiser fromhis reinforcements. Referring to his Race Sheet, the N’orr player notesthat the cost for these units are as follows:

1 Carrier 3 Resources1 Destroyer 2 Resources1 Cruiser 1 ResourcesTotal = 6 Resources

The planet can produce up to 5 units, so the production capacity of theplanet is not a problem. To pay for three units, however, the N’orr playermust spend 6 resources. As he has no Trade Goods on his Race Sheet,the N’orr player takes three of his ready Planet Cards, with a combinedresource value of 6, and exhausts those planet cards (by flipping themface down) to pay for the three units that he wishes to buy.

After paying for the production, the N’orr player takes the three unitsand places them in the activated system. Since the activated systemalready held a Carrier unit, he now has a fleet of 4 units (remember thatFighters do not count towards Fleet Size) in the system. Since the N’orrplayer has 4 command counters on his Fleet Supply, the Fleet is not inviolation of the N’orr Fleet limit.

A player may never have more than 7 Action Cards atany one time. If, after receiving additional cards, aplayer has more than 7 Action Cards in his hand, hemust immediately choose and discard cards until hehas 7. If a player at 7 cards is about to draw addition-al cards, he should draw and discard one Action Cardat a time.

A player may never play two identical Action Cardsfor the same situation and/or on the same entity dur-ing one round. Example: A player cannot play two"Flank Speed" Action Cards on the same fleet in oneround. The player may, however, play a “FlankSpeed” on two different fleets in the same round.

How to Play an Action CardIf a player wishes to play an Action Card, he mustpublicly announce that he wishes to play an ActionCard. Then other players, at that time, may announcethat they also wish to play an Action Card. After allplayers have been given the opportunity to announcethat they are playing Action Cards, all the ActionCards are revealed and resolved in order of play.

If Action Cards are about to played at a time whereplayers do not have Strategy Cards, then resolve themin clockwise order starting with the Speaker.

TTHE SSABOTAGE AACTION CCARD

A player does not have to announce the playing of aSabotage card. The Sabotage card is simply playedimmediately after an Action Card has been revealed,cancelling its effect. Then both cards are discarded.

""PPLAY AS AN AACTION""Some Action Cards read “Play: As an action.” ThisAction Card must played by its owner during theAction Phase instead of taking a regular action.

THE POLITICAL CARDS AND THEGALACTIC COUNCIL

When the player who controls the Political StrategyCard executes his Strategic Action, a Political Cardmust be drawn and the Galactic Council convenes todebate and vote upon its agenda.

The Political AgendaEvery Political Card contains an agenda that requiresa vote in the Galactic Council (i.e., the players). Asthe first step of convening the Galactic Council, theactive player reads aloud the drawn Political Card andmakes it clear what kind of vote is about to be cast.

There are two types of agenda votes:

""EELECT"" VVOTES

When a political agenda asks the Galactic Council toelect something or someone, each player may choosewho or what to nominate (i.e., elect) when casting hisvote. That player's entire vote is now attributedtowards that subject. The subject with the highestnumber (not necessarily the majority) of the totalvotes is considered elected. After this, follow theinstructions on the Political Card.

""FFOR OR AAGAINST"" VVOTES

Most agendas will ask the Galactic Council to votefor or against a certain agenda. In this type of vote,players indicate either “for” or “against” when castingtheir vote, The majority of all votes cast will decidethe outcome.

LLAWS

Some agendas are "Laws." Laws represent permanentchanges to the rules and/or flow of the game. When aLaw is voted "for," first enact any effects of the "for"result and then place the Political Card face up in thecommon play area. The effects of this card are nowpermanent. If voted "against," resolve any effectsthat an "against" result may have and then discard thecard.

Although the council might have adopted a Law earli-er in the game, the balance of power can later haveshifted, and old Laws soon become unpopular. If thishappens, how can the council reverse the old Law?

Among the Political Cards, there are certain agendasthat allow older Laws to be either reevaluated or dis-carded. Note that these cards are few and that mostenacted Laws are in the game to stay, so be carefulhow you vote.

Voting in the Galactic CouncilAfter the active player has read the agenda out loud,the Galactic Council must resolve the agenda in thefollowing way:

1) Players first debate, threaten, lure, or convince eachother to vote in their favor. Trade Good Counters maybe used as "bribes" but no promises or agreements inTI are binding (even after receiving a bribe or pay-off).

2) Players then vote upon the agenda. Voting is doneclockwise one player at a time, starting with the play-er to the left of the Speaker (thus the Speaker willalways cast the last vote). When voting, a player hasas many votes as the total combined influence valueof all his unexhausted planets (and a minimum of 1vote). Example: The Letnev player controls five plan-ets, but has exhausted three of them . His two remain-ing unexhausted planets have influence values of "2"and "1." The Letnev player therefore has a total of 3votes during the Galactic Council.

When voting, a player must cast all his votes or none.Votes cannot be split. Voting does not cause yourPlanet Cards to exhaust.

Trade Good counters cannot be used to gain addition-al votes.

The Galactic Council is meant to be a fun, activeengagement in which players forge alliances, use theirpolitical prowess, engage in saber-rattling, and "acttheir race." As powerful agendas are presented to thecouncil, weaker players can seek to hurt strong neigh-bors politically via the enactment of damaging Lawsor other agendas.

AABSTAINING AND TTIE VOTES

A player may always choose to abstain from votingduring any agenda. If so, his votes are simply notcounted for purposes of resolving the agenda (includ-ing determining a majority). If there is a tie vote, evena tie of "0" (in which all players have abstained), theplayer holding the Speaker Token breaks the tie.

RULES AND CARDS

If the effect of a card seems to contradict the rulesof the game, the card text is always correct.

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES

Before the game begins, each player is provided withan identical deck of 24 Technology advances, andeach player starts the game with a few “StartingTechnology” advances. When a player has successful-ly acquired (or received at the start of the game) aTechnology advance, he takes the respectiveTechnology Card and places it face up before him inhis play area. In this way, players will slowly accumu-late Technology Cards, each providing a helpfuladvantage described on the card itself.

Example: After acquiring the “Deep Space Cannon”technology, a player’s PDS units may fire at adjacentsystems, rather than just their own.

Technology Cards are normally acquired during theresolution of the Technology Strategy Card, but canalso be acquired via certain Action and PoliticalCards.

Players may not give each other Technologyadvances.

There are four different technology areas, each attrib-uted the following color:

Warfare Technology = RedBiotechnology = GreenPropulsion Technology = BlueGeneral Technology = Yellow

AACQUIRING A TTECHNOLOGY AADVANCE

In general Technology advances are acquired whenthe Technology Strategy Card is executed during the

Action Phase. The active player receives a freeTechnology advance, and other players may pay 8resources to acquire one Technology advance.

Most Technology advances (but not all) have prereq-uisite technologies. Before a Technology advance canbe acquired, a player must already have obtained allprerequisite technologies printed on the card.

Example: The “Micro Technology” advance requiresthat a player has either the “Stasis Capsules“ or“Sarween Tools” Technology advances already. If theplayer has neither of these prerequisites technologiesin his play area, he is not allowed to acquire the“Micro Technology” advance.

A player is not allowed to acquire a technology (viaAction Cards, or otherwise) if he does not alreadyhave the prerequisite technologies face up in his playarea.

You will find a handy “Tech Tree” diagram on page42-43 of this rules booklet, and you will also find thisdiagram available for download at www.fanta-syflightgames.com.

PPLANETARY TTECHNOLOGY SSPECIALTIES

Some planets have a technology specialty (a printedtechnology symbol by the planet itself and on thePlanet Card). Technology specialties represent a cer-tain local knowledge or a natural resource importantto a specific area of science. The presence of a tech-nology specialty gives the owner of the planet theability to purchase a Technology Card (of the specifictype: red, green, or blue) for 1 less than its normalcost when executing the secondary ability of theTechnology Strategy Card. If a player controls multi-ple planets with technology specialties of the samecolor/type, the cost to acquire that technology type islowered by 1 for each such planet.

Example: If a player controls three planets with thegreen technology specialty (Biotech), he may subtractthree from the cost of purchasing green TechnologyCards.

Technology specialty discounts do not apply if thecontributing Planet Card(s) is exhausted. (It is notnecessary to exhaust a planet with the technology spe-cialty in order to receive the discount, nor is it neces-sary to exhaust that specific planet to buy theTechnology advance).

TRADE CONTRACTS AND TRADEAGREEMENTS

In TI, trading is an important avenue for players togain additional resources and influence. Trade can beused as important political leverage against hostileplayers or to help seal an important alliance.

At the beginning of the game, each race is providedwith two Trade Cards, each with a numerical tradevalue printed on the “trade agreement” side of thecard (you may notice that some races have TradeCards of differing trade values). At the beginning ofthe game, players should place these cards with the“Trade Contract“ side up in their playing area. Thisside has no trade value, as players derive no valuefrom their own Trade Cards.

OOPENING TTRADE AAGREEMENTS

When the primary ability of the Trade Strategy Cardis being resolved during the Action Phase, the activeplayer may allow players (himself included) to forgetrade agreements.

A trade agreement is initiated between two playerswho agree to trade with each other. After agreeing totrade, each of the two players must give the partnerone of their own Trade Cards. Upon receiving anotherplayer’s Trade Card, a player should place it beforehim with the trade agreement side face up.

Only one Trade Card for each player may beexchanged, not more.

Technology Specialty

Since every race has only two Trade Cards, each play-er may only have two active trade agreements at anyone time.

Before a trade agreement can be completed, the agree-ment must first be approved by the active player. Ifapproved (and that may take some bribes to the activeplayer), the players may exchange Trade cards.

Two players may only make one trade agreementwith each other. Thus, for a player to utilize both ofhis Trade Cards, he must make trade agreements withtwo different opponents. If able, a player may initiateboth of his trade agreements during the same execu-tion of a Trade Strategy Card.

It is important to note that since each player only hastwo Trade Cards, he cannot make more than two tradeagreements.

RRECEIVING TTRADE GGOODS

While executing the primary ability of the TradeStrategy Card, the first player receives Trade Goodsfor his trade agreements (and 3 extra trade goods).

After the active player has completed the primaryability, the other players, clockwise from the activeplayer, may execute the secondary ability of the TradeStrategy Card to receive Trade Goods for their tradeagreements.

Note that players are not allowed to collect tradeincome from trade agreements formed during thesame action. It is not possible for a player to make atrade agreement during the primary ability of theTrade Strategy Card, and then immediately collecttrade income from the new trade agreement by exe-cuting the secondary ability.

A player receives Trade Goods by simply counting thetotal trade value of any trade agreements in his playarea. The player then takes that number of TradeGoods from the common play area and places themon the Trade Goods area of his Race Sheet.

Example: The Xxcha currently has an active tradeagreement with the Jol Nar player (as illustrated onthe “Player Area” diagram on page 9). After theactive player has finished the primary ability of theTrade Strategy Card, the Xxcha spends one CommandCounter from his Strategy Allocation area to executethe secondary ability of the Trade Strategy Card. TheJol Nar trade agreement has a trade value of “3.”The Xxcha player takes three Trade Good countersfrom the common play area and places them on theTrade Goods area of his Race Sheet.

The Trade Goods Counters

Players may spend Trade Good counters from theirTrade Goods area as a substitute for spending eitherone resource or one influence. In this way, a playercan pay for a Dreadnought unit by spending 5 TradeGoods from his Trade Goods area, or by exhaustingPlanet Cards for 3 resources, and paying the remain-ing 2 resources with Trade Goods (or any combinationthereof).

When a player spends a Trade Good, he simply movesit from his Trade Goods area to the common playarea.

Players are allowed to give other players Trade Goodsfrom their Race Sheet at any time. This makes theTrade Goods counter a flexible currency with whichto bribe, pay, or assist other players economically.

Running out of Trade GoodsThere are exactly 40 Trade Goods in the game, if theTrade supply in the common play area is empty, thenplayers cannot receive additional Trade Goodsuntil a player spends some and returns them to the

common play area once more. Since there is a limit to the total number of Trade Goods, it is important toadhere to the player order of executing the secondaryability of the Trade Strategy Card, which is alwaysdone in clockwise order from the active player.

BBREAKING TTRADE AAGREEMENTS

Any player involved in a trade agreement may unilat-erally break the agreement during the Status Phase.Such a player simply announces that he is ending theagreement and immediately returns the Trade Card toits owner and retrieves his own Trade Card from theformer trading partner (a player’s own Trade Cardsare always returned with the “Trade Contract” sideface up, as they provide no trade value for theirowner). It is not possible for a player to automaticallybreak a trade agreement with the Hacan race, as perthe Hacan's special ability.

If two trading players become involved in open waragainst each other (by one player initiating either aSpace Battle or Invasion Combat against the other),a trade agreement between the two players is automat-ically broken (and the Trade Cards returned to theirowners). The two players may later open anothertrade agreement, but this will again be broken ifanother Space Battle or Invasion Combat occursbetween them. Trade agreements with the Hacan play-er are broken in the event of open war between theHacan and its trading partner.

Note that only Space Battles and Invasion Combatwill automatically break a trade agreement betweentwo players. Playing Action Cards or taking shotswith a PDS, etc., does not cause an automatic break.

Invading a planet that contains only an enemy ControlMarker is still considered Invasion Combat for pur-poses of cancelling trade agreements.

TTHE PPOWER OF THE MMERCHANTS GGUILD

When executing the primary ability of the TradeStrategy, the active player may choose to exercise hiscontrol of the Merchant’s guild in a destructive way,rather than facilitating the wealth of other races.

As described in option “b” of the Trade Strategy Card,the active player, instead of receiving Trade Goodsand opening trade negotiations, may instead choose tocancel every trade agreement in play.

If the active player chooses this option, all TradeCards (including those of the active player and theHacan) are returned to their owners.

Definition of an“Empty“ System

The TI rules and cards will sometimes refer toan “empty” system. An empty system is a sys-tem completely free of units, including unitsbelonging to the active player. In other words,an empty system is one that is free from ship,Ground Force, PDS, or Space Dock units. Thesystem may, however, contain planets, ControlMarkers, and Command Counters. SpecialSystems are not considered empty systems.

THE OBJECTIVE CARDS

The Objective Cards represent the primary way forplayers to receive victory points. Each Objective Card(both Secret and Public) contains a requirement and avictory point award for meeting that requirement. ThePublic Objective Cards are slowly revealed as theImperial Strategy Card is resolved during the ActionPhase.

During the first step of the Status Phase, players mayqualify for the requirements of one revealed PublicObjective Card in order to receive the correspondingvictory points. Note that a player cannot gain victorypoints from a Public Objective Card that is not yetrevealed.

Some Objective Cards state “Now I…”. This requiresa player to actually fulfill the requirement during thefirst step of the Status Phase. For example, oneObjective Card reads “I now spend 20 Resources (2victory points).” In order for a player to receive thesetwo victory points, he must have enough Trade Goodsand unexhausted planets to spend 20 resources duringthe first step of the Status Phase.

A player may only receive victory points from a spe-cific revealed Objective Card once per game. Aftercollecting victory points from an Objective Card, aplayer should, to serve as a reminder, place one of hisControl Markers on the card.

TTHE SSECRET OOBJECTIVE CCARD

At the beginning of the game, each player receives aSecret Objective Card. A player is not allowed toshow other players his Secret Objective Card until heis able to meet its objectives during the first step ofthe Status Phase. A player who reveals his SecretObjective Card without being able to meet its require-ments loses his Secret Objective Card, which isplaced back in the box. Such a player will not be ableto receive victory points from a Secret Objective forthe duration of the game.

During the Status Phase, a player may qualify for onePublic Objective Card and/or his Secret ObjectiveCard. A player cannot qualify for more than onePublic Objective Cards in one round.

Following is a detailed breakdown of the characteris-tics and rules for the 9 different unit types in TI thatplayers have at their disposal.

THE SPACE DOCK

Units Available: 3Cost: 4 The Space Dock unit represents a military industrialcomplex, shipyard, and recruiting station in close orbitof a specific planet. In order to build units (other thananother Space Dock) in a given system or on a specif-ic planet, a Space Dock must be present there.

BBUILDING A NEW SSPACE DDOCK

In order to build a new Space Dock on a planet, thefollowing requirements must be met:

1) The system (that contains the planet on which youwant to build the Space Dock) has just been activated,and is currently at the “Production” step of theActivation or Transfer Sequence.

2) The active player must have controlled the planetfor the entire current round. Thus, it is not possibleto build a Space Dock on a planet that has just beenacquired during the current round.

3) The planet does not already contain a Space Dock(only one Space Dock per planet is allowed).

4) The system does not contain any enemy ships.

If these requirements are met, the activating playermay take an available Space Dock from his reinforce-ments, spend 4 resources, and place the Space Dockon the chosen planet. Next round the Space Dock maybegin producing units for its owner. It is important toremember that a Space Dock is tied to a specific plan-et and is not considered to be “in space” and so doesnot participate in Space Battle, nor can it be attackeddirectly by enemy ships.

Building Units at a Space DockIn order to produce new units (other than a new SpaceDock), players must activate (via a Tactical or

Transfer Action) a system that contains at least onefriendly Space Dock. As the last step in resolving theactivation of the system, the activating player mayspend resources to build units at the Space Dock, gov-erned by the following rules:

• A Space Dock may only build a number of units(regardless of type) equal to the resource value of itsplanet plus two. This means that a Space Dock locat-ed on a planet with a resource value of 3 may produceup to 5 different units (3 for the resource value of theplanet, plus 2 for the Space Dock itself). This restric-tion is for the number of units, regardless of their totalresource cost. Thus the above planet with a produc-tion limit of 5 may produce 5 Dreadnoughts or 5Fighters (or any combination of those, and other,units).

• New spaceships (Fighters, Cruisers, Carriers,Destroyers, Dreadnoughts, and War Suns), when built,are placed directly (and always exist) in space. Eachsystem represents one area of space. Unlike GroundForces, PDS, and the Space Dock itself, spaceshipsare never considered to be on, attached to, or affiliatedwith a planet in their current system.

• Ground Force and PDS units are always built andplaced on the planet containing the Space Dock.Ground Force and PDS units cannot move to anotherplanet (including other planets in the same system)unless transported by a Carrier or War Sun.

• Note that when purchasing either Fighter or GroundForce units, 1 resource provides two units. If, due tothe production limit of a Space Dock, a player wishesto only purchase 1 Ground Force or Fighter unit, thesingle unit still costs 1 resource. A player may not“mix and match“ when purchasing Ground Forces andFighters, such as purchasing one of each for only oneresource.

Other Rules for Space Docks• A Space Dock has the capacity to support 3 Fighterunits in its system (see later).

• If a system contains at least one enemy spaceship,all friendly Space Docks in that system are consideredunder blockade, and may not produce spaceshipunits while the enemy units are in the system. ASpace Dock under blockade may still build GroundForces and PDS on its planet during the Productionstep of the Activation Sequence.

Rules forUnits

Strategy Tip: Cruisers and Destroyers are espe-cially useful for swooping in from afar to block-ade your Space Docks. Be cautious if fast enemyships are within range, and try not to rely onjust one Space Dock for your production, espe-cially later in the game.

THE GROUND FORCE UNIT

Units available: 12 (plus supplement counters)Cost: 1 (produces two Ground Force units)The Ground Force unit represents a player's mili-tary and occupational forces. It is an essential unitnecessary to take over neutral planets, invadeenemy planets, or defend your own planets againstenemy invasion. Ground Forces are governed bythe following rules:

• Ground Forces, when produced, are placed on theplanet of the producing Space Dock. GroundForces are primarily transported around the galaxyby Carrier units (although the War Sun unit, aswell as certain Technology advancements, canfacilitate other means of Ground Force transporta-tion). A Ground Force unit is never considered tobe in “space,“ as it is always either on a planet orbeing transported inside a Carrier/War Sun.

• A Carrier unit may, at any point during its move-ment, pick up a Ground Force unit located on aplanet in the same system as the moving Carrier(see more details under the Carrier unit).

Exception: A Carrier, when moving through analready activated system, may not pick upGround Forces there.

• During the Planetary Landings step of theActivation Sequence, Ground Forces on a Carrierunit may move directly onto any friendly, hostile,or neutral planet in the same system.

Controlling PlanetsTo take control of a planet, a player must always havesuccessfully landed at least one friendly Ground Forceon that planet. Unless the planet is later lost to anotherplayer by invasion, a planet will remain under a play-er's control for the remainder of the game. If the lastof a player's Ground Force units leaves a planet, theplayer simply places one of his Control Markers onthe planet to indicate his ownership.

Example: During the previous round, the Xxcha play-er invaded the neutral planet Dal Bootha with a sin-gle Ground Force unit. This round the Xxcha playerwishes to move his Ground Force on Dal Bootha to adifferent planet. During his turn of the Action Phase,he activates another system and moves the Carrierhere. Before moving out of the Dal Bootha system, hisCarrier picks up the Ground Force unit here. As theGround Force is picked up, the Xxcha player placesone of his Control Markers on Dal Bootha to indicatehis continued control over the planet.

Example of Carrier Transport

The N'orr player has activated a system twospaces away from his Carrier unit. Since theN’orr player owns the XRD TRANS-PORTER Technology advance, his Carrierunits can move an extra space. The Carrierunit above is therefore capable of reachingthe activated system.

Before moving, the Carrier picks up the 4Ground Force units in its starting system.Now the N’orr player must choose betweenthe two possible routes to the activated sys-tem.

When moving along this route, theCarrier will move through a system that theN’orr player has already activated earlier inthe same round. Although this does not affect

the movement of the Carrier, the Carrier maynot pick up the Ground Force unit in that sys-tem because of the prior activation.

By choosing to move along this route,the Carrier could pick up the Ground Forceunit while moving through the lower middlesystem.

When arriving at the activated system, theN’orr player may even pick up the GroundForce units there (as long as the Carrier doesnot exceed its maximum of 6 units).

After moving , the N’orr Carrier will drop itsGround Force units on the neutral planet dur-ing the Planetary Landings step of theActivation Sequence.

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1

THE CARRIER UNIT

Units Available: 4Cost: 3The Carrier unit is the primary vehicle for expandingterritory by transporting friendly Ground Forces andPDS units from system to system. In addition to themundane task of transportation, the Carrier can alsobe a formidable weapon as it may bring swarms ofdeadly and inexpensive Fighter units to bear againstyour enemies.

A Carrier unit has a capacity of 6. You may think of

capacity as open “slots,” for which each slot may holda Ground Force, PDS, or Fighter unit. Unlike theSpace Dock, which has a special capacity that willsupport 3 Fighter units (and no Ground Forces orPDS), the Carrier will hold units of all three types(Fighters, Ground Forces, and PDS). A Carrier is notrestricted to carrying units of only one kind, but cancarry any mix of the three unit types. Example: ACarrier unit holds 4 Fighter units, 1 Ground Forceunit, and 1 PDS unit, or any combination thereof.

• A Carrier can never carry more than 6 units, so becareful to keep track of how full your Carriers are.Excess units on a Carrier must be immediatelydestroyed (chosen by the Carrier’s owner).

• If a Carrier is destroyed, any Ground Force and PDSunits aboard the Carrier are automatically destroyed.Fighter units can survive if the current system has

enough capacity to support the Fighters (supplied byeither another Carrier, War Sun, or Space Dock).

• Note that Ground Forces do not participate in anybattle while being transported by a Carrier unit.Likewise, while aboard a Carrier, PDS units do notfunction. Fighters, on the other hand, are not consid-ered “on board“ the Carrier, and may participate inany Space Battle in the system.

• A Carrier can only “unload” its Ground Forces andPDS onto a planet, or onto another Carrier, during thePlanetary Landings step of the Activation Sequence.Yet, it may pick up units from any system in which itstarted its movement, passed through while moving,or ended its movement. To this, there are the follow-ing exceptions:

- A Carrier may never pick up units in a system that

Examples of PDS fire

The N’orr player has just activated asystem containing an Xxcha fleet. After theN’orr fleet has moved into the activated sys-tem, the N’orr player may fire upon the XxchaFleet with his PDS unit in the adjacent system.This is allowed because the N’orr player hasacquired the “Deep Space Cannon” Technologyadvance which allows his PDS the extra rangeto fire upon adjacent systems when activated.

1 The N’orr player has activated asystem containing an Xxcha planet withtwo PDS.

After the N’orr fleet has finished movinginto the system, the two Xxcha PDS units(and possible other enemy PDS units inrange, if any) may fire at the N’orr fleet inthe system.

2 During the Planetary Landingsstep of the Activation Sequence, theN’orr player decides to land threeGround Force units on the Xxchaplanet containing one Ground Forceunit and one PDS.

Before Invasion Combat begins, theXxcha PDS unit may fire at the invad-ing Ground Force units.

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contains enemy spaceships. In other words, a Carriermay not move into a system containing enemy space-ships, pick up units, and then fight a Space Battle.

A Carrier may never pick up units from a system thathas been previously activated by the same player.

THE PLANETARY DEFENSE SYSTEM(PDS) UNIT

Units Available: 6Cost: 2The PDS unit represents both anti-fleet and planetaryinvasion countermeasures (missiles and enormousenergy cannons) as well as a planetary shield. Therules for using the various abilities of the PDS unit areas follows:

PPLANETARY SSHIELD

During the Invasion Combat step of the ActivationSequence, enemy Dreadnoughts may not bombard aplanet containing an enemy PDS unit. (See page 17for additional information on Invasion Combat.)

SSPACE CCANNON

A PDS unit is capable of firing its massive arsenalinto space in order to destroy nearby enemy ships.The basic range of a PDS reaches only into its ownsystem, but by acquiring the “Deep Space Cannon”players can extend the range of their PDS units intoadjacent systems.

A PDS “space cannon attack” is always fired duringthe third step of the Activation Sequence, and onlygiven one of the two conditions below:

• After the owner of the PDS has activated a system,and after any friendly ship movement into the system,each of the active player's PDS units in range mayfire once at any enemy fleet in the activated systembefore a Space Battle begins.

Note that the activating player's PDS units (that are inrange) may fire even if the player did not move anyships into the system during the activation. In otherwords, it is possible for a player to activate a systempurely for the purposes of firing his PDS at an enemyfleet in range.

• When a player activates a system in range of an

enemy PDS unit, the owners of any enemy PDS unitsin range may, after the movement step of theActivation Sequence, fire once per PDS at any unitsin the system owned by the activating player. Notethat when firing your PDS units during another play-er's activation, you may only fire at the units con-trolled by the activating player. It is thus not possibleto draw third party PDS fire at an enemy fleet by sim-ply activating its system from afar.

IINVASION DDEFENSE

Immediately before the first round of an InvasionCombat, any defending PDS units on a planet mayfire, once per PDS, at the invading Ground Forces.This is a one-time pre-combat shot only and does notoccur before every other round of the subsequentInvasion Combat.

FFIRING PPDDSS UUNITS

When firing a PDS unit, simply roll one die for eachPDS involved. For each result equal to or greater thanthe combat value of the PDS (normally a 6), theenemy fleet (or invading Ground Force units) mustimmediately take a casualty without being grantedreturn fire.

PPDDSS LLIMITATION

A player may never have more than two PDS units ona planet. A planet already holding two PDS units can-not produce a third.

TTRANSPORTING PPDDSSPDS units are always produced on the planet of theproducing Space Dock. PDS units cannot move oftheir own volition. Like Ground Forces, PDS unitsmust be transported to other planets via a Carrier or aWar Sun unit.

THE FIGHTER UNIT

Units Available: 10 (plus supplement counters)Cost: 1 (to produce two Fighter units)The Fighter unit is the most inexpensive ship in aplayer's arsenal. Fighters, which are typically movedinto battle by Carrier units, can overwhelm an enemyby their sheer numbers and are vital to bolster a play-er's fleet against enemy fire.

Fighters are governed by the following rules:

• Fighters cannot move by themselves and require thetransport of a Carrier unit to move around the board.

• Fighters are always considered to be in space, evenwhile being transported. Thus fighters will alwaysparticipate in any Space Battle in their system.

• Fighters require at all times that their present systemhas sufficient capacity to sustain them. A Space Dockhas a capacity for 3 Fighters, a Carrier (if not carryingany Ground Forces or PDS) a capacity of 6, and aWar Sun (if not carrying any Ground Forces or PDS)also a capacity of 6. If a system contains more Fighterunits than its capacity allows, the owner of the Fighterunits must immediately return enough Fighters to hisreinforcement pile so that the number of Fighter unitsand the system's capacity is equal.

Example: A system that contains one Space Dock andone Carrier (currently transporting two GroundForces) can safely maintain 7 Fighter units (three forthe Space Dock and 4 for the Carrier). Should theCarrier leave the system, 4 of the 7 Fighter units mustmove with the Carrier to prevent an excess of Fighterunits in the system.

Note that a system's Fighter capacity is not relevantduring a Space Battle. This means that Fighters partic-ipating in a Space Battle can continue to fight even iftheir Carrier has been destroyed. After a Space Battlehas ended, however, Fighter units without sufficientsupporting capacity are immediately removed.

THE CRUISER UNIT

Units Available: 8Cost: 2The Cruiser unit is among the most effective ships inthe TWILIGHT IMPERIUM galaxy. For a fair price,the Cruiser unit delivers an effective punch in combatand gives its owner the flexibility of great speed.

There are no other special rules that govern theCruiser unit.

THE DESTROYER UNIT

Units Available: 8Cost: 1The Destroyer unit, although not as powerful in com-bat as its larger cousin, the Cruiser, is a fast, inexpen-sive, and versatile weapon that can deliver a lethalblow to any enemy fleet that relies too heavily onFighters.

TTHE DDESTROYER AANTI--FFIGHTER BBARRAGE

Before a Space Battle begins, each Destroyer unit(both attacking and defending) may roll two combatdice. For every result equal to or higher than theDestroyer's combat value (normally a 9), the opponentmust immediately destroy one Fighter unit. Fightersdestroyed in this way are removed before the SpaceBattle begins and do not receive return fire. Note thatthe Destroyer units special barrage is only fired oncebefore the actual Space Battle begins, and not beforeevery Space Battle round.

THE DREADNOUGHT UNIT

Units Available: 5Cost: 5No unit in the galaxy, except for the legendary WarSun, can project the firepower and force that is mus-tered by the awesome Dreadnought. Its massiveweaponry, deadly bombardment option, and mightybulwark, makes it the undisputed foundation of anysuccessful fleet.

The Dreadnought unit provides two unique features:The ability to sustain damage and to execute a plane-tary bombardment.

SSUSTAINING DDAMAGE

A Dreadnought unit can absorb a single hit before it isdestroyed. After taking its first hit (as a result ofSpace Battle, PDS fire, or other), turn theDreadnought unit on its side to indicate that it hasbeen damaged. If a damaged Dreadnought is forced totake another hit, it is destroyed. Other than being onestep closer to destruction, being damaged does notaffect the Dreadnought in any other way.

During the Status Phase, all damaged ships arerepaired and are returned to their normal upright posi-tion.

PPLANETARY BBOMBARDMENT

Immediately before an Invasion Combat, the invadingplayer's Dreadnoughts in the activated system maybombard enemy Ground Forces on a contested planet.A planetary bombardment is executed by simplyallowing the invading player to roll one combat diefor each bombarding Dreadnought. For every hit, thedefending player must immediately remove oneGround Force unit. Units eliminated by planetarybombardment do not receive return fire and do notparticipate in the subsequent Invasion Combat. Notethat a Dreadnought may not bombard a planet unlessthat planet is being invaded by friendly forces thatlanded here during the Planetary Landings step of theActivation Sequence.

A Dreadnought may not bombard a planet that con-tains at least one PDS. The planet is considered tohave a planetary shield protecting it against missileand energy attacks from space.

If a player is invading two or more separate planets

(in the same system) during the same activation, theactive player must decide how to divide his bombard-ment. A Dreadnought can only bombard once duringevery Activation Sequence.

THE WAR SUN

Units Available: 2Cost: 12Most galactic historians reject the notion that a “WarSun” existed during the forgone Twilight Wars. Thefew historians that do argue for its existence mostlyprovide only vague proof by outlining a combinationof multiple, seemingly unconnected, folklore tales anda few old records describing a massive combat vesseldeveloped by the Jol Nar towards the later years ofthe period. There seems to be some evidence that theJol Nar, desperately fighting the advancing fleets ofthe Sardakk N'orr, brought a secret weapon to bearagainst the main N'orr fleet in the Saudor system. It isplausible that some new weapon was used here, ifonly evidenced by the fact that the N'orr neveradvanced farther into Jol Nar space. It is also highlylikely that if a War Sun did exist, that it was destroyed

When a Dreadnought or War Sun unit takes itsfirst hit, it is damaged rather than destroyed.Place the unit on its side to indicate its dam-aged status (As indicated above).

Damaged/UndamagedUnits

Undamagedunits

Damagedunits

during this battle, since no trace or rumor can befound of it after this period. Tangentially collaborat-ing with this conclusion, Xxcha archeologist havefound large samples of ancient wreckage on Saudorthat is of an unknown make and intent.

Perhaps the greatest credence lent to the War Sun the-ory, or the existence of some other powerful weapon,has been the inconsistent Jol Nar stance of denial,silence, and restriction of records on the subject.

Without a doubt, the War Sun unit is the definitivecombat unit of the galaxy. It is more like a fleet untoitself, than a mere ship. The War Sun boasts an almostunfathomable firepower, powerful construction,tremendous speed, capacity to hold great hosts oftroops and fighters, and unparalleled bombardmentstrength.

The War Sun unit is subject to the following rules:

• A player may not produce a War Sun unit unless hehas acquired the “War Sun” Technology advance.

• Like the Dreadnought, a War Sun can sustain a sin-gle hit (or “damage”) before it is destroyed. As withthe Dreadnought, a War Sun is placed onto its side inorder to indicate its damaged state and will bedestroyed if subjected to another hit. Any damage sus-tained by a War Sun is automatically repaired duringthe Status Phase.

• Like the Dreadnought, a War Sun unit is allowed tobombard planets. Unlike the Dreadnought, however, aWar Sun ignores the presence of a PDS unit's plane-tary shield. Also, a War Sun may bombard a planetduring the Invasion Combat step of the ActivationSequence, even if no friendly Ground Force unitshave landed on the planet in an invasion attempt.

• A War Sun unit rolls three combat dice during SpaceBattles and Bombardments.

• Like the Carrier unit, a War Sun has a capacity of 6and may transport Ground Forces, PDS, and Fighterunits.

Below you will find several exciting options for yourTI game. All the optional rules provided here aremodular and can be used in any combination. It isrecommended that you use the options that appeal themost to your particular play group.

The main rules so far have assumed that you will beplaying TI with 6 players. It is possible, and just asenjoyable, to play the game with fewer players. If youwish to play TI with either 3, 4, or 5 players, a fewsmall changes will be needed to the board setup andthe way Strategy Cards are handled.

The Three Player GameThe following exceptions apply to the three playergame.

CCREATING THE GGALAXY WITH THREE PLAYERS

Players should randomly draw races as normal, andplace the unused Home Systems back in the box.Mecatol Rex is placed in the middle of the table asusual.

Before shuffling the remaining 32 systems, however,remove 3 empty systems (systems containing astarfield with no planets) and one Asteriod Field, plac-ing these 4 systems back in the box. Then shuffle theremaining 28 systems.

After the systems have been shuffled, remove 4 ran-dom systems and place them back in the box withoutlooking at them. Then deal out the remaining 24 sys-tems, so that each player has eight systems.

Players now create the galaxy as normal except thefinal board constellation and Home System placementshould match the illustration for the 3 player gamefound on the “Galaxy Setup for 3,4, and 5 Players”diagram.

SSTRATEGY CCARDS IN THE THREE PLAYER GAME

During the Strategy Phase of a three player game,players must choose 2 Strategy Cards (when normallyplayers would only choose 1). This is done over tworounds of selection, with the second round of selec-tion using the same order of selection as the firstround.

Since each player will have two Strategy Cards, play-ers must now execute two separate Strategic Actionsat some point during the Action Phase (one for eachof their Strategy Cards) before they are allowed topass. Each individual Strategic Action is resolved asnormal. A player may choose which of his StrategyCards to execute first.

The Four Player GameThe following exceptions apply to the four playergame.

CCREATING THE GALAXY WITH FOUR PLAYERS

Players randomly draw races as normal, placing theunused Home Systems back in the box. Mecatol Rexis placed in the middle of the table as usual.

Shuffle the remaining 32 systems (do not removeany systems beforehand). The first player then dealsthe systems to the players, with each player receiving8 systems.

Players now create the galaxy as normal, with thefinal board constellation and home system placementmatching the illustration for the 4 player game asfound on the “Galaxy Setup for 3,4, and 5 Players”diagram.

SSTRATEGY CCARDS IN THE FFOUR PLAYER GAME

The four player game uses the same rules for choos-ing Strategy Cards as the three player game (withplayers choosing two Strategy Cards).

Note that in the four player game, since each playerselects two Strategy Cards, there will be no StrategyCards that remain unselected. The “bonus” tokens aretherefore not used in the four player game.

The Initiative Strategy may still not be selected by the same player twice in a row, unless that player has noother option.

The Five Player GameThe following exceptions apply to the five playergame.

CCREATING THE GALAXY WITH FIVE PLAYERS

Player’s randomly draw races as normal, and theunused Home Systems are placed back in the box.Mecatol Rex is placed in the middle of the table asusual.

Before the galaxy is created (before placing anyHome Systems), each player is randomly assigned anumber 1 through 5 (using paper, dice, or any other

THREE, FOUR, AND FIVEPLAYER GAMES

Optional Rules

method of randomization). That number assigns eachplayer’s position as indicated on the 5 player setupillustration on the “Galaxy Setup for 3, 4, and 5Players” diagram.

The first player shuffles the remaining 32 systems,removing one random system, placing it back in thebox without looking at it. The first player then places

another single random system face down next toMecatol Rex in a position of his choice.

Then he deals the remaining 30 systems to the players(with each player receiving 6 systems each.)

Players now create the galaxy as normal, with thefinal board constellation and Home System placement

matching the illustration found on the “Galaxy Setupfor 3, 4, and 5 Players” diagram.

After the entire galaxy has been completed, reveal theface down system that was placed adjacent to MecatolRex.

Due to the nature of 5 players in a hexagon-derivedboard, some players will be closer to each other thanothers. To compensate for this, players in position 1and 4 receive four Trade Goods before the gamebegins (placing them on their Race Sheets), and theplayer in position 5 receives six Trade Goods beforethe game begins (placing them on his Race Sheet).

SSTRATEGY CCARDS IN THE FFIVE PLAYER GAME

The five player game uses the same rules for choosingStrategy Cards as in the normal six player game.

Unlike the 6 player game, however, there will be threeremaining unselected Strategy Cards. Place a bonustoken on each unselected Strategy Card, thus placinga total of three bonus tokens every round instead oftwo.

Some players may find the path to 10 victory pointstoo brief. Such players may desire a more definitive,longer, and more epic experience.

You can create this experience by using the optionalside of the Victory Point Track, which goes to 14 vic-tory points rather than 10.

In addition, when preparing the Public ObjectiveDeck, randomly select 5 Stage II Public ObjectiveCards (instead of 3) in addition to the “Game OverCard”, and 8 Stage I Public Objective Cards (insteadof 6), creating a Public Objective Deck of 14 cards(instead of 10).

Alternative Variant: By using the suggested PublicObjective Deck above, your game will end some-where between turn 9 and turn 14. If so desired, youcan simply omit the “Game Over” card from theObjective Deck. If you do so, you should end thegame after the Status phase in which the last PublicObjective Card was drawn.

GAME OPTION: THE LONG WAR

Galaxy Setup for 3, 4, and 5 Players

3 Player Setup4 Player Setup

5 Player Setup

The victory point system of TI, as written, rewardsplayers that seek a balance of planning and flexibility.Some players, however, may desire that the victoryobjectives of TI be more predictable (which was thecase in the two previous editions of TI) so that theymay form a more stable long term strategy. This isaccomplished in the following way:

After creating the Public Objective Deck as normal,start to draw its cards, starting from the top. Afterdrawing a card, place it face up in the common playarea, creating a straight line of cards starting to theleft. After drawing and placing the “Game Over” card,if there are any additional cards remaining in thedeck, place those cards back in the box (you will notneed them).

Now you should have a line of Public Objective Cardssomewhere between 7 and 10 cards long with the“Game Over” card in the rightmost position.

During the game, players may qualify for the victorypoints of any of the revealed Objective Cards fromTurn one. No further Public Objective Cards willenter the game. In this way, players know exactlywhich objectives will give them victory points for theduration of the game.

After the end of the Status Phase of the first gameround, place a Turn token (a glass bead, a thimble, aquarter, etc.) on the leftmost card. After every StatusPhase is finished, move the Turn token one card tothe right. When the Turn token moves onto the GameOver card, the game ends immediately, and the playerwith the highest number of victory points is the win-ner (as described in the core rules). In this way, yourrow of Objective Cards also act as a Turn track.

Included in the game, you will find the octagon-shaped “Domain” counters that form the core of the“Distant Suns” game option. Using Domain Countersdramatically alters the strategy and flavor during theearly turns of TI, as they simulate the dangers andrewards of space exploration and colonization.

After the game board has been created, but before thegame begins, randomize the Domain Counters andplace one Domain Counter face down on every neu-tral planet on the board (do not place DomainCounters on any Home System planets or on MecatolRex). Place excess Domain Counters back in the boxwithout looking at them.

TTHE DDOMAIN CCOUNTERS

Domain Counters reflect the unknown aspects ofdeep-space exploration and colonization, functioningas follows:

• A planet’s Domain Counter is revealed (and itseffects resolved) immediately after a player has land-ed all his desired Ground Forces there during the“Planetary Landings” step of a Tactical Action.

After a Domain Counter has been revealed, the activeplayer may not land additional Ground Force units onthe planet during the same activation.

• When revealed, the symbol on the front of theDomain Counter represents the encounter/event of theplanet. Immediately resolve the effects of that event.On the back of this rules booklet, you will find adetailed description of every Domain Counter effect.

• If a player comes to control a planet without actuallylanding forces there during a Tactical Action, theDomain Counter is ignored and placed back in thebox with no effect.

• If, for any reason, a planet returns to neutrality afterbeing occupied by a player, do not place a newDomain Counter on the planet.

PPROBING

Immediately after the movement step of a TacticalAction (not a Transfer Action) the active player maychoose to probe Domain Counters in the activatedsystem as long as he has at least one Fighter unit inthe system.

If probing, the player may secretly look at every facedown Domain Counter in the system. After looking,he must return the Domain Counters face down totheir respective planets. The player may not look atthe counters again, unless he probes once more duringa future activation, or lands Ground Forces on theplanet.

A player may not land Ground Forces on a planet dur-ing the same activation in which he probed the planet.

SPECIAL RULE: If the Domain Counter “LazaxSurvivors” is probed, remove the counter from thegame. The probing player immediately receives onevictory point and may immediately draw 3 actioncards.

RRAZING

During the Invasion Combat segment of a TacticalAction, a War Sun or Dreadnought in the same systemas a Domain Counter may choose to raze a face downDomain Counter. The active player simply announcesthat he is razing the planet, then he removes theDomain Counter and returns it to the box withoutapplying its effects.

A War Sun or Dreadnought may not raze a DomainCounter that has already been revealed.

Note that a single War Sun or Dreadnought may onlyraze one Domain Counter in its sys-tem. If a player wishes toraze two DomainCounters in the samesystem during thesame activation,he must have atleast two Dread-noughts/WarSuns in the sys-tem.

A War Sun orDreadnoughtthat has beenused (or willbe used) forrazing afterthe move-ment

GAME OPTION: DISTANT SUNS

GAME OPTION: AGE OF EMPIRE

step may not be used for bombardment during thesame activation.

After razing a planet, a controversial act, the playermay face adverse reactions from his own people andthe Galactic Council. After razing a Domain Counter,the player should roll the dice and consult the tablebelow.

Result Effects

1-7 No Effect

8-9 Lose 3 random Action Cards

0 Lose 3 random Action Cards andimmediately exhaust all his ready planets.

SPECIAL RULE: If a player razes the “LazaxSurvivors” Domain Counter, he must immediately dis-card all of his Action Cards, exhaust all of his planets,and lose all of his Trade Goods. In addition, that play-er may not vote on the next Political Agenda.

Included in the game, you will find 30 Leader coun-ters (3 for each race). These represent exceptional per-sonalities that will assist their race in its struggle toattain the imperial throne.

There are five different types of Leaders: Generals,Admirals, Diplomats, Agents, and Scientists.

PPLACING LLEADERS

When using this game option, all three of a race’sLeaders are placed in their player’s Home Systembefore the game begins just like the normal startingunits. Like Ground Forces and PDS, a Leader isalways considered to be on a planet, or being trans-ported by a ship.

Unlike Ground Forces and PDS, however, any space-ship (including Fighters) may transport one or moreLeaders using the same rules as Carriers transportingGround Force units. Leaders do not count towards thecapacity of any ship.

A Leader is not allowed to land on a neutral or hostileplanet unless accompanied by at least one GroundForce unit.

If a Leader is part of an Invasion Combat on anenemy (or Neutral planet, if using the Distant Sunsoption) the Leader will be automatically CAPTUREDshould the invasion fail against another players planet(or KILLED if the Invasion Combat fails against aneutral planet).

KKILLING AND CCAPTURING LLEADERS

Leaders are powerful assets, and your opponentswould like nothing better than to capture or eliminatethese individuals.

In spaceIf a ship carrying a Leader is destroyed during aSpace Battle, roll a die.

On a result of 1-5, the leader is KILLED and perma-nently removed from play. On a result of 6-8, theLeader escapes and its owner may immediately placethe Leader on any friendly planet (not under block-ade). On a result of 9-10, the Leader is CAPTUREDby the opposing player in the Space Battle (seebelow).

If a ship is destroyed any time other than during aSpace Battle, the Leader is automatically killed andremoved from play.

On a planetIf a planet containing a Leader is successfully invadedby an enemy player, roll a die.

On a result of 1-5 the Leader is CAPTURED. On aresult of 6-9 the Leader escapes and its owner mayimmediately place the leader on any friendly planet(not under blockade). On a result of 10, the Leader iskilled and removed from the game.

If a Leader is present on a planet whose ownershipchanges for any other reason than invasion, theLeader automatically escapes and may be placed onany friendly planet.

Leaders can never exist on neutral or enemy planets,nor in space by themselves.

CCAPTIVE LLEADERS

When capturing a Leader, the capturing player (the“captor”) places the captured Leader in his playingarea. During the Status Phase, a captor may freelytransfer the captive to another player, including theowner of the Leader (in which case the Leader is

FREED and immediately placed on any friendly plan-et not under blockade, of its owner’s choice). Insteadof transferring the prisoner, the captor may choose tokeep the prisoner another round, or execute the pris-oner. If choosing the latter, the captor announces theexecution and removes the said leader from play.

RRESCUING A CCAPTIVE LLEADER

Every time a planet is successfully invaded, if theplanet was controlled by a player holding any captiveLeaders, roll a die after a successful invasion. If theresult is a 9 or 10, a captive leader has been found bythe invader. If more than one prisoner is held by thelosing player, the invader may choose which of thecaptive Leaders to rescue. If the rescued Leaderbelongs to another race, the invader is now its newcaptor, and must choose what to do with the new cap-tive during the next Status Phase. If the rescuedLeader belongs to the invader, the Leader is immedi-ately placed on any friendly planet (not under block-ade) of the invader’s choice.

If a player successfully invades the last planet ofanother player, all captive Leaders held by the elimi-nated player are transferred to the invader.

LLEADER AABILITIES..The abilities of a Leader depends on the Leader type.The 5 different Leader types and abilities aredescribed in detail below:

• A planet that contains a technology specialty and atleast one Scientist provides a technology discount of 2credits rather than 1.

• A planet with at least one Scientist may build a newSpace Dock at a cost of 2 rather than 4.

• PDS units on a planet with at least one Scientistreceive +1 on all rolls.

• Planets with at least one Scientist and one PDS unitmay not be bombarded by a War Sun unit (a War Suncan normally ignore the planetary shield provided bya PDS.)

GAME OPTION: LEADERS

Scientist

• If a Diplomat is present on a planet about to beinvaded by enemy Ground Forces during thePlanetary Invasion step, the Diplomat may delay theinvasion by one round. Simply return the enemyGround Force units to their Carrier(s). A planet pro-tected by a Diplomat may not be protected again by aDiplomat for the remainder of the round, or for thenext game round.

• A fleet that contains at least one Diplomat maymove through systems containing an opponent’s ships,but only if the opponent grants his permission for thetransit.

• When a General participates as the attacker in anInvasion Combat (by landing with the invadingGround Forces) the active player may re-roll up totwo dice during every round of that Invasion Combat.

• Dreadnoughts and War Suns receive -4 to bombard-ment rolls against a planet that contains at least oneGeneral.

• All defending Ground Forces on a planet that con-tains at least one General receive +1 to their combatrolls during Invasion Combat.

• When an Admiral participates in a Space Battle (asattacker or defender), its owner may roll one addi-tional die for the ship that is carrying the Admiral.(Note that only one additional die is rolled, even if theAdmiral is on a War Sun.)

• A Dreadnought carrying an Admiral receives +1movement.

• When attacked by a fleet containing an Admiral, adefending fleet may not retreat unless the defendingfleet also contains an Admiral.

• If an Agent is part of an Invasion Combat as anattacker (by landing on the enemy planet with one ormore friendly Ground Forces), enemy PDS may notfire at the invading Ground Forces.

• If an Agent is part of a successful Invasion Combatas an attacker (by landing on the enemy planet withone or more friendly Ground Forces), the active play-er may replace any enemy PDS and Space Dock onthe planet with his own similar units (normally theseunits would be destroyed).

• An Agent may be sacrificed at any time to act as a“Sabotage” action card. Simply announce the actionafter another player plays an Action Card, cancellingits effects. Then discard both the Action Card and theAgent.

Although the mighty War Sun unit is the undisput-ed king of space, history has shown that suchhubris of creation often hides a fatal flaw that canbe exploited by the smallest of spacecraft.

When using this game option, Fighter units have adesperate chance of a pre-Space Battle strike at anenemy War Sun in the contested system. This des-perate attack is called the “sabotage run.”

AANNOUNCE THE RRUN

A sabotage run takes place before an actual SpaceBattle begins, immediately after any DestroyerAnti-Fighter Barrage.

Both players (attacker first) may announce that theyare making a Sabotage run against an enemy WarSun in the battle (if no War Sun is present amongthe enemy units, a player cannot undertake a sabo-tage run).

If both players have War Suns, the attacker shouldresolve his sabotage run first, followed by thedefender.

After announcing a sabotage run, a player mustcommit a number of Fighter units to the dangeroustask. After a number of Fighters have been commit-

ted, the sabotage run is executed over two roundsof die rolls.

1) The Outer DefensesRoll a die for every Fighter committed to the sabo-tage run. On an unmodified result of 9 or 10, theFighter makes it through the outer defenses of theWar Sun. All other results destroy the Fighter unit,which receives no return fire.

2) The Inner DefensesFor every Fighter unit that made it past the outerdefenses of the War Sun, roll another die (one at atime). If the fighter rolls an unmodified result of 10,the sabotage run is successful and the War Sun isimmediately destroyed. Such a destroyed War Sunreceives no return fire. All other die results instant-ly destroy the Fighter unit, which receives no returnfire.

Surviving Fighter units are able to participate in thesubsequent Space Battle. An unharmed War Sun isable to participate in the Space Battle with no illeffects.

Should an opponent have two War Sun units, aplayer is allowed to make a sabotage run againstboth units by dividing his committed Fighters intotwo separate pools. With each of these pools attack-ing one specific War Sun, simply resolve each sepa-rate sabotage run, one at a time.

For online community, FAQ, customer service, andadditional information on TWILIGHT IMPERIUM,please visit:

WWWWWW..FFAANNTTAASSYYFFLLIIGGHHTTGGAAMMEESS..CCOOMM

Game Design (all editions): Christian T. PetersenAdditional Development (3rd edition): GregBenageRules: Christian T. PetersenEditing: Greg BenageGraphic Design: Brian S. SchomburgCover Artwork: Scott Schomburg

Credits

Problems,Questions and Support

GAME OPTION: SABOTAGE RUNS

Admiral

Diplomat

General

Agent

Leader Tokens Artwork: Brian Schomburg, ScottSchomburg, Tyler WalpoleFiction and Twilight Imperium Universe:Christian T. PetersenProduction Administration: Darrell HardyPublisher: Christian T. Petersen

1st Edition Creative Input: Morten Nyhus Hornslethand Peter Mork.

2nd Edition Creative Input: Jeffery P. Boucher-Zamso and Darrell Hardy

1st Edition Playtesting: W. Gregory Klett, Gerald LOgaard, Justin Bang, Gerald Dokka, AndrewFredlund, Anders M. & Thomas H. Petersen, JosephBurke, Christopher Dorn, Morten Nyhus Hornsleth,Leslie Nielsen, Mike, Peter, Andrew, Brian, Debbie,Jason, Rich, Anton, and many other helpful gamersat the (now long departed) Phoenix Games inBurnsville.

2nd Edition Playtesting: Rusty Schmidt, DarrellHardy, Erik Tyrell, Jeffery P. Boucher-Zamso, andOsta Productions.

3rd Edition Playtesting: Rob Vaughn, Thomas H.Petersen, Scott Nicely, Brian S. Schomburg, KevinWilson, Tim Sturm, Greg Benage, Tod Gelle, DarrellHardy, Mike Zebrowski, John Goodenough, MikeBarton, Pete, Thor, Ewan, and Robert Jankovich.

TWILIGHT IMPERIUM is a trademark of FantasyFlight Publishing, Inc. Copyright 1997-2004 FantasyFlight Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Theproducts, or any parts thereof, may not be repro-duced without the publisher's consent.

1. THE INITIATIVE STRATEGY

The Initiative Strategy Card, unlike the otherStrategy Cards, does not give its owner the option oftaking a Strategic Action. It does, however, give itsowner the Speaker Token (which grants the first pickof Strategy Cards during the next Strategy Phase)and allows its owner to execute the SecondaryAbility of other Strategy Cards without spending aCommand Counter.

A player may not select the Initiative Strategy Cardtwo rounds in a row.

2. THE DIPLOMACY STRATEGY

Choosing and executing a Diplomatic Strategy canprovide a key respite for a player about to be over-run by an aggressive neighbor. A DiplomaticStrategy can also be used by an unscrupulous playerwho first conquers territory from another player, andthen (as a later action) selects that player as the tar-get of the primary ability.

By prohibiting the activation of each other's systems,players are effectively barred from attacking eachother for the rest of the round. Players may, ofcourse, seek alternative ways to harm the other play-er, such as invading systems that do not containunits, playing Action Cards, etc.

The secondary ability of the Diplomacy StrategyCard allows players to refresh two Planet Cardsalready exhausted earlier in the phase. This meansthat a player could possibly use the resources orinfluence of a Planet Card twice, or even use theresources of a planet just invaded this phase (as allPlanet Cards are exhausted when first claimed by aplayer).

Strategy Card Summary

3. THE POLITICAL STRATEGY

The Political Strategy Card provides its owner with agenerous allocation of Action Cards, an additionalCommand Counter, and the ability to manipulate thePolitical Deck by deciding which of the top threePolitical Cards will be drawn by the next player toexecute the Primary Ability of the Political StrategyCard.

See the Political Card section on page 23 for how toresolve the Political Card drawn by the active player.

The secondary ability of the Political Strategy simplyallows players to draw an extra Action Card.

4. THE LOGISTICS STRATEGY

As Command Counters are a vital component for aplayer to manage his race, the Logistics Strategy Cardis an important and integral part of the game. Its pri-mary ability is powerful as it allows the active playerto simply receive 4 Command Counters from his rein-forcement pile and add them to his Race Sheet.

The Secondary Ability of the Logistics Strategy Cardis the primary vehicle for other players to acquireadditional Command Counters. While executing thesecondary ability, a player must spend influence byexhausting his Planet Cards. A player may take oneCommand Counter for every three influence hespends.

IMPORTANT SPECIAL RULE FOR THELOGISTICS STRATEGY: Unlike most otherStrategy Cards, players do not need to spend aCommand Counter from their command pool inorder to execute this Secondary Ability.

5. THE TRADE STRATEGY

The Trade Strategy Card is the main vehicle for initi-ating trade agreements between players. By choosingthe “a“ option of the Primary Ability, the active playerwill instantly profit by receiving three free TradeGoods; he also receives Trade Goods for his owntrade agreements, and then allows all players (himselfincluded) to open new trade agreements with eachother. After two players have agreed to open a newtrade agreement, the active player must approve theagreement, or it cannot be made. If he is so inclined,this allows the active player to potentially collectsome handsome bribes. Note that the active player hasno power (unless executing option “b”) over alreadyexisting trade agreements.

Instead of collecting wealth and facilitating new tradeagreements, the active player may choose option “b.”If he does so, all existing trade agreements are imme-diately broken, and all Trade Cards are returned totheir owners (including trade agreements held by theHacan).

The Secondary Ability simply allows players to col-lect Trade Goods for their active trade agreements asdescribed on page 24.

Note: Players cannot collect Trade Goods for atrade agreement just formed during the sameAction.

6. THE WARFARE STRATEGYThe Warfare Strategy Card's Primary Ability is bothextremely flexible and powerful as it gives the activeplayer a plurality of tactical options, such as activat-ing a system twice, or moving a fleet twice, etc.

The Secondary Ability can be very useful under theright circumstances. It allows a player to move up totwo Cruiser/Destroyer units (from the same or differ-ent systems) to adjacent empty systems (see the defi-nition of an empty system on page 25). These unitsmay move even if their current system is activated(which normally prohibits any movement). Althoughthe destination systems become activated, theCommand Counters used for these activations comefrom your reinforcements and not from your RaceSheet.

The ships are allowed to move into an already activat-ed empty system(s), in which case no CommandCounter is placed in the system.

Note that a player executing the Secondary Ability isallowed to move the two Destroyer/Cruiser units intotwo different systems, or into the same system. Theships must move into an adjacent system (and no far-ther) regardless of the movement rate of the units.

Since movement is prohibited through a system con-taining one or more enemy ships (except for Fighters),a lone patrolling Destroyer or Cruiser can effectivelyact as barrier against a deep strike by a fast enemyfleet.

7. THE TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY

The Technology Strategy is the primary avenue forplayers to gain access to the exciting and helpfulTechnology Cards found in each player's TechnologyDeck. The primary ability of the Technology Strategygives the active player a free technology advance ofhis choice. The active player simply takes aTechnology Card from his Technology Deck andplaces the card face up in his play area. He can nowenjoy the benefits of this Technology advance.

IMPORTANT: As noted on page 24, a TechnologyCard can only be acquired if its player has alreadyacquired its prerequisite technologies (as stated oneach Technology Card).

The Secondary Ability allows a player to purchase aTechnology advance from his Technology Deck. Aplayer must spend 8 resources to take a TechnologyCard from his Technology Deck and place it face upin his play area (subject to owning the prerequisitetechnologies, if any).

8. THE IMPERIAL STRATEGY

The Primary Ability of the Imperial Strategy Cardreveals a Public Objective Card to the common playarea, and then provides 2 victory points for the activeplayer.

Should the active player draw the “Game Over”Public Objective Card, the game ends immediately-even before the active player receives his two victorypoints.

The secondary ability allows a player to produce unitsin system he has already activated or build units in aunactivated system without activating it. This is apowerful ability, as a player could potentially buildunits in system twice, or build units in an unactivatedsystem, allowing those new units to move during alater Tactical/Transfer Action of the same game round.

Indexaction cards 5, 15, 22action cards, sabotage 22action phase 7actions 9activated 11activation 10activation sequence 10active player 9agenda 5, 23anti-fighter barrage 30asteroid fields 18bombardment 30bonus counters 5, 9capacity 29capacity, fighter 29carrier transport 27carriers 28casualties 16command areas 15command counters 5,15, 20command pool area 21components, overview 4-6control markers 5cost, paying 22cruisers 29damage 30destroyers 30diplomacy strategy 36distant suns 33domain counters 33dreadnoughts 30enemy 10exhausting planets 21fighters 29first player 6five-player game 31fleet 12fleet supply area 21four-player game 31friendly 10Galactic Council 23game round 7ground forces 27home systems 18imperial strategy 38Imperium Rex 14influence, spending 21initiative strategy 36invasion 12invasion combat 12, 17invasion defense 29laws 23Lazax survivors 33-34Leaders 34logistics strategy 37map hexes 4merchants guild 25

movement, ships 11nebulas 18objective cards 26objective cards, public 7objective cards, secret 7order of play 7, 11passing 14PDS 29PDS fire 11, 17, 28phases 7planet cards 4, 15planet cards, receiving 17planet cards, refresh 15planetary landings 12planetary shield 29planets 19planets, exhausting 21plastic units 4player actions 9player turns 9political cards 5, 23political strategy 37primary ability 9probing 33produce units 12production 14public objective cards 5, 7, 14, 26race sheet 20races 17razing 33refresh 15regular systems 18reinforcement area 4reinforcements 4, 6, 12repair 15resources, spending 21retreats 15round 7sabotage 22sabotage run 35scuttling 19secondary ability 9secret objective cards 5, 7, 14, 26sequence, activation 10sequence, status 14sequence, transfer 12ships, movement 11space battle 12, 15space cannon 29space dock 26speaker token 6special systems 18status phase 7, 14status sequence 14strategic action 9, 14strategy allocation area 21strategy card 5, 7, 11, 15

strategy, diplomacy 36strategy, imperial 38strategy, initiative 36strategy, logistics 37strategy, political 37strategy, technology 38strategy, trade 37strategy, warfare 37supernovas 18supplement tokens, fighter 6, 19supplement tokens, ground force 6, 19systems 4systems, empty 25systems, regular 18tactical action 10technology advances 24technology cards 4technology specialties 24technology strategy 38technology tree 42-43three-player game 31trade agreements 24trade agreements, breaking 25trade cards 5, 24trade contracts 24trade good counters5, 25trade strategy 37trade supply 6trade value 5, 25transfer action 12transfer sequence 12turns 9units 4units, building 26units, carrier 28units, cruiser 29units, destroyer 30units, dreadnought 30units, fighter 29units, ground forces 27units, limitations 18units, PDS 29units, scuttling 19units, war sun 30victory point track 6votes, elect 23votes, for/against 23voting 23war suns 30warfare strategy 38winning 14withdrawals 15wormholes 18

It started in May 1997. After much toil and many financial woes, my fledglingpublishing company (Fantasy Flight Games "FFG") finally managed to publishthe first edition of Twilight Imperium ("TI"). In retrospect it turned out to be aperfect period in which to publish a new board game. Although it did not occurto me then, this was the dry time between the almost non-existent publicationschedule of the fading Avalon Hill, and still a few years before the invasion ofthe magnificent "German style" games in the U.S.

The first edition of TI, which also was FFG's inaugural game publication, was afair success, selling through two print runs and several expansions over the nextfew years. This success was a defining moment for FFG, as it set the course anddirection of where the company is today.

In late 1999, TI sold out of its second printing, and its expansions were all nearlygone as well. At that time, our "Diskwars" game had become a big success, stabi-lizing the company and allowing me to consider a rework and improvement of TIitself. After years of playing TI and listening to feedback from players, I felt thatimprovements in game length, balance, and components could be made andwould be appreciated.

After a period of redesign and playtesting, FFG released Twilight ImperiumSecond Edition in the late fall of 2000. The graphical presentation, components,and design had all been dramatically improved. After a successful launch of themain game, we published the expansion "Hope's End" in the summer of 2001.Over this period, it was fun to see a community of TI players and fans starting toemerge. Especially satisfying for me was the fact that many players had taken agenuine liking to the history and races that I had created for the game.

Throughout this time, FFG kept growing, kept evolving, and kept developing andimproving its manufacturing knowledge and standards. With the success of"Diskwars" and our d20 role-playing games, FFG had started to move away from"big box" board games in order to concentrate on smaller games such as TomJolly's Drakon, Reiner Knizia's Kingdoms, and Bruno Faidutti's Citadels.

The hobby games market was now in the middle of the German board gameinvasion. Wonderful board games such as The Settlers of Catan, Formula De,Lost Cities and many others were being discovered and devoured by the boardgame enthusiasts. The more simulation-oriented "old school" U.S. board gameswere no longer in vogue, and by many dismissed as dinosaurs in a new age ofboard games. Although a little harsh, there nevertheless was good reason for theargument. The German board games brought with them a simplicity and elegancethat was capable of producing a rewarding game experience with little playerdown-time. The quality of the German game components was incredible; thickcardboard, linen paper, color rules, and "lay-flat" game boards. Most games hadshort playing times, lasting less than an hour, allowing players to enjoy two ormore games in a single evening.

After a few years, as the German board game style was slowly being taken forgranted and the romance with them no longer as new and exciting, some interest-ing undercurrents arose among the player communities. Although brilliant inmechanics and elegance, the themes of the German games were often thin. Some

players started to notice that the sense of immersion was not as rewarding as thegames of the "old school" past.

Before TI 2nd edition sold out in the early spring of 2003, I had again started tothink about the future of "big box" board games for FFG. Truly inspired by theGerman game designs, I began to develop an entirely new personal approach togame design. I felt that it would be possible to merge the flavor of "old school"U.S. games with the German design principles. Personally, I felt that my designcapability had matured significantly over the preceding few years, and that I wasat a place where I was able to execute this vision with some effect.

FFG published my "A Game of Thrones" board game (based on the fantasticseries of books by George RR Martin) in the fall of 2003. Encouraged by itsimmediate success and its positive critical reception, I turned my attention backto TI, which had been growing in my mind for many months.

At this point, FFG was in an entirely different situation than where we had beenbefore publishing either of the two first editions of TI. Our manufacturing capa-bilities, our graphics capabilities, and our market reach had expanded and grown.As FFG now seemed capable of producing the version of TI that I had alwaysdreamed of, I felt ready to tackle a TI remake. It is possible that FFG could sim-ply have reprinted TI with some nicer pieces and artwork, but I was interested intruly moving the TI experience and system to a whole new level.

After inviting the TI community to make suggestions, and after a great deal ofthought, I dug into the design during the spring of 2004. At first, the progresswas slow. Not only did the CEO duties of FFG often distract me from the cre-ative process, but the design goals I wanted to achieve were quite ambitious.

These design goals included:1) To increase player participation. (Like most hobby games of their time, TI andTI2 were dominated by a single-player phase resolution, resulting in a lot ofdown-time for non-active players),2) To reduce the game time,3) To reduce player tendency/incentive to “turtle” (or stall) the game whileamassing enormous fleets, and4) To bring the game fluidly together in a more cohesive whole.

My fundamental answer was TI3's "Command System." This simple resourceallocation mechanic allowed me to simulate interlacing board movement and, byusing the same resource, to define fleet size limits. By splitting the player turninto Command Counter based single actions, most of the player downtime wasremoved, fleets where reduced, and almost everything fell into place. Not onlydid the Command System fix most of my concerns on the higher level of gameplay, but it dramatically changed the tactical part of the game play into some-thing that I had always wanted. Rather than facing grand-strategic big-fleet "youblinked first" tactics that would often dominate the previous editions, the newdesign of single "activations" suddenly made tactical timing important and tacti-cal reaction possible.

D E S I G N E R N O T E S

The Command System provided an almost "simultaneous" staggered movement, enhancing realismand excitement. In TI3, as a player takes his turn, he hopefully will no longer perceive the gameboard as static and frozen, but consider it in a new light; reactive, unpredictable, and alive.

Although the Command System solved most of my goals, I still needed to simplify the phase struc-ture to streamline the game flow. Improving the tactics was not enough; it was important that TI keptthe flavor that made it unique, such as retaining the political cards and interstellar trade. For this, Ihave relied on one of the most exciting developments and innovations in the "German" school ofgame design.

The Strategy Card mechanic of TI3 originates from an inspired evolution within German boardgames. From the small but clever Verrater by Marcel-André Casasola Merkle, to Citadels by BrunoFaidutti, a development had begun that, in my opinion, will change the board games of the future.The principle innovation of these games was that the typical "Phases" were greatly simplified, withthe core game engagement now tied elegantly to components (in Citadel’s case, the Character Cards)rather than a heavy list of phases. Wolfgang Kramer also touched on this evolution in a different way,with the magnificent El Grande. In El Grande the essential component, the action cards, do not simu-late phases as in Citadels, but prod players forward by having them choose specific strategies in aperfect-information environment. The engaging Vinci by Philippe Keyaerts introduced the wonderful"increasing value" system that provided balance to unselected abilities by increasing their value everyturn until selected. Andreas Seyfarth took this evolution a step further as he combined the above ele-ments (as well as adding his own innovation) in the wonderfully crafted and popular Puerto Rico.Puerto Rico merged the dynamic phases (Verrater, Citadels), perfect information selection strategy(El Grande), and the increasing value mechanic (Vinci) of its illustrious predecessors.

This series of brilliant developments provided me with the tools needed to break free of the stagnantlinear phase structures that have dominated our simulation games of the past.

In TI, the "Strategy Cards" use and build upon these wonderful innovations. With the Strategy Cardbeing executed as a part of the TI action phase, I could introduce the necessary "Phase" blocks seam-lessly into the game flow. Not only did this allow me to retain the TI flavor, but weave the mechanicinto the game in a way that smoothly integrated with the Command System.

I think that the end result is quite exciting. Although players will be the final judges of whether Ihave succeeded in my goals or not, I am hopeful that this version of TI will stand up to its rivals in aperiod of innovative board game design.

I hope that you will enjoy this version of TI.

Best Wishes,

Christian T. PetersenPax Magnifica!

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT TREE

The real points of interest in the TI galaxy are itsplanets. Each planet is printed with its resourcevalue, influence value, and possibly a technolo-gy specialty. When a player successfully invadesa planet (neutral or enemy), he immediatelyclaims its corresponding Planet Card.

Resources represent a planet's economic surplus,which can be used by its owner to purchase unitsand technology.

Influence represents a planet's population, knowl-edge base, and/or political importance. Influenceis used to acquire Command Counters, to playcertain Action Cards, and to provide vital votes atthe Galactic Council.

Technology specialties represent a certain localknowledge or a natural resource important to aspecific area of science. This provides the ownerof the planet with a discount resource towardspurchasing advances of that technology type.

The Planets of TWILIGHT IMPERIUM

ResourcesInfluenceTechnology

Specialty

PlanetName

Domain Effects (Distant Suns Option)

RRADIATIONThe planet contains unexpected highlevels of radiation. Kill all the GroundForces of the initial landing, thenremove this counter.

BBIOHAZARDThe hostile environment of this planetrequires terraforming. The first GroundForce unit to land here is always elimi-nated while this token remains. Thefirst player to successfully invade thisplanet may remove this counter.

HHOSTILE LLOCALSThe local population will not be sub-dued. The indicated number of localGround Forces will fight any invader(allow another player to roll their com-bat dice). If an invasion attempt fails,the locals return to their full indicatedstrength. May not be bombarded.Discard after a successful invasion.

Lazax SurvivorsA discovery of ancient prophecy. Youmay take this counter to receive 3 addi-tional votes towards all future politicalagendas. (See additional functions forthe Lazax survivors on page 42-43).

SSETTLERSReturn all of your Ground Forces totheir Carrier/War Sun. Roll a die. On aresult of 6+, place two free GroundForces on the planet from your rein-forcements. On a roll of 1-5, determinea random opponent. That opponentplaces two free Ground Forces from hisreinforcements on the planet. Then dis-card this counter.

PPEACEFUL ANNEXATIONThe landing proceeds without incident.Discard this counter.

IINDUSTRIAL SSOCIETYAn industrious and friendly populacewelcomes you. You may immediatelyplace a free Space Dock here. ThePlanet card for this planet is notexhausted when you receive it. Discardthis counter.

TTECHNOLOGICAL SSOCIETYThe player to your left must searchthrough your Technology deck and giveyou a free technology advance forwhich you have the necessary prerequi-sites. Then discard this counter.

WWORMHOLE DDISCOVERYA new wormhole has been discoveredin the system near this planet. Place thiscounter in the middle of the system toindicate the presence of the wormhole.This wormhole will connect to itsbrethren (alpha or beta) following thenormal rules for wormholes.

NNATURAL WWEALTHThis planet has resources available forimmediate exploitation. Receive thenumber of Trade Goods indicated, ifable. Then discard this counter.

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