Space Empires is a game in the finest tradition of 4X space games - eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. Each player builds up a space empire and uses it to conquer the other players. Exploration on the mounted map is simple for players (and dangerous for their ships), revealing different space terrain that affects movement and combat.
Space Empires was developed to keep a rich theme without overcomplicated rules. The game includes carriers and fighters, mines, cloaking, a very large technology tree, fifteen ship classes, merchant shipping, colonization, mining, terraforming, bases, shipyards, black holes, warp points, and non-player aliens. Yet the rules are short and intuitive: The basic rules are 8 pages long and increase to 11 pages in length when the advanced rules are included.
There are multiple scenarios for both solitaire and 2 players. Multi-player scenarios have the option for team play, including 2 against one in a three player game. Scenarios can be customized in length and some can be completed in as little as an hour. Many aspects of the game can be completed simultaneously by the players so that there is very little downtime. This is a game that can be completed in one sitting!
Game Scale:
TIME - One year per economic turn
MAP - Many light years per hex
UNIT - 1 to 6 ships or squadrons
Game Components:
One mounted map (backprinted)
Four counter sheets
One Pad of Player Aid Sheets
Four 2-sided Player Reference Cards
16-page full-color Rule Book
16-page full-color Play Book
4 10-sided dice
3" Game box
*The Solitaire rating of 2 is for the multi-player scenarios and 9 for the solitaire scenarios.
Awards:
2011 Charles S. Roberts Best Science-Fiction or Fantasy Board Wargame Winner
