Throneworld

Throneworld Rulebook

Table of Contents

1. Overview

Players direct the expansion of one of six different alien empires, starting from a single homeworld. During production turns, players build new space fleets and ground forces. These are then 'jumped' to nearby planetary systems to conquer them. Conquered worlds usually add their development value to their empire's production total. Players will also perform research each turn to improve one of their empires' four technology ratings:

Jump: how far fleets may Jump and how distant a system may be and still add to its empire's production. Jump also affects drop invasions past enemy Shields.
Comm (communications): how far Command Bunkers may Jam enemy actions, Scan unknown systems or command fleets to Jump and perform regular invasions.
Space: how well an empire's fleets fight in space.
Ground: how well an empire's armies fight on the ground.

Technologies improve during play. For example, a player who researched Ground tech above and rolled a "3" or higher (on one die) would move his or her GROUND marker one space to the right which, in this case, would improve Ground tech from three to four.

The map consists of hexes, each containing one system or world.

The outer ring of hexes contains the player homeworlds and the sparsely settled fringe worlds.
The central hex holds the Imperial Throneworld. Six tiles list its possible forces and combat technologies; one is chosen randomly each game during setup and placed face down in this hex.
Next to the Throneworld are the inner worlds. Between them and the fringe worlds lie the outer worlds.

Generally, fringe worlds, outer worlds, inner worlds and the Throneworld are progressively harder to conquer.

Each world is described by a system tile, placed during setup. Some hexes are not used depending on how many players are playing. Each tile lists the following:

Development Value: the economic value of the system, ranging from 0-6 (homeworlds and the Throneworld are 10). Systems with a value of 0 are empty systems.
Combat Technologies: the space and ground technologies of any defending forces.
Neutral Forces: the fleet and/or army defending it. Empty systems have no forces.

Space combat occurs after Jumping a fleet into a system that has unfriendly fleets. Ground combat occurs when invading an unfriendly system.

Combat is fought in rounds, until one side is destroyed or, in space only, retreats. Each round, both sides fire their units by rolling dice as indicated on the battle mats (a unit may roll different numbers of dice when defending instead of attacking). Every "6" rolled is a hit. If one side has a greater space/ground technology than the other, it adds this difference to its die rolls (the other side's units still hit on "6s"). Most units, except Heavy Infantry and Command Bunkers, are destroyed after one hit. In space, each Shield can absorb one hit every round. Thus, it takes four hits in one round to do any damage at all to a fleet with three Shields. Owners assign losses and, in space, check cargo capacity, drop invasions and any retreats before starting the next round.

Each player has a hand of five action chits, one of which can be played each turn. Action chits allow extra production, research, sabotage, etc. Some chits (Intercept and Jam) allow players to react to or block other empires' actions.

The goal is to take a set number of systems, varying with the number of players. The Throneworld is worth six systems. Once a player controls enough systems, a victory attempt begins. If a full turn passes without this player's system total being surpassed or driven below the number needed, then that player wins!

To begin a victory attempt, a player must control both more systems than any other player and at least the number of systems listed below:

# of Players	2	3	4	5	6
# of Systems	16	15	14	13	12

The Throneworld is worth six systems.

Unless a victory attempt is in progress, play proceeds in turns of three phases:

A. Expansion: each player in order makes either up to three Jumps and/or Scans or one Transfer, followed by possibly playing an action chit and drawing new chit(s).
B. Empire: resolve research, one event and then, possibly, production.
C. End: flip over all used Command Bunkers; determine next turn's player order.

During victory attempts, player order remains fixed and there is no empire phase.

2. Setup

Players will need two cups or small bowls to draw chits from.

A. Unfold the board. If desired, determine player seating and colors randomly by drawing homeworld tiles from a cup (they are labeled A-F on their backs for this purpose only).

B. Shuffle the empire mats face down and deal one to each player to determine the races. A race with a tech specialty (the Buralti, Pasha, Q'teni or Trill) should use its tan labeled tech marker instead of its own colored marker. To set up your empire mat, place your four technology counters in the left most technology box, your fleet markers in their boxes, and set your Empire Production (this tracks your empire's income) to 10 (12 if Zytal) and your Homeworld Treasury (your empire's money) to 10 (12 if Zytal).

C. Map Setup. This varies each game. There are five types of system tiles: Homeworlds, Throneworlds, Inner worlds, Outer worlds and Fringe worlds. Separate the system tiles into these groups. The diagrams on the Throneworld Setup Charts show which type of system tile goes in each map hex based on the number of players. Place the tiles on the planet icons in those hexes.

i. Each player places their Homeworld tile on the HW hex nearest them.

ii. Mix the six Throneworld tiles face down and place one face down on the central hex.

iii. Mix fringe, inner and outer world tiles separately. Place them face down as shown.

iv. Place NOT IN PLAY markers on all out of play hexes that border hexes in play.

v. Set aside all extra unplaced system tiles without looking at them.

D. Sort the combat units and place them nearby for access during play. In your homeworld hex, place two Command Bunkers on the "ground" icon and one Shield and two of your colored Survey Team markers on the "space" icon. Put an OWNER chit in the "1" box of the Controlled Systems track and put your PLAYER ORDER chit on the Turn Order track.

E. Place the event and action chits in separate cups. Each player draws five action chits. These chits may be freely inspected but should not be shown to other players.

F. Place the Production marker in the production box labelled "start" and the other game markers in their labelled boxes. Roll a die to determine player order for the first turn.

[Setup chart note: the printed "Throneworld Setup Charts" page (page 2) shows a hex-map diagram for each player count from 2 to 6, marking which tile type (Homeworld HW, Throneworld TW, Inner world, Outer world, Fringe world, or Not in Play) goes in each hex. The diagrams are graphics and are not reproduced as text here; consult the printed chart. Key: TW = Throne World; HW = Home World; Inner World, Outer World, Fringe World, and Not in Play hexes are shaded/marked as in the printed key. The setup arrow on each chart aligns it with the board.]

3. Outreach

New players should read the next section before doing this.

After setup but before the first turn of play, players may (simultaneously) make two Survey Team Jumps and then, if desired, spend treasury credits to buy units at their homeworlds. Adjust treasury markers appropriately, saving unspent credits.

4. Movement, Units and Combat Basics

This section explains enough of the movement and combat rules to allow players to perform Outreach and start playing.

4.1 Jumps. In Throneworld, movement occurs by ordering a fleet to Jump from one hex to another during an empire's expansion phase. The hex where a fleet starts is its origin hex. Each Jump requires an unused Command Bunker (a type of ground unit) within Comm (communications) range of the jumping fleet's origin hex to be used (flipped over to its USED side) to order that Jump.

4.11 Each Command Bunker can be used once per turn (but still defends normally in ground combat that turn if it is attacked after it has been used).

The Jump destination hex must be within Jump range of the origin hex but need not be in Comm range of the Command Bunker that ordered that Jump.

Jumping a fleet out of command has two effects: First, any army aboard may only perform drop invasions, not regular invasions. Second, that fleet will be unable to Jump until it is back in command, either by increasing that empire's Comm range or by building or moving (via a Transfer) a Command Bunker near enough to it.

All movement is 'point-to-point', directly from one hex to another ignoring the contents of all intervening (in-play) hexes.

Diagram caption (page 3): "Fleet 1, using the Command Bunker shown, is making a Jump of range 2 (to an already Scanned system)."

4.2 Ranges. An empire's Comm range is equal to its current Comm technology rating; its Jump range is equal to its current Jump technology rating.

4.21 When counting ranges, treat the origin hex as "0". Thus, an adjacent hex is range "1". The path used when counting a range has no effect; however, Not in Play hexes may not be used to count ranges.

Diagram caption (page 3): "This empire has Jump and Comm 1. It uses one Command Bunker to order the Survey Team to Jump, placing a Scan marker in hex A (note that this hex is beyond that Bunker's Comm range). It then uses the other Command Bunker to Scan the system in hex B."

4.3 Survey Teams and Scans. A fleet consisting solely of one or more Survey Team ships may be Jumped to any hex within Jump range. Other fleets may be Jumped only to hexes which already have Scan markers of their owning empire.

Scan markers are placed in two different ways:

By Jumping a Survey Team to a system. Upon its arrival, if it survives (see 4.52 below), place a Scan marker of its empire on the scan icon in that hex.
By Scanning a system. Place a Scan marker on the scan icon in that hex.

Scans may be performed in place of Jumps during an empire's expansion phase. To do so, flip a Command Bunker over to its USED side and place a Scan marker in the target hex, which must be within Comm range of that Command Bunker.

4.31 Once placed, Scan markers are never removed. The owner of a Scan marker may examine that hex's system tile at any time (but may not show it to other players).

4.4 Capturing Unowned Empty Systems. Most system tiles list a positive development value and various neutral defending units. Some systems are empty; they list no neutral forces and have a zero development value. An empty system may be initially captured, possibly during Outreach, by simply sending any fleet, even one consisting solely of Survey Team(s), to its hex.

4.41 Only unowned, face down empty systems may be captured by fleets. All other systems, even if they have no forces, require an invasion to capture them (see below).

4.5 Units, Fleets and Cargo. Units may be built either at a homeworld (by spending credits from the HW treasury equal to their cost) or at other worlds (via local production, see 6.3). There are eleven types of units:

Two units, Shields and Command Bunkers, are static units and may not Jump with fleets. Static units may only be moved (between two systems belonging to the same empire) via a Transfer (see 5.1).
Four units (Assault Troops, Heavy Infantry, Light Infantry and Drop Troops) are non-static ground units. These may be Jumped between systems by being carried aboard a fleet, each unit requiring one cargo space while aboard.
Protectors and Motherships are space units which provide cargo space.
A Fighter is a space unit that, unlike a ground unit (which can be left behind at a system), requires one cargo space at all times. Otherwise, it is destroyed.

4.51 A player may choose to destroy Fighters to gain cargo spaces for ground units.

Strategy Tip. Build units only if you find an easy to conquer system. Since the first turn is 'scheduled' to be a production turn, you'll be able to spend your treasury (plus your new production) soon. Saving and making two Survey Team Jumps on your first turn to gather more information is often better than attempting a risky combat.

Diagram captions (page 3): "This Protector (with cargo capacity 2) is full, carrying one Fighter (which requires a cargo space at all times) and one Heavy Infantry (which requires a cargo space to accompany this fleet whenever it Jumps)."

Blasters and Survey Teams are ships that don't provide or require cargo space.

4.52 Survey Teams do not fight; they are destroyed instantly if they are ever in a hex with a face up, non-friendly fleet (composed of ships other than Survey Teams) unless accompanied by non-Survey Team ships of their own empire.

Place units (other than Shields, Command Bunkers, Survey Teams and any ground units left behind when ships move) on players' empire mats organized into fleets, placing the appropriate fleet markers on their hexes' space icons.

4.53 Since a system's owner may freely shift ground units between space and ground (except for any units that just arrived by Intercept, see 8.3) prior to resolving a Jump, battle or chit, ground units should always be kept with their fleets until left behind.

4.54 Some counters represent multiple (x3, x5, x10) units. These allow players to see your fleet contents at a glance; "change" may be made among these units at any time.

4.6 Battles, Regular Invasions and Capture. Once a (non-Survey Team) fleet enters a system with neutral forces, that neutral's tile is flipped face up, its forces are placed and a space battle occurs. Once a neutral's fleet is destroyed, ground units aboard the attacking fleet may invade, if this system is in Comm range of the Command Bunker that ordered this fleet's Jump, producing a ground battle.

The combat procedure is mostly the same (except for retreats) for space and ground battles. Note that ground units do not fire in space battles and vice versa.

In battle rounds, both sides roll dice for each of their units involved (either space or ground as relevant) as shown on the battle mats (most units roll different numbers of dice when attacking and defending). "6s" are hits, adjusted +1 per tech advantage (in Space or Ground tech as relevant) of the firing side.

The attacker fires first. Each hit destroys one unit, except for Command Bunkers (3 hits) and Heavy Infantry (2 hits). Each Shield can absorb one hit, negating its effect, per round. Damage on multi-hit units does not accumulate from one round to the next. The defender chooses losses (in ground combat, Command Bunkers are lost first, possibly protecting other units) and then returns fire with all units, including those just lost. The attacker chooses losses and all units which were destroyed that round are then removed.

In space battles, both sides then check cargo capacity, eliminating units if needed, before possibly retreating. Ground units may never retreat from ground combat.

4.61 Attacking Drop Troops may use first fire (the defender does not get to fire back with units lost to first fire) during the first round of ground combat (only). Attacking non-Drop Troops (and surviving defenders) do still fire that round; however, if first fire is used, first fire hits may not be combined with non-first fire hits to kill a defending Command Bunker or Heavy Infantry that the first fire failed to destroy.

4.62 All hits (except those absorbed by Shields or which fail to destroy a Command Bunker) must be taken as losses if possible. A Heavy Infantry and Assault Troop that take one hit must lose the Assault; if they take two hits, they must lose the Heavy.

If the neutral's ground forces are destroyed, and the attacker has at least one surviving ground unit, then the attacker captures this system. Flip its Scan marker over to its "owner" side and add one to that player's number of systems.

If a captured system is within Jump range of that empire's homeworld, increase the Empire Production Total of that empire by the system's development value; if not, place a LOCAL PRODUCTION marker on this system.

4.7 Drop Invasions. After surviving one round of space combat, including checking cargo capacity, a fleet carrying drop units (Drop Troops and/or Trill Light Infantry) may, even if this system is beyond Comm range of the Command Bunker which ordered this fleet's Jump, drop invade with these troops, provided the defending space force either contains no Shields or the attacker's Jump tech is at least equal to the defender's Space tech.

After troops are dropped, the attacking fleet may either retreat (back to the system it came from) or stay. After making this decision, a round of ground combat is then fought, then another round of space combat, etc. If the system is captured in ground combat, any remaining neutral space ships are immediately destroyed (ships owned by a defending player may retreat or fight on, see 8.3).

4.71 If the defending space forces are destroyed during a subsequent round of space combat, any other ground troops aboard may then perform a regular invasion if this hex is within Comm range of the Command Bunker that ordered the attacking fleet's Jump, adding to the Drop Troops (and/or Trill Light Infantry) already on the ground.

Sample Regular Invasion (page 4). A Protector, with a Light and Heavy Infantry (total cost 10 credits), Jumps to a neutral without any defending space units. This neutral is within Comm range of the Command Bunker ordering this Jump so the attacker can do a regular invasion. Defending on the ground are two Light Infantry units. Both sides have Ground tech "1".

The attacker rolls three dice (two for the Light Infantry and one for the Heavy Infantry) and gets one "6", a hit. The defender loses one Light Infantry (but gets to return fire with it) and rolls two dice, also rolling a "6". The attacker now must lose the Light Infantry (if the defender had instead hit twice, the attacker would have had to lose the Heavy Infantry).

At this point the next round of ground combat should occur. However, since the defender (down to one die on defense) will never be able to roll two hits in one round to kill the attacking Heavy Infantry, which will eventually roll a "6" to destroy the defending Light Infantry, the players don't bother rolling it out and the attacker wins, capturing this system.

Sample Drop Invasion (page 4). A Protector, with a Fighter and a Drop Troop (total cost 10 credits), Jumps to this neutral (which need not be in Comm range of the Command Bunker that ordered this Jump). Both the attacker and neutral have Space and Ground tech 1.

In Space, the attacker rolls three dice and gets one hit which the defending Shield absorbs. The Shield rolls one die and misses. The attacker then drop invades (past the enemy Shield since the attacker's Jump tech is at least "1" and thus equal to the defender's Space tech) and lands the Drop Troop.

Before fighting the first round of ground combat, the attacker must choose to either stay or retreat in space. Since the defending Shield failed to hit, the attacker elects to stay another round.

Defending on the ground is one Light Infantry. The Drop Troop has first fire, rolls two dice and hits. The Light Infantry does not get to fire back. The attacker then captures this system, removing the defending neutral Shield before the next round of space combat would occur.

Note: the printed "STOP" marker on page 4 reads: "The rules above, especially the invasion examples, coupled with study of the unit chart, should give new players enough information to perform Outreach. Once players are finished with Outreach, step through the first turn or two slowly until all players are comfortable with the sequence of play."

5. Expansion Phase

During expansion, each player acts in order, performing all three expansion steps (move, action chit and draw) before the next player performs any of them.

5.1 Transfer, Jump and Scan Notes.

A Transfer consists of moving as many units as desired from one world owned by the current player to another world also owned by that player. Neither of the two worlds involved may be blockaded (by having another player's fleet, with non-Survey Team ships in it, present at that system).

A Transfer differs from a Jump in several other ways:

Static units (Shields and Command Bunkers) may move only via a Transfer.
The worlds involved may be separated by more than that player's Jump range.
Transfer doesn't require use of a Command Bunker (and may not be Jammed).
Cargo space is ignored for all ground units being Transferred.

Jumps and Scans, and any resulting battles, are performed as described above in section 4, with the following notes:

No unit may Jump (or be ordered to Jump) more than once in the same turn.
All Jumps and Scans are proposed before any of them are resolved. Thus, a Survey Team may not Jump 'ahead' to produce a scan marker for a fleet to Jump to on that same turn nor may cargo be 'chained forward' from fleet to fleet. When proposing Jumps, the active player may first adjust and then should state which ground units are aboard the Jumping fleets and which units are being left behind.
Two or three fleets may Jump to the same system. They all arrive before any combat takes place and then fire together. However, each fleet manages its cargo capacity separately and, if the attacker retreats, each retreating fleet must retreat back to the system it came from.
A fleet already orbiting a system may invade it as per the normal movement and combat rules. This is considered a Jump of distance zero.

Finally, Scans and Jumps may be Jammed, and Jumps to player owned worlds may be Intercepted, once empires are close enough to interact (see section 8).

5.2 Action Chits. Each player has a hand of five action chits.

Three action chit types each list two of the following actions: HW Return, Jam and Intercept. The player decides which of these will be used when the chit is played. Jam and Intercept are played in response to another player's proposed expansion or to counter-Jam Jam chits played against you (see section 8).

During expansion, a player may play one chit (and, if desired, turn in another one) or turn in up to five chits. The chits which may be played during expansion are:

Artifact. Perform two research attempts (see Section 6.1) one at a time, either in the same or two different technologies.

Economic Boom 3-6. Select one of the following options:

Perform local production (see Section 6.3) at two of your non-homeworld systems (or at the Throneworld, instead, provided you didn't just conquer it this turn, see section 10).
Add 10 credits to your homeworld treasury (12 if Zytal; half if captured, see section 9). If desired, these credits, plus any credits that you have previously saved, may be spent immediately to build units at your homeworld.
Increase the development value of one of your non-blockaded systems by the value of this chit (3-6), up to a maximum development value of 6. If appropriate, adjust your empire production total (see 6.3).

HW Return. Transfer units from up to two of your (non-blockaded) systems to your (non-blockaded) homeworld. These units may have Jumped earlier this turn.

Sabotage 3-4. Select one of the following options:

Reduce the development value of another player's system by the value of this chit (3-4), but never below that system's original printed development value.
Reduce another player's force, except one located at a homeworld or Throneworld owned by that player, by this chit's value (3-4), counting Shields and Heavy Infantry as 2 each and Command Bunkers as 3 each. You choose the point split between ground and space units; the owner chooses which units are lost (but must satisfy the indicated losses if possible). At least one unit must be left in each fleet or army present. Ships carrying cargo may not be removed unless their cargo is also removed.
Reduce a neutral force at a non-Throneworld system Scanned by your empire by this chit's value (3-4), counting Shields and Heavy Infantry as 2 each and Command Bunkers as 3 each. You choose which units are lost. At least one unit must be left in each fleet or army present. Ships carrying cargo may not be removed unless their cargo is also removed. If the neutral's system tile is face down, flip it face up and place its surviving units. (If this neutral has a fleet, this will destroy all Survey Teams present.)

Chit notes (page 5): During expansion, a player may make one Transfer or up to three Jumps and/or Scans.

Strategy Tip. Shifting Command Bunkers closer to the Throneworld or towards a player is the primary use for a Transfer.

Battle and combat-marker notes (page 5): When attacking a neutral system, another player (whoever isn't busy) should roll dice for the neutral forces and decide which units are lost. Mark the hex where a battle is taking place with a Battle chit. Use an attacker/defender "+" chit to mark a combat tech advantage on the battle mat. To keep track of multiple attacking fleets, group them separately (left, center, right) on the space battle mat and use the Origin A, B and C chits to mark the hexes they Jumped from.

Chit notes (page 5): Mark changes to a system's development value with these chits (Economic Boom 3-6 and System Dev. chits).

Sabotage Examples (page 5).

A Sabotage 4 chit is played versus a neutral system with S, P, 2F, C, A. Both the Command Bunker and the Assault Troop can't be eliminated as that would leave no army units. The Protector can't be removed until its cargo (2 Fighters) are eliminated. The Shield and Command Bunker can't both be eliminated as they total 5 points for sabotage. Legal options would be to remove S, 2F or P, 2F, A or S, F, A or C, F.

A Sabotage 3 chit is played at a player owned system with a 4P fleet and a 4A, H army. Before resolving it, the system owner may adjust whether the ground units are aboard the fleet or not. If the army is left on the ground, the player playing this chit could remove 3 P by specifying that all three points are in space. With the army aboard, this would result in an 1 P loss since the other Protectors would have cargo aboard (note that the owner may not 'spread out' the ground units to fill all the Protectors). 2 P plus an Assault Infantry would be lost by picking two space and one ground if the army is placed aboard.

5.3 Draw Action Chits. After the current player has played and designated any chits to turn in, all players who have fewer than five chits (due to Intercepts and Jams, see 8.1-2) then draw new ones to bring their chit totals up to five. After all new chits are drawn, return all played and/or turned in chits to the action chit cup.

Technology track note (page 6): Specialty techs use the lower numbers of the technology track. In the example, a Trill researching Jump tech rolls a "6" and shifts that tech marker one space to the right, improving Jump tech from four to five.

6. Empire Phase

This phase is skipped during victory attempts.

6.1 Research. All players (simultaneously) perform one research attempt. To do so, each player selects one technology area and rolls a die. If the number rolled is greater than or equal to the number listed in the arrow between that technology's current box and the next box, then that technology counter is shifted one box rightwards. Otherwise, nothing happens. (A shift may or may not increase that technology's rating, depending on what box its marker was in.)

6.2 Event. Draw, resolve and return one event chit from the event cup. Event chits which list First or Last are resolved by the current first or last player as indicated. Possible events are:

Imperial Attack [+1]. The First / Last player may select a non-homeworld, non-Throneworld system owned by a player and perform a drop invasion (past any Shields present) on it with a neutral (Imperial) Protector and two Drop Troops. These units fight with combat techs equal to the techs of that system's owner, or one higher if "+1" is listed. After resolving this invasion, remove any surviving Imperial units.
Imperial Sabotage 2-3. The First / Last player may select one of the first two options listed under the Action chit Sabotage.
Production Advance. If this is a non-production turn and Production Advance did not occur on the previous turn, advance the production marker along a light arrow. This turn becomes a production turn. Otherwise, this event has no effect.
Production Delay. If this is a production turn and Production Delay did not occur on the previous turn, advance the production marker along a light arrow. This turn becomes a non-production turn. Otherwise, this event has no effect.
Rebels. The First / Last player may select a non-homeworld, non-Throneworld system with a positive, printed development value that is owned by a player and attack it with two neutral Light Infantry units. These units fight with Ground tech equal to that system's printed Ground tech. If any rebel units survive, leave them at that system to defend it.
Scientific Advance. Each player may perform one research attempt.

6.3 Production. If this is currently a production turn (usually every other turn), all empires simultaneously collect their income and produce new units.

To do this, each player adds their empire production total to the current contents of their homeworld treasury. Players then build new units at their homeworlds, plus at any outlying worlds via local production (see below), reducing their HW treasuries by their new units' costs as they do so.

Empire production track. This is used to mark your current homeworld production plus that of all non-blockaded systems owned by you within Jump range of your homeworld. Adjust this track appropriately whenever you capture systems, your Jump range increases, or your systems are blockaded or captured by other players.
HW treasury track. This is used to mark any credits left over or saved from Outreach, earlier production turns and Economic Booms taken at your homeworld.

Since production is simultaneous, players may place their new units face down (possibly adding a few 'dummy' units as well) until all players are done with production. Then flip all units face up and remove any dummy units. The number of units provided should be plenty but is not intended to limit play. Make up extras if needed.

6.31 Battles may result from production (e.g. by building ships at blockaded worlds). Resolve any such battles immediately. The system owner is the defender.

Local Production. A player owned system that is blockaded or beyond Jump range of its homeworld is marked with a LOCAL PRODUCTION chit. It does not contribute its development value to its empire's production total. During production, units may only be built there if their total cost is less than or equal to that system's development value (+1 if Zytal). Any unspent credits are lost.

6.32 If a homeworld is blockaded, all of that empire's worlds must produce locally. Players may build units locally (decrementing their HW treasury as these credits are spent) at non-blockaded systems within Jump range of their homeworld. When doing so, players are still limited by the system's development value (+1 if Zytal) as to how many credits may be spent there.

When voluntarily spending credits locally, unspent credits are not deducted from the HW treasury, allowing them to be spent at the homeworld normally.

Local production examples (page 6): Initially, this player had an empire production total of 10, as shown above. After capturing a D2 fringe world (within Jump range of this player's homeworld), this empire total increases to 12. During production, this player will add 12 credits to whatever credits were left over in his or her treasury from Outreach. Then, as this player buys new units, he or she will reduce the treasury by their costs.

A player finds and captures an empty system beyond Jump range of this player's homeworld with a survey team and then develops it with an Economic Boom 5 chit. A local production chit is put on that hex and no increase is made to the empire production track. During production, this player may spend up to 5 credits at this world; any unspent credits will be lost. Later, this player increases his or her Jump tech so that this world is within range of his or her homeworld. The local production chit is then removed and 5 is added to the empire production track. Afterwards, during production, this player may build up to 5 credits of units at this world and/or spend these credits at the homeworld.

6.4 Advance Production Marker. The production track is designed to keep track of whether production was advanced or delayed on the previous turn as well as whether the current turn is a production turn or not. To use it, advance it along the light arrows during the Event phase only if the appropriate event (Production Advance or Production Delay) is drawn. Advance it one space along a bold arrow at the end of every empire phase.

7. End Phase

During the end phase, all used Command Bunkers are flipped face up and, unless a victory attempt is in progress, player order for the next turn is then determined.

To determine player order, randomize for first player by assigning a number on a die to every player, except the current last player, and then rolling it. Repeat this, now including the current last player, for all remaining players until all places have been assigned. (In a two player game, player order is fixed.)

The last player never goes first on the following turn.

Stop note (page 7): You now know enough to play the first five turns or so, until empires expand sufficiently to begin interacting directly with each other.

Play Tip. Play can be sped up by having players take their turns simultaneously until empires begin to interact with each other. The research step is a good point in the turn sequence for players to 'synch up' each turn so that no player gets too far ahead.

8. Jams, Intercepts and Player Battles

8.1 Jams. During expansion, the current player proposes all of his or her Jumps and/or Scans (noting used Command Bunkers, destinations, involved units and resolution order). Then, for each action in resolution order, other players, starting with the targetted system's owner (if any) and then clockwise from the current player, may propose a Jam attempt (and Intercepts). Only one Jam attempt may be made for each proposed Jump or Scan. For each Jam attempt, a player must:

Play an action chit which lists "Jam" on it.
Flip over an unused Command Bunker within that empire's Comm range of the Command Bunker being used for the proposed action being Jammed.

Note that the option to Jam exists independently of whether or not the proposed action affects the Jamming player (although that player does have priority in responding).

After all Jams (and any Intercepts, see below) have been announced, the current player may attempt to counter-Jam any or all of these. For each counter-Jam announced, the current player must:

Play an action chit which lists "Jam" on it.
Flip over an unused Command Bunker within that empire's Comm range of the Command Bunker being used for the attempted Jam or Intercept.

Counter-Jams may not be Jammed. Each Jam that was not counter-Jammed causes the original proposed action to fail (its Command Bunker remains used and either the fleet doesn't Jump or no Scan marker is placed). Each Jam or Intercept that was counter-Jammed has no effect (although any Command Bunkers used remain used) and the original proposed action is then resolved normally.

8.11 If one Jump of a multi-Jump attack is Jammed, the other non-Jammed Jumps still take place; the current player does not have the option to abort them.

8.2 Intercepts. All Intercept attempts are announced at the same time as Jams but, unlike Jams, may only be attempted by the owner of a non-blockaded system being Jumped to (possibly in addition to a Jam attempt against that Jump). For each Intercept attempt announced, that player must:

Play an action chit which lists "Intercept" on it.
Flip over an unused Command Bunker to order a fleet within Comm range of that Command Bunker and within Jump range of the system being attacked to Jump to that hex.

Notes: Only a portion of the responding fleet may be sent if desired. Which ground units are aboard the intercepting fleet may be adjusted before making the Intercept.

Several Intercept attempts may be made provided each one uses a different Command Bunker and sends a different fleet to the hex being attacked. Units which have already Jumped this turn may Intercept and Intercepts don't prevent fleets from Jumping (or Intercepting again) later that turn. Each intercepting fleet which is not counter-Jammed by the current player is placed at its destination and participates in the resulting battle as part of the defending forces.

8.21 The Imperial Attack event (but not Rebels) may be Intercepted by the owner of the system being attacked (if that system isn't blockaded). Battles resulting from units being built at a captured homeworld (see section 9) may not be Intercepted.

8.3 Player vs. Player Battles. These are essentially fought the same as player vs. neutral battles with the following notes:

A Survey Team must survive its Jump in order to place a Scan marker at a system. A Survey Team fleet which is successfully Intercepted is destroyed and does not place a Scan marker.
The defending owner of a system may freely adjust (subject to cargo capacity) which ground units are aboard the defending fleet or on the ground before a battle begins (after attacking fleets arrive). This adjustment may not include loading or unloading ground units aboard Intercepting fleets. After this is done, Intercepting forces are then considered part of the defending fleet.
Drop units aboard defending fleets may reinforce units on the ground at a system at the end of each round of space combat (before retreats). Other ground units may only reinforce a battle if: they arrived by Intercept; this hex is in Comm range of the Command Bunker that ordered them here; and the attacking space fleet has been destroyed (or has retreated).

Note that defending ground units in space may only reinforce a system, not invade it. Once a system is captured, these (formerly) defending units in space must wait until their owner's turn to invade that system in order to recapture it.
Defending fleets, unlike neutral ones, are not destroyed once a system is captured. Instead, these ships may, after each round, either fight on (Shields, being static, must fight on) and/or retreat to any one of his or her systems in Jump range that does not contain either a pending battle or a blockading fleet.

Detailed Battle Sequence

Prior to a battle, the defender may shift units, except those arriving via Intercepts, between space and ground, subject to cargo capacity.

Each battle consists of a series of rounds, repeating until one side is destroyed or, in space only, retreats.

i. Attacking units fire. On the first round of Ground combat (only), Drop Troops may use first fire.

ii. Defender assigns losses; all defending units, except those lost to first fire from attacking Drop Troops, then fire back.

iii. Attacker assigns losses; both sides remove lost units.

iv. (space only) Check cargo capacity; eliminate any excess units.

v. (space only) The attacker may invade with drop units, provided the defender has no Shields or the attacker's Jump tech is at least equal to the defender's Space tech. Any drop units aboard defending fleets may reinforce.

vi. (space only) The attacker may retreat some or all of its fleets, each fleet returning to the system it Jumped from. The defender may then retreat to any one of his or her systems in Jump range that does not contain either a pending battle or a blockading fleet.

If one side retreats or is destroyed in space, the other side may, unless this battle is out of Comm range of the Command Bunker used to Jump here, perform a regular invasion (attacker only) or reinforce with any Intercepting ground units (defender only).

After each round of space combat, if a ground battle is active, fight one round of it. If the attacker wins, destroy any neutral ships. Defending player owned ships, except Shields, may retreat and/or stay and fight on. If neither side wins, continue alternating rounds of space and ground combat as needed.

Notes:

The attacker may retreat (or partially retreat) on the turn he or she was victorious in space. However, when doing so, the attacker may not load any ground units that have just invaded that system (the ability to adjust whether ground units are aboard a fleet or not applies prior to a Jump or battle, not after a battle).
At least one round of space combat must be fought before one side can retreat. Thus, a blockading fleet will defend a system in space for at least one round before being able to retreat (this often arises in battles fought over the Throneworld during the end game).

Minimum number of worlds needed to win:

# of Players	2	3	4	5	6
# of Systems	16	15	14	13	12

The Throneworld is worth six systems.

Turn marker note (page 8): If the current player stops one victory attempt but starts one for another player, mark this by placing this counter on the current player's order chit. (If desired, use this counter earlier to mark the current turn on the system track.)

Etiquette

Players may make deals among themselves; however, deals are not binding. No units, credits, systems or chits may be traded, given or sold between players. Players may discuss face down systems or their unplayed action chits but may not show a system tile to a player who hasn't Scanned it or reveal unplayed action chits. Players' system contents and empire mats are open to examination. Stacking large units below single ones on your empire mat to conceal your strength is considered poor form. Don't do it; 'change up' your multiple single units instead.

9. Capturing a Homeworld / Revolt

Once a homeworld is captured, all other worlds belonging to its original owner produce locally, even if no fleets are present at the captured homeworld.

A captured homeworld's production is split between its new owner and its original owner. It produces five credits for its new owner (six if captured by the Zytal). The original owner receives five credits (six if Zytal) during production and for each Economic Boom he or she plays there. These credits go into that player's treasury and may either be accumulated there or spent to build new units (except Command Bunkers or Shields) at this homeworld. Doing so results in a battle there after production (the 'revolt'), in which the original owner is the attacker. This battle may not be Intercepted by the homeworld's current owner.

10. The Throneworld

The Throneworld is treated like any other system with the following exceptions:

It counts as six worlds towards its owner's system total.
The first player to capture it gets a bonus ('looting the imperial treasury') of 10 credits (12 if Zytal) which must be immediately spent to build new units there. Any of these credits not spent are lost.
The Throneworld owner may not play an Economic Boom there on the turn that it is captured. On subsequent turns, an Economic Boom may be played at the Throneworld for 10 credits (12 if Zytal) of local production (instead of taking local production at two other non-homeworld systems).

11. Victory Attempts and Winning

The goal is to take a set number of systems, which varies with the number of players. The Throneworld is worth six systems toward this total. Once a player controls at least this number of systems and more than any other player, and survives one turn without this player's system total being surpassed or driven below the minimum number of systems needed for victory, that player wins!

A victory attempt begins once one player controls at least the winning number of systems and controls more systems than any other player. Once a victory attempt begins, player order remains fixed and there are no more empire phases until no victory attempt is in progress. A given victory attempt either succeeds, ending the game, or fails, sometimes producing a new victory attempt. A victory attempt fails if either the attempting player's current system total is driven below the minimum number needed (see chart above) or is surpassed (not tied) by the system total of another player. A victory attempt succeeds if, after all players have had one expansion phase to stop it, no player has caused it to fail.

Note that some of these player expansion phases might occur on the turn that the player trying to win began his or her victory attempt (if these players went later in that turn's player order). Victory attempts begin immediately, not on turn boundaries.
Each victory attempt also fails immediately as well; if a player who had attempted to win re-establishes the victory conditions on that player's next turn, they have merely started a new victory attempt, not fulfilled the old one.
A player stopping one player from winning might begin a victory attempt for a third player. If so, the new player trying to win will not win on that player's next turn but only at the end of the current player's next expansion phase (i.e. one full turn away; the player who caused the new victory attempt to begin does get a chance to stop it).
Finally, note that once a victory attempt fails (and no new one starts), play sequence simply proceeds from that point in the current turn. Changes in player order and the empire phase only take place when these phases occur outside victory attempts.

Player Notes

The printed Rules Index (page 9) is a cross-reference to the rules above and is not transcribed. The Storyline paragraphs (page 9) are background fiction and are omitted here; the Tactics, Managing Action Chits and Game Tempo notes follow.

Tactics

Throneworld is ultimately a game of conquest, not empire building. Thus, while increasing your empire production total is important, it is only a means towards an end, not an end in itself. Your real objective, as you take worlds, is to preserve your material (your ships and ground troops). Doing so will enable you to take, or be able to react to another player's taking of, the Imperial Throneworld.

One rule of thumb, when fighting a neutral at even tech, is to bring enough units to destroy approximately 2/3 of the neutral's forces on the first round. The neutral will then deal 1/6 of its dice in hits, leaving you ample force to finish it off during the next round (taking 1/18 of the neutral's original dice in hits on the second round). Your total expected losses are 4/18 of the defender's original dice, so if you bring roughly 1/3 of the defender's original dice in 'chaff' (Fighters or Light Infantry which are cheap to rebuild), you should be able to easily take the neutral, even with below average luck, while preserving most of your material. Thus, you should bring units with 4 times the number of attack dice as the defender has hits.

Increasing your force beyond this, say to ensure the neutral dies in one round, is usually not cost effective. You're spending 50% more to reduce your expected losses by 1/18. One exception might be on a drop invasion, where the first fire ability of drop troops means that you are then taking no losses (if you win in one round) and you may be able to avoid retreating your fleet (though your retreat decision must be made before you find out whether the Drop Troops captured the system in a single round).

This analysis also underscores the importance of technology. If you are attacking at +1, you need only bring half as many troops (assuming you have enough chaff). Systems which look virtually impossible to take early on will often become trivial to take once your technology improves and your forces increase. Reexamine SCANNED but untaken neutrals as the game progresses.

Initially, you are always the attacker, so the defense ability of your units is not a factor when building forces. Many players eschew Heavy Infantry for mixed Assault Troop-Light Infantry armies or Drop Troops. However, Heavy Infantry are very cargo efficient and when your Ground tech is higher and the neutral is unlikely to deal many hits, an all Heavy Infantry army (due to its greater resiliency) can often slowly defeat a neutral with fewer losses. The Heavy Infantry's defense is very useful for holding the Throneworld once you take it. Similarly, using Drop Troops as part of a mixed force (especially to destroy Command Bunkers before they fire, reducing the dice of any defending Assault Troops) can be quite useful.

Managing Action Chits

Generally, at the start of the game you'll want Artifacts, to quickly boost your combat techs, and Economic Booms, to build either your economy, your forces or a third Command Bunker (to increase exploration). If you find yourself hemmed in by powerful neutrals, Sabotage can be quite useful. If your forces are split (often due to a drop attack), HW Return (especially on production turns) can sometimes gain you a turn or two. Try to plan at least two turns in advance, always turning in a second chit to improve the odds that you'll have the chit you want to play. Do not hesitate to turn in all your chits in order to gain the ones you really need.

Jam and Intercept chits become crucial in the end game, both to prevent enemy Scan chits from being placed on your systems and to ensure you can act in the face of enemy Jams (assuming that your Comm range and Command Bunker placement will enable you to counter-Jam their Jams). Remember that Economic Booms are the only source of new units and that Artifacts are the only source of technology improvements during victory attempts.

Game Tempo

Throneworld is a game with three phases: the early expansion, where empires try to rapidly and efficiently build their economic base; the mid-game, when empires begin to bump into each other; and the end game where players race for victory, hoping to seize either the Throneworld or enough other worlds to win before their foes can react. The empire most effective at early expansion 'sets the pace' which the other players must respond to by either matching it or by clipping the leader's wings. Otherwise, they will be unable to prevent the leader from making a quick strike for victory.

Outreach / Initial Expansion

Your initial treasury is sufficient to take out, at decent odds, about half of the non-empty fringe worlds. The others are generally not worth risking your initial forces on. However, this may depend on your Action chit draw. If your survey teams failed to find an empty and you hold an Economic Boom, you would like to take a world so you can boost your empire production total for the first production. One alternative is to use it to add 10 credits to your treasury, giving you 30 credits after production, which should take most worlds. Another early decision is when to buy your third Command Bunker. Too early and you'll cut into your expansion forces too much; too late and you will lag behind in exploration.

Mid-game / Approaching the Throneworld

During the mid-game, you should try to get an early Throneworld Scan. Based on it, you will be able to better direct your research and production decisions. Can the Throneworld be taken with a drop attack? Do you need high space tech or ground tech? Is first fire (to remove Command Bunkers so defending Assault Troops fire only one die) important? You also need to decide whether you intend to relocate your Command Bunkers. Doing so slows your expansion (due to the Transfer) but greatly increases your ability to affect other players (via Jams and counter-Jams). If you are one of the 'tech specialist' races (Buralti, Pasha, Q'Teni and Trill in Ground, Space, Comm and Jump) you'll need to decide whether you intend to emphasize your specialty tech or 'coast' in it, using your research attempts to instead boost your other techs.

The End Game

If you can take the Throneworld early, go for it. Often the other players will be out of position and unable to respond (players who built a huge economy but haven't yet Scanned the Throneworld will be very frustrated). Comm greatly increases in importance as Jam chits come into their own. Jump 4 is also useful as it allows you to funnel newly produced units directly to the Throneworld. Try to get Scan chits on a couple of players' worlds while preventing them from doing the same to you (via Jams and Intercepts) so you can reduce a player's system total (to stop a victory attempt) without having to take away the Throneworld before you're ready to do so.

Design Notes

The designer's account of the development history (the "Background" section and the design essay's opening paragraphs) is omitted here as non-rules commentary. The game credits, playtesting list and designer signature are not transcribed.

Game Mechanics

In Throneworld, empires are separated geographically (and the map expands with the number of players) to ensure a development phase before conflicts arise. The victory threshold is kept low so that 'conquer-and-divide' strategies (where several players gang up to eliminate other empires) are inherently unstable; the players involved will be too close to winning to freely cooperate.

The homeworld 'revolt' rules also reduce player-on-player attacks while the Scan requirement for Jumps guarantees that players have some advance warning. This enables the first part of the game to be played effectively 'multi-player solitaire', reducing game length.

To reduce player frustration, the basic operations (expansion, research and production) are built into the turn sequence. Action chits represent additional opportunities, not all of which can be acted on, that arise over time only partly under an empire's control. Jam and Intercept chits allow players to react to other players' actions as they occur. Jam also greatly increases the importance of Comm.

Allowing up to three Jumps per turn allows empires to explore while expanding. Later, players must decide between using one big fleet to crush a neutral per turn or to split it into several smaller fleets in order to gain worlds at a faster rate but with more losses due to longer combats. Transfer occurs in place of all three Jumps so that a player can not both take a system and then immediately fortify it with Command Bunkers and Shields.

Event chits introduce a little uncertainty into production as well as a means for players who are behind to catch up by playing Rebels, Imperial Sabotage and Imperial Attack to slow the leaders. While players can also use the action chit Sabotage to do the same, the cost is much higher (since these players are not playing Artifacts and Economic Booms on themselves) so this tends to happen only when one player is far ahead. To keep events from getting out of hand, they are restricted from being played on homeworlds.

The unit mix, while small, was designed to offer interesting choices and trade-offs. Shields, Heavy Infantry and Command Bunkers behave differently so that space and ground combat feel different. Drop Troops link the two while the 'drop-stopping' nature of Shields emphasizes the importance of Jump. Each 'tech specialist' race was given a special unit ability or reduced cost to help differentiate it from the Veneb.

Considerable effort went into preventing stalemates in Throneworld. Taking the Throneworld is such a big gain that often someone will try for it, which generally shifts the game into 'sudden death overtime'. To dissuade players from wanting to be the second player to take the Throneworld, rules for 'looting the Imperial treasury' and to prevent Economic Booms from being played there when it has just been taken were added. If a stalemate around the Throneworld does develop, empires can win without it by taking a neutral each turn with a big fleet (allowing them to react to a Throneworld assault) until they are within a few worlds of winning. Then one player can launch a blitz to take three worlds at once and win.

The resulting game, while streamlined, provides interesting player choices during both expansion and the end game.

Unit Summary

Unit	Cost	Atk. Dice	Def. Dice	# of Hits	Cargo	Notes
Survey Team	1	NA	NA	NA	-	may Jump w/o Scan
Blaster	4	3	2	1	-
Protector	5	2	3	1	+2
Mothership	6	-

Unit-type labels in the printed summary: Blaster, Protector and Mothership are space units; Assault Troops, Heavy Infantry, Light Infantry, Drop Infantry and Command Bunker are ground units; Shield is a static space unit. Printed footnotes: Drop Infantry (†) may drop invade past opposing space forces (except Shields, unless your Jump tech is at least the opponent's Space tech) after one round of space combat. (††) Static; these units may move only by Transfer. Asterisks as printed; A* marks the Shield's absorb value.

Action / Event Chits Manifest

Action Chits (50 total)

Artifact: 12
Economic Boom 3-6: 12 (three of each type)
HW Return, Intercept, Jam: 18 chits total (twelve of each type, distributed evenly two per chit), as printed
Sabotage 3-4: 8 (four of each type)

Event Chits (22 total)

Imperial Attack [+1]: 4 (two of each type)
Imperial Sabotage 2-3: 4 (two of each type)
Production Advance: 6
Production Delay: 3
Rebels: 2
Scientific Advance: 3

The printed System Tiles (72) manifest is a graphic table of tile values (Homeworld/Throneworld/Inner/Outer/Fringe/empty tiles with development value, forces and tech) and is not reproduced here; consult the printed component sheet.

Race Summary

Buralti: Ground tech specialist. Buralti Heavy Infantry attack with 2 dice.
Pasha: Space tech specialist. Pasha Fighters attack with 2 dice.
Q'teni: Comm tech specialist. Q'teni Command Bunkers cost 5.
Trill: Jump tech specialist. Trill Light Infantry may drop invade.
Veneb: Starts with rating 2 in all technology areas. Second roll if first one fails on all research attempts.
Zytal: +2 Production at Zytal Homeworld and Throneworld. +1 Production at all other worlds.

4 Player Variant Setup

The standard setups result in Homeworlds being equally spaced from each other. This variant produces one near and one far neighbor for all players but provides greater symmetry in empire development as well as ways to approach the Throneworld.

The printed 4-player variant diagram (page 11) shows the hex layout for this variant with Homeworlds marked HW, the Throneworld marked TW, and the same tile-type shading as the setup charts on page 2. The diagram is not reproduced as text; use the printed diagram together with the Map Setup steps in section 2.

Summary Charts

Action Chits

Artifact. Perform two research attempts, one at a time, either in the same or two different technologies.

Economic Boom 3-6. Select one of the following options:

Perform local production at two of your non-homeworld systems (or the Throneworld, instead, provided you didn't just conquer it).
Add 10 credits (12 if Zytal; half if captured) to your homeworld treasury. If desired, these credits, plus any credits that you have saved, may be spent immediately to build units at your homeworld.
Increase the development value of one of your non-blockaded systems by this chit's value (3-6), up to a maximum development value of 6. If appropriate, adjust your empire production total.

HW Return (if played for this effect). Transfer units from up to two of your (non-blockaded) systems to your (non-blockaded) homeworld. These units may have Jumped earlier this turn.

Intercept (if played for this effect). Play after another empire has proposed a Jump to a non-blockaded system owned by your empire. Jump one fleet to this system, obeying command and movement rules (except that your intercepting fleet may have Jumped earlier this turn).

Jam (if played for this effect). Play either:

After a player has proposed a Jump or Scan using a Command Bunker within Comm range of an unused Command Bunker of your empire. Flip your Bunker over to its used side. If your Jam is not itself counter-Jammed, the proposed Jump or Scan fails.
After another player has announced either an Intercept or a Jam (of a proposed Jump or Scan) which uses a Command Bunker within Comm range of one of your unused Command Bunkers. Flip your Bunker to its used side. The announced Intercept or Jam fails.

Sabotage 3-4. Select one of the following options:

Reduce the development value of another player's system by the value of this chit (3-4), but never below its original printed value.
Reduce another player's force, except one located at a homeworld or Throneworld owned by that player, by this chit's value (3-4), counting Shields and Heavy Infantry as 2 each and Command Bunkers as 3 each. You choose the point split between ground and space units; the owner chooses which units are lost. At least one unit must be left in each fleet or army present. Ships carrying cargo may not be removed unless their cargo is also removed.
Reduce a neutral force at a non-Throneworld system Scanned by your empire by this chit's value (3-4), counting Shields and Heavy Infantry as 2 each and Command Bunkers as 3 each. You choose which units are lost. At least one unit must be left in each fleet or army present. Ships carrying cargo may not be removed unless their cargo is also removed. If the neutral system tile is face down, flip it face up and place its surviving units. (If this neutral has a fleet, doing this will destroy all Survey Teams present.)

Event Chits

Imperial Attack [+1]. The First / Last player may select a non-homeworld, non-Throneworld system owned by a player and perform a drop invasion on it with a neutral (Imperial) Protector and two Drop Troops. These units fight with combat techs equal to the techs of that system's owner, or one higher if "+1" is listed. After resolving this invasion, remove any surviving Imperial units.

Imperial Sabotage 2-3. The First / Last player may select one of the first two options listed under the Action chit Sabotage.

Production Advance. If this is a non-production turn and Production Advance did not occur on the previous turn, advance the production marker so production does occur this turn. Otherwise, this event has no effect.

Production Delay. If this is a production turn and Production Delay did not occur on the previous turn, advance the production marker so production fails to occur this turn. Otherwise, this event has no effect.

Rebels. The First / Last player may select a non-homeworld, non-Throneworld system with a positive printed development value that is owned by a player and attack it with two neutral Light Infantry units. These fight with Ground tech equal to that system's original Ground tech. If any rebel units survive, leave them at that system to defend it.

Scientific Advance. Each player may perform one research attempt.

Sequence of Play

Each game turn consists of the following three phases:

A. Expansion. In order, each player does all of the following:

One Transfer or up to three Jumps and/or Scans.
Play an action chit (possibly turning in a second chit) or Pass (turning in up to five chits).
Draw chits to bring all players' totals to five chits.

B. Empire (skip this entire phase during victory attempts).

Make one research attempt (all players simultaneously).
Draw, resolve and return one event chit to the event cup.
Perform production if this is a production turn.
Advance the production marker along a bold arrow.

C. End.

Flip all used Command Bunkers face up.
Determine next turn's player order (except during a victory attempt; then player order remains fixed).

Jam / Intercept Sequence

The current player proposes all Jumps and/or Scans, noting the resolution order, units, Command Bunkers and destinations involved.
For each action, the targetted system owner and then other players, clockwise from the current player, announce Jam or Intercept attempts, noting Command Bunkers and units involved.
- Only one Jam attempt may be made for each Jump or Scan.
- Multiple Intercepts, using different fleets, may be attempted.
The current player announces any counter-Jams of Jams or Intercepts. Counter-Jams cause the attempted Jam or Intercept to fail.
Place all non-Jammed Intercepts and then resolve all non-Jammed Scans and Jumps in resolution order.

Battle Sequence

Prior to battle, the defender may shift units, except those arriving via Intercepts, between space and ground, subject to cargo capacity. Each battle consists of a series of rounds, repeating until one side is destroyed or, in space only, retreats.

i. Attacking units fire. Ground round #1, Drop Troops may first fire.

ii. Defender assigns losses; all defending units, except those lost to first fire from Drop Troops, then fire back.

iii. Attacker assigns losses; both sides remove lost units.

iv. (space only) Check cargo capacity; eliminate any excess units.

v. (space only) The attacker may invade with drop units, provided the defender has no Shields or the attacker's Jump tech is at least equal to the defender's Space tech. Any drop units aboard defending fleets (usually Intercepting ones) may also reinforce.

If one side retreated or was destroyed in space, the other side may, unless this battle is out of Comm range of the Command Bunker used to Jump here, perform a regular invasion (attacker only) or reinforce with Intercepting ground units (defender only).

After each round of space combat, if a ground battle is active (due to a drop invasion), fight one round of it. If the attacker wins, destroy any neutral ships. Defending player owned ships, except Shields, may retreat and/or stay and fight on. If neither side wins, continue alternating rounds of space and ground combat as needed.

Starting a Victory Attempt

To begin a victory attempt, a player must control both more systems than any other player and at least the number of systems listed below:

# of Players	2	3	4	5	6
# of Systems	16	15	14	13	12

The Throneworld is worth six systems.