Editorial Aside: These rules (and the map that we may need to hold for the next issue) are in a traditional style, and have been modestly edited.)

START UP. You start with 3000 credits to buy your armada. Anything you buy must be carried by a starship. (Exception: The planet defense scenario gives the defending player planet based units.) Any credits that you don't spend count as part of your victory points. You keep that number secret until the game ends. Choose which sector you wish to start in. One player gets sector B, the other sector C.

VICTORY POINTS are received based on the credit value of whatever you destroy of your opponent's forces. You also give your opponent victory points, every time you expend your materials, such as missiles and probes. See also "end game".

WHAT YOU CAN BUY: Each starship carries 30 cargo points of cargo or components. You can only buy what will fit into the starships that you buy.

The SPECIAL SHIP TYPES are the exceptions to the 30 cargo unit per starship limit: They must be named by type, if your force in a space is scouted. The Special Ship Types are:

A Missile boat has 3 missile launchers and 36 cargo spaces. (The six extra spaces may be used for missiles.)

A Fighter Carrier has 40 cargo spaces, and must start with at least 3 fighters. Once the fighters have left the space free for other cargo, regiments and marines take up 15 of the space formerly used for the fighters. Flashtroopers take up 3 spaces each.

A Probe Scout has 35 cargo spaces. It cannot have missiles or seeker missiles. It must have a probe launcher.

SEE FORCE CHART

After you purchase your forces, you secretly write down what you have purchased. Be sure to give each starship an ID number and write down what each ship is carrying.

TIME LIMIT: After both players buy their armadas, one player rolls two dice, and adds 3. The die roll is the number of turns to be played (5 to 15. Average of 10.)

TURN SEQUENCE

1. Write moves.
2. Both players roll dice. The player with the higher roll moves first for this turn.
3. Each player changes his units' location chart according to his written moves.
4. Each player announces his attacks, by hex or sector. The player with the first move announces first, in any order he chooses. Each attack is resolved before going to the next.
a. Seeker missile combat is resolved first in the battle.
b. Then the rest of the combat is resolved.

5. Any survivors that were ordered to scout may now scout.

1. SECRET WRITTEN MOVES: Each turn write where each unit moves to. Then name the action (attack, scouting, etc.) that each unit is to perform. The written moves are only revealed to the other player after the game is over. You may not show your written moves to the other player until the game is over, not even if you want a player to know what you've done.

2. THE MOVES Choose an option from the Moves Chart

3. COMBAT. When an attack is announced: Both sides put counters representing their units on the battle map. (The battle map is a sheet of paper divided into 6 squares.) The attack caller puts his units on the upper left square. The defender's units are put in the left square underneath. (The extra squares are for multi-player games.)

Unless unloaded, ground units don't participate in combat. They are cargo that will be lost if the starship is lost. They can't be unloaded in sector space.

a. Both sides announce their seeker missiles, including from which ship they were launched, and place those counters on the board. (See seeker missiles.) Players may choose to fire additional seeker missiles, but you can't remove seeker missiles once they have been fired. Those are the only seeker missiles that can be launched this combat.

b. Both sides can intercept each other's seeker missiles with their own seeker missiles. However, each seeker missile trying to intercept must roll a die, with an even chance to destroy another seeker. Whether the intercept succeeds or not, the seeker is expended for trying.

c. The first-move player moves first. Players place their seeker missiles on target ships or unloaded ground units.

d. The targeted player(s) get a chance to shoot down the seekers. Only decoys can shoot at the seekers that have been placed on other ships (Decoys can't shoot at seekers that were placed on ground units.) Other units may only shoot at seekers placed on them. (Decoys do not actually shoot; the rule simulates decoying.)

e. The surviving seekers roll their attacks.

f. Any weapon that did not shoot at seekers may now shoot.

g. Either player may call a retreat. If so, the other player gets to shoot. The battle is then over. Exception: ground units cannot retreat from starships or fighters. Ground units may retreat from a mixed group, but the flyers in that group would have the option to continue the combat by themselves. You may retreat some of your units, and still fight with the others. A retreating player has not moved his forces out of the hex. Nor is he obligated to do so, next turn.

h. The shooting continues until one player retreats, or all units on one side are destroyed. The first-move player rolls his attacks. The second move player flips his destroyed units over. Destroyed units get an attack on the turn in which they are destroyed. When the second-move player shoots, the units that he destroys are simply removed. When he is done, his flipped over-units are removed, too. If it's hard to keep track of which units shot, for example when handling seeker missiles, you should put the units that shot in the right hand boxes.

See Shooters' Chance to Destroy Chart.

DEFENSES

FORCE SHIELD. A Force Shield stops one hit that would otherwise destroy the starship. There is a die roll with an even chance that the force shield is destroyed instead. You can only have one force shield per starship. Destroyed force shields don't give back cargo space.

ARMOR. Versus lasers, armor has a roll for 'anything but 7' chance of stopping a hit that would otherwise destroy a starship. Armor has an even chance of stopping hits from other weapons. A hit always destroys 5 cargo spaces of armor. Destroyed armor doesn't create new cargo space. Destroyed armor counts towards your opponents' victory points. If a ship has both a force shield and armor, the force shield effects first, until it's destroyed.

5. SCOUTING. If any units survive, that were ordered to scout, their player gets to learn the number and types of enemy units there and the starship ID numbers.

You must announce whether a ground unit or a flyer is scouting. if you're using a probe, you may announce your choice of either.

If you attack with one unit and scout with another unit in the same space, and if there is a battle, your scout loses its first combat round.

END OF GAME: Players AUDIT each other's turn sheets. (Don't throw turn sheets away, until after the game.) They correct any mistakes found as they think fair, by assigning victory points, not by redoing the turns.

Once the destroyed and expended victory points are counted, add to them the PLANET HEX VICTORY POINTS: 1000 for hex 1, the spaceport. Other hexes count as 10 victory points apiece for whoever controls them: Control goes to whoever has the most regiments and marines there. Second tie breaker; the most marines. 3rd tie breaker; the most other units (Seeker missiles, ground units, and fighters still being carried as cargo don't count. Unloaded fighters do count.) If after these tie breakers players are still tied, no one gets the points.

(This planet is a barren mining planet. The key strategic ground is the one spaceport. We are working on a more advanced planet as a battlefield. Battles of this scale are usually over low population planets and space installations. These armadas symbolize 3 or 4 Stellar Hegemon game pieces. Feel free to design your own planets etc. as battlefields.)

PLANET DEFENSE SCENARIOS

(You are encouraged to make your own. This is just to help you get started.) The defender-player gets extra pieces: 4 regiments, 1 marines, 5 fighters, and one ion cannon, starting in hex 1. They don't have to be starship cargo.

A. PLANET INVASION: The defender player only gets 2000 credits to build his armada. Unless a hex is actually controlled by the invader player, it's victory points go to the defender.

B. PLANETHEAD: (As in beachhead) The defender player does not get credit for any controlled hexes. The invader-player does.

(In these, and the basic meeting engagement scenario, we are dealing with smaller vanguard forces of the Stellar Hegemon game theme. Soon, larger forces arrive 'on stage', and 'steal the scene'. Your victory is a temporary advantage in the larger drama. So, our time limits are short and symbolize larger events intervening.)

THE PIECES. You need numbered pieces to symbolize the starships. 30 are the max possible, but helpless. 20 per side, is a good number. A rocket design might be best. I'd make 'X's (standard infantry symbol) the regiments. Smaller 'm's above the Xs, could symbolize the space marines. Rune would be good for flashtroopers. Simple jet fighter drawing, could be fighters. Smaller rockets could be the seeker missiles, probably best drawn on smaller markers. Of course, you could get a lot more artistic.

THE BOARD. Nothing is placed on the planet map board. The pieces only temporarily appear on the battle map for battles. The cubed sector diagram only illustrates the spatial relationship. The sectors you can go to/from a given hex are listed on the hex. The sectors that you cannot go to/from a given sector, are listed below the map.

CLARIFICATION

A starship can unload and participate in combat, either when attacked or when units in the same space call an attack, including the units that the spaceship unloads. If the units a starship unloads attack, that starship doesn't get the first combat round, except if he chooses retreat. If a spaceship is attacked, it can either shoot as normal and not unload, or it can lose the first combat round and unload, or it can retreat.

Shooters' Chance to Destroy Chart.

Roll two dice. The numbers are those needed to roll to hit/destroy a target.

Weapon -- Ground Units -- Starships/Fighters -- Seeker Missiles

Marines -- even -- 7 -- 7
Regiment -- 7 -- 8/7 -- 10/11
Flashtrooper -- even/7 -- 12 -- 12
Nuclear Missile -- even -- 7 -- 7
a.p. missile -- 10 -- even -- 10
laser -- 7 -- even -- 7,8
blaster battery-- 7/even -- 7/any but 7 -- even
seeker missile -- 10 -- 7,8 -- even
Fighters -- 7/even -- even -- 7/8
Ion Cannon -- even/7 -- even -- even

NOTES

Regiments: When two numbers 8/7 are given, the first number is if it's on defense. The second number is its offensive power. (If both sides order an attack, the move-second player is the defender.) Flashtroopers only get the even chance to destroy ground units on the turn they are teleported. On any turn for no move penalty 3 flashtroopers in a hex can combine to form a regiment. Once formed, a regiment cannot convert back.

Missile Launchers can launch one missile per turn per launcher.

A Blaster Battery has an even chance to destroy ground units, if its ship is announced going to 'close quarters', but the ground units get a free chance to shoot at that starship. Procedure: You announce all of your starships using blaster battery 'close quarters' against ground units. The blasters get their even chance shots. The ground units each get one free extra shot on one starship at close quarters. (2) Blaster batteries must roll 7 to hit starships, and 'anything but 7' to hit fighters.

A Probe launcher may either either (1) launch a probe or (2) launch a decoy. If used to probe, it cannot be used to launch a decoy that turn. But the scout 'move' does not stop the ship's other components from calling a battle. A ship launching a probe could scout the hex it occupies, too.

A probe launch must be written down. A probe can scout any space in the game board.

Normally, you can only launch one decoy per launcher. But if you write the decoy launch as a move, you can launch up to 3 decoys per launcher. Even if decoys are not used, they would be expended.

Seeker Missiles: See the combat sequence. Seeker missiles don't need launchers. Normally, you can only launch one seeker missile per starship per battle. However, if you record the number of missiles launched and the starship ID numbers of the launching starships, you can fire as many seeker missiles as the starship has. If there are any targets, the seeker missiles are all expended. But if there are no targets, you can place the seeker missiles in seeker ambush without announcing it.

You can also, if you have written the move, send seekers to any space. If there are any targets, they are expended. If not, you can put the seeker missiles into 'seeker ambush'.

This paragraph only applies to seeker ambush. Do not confuse it with the basic seeker rules. Seeker ambush can also be done as an unload, or attack, written move. The seekers continue to exist after the turn is over. But if the seekers are not used by the end of the game, they count as expended materials for opponent's victory points. You cannot scout with seekers in ambush but you can announce an attack by them at any time. If there are any targets, they are expended. Seekers in ambush can be scouted. You can attack with other units in the same space as seekers waiting in ambush, but hold back your seekers. But after you call a battle without using the seekers, you can't change your mind and use them. Your other units can protect seekers, if someone else calls the battle. But if the attacker destroys the protectors or forces them to retreat, the attacker has the option to continue to attack on the seekers.

Fighters only get their even chance to destroy ground units when they dive into close quarters. If they do, the ground units get a free attack against them and against any others going to close quarters. Fighters and blaster battery armed starships going to close quarters should be handled as a single attack. (The close-quarters units are swarming, and they hope overwhelming, the ground defense.)

Fighters have an even chance of success to intercept attacks made by fighters or seeker missiles and take that hit (destroyed) themselves. For quickness and simplicity, wait until your starship has taken a hit (but don't wait for armor or force shield defense rolls); a fighter can then take a roll for an even number chance to take the hit instead.

Ion cannon: The defender-player gets one ion cannon in the planet defense scenarios. It only gets the roll for the even-numbers chance to destroy ground units if it has a regiment or marines with it, or if it is flipped over, as second-move player, but not yet removed.) The ion cannon cannot be moved nor can it be carried as cargo. It can retreat.

Allowed actions:

GROUND TROOPS

Move one space
Attack
Scout
Be loaded (Be unloaded is free.)
(Flashtroop teleport is free.)

A starship can load or unload any, or all, of its cargo in one turn.

The Units Location Chart is a paper that lists all the player's units and their hex or sector locations. Starships are listed by number, with their components, cargo, and ammo. Only starships are numbered.

STARSHIPS

Move 2 spaces*
Move one space and attack (or no spaces).
Move one space and scout
Move one space and unload
Load
Load and move one space** (move + land, too)
Docking***

* You can move from a planet hex to another planet hex via a sector.

** If a starship that does so is attacked, it doesn't get its first combat round.

*** Docking is when two starships exchange some or all of their cargoes. If docking is interrupted by an attack, it doesn't happen.

UNITS

For each, I list

Price--Item--Cargo Space--Notes

40 -- Marines -- 10 -- Marines: Well trained, very motivated, the best of weapons and equipment.
20 -- Regiments -- 10 -- A regiment is the same number of professional, usually mercenary, soldiers. They do well enough.
20 -- Flashtroopers -- 2 -- Flashtroopers are a troop about 1/5 the regiment's numbers. Their usual function is teleport troops. But 3 troops can be unloaded normally and transformed into a 'regiment'.
100 -- Starship -- 0 -- Starships without cargo, or components are effectless. But they can be diversions, or expended as losses. Below starships are listed components and ammunition.

1 -- a.p. missile, nuclear missile -- 1
20 -- missile launcher -- 10
50 -- laser -- 10
30 -- blaster battery -- 10
20 -- seeker missile -- 5
40 -- probe launcher -- 10 -- A probe launcher is necessary, to launch either a probe or decoy.
3 -- probe -- 2
2 -- decoy -- 2
20 -- teleporter -- 10 -- A teleporter is necessary to teleport a flashtroop, one per turn, from the ship to any planet hex connected to the ship's sector, or within 2 hexes of its hex.
2 -- armor -- 10
50 -- force shield -- 10 -- Armor and force fields are defensive components.
50 -- fighter -- 10 -- Fighters do not carry cargo or have components, ammo etc. They shoot as listed. Like ground units, they must be carried at the game's start. Once unloaded, they move 2 spaces, etc., just like starships.
-- Ion cannon -- An Ion Cannon is given to the defender player, in the planet defense scenarios.

copyright reserved by Clifford E Lewin 3/26/02