Combat

• The active player is the attacker, and all other players in the hex are the defenders
• Place a number of shield counters equal to each unit’s shield rating behind that unit. Shields do not
regenerate between rounds.
• Organize Fleets
o First the defender then the attacker places units into 3 zones (0,1,2)
o Zone 0 must have more units than Zone 1, and Zone 1 must have more units than Zone 2.
However some zones may be empty
o The attacker must place all civilian units into Zone 2. This is an exception to the above.
• First Fire
o Compare the tech level of the attacker’s highest tech warship with the defender’s highest tech
unit. The player with the higher tech level has First Fire.
o Only units with a tech level higher than your opponent get First Fire
o Follow the Fire Procedure for First Fire, but destroyed ships are immediately removed and do not
get to return fire.
o Re-evaluate the tech advantage every combat round
o If there is no advantage, there is no First Fire phase
• Second Fire
o After First Fire, remaining units may fire. Units that fired during First Fire do not fire again.
o Units eliminated by Second Fire get to fire back
• Fire Procedure
o Penetration Fire: Before rolling any dice, first the defender and then the attacker must choose
which Destroyers are conducting Penetration Fire. Remove one shield from these Destroyers. To
conduct Penetration Fire, a Destroyer must have at least 1 shield.
o The attacker rolls 1 die for each warship. If the result is less than or equal to the warship’s
combat rating, the defender receives a number of hits equal to the die result, otherwise that
warship misses.
o The defender rolls 1 die for each unit. If the result is less than, or equal to, the unit’s combat
rating, the attacker receives a number of hits equal to the die result, otherwise that unit misses.
o Zone modifier: The combat rating of units in Zone 2 is reduced by 2. The combat rating of units
in Zone 1 is reduced by 1.
• Resolve Hits
o First the defender chooses which shields and units of the attacker’s fleet he/she wishes to remove.
o Then the attacker chooses which shields and units of the defender’s fleet he/she wishes to remove.
o You may only remove an opposing ship after all its shields are gone.
o You may not apply damage to units in a higher numbered zone unless all units in all lower
numbered zones are eliminated.
o You may apply hits from penetration fire to units in either Zone 0 or 1 or both.
• Retreat
o Both players may agree to end combat and join forces, with no one retreating, or they may
negotiate a retreat that does not require the retreating player to leave any units behind.
o First the defender then the attacker may move some of his/her units to a single adjacent hex.
o You may not retreat into a hex that contains opposing warships.
o If possible, units must retreat to a hex that is closer to your home world.
o Units may not retreat into a hex that is not within the support range of at least 1 friendly planet or
station. Cruisers and Stations do not require support.
o If you choose to retreat, you must leave at least 1 warship in the hex for each opposing warship.
If you cannot, retreat is not possible.
• End of Battle
o Combat continues until all units from one side are eliminated or have retreated.
o If neither side has rolled a hit in 3 rounds, combat ends and the attacker must retreat all units and
may not leave screening warships behind.
o If the attacker runs out of warships but the defender has 1 or more warships, the defender may
either allow the attacker to retreat civilian units, or the defender may attack those units. Continue
the battle with the roles reversed.
o If the attacker runs out of warships and the defender has no warships or chooses not to counter
attack, the attacker must retreat and may not leave screening units behind.

Planet Attack
• If your units are in a hex that contains an opposing home world or colony and no opposing using
remain in the hex, your Battleships may bombard and your Assault Boats may attempt to conquer.
• Planet attacks take place after any battle is resolved.
• Bombardment
o Battleships may bombard once during your Contact Step.
o Roll a die for each Battleship and sum the hits (do not add rolls that are misses, i.e. a 6).
o If the total is greater than the planet’s industrial level, the planet is bombarded.
o Reduce the planet’s industrial level by 1 step and remove all units from the planet’s Resources
and New Builds box.
o If the total is less than the industrial level of the planet, there is no effect.
o If a planet is reduced to industrial level 0, its tech level becomes 0 and the planet becomes
uninhabited.
• Conquest
o After bombardment, Assault Boats may attempt to conquer the planet. You may only attempt to
conquer a planet once during your Contact Step; you cannot conquer an uninhabited planet.
o Announce how many Assault Boats are being committed. No uncommitted Assault Boats or any
other unit can be harmed during a conquest attempt.
o A planet’s combat rating is equal to one half of its tech level, rounded up.
o The planet fires at the committed Assault Boats. Roll dice equal to the planet’s industrial level.
For each roll less than, or equal to, the planet’s combat rating, eliminate 1 assault boat. Ignore
shields. Planet’s never score multi-point hits
o If 1 or more Assault Boats survive, you conquer the planet.
o Take the conquered planet’s data card from your opponent. The planet retains its industrial and
tech levels. All IOUs, ore and trade goods in the planet’s Resources & New Units box remain on
the planet and become yours. Any units in the Resources & New Units box are destroyed.