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Many systems can contain navigation perils which can threaten starships or treacherous environments which may endanger crews. These Hazardous Systems are indicated by the Red Alert Warning at the top of the disc. When a Starship or Fleet enters a Hazardous System, a die is rolled for each ship. If the number rolled is equal to or higher than the Hazard level, a Ship is destroyed! Improving a Ship’s Shields modifies this number, protecting your vessels from danger. Ships only have to make a Hazard roll when they end their movement in a Hazardous System; thus Ships in orbit of Hazardous Systems as well as Ships built in the System are safe and may depart the system without incident.
All Interstellar Phenomena are hazardous, but if a Ship survives the Hazard, the player may claim a valuable Research Token from the system. Some phenomena, like the Murasaki 312 formation, are minor hazards, while others, like a Neutron Star, are quite deadly! At the end of each game round a new Research Token is placed in the phenomena, waiting for another brave crew to claim it. While a Ship may safely occupy an Interstellar Phenomenon, Commanding a vessel to conduct further study in order to claim the Research Token will require a Hazard roll.
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Planetary Systems are valuable resources for an expanding civilization. Worlds found in these systems can be colonized and their resources can be developed to fuel your society’s growth. All planets may be colonized, but different planets have different levels of resources that can be developed, making some systems, like the resource-rich Terra Nova, more lucrative than others. Colored tabs on the System Disc indicate a planet’s Capacity and determine if players can place Production, Research, or Culture Nodes on the world. Some planets even contain an open Capacity where a player may construct any Node they see fit.
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Each player’s turn begins with a Building Phase. All activity in the Building Phase must be competed before moving onto the Command Phase of the turn. During the Building Phase, civilizations will expend their resources to construct Starships, Colonies, and Infrastructure. They’ll also conduct research to improve Ship Weapons and Shield Systems and further development of Advancement projects. All of these tasks may be completed in any order during the Building Phase.
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Starships may only be built at the player's Home System or at a Starbase they control. A commander who constructs three or more Ships at the same location may immediately form those vessels into a Fleet without having to expend a Command in the Command Phase. These ships are ready-built to the specific mission of the Fleet.
A civilization may build a Colony in an Undeveloped System they Occupy. An Undeveloped System is a Planetary System that does not contain any Nodes. In order to construct a fully functioning Colony on an undeveloped world, a player must spend a Culture Token and discard one Starship located at the System. A Control Node is placed on the System Disc, placing the System under the player's Control.
Resource Nodes allow a society to gather valuable resources from their worlds; extracting raw materials, conducting cutting-edge research and enriching their society. A System may only support the amount and type of Resource Nodes indicated by its Capacity. Resource Nodes may only be Built in Systems the civilization Controls, so during a Building Phase, they must construct a Control Node before any Resource Nodes if they don’t already have an established Colony on the planet. Each Resource Node will generate the appropriate Resource Token at the end of Game Round during the Recharge Stage.
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