In February 2016, a significant event took place - the relaunch of the cult strategic series Master of Orion, which has been continuously nurturing the indoor rulers of the galaxy since 1993. Along with the digital remake, a desktop version was also released, which is in no way inferior in quality.

“Master of Orion: board game” was created by the efforts of two authors, Igor Sklyuev and Ekaterina Gorn, and is made in the spirit of the latter Master of Orion, a review of which can be found nearby.

The game invites a company of 2 to 4 people to compete in managing their own space power. In order to take a dominant position in the galaxy, you will have to use all means - production, trade, science, diplomacy and, of course, military armadas!

Game composition

The contents of the Master of Orion board game correspond to the average level when compared with games of similar scale. The impressive weight of more than 700 grams immediately indicates that this is not a ten-minute “party game”, but a serious game.

It’s even difficult to fit everything that’s inside into one photo, so a separate list with the contents wouldn’t hurt:

• 90 building cards;
• 8 advisor cards;
• 6 civilization tablets;
• 60 wooden cubes (woo-woo-woo!);
• 16 tokens;
• Scoring field;
• Rules of the game.

The box itself is made of thick plastic with colorful illustrations and stylish descriptions on the back side. Everything inside is also very, very “tasty”: the cards are made of plastic that is very pleasant to the touch, the cubes are well made and carefully painted, and the rules are written on high-quality glossy paper.

The only thing we can find fault with is the rest of the cardboard components, but in other board games this cheap material is also used everywhere, and the price of Master of Orion (1,490 rubles) hardly allows us to demand complete absence cardboard

The board game gives the impression of a premium product, and this is very cool, because this cannot always be said about domestic games.

How to Play the Master of Orion Board Game

Having admired the package, you can immediately begin studying the rules. They take up 15 pages, but if you don’t count the colorful illustrations and inserts describing the game factions, it will be about half as long.

There is no point in fully describing the entire course of the game, so we will limit ourselves to only the main points. The main task of the player is to obtain victory points, the calculation of which determines the winner based on the results of 8 rounds played.

Each round consists of three phases. In the initial phase, players assign themselves resources in accordance with existing buildings, determine the number of available actions, and play the properties of some cards.

Then the action phase begins, during which all party members take turns performing various actions, spending action cubes. It is in this phase that the most interesting things happen: players play building cards from their hand, placing them in their systems, activate existing buildings, attack each other, engage in trade, take new cards from the deck, hire useful advisors, and much more.

At the same time, the game has a fairly well-developed resource system around which the entire choice of actions revolves. There are three main resources in the Master of Orion board game - food, fleets and production. They can be spent by playing cards from your hand and exchanged at a certain rate, while the initial resources of the races are slightly different, so that already initial stage In each game, participants have different “initial” data, which often influence the situation during the first couple of rounds.

In addition to the three resources, there is also a loyalty scale, the indicator of which must be monitored no less carefully. The more resources the player has, the higher the mobilization, which is why the population begins to gradually rebel. If loyalty drops to 0, then the party ends.

Due to the abundance of mechanics and sub-mechanics, the game in Master of Orion turns into a kind of kaleidoscope: the game takes place on several levels. Firstly, the player is engaged in banal resource management, placing more and more new cards on the field.

Secondly, it uses action dice to activate cards and some abilities. As a rule, there are a lot of options, and there are always not enough cubes, so you have to choose what is most useful.

Thirdly, you need to remember that there are other participants in the game. They also draw cards, play them, spend and receive resources. There is one deck for everyone, and therefore you need to try to remember which cards are already in the game and which are still waiting in the wings in the deck (or in the hands of your opponents).

But you can also trade and fight with other players!.. The first game will be very chaotic and “misunderstandings” will often arise, especially if you have no experience in such board games.

But after just a few hours, the constant choice that the game requires at literally every step will turn from something intangible into a completely solid structure that you can rely on and finally get real pleasure, because Master of Orion is actually just very a very complex optimization problem.

Advantages and disadvantages

The tabletop adaptation of Master of Orion very well reflects the essence of the entire franchise, and the authors have definitely succeeded in this. Variability is the most important trump card of the game. Of course, there are other benefits.

For example, the game is perfectly balanced. There are no cards in the game that are objectively stronger than others. Of course, you can pull a super-starship from the deck, which will be very useful during raids on the enemy, but without the availability of resources you cannot build it, which means that before you organize a victorious tour to the neighboring arm of the galaxy, you need to think hard and set up production. Well, or throw away the “wunderwaffle” by exchanging it for something more useful in the current conditions.

The game has quite strong combinations, the search for which is also quite entertaining. But even here everything turns out to be very well adjusted. Not a single “combination” guarantees victory, but only increases the chances of achieving it. It's especially great that the number of players does not affect the balance. Master of Orion can be played comfortably with two, three, or four players. Except that the duration increases, but this is quite normal.

The game has essentially only one drawback - the lack of depth when drawing up tactics for each of the races. And the scientifically skilled Psilons, and the space conquerors of the Bulrati, and even the secretive Darloks, who can change their appearance - all these and other races have special abilities, but victory is achieved in approximately the same way: constant optimization of resources in order to gain points as quickly as possible .

Because of this, even the presence of 6 factions with a maximum of 4 players does not seem like abundance, because there are no serious differences in tactics, because of this, the expectation of opening a “second bottom” turns out to be unjustified, since, alas, there is no bottom.

This problem can only be solved by increasing the volume, that is, releasing add-ons with new cards and races. Thanks to a very flexible resource system, there are a whole lot of options for new cards, even without introducing new mechanics.

However, regardless of how the developers develop their project, it is already worth the money and may drag on for a long time. The “paper” version of Master of Orion is no less interesting than the digital one, and this is very good news for those who care about domestic board games.

Conquering the galaxy is a thorny business, you can’t do it rashly, it’s worth practicing first. "Master of Orion: Board game“offers to take an express course for a young fighter - to develop a small civilization and master several systems in a short time, without long trips and immersing yourself in the problem headlong. Light strategy on a space theme with elements of the euro and card mechanics. In the review about the pros and cons of the game.

Game box

How to play?

Card game with euro elements. It is driven into genre boundaries very strictly - a concentrate of 2 mechanics.

Inside the box

We play cards from our hand and put them into four piles (systems), each pile should not exceed 5 cards. The top one is active, it can be used during the turn, those under it lose activity and bring only resources (displayed on the icon at the top right).

Four stacks - four systems. The top card of each system is active, the rest are used to obtain resources.

At the beginning of the round, we “receive” resources by marking them on our personal tablet. The resource scale is divided into 3 levels. Depending on which marker the player approaches, the player receives a number of actions (working ones) and additional bonuses or penalties.

In addition to resources, “action zones” are marked on the tablet - you can place “workers” on them, as well as a reminder of the main points of the game - very convenient.

Player board

There are plenty of actions to effectively and meaningfully play a game in various conditions. Actions to choose from:

The game lasts 8 rounds or until the loyalty level of any player reaches zero or lower, or someone builds 4 systems to capacity.

Impression

Positive

Simplicity and ease of learning

The game is simple, holistic and complete, plus well-developed rules that leave no questions. Time to master: 30 minutes, easy. It does not require any special preparation; the deck can be learned on the fly. The ideal gateway, as an introductory game, has excellent qualities to give an idea of ​​both the genre and to have an interesting time in a company that is not particularly familiar with board games.

Fast and meaningful games

Game time in “Master of Orion” is 30-40 minutes for three. The pace is maintained, you don't get bored. Strategic and tactical decisions are present, but you can’t dive into the depths - everything is on the surface. This is a plus for some, a minus for others, but you don’t need to expect more from the game, it’s a light strategy.

Replay value

The games are exciting - the cards are addictive, they're fun to study, and the Euro engine is fun to play with. Enthusiasm lasts for about 10 games, then declines. For me this is a pretty good result:

• Firstly, I want to replay as all races, since each has its own characteristics. Some are dedicated to war, others to research, others to economics, etc.
• Secondly, at first you strive to use cards that give an immediate effect, then it is interesting to use the maximum number of cards with action cells, which prolongs interest in the game.

Races with different abilities

Interaction, conflict

In terms of interaction, the game resembles a euro, that is, communication between participants is minimized. You have 2 options to contact your opponent:

• Attack- direct aggression, but this is not a war, but a short skirmish that gives you guaranteed VPs and takes away the loyalty of your opponent. There is nothing epic about such an attack.
• Use cards - as a rule, you limit your opponent’s actions, force you to discard cards from your hand, remove resources or loyalty. The harm sometimes results is more significant than as a result of the previous method.

The first option is often used, the second, although more effective, depends on a larger number of conditions, and for this reason it is more difficult to use it systematically.

For fans of the euro, the level of conflict is above average; for those who are used to being “tougher”, it is possible that the interaction will be barely noticeable.

Multiplayer mode and dueling option

We played with 2, 3 and 4 people - everything was great. The nature of the game does not change.

Contrary to expectations, in the dueling version, there is no strict calculation - the randomness of the cards and the lack of the need to interact do not allow this. There was a suspicion that something similar to “” would be released, but no, the game keeps up with its stated standards.

The full team (4 participants) was afraid that there would be downtimes (waiting for a move), but in reality the process proceeds just as quickly as when playing with three people.

Ergonomics and iconography

Master of Orion: The Board Game has a user-friendly design that is simple, visual, and practical. The player’s tablet is absolutely ideal - it combines information content and functionality. The “interface” commands respect.

Advisors

Fan

The game is fun. Pumping up resources and selecting combinations brings due pleasure. It’s not just the moment of studying cards and entering them that keeps you interested (the cards don’t exactly offer variety), but also the regulation of the resources received. According to the conditions, at the beginning of the round, participants check the level of mobilization and, depending on the result, action cubes are distributed, bonuses and penalties are received. This adds a certain urgency to what is happening and forces you not only to “get rich” by extracting more and more new resources, but also at some point to limit yourself - spending or, conversely, leaving what you have accumulated for the next round.

The game helps lagging participants - lends a “helping hand” in the form of an additional card and, conversely, “suspends” successful players, “slowing them down” with fines. The game acts as an invisible judge, controlling the participants and giving a chance to those lagging behind whenever a new round begins. “Big Brother”, represented by the game itself, allows you to feel the interaction more than real players))).

Negative

Variety of cards and specifics of their combination

The deck lacks variety. This is not required for an entry-level game; there is hope for additional expansions, but it seems to me that they have been delayed. Although the game is interesting, it does not hold attention for long, that is, this is the case when it is advisable to offer extras without delay. At least if you follow the easiest and most obvious path - introducing new cards. The more time passes, the less interest in new cards, and the greater the need to rework the mechanics, for example, increasing interaction, and this is already more difficult.

Random

Much depends on the arrival of cards. It's common for card game to gather hands, but a serious burden for the euro. As a result, some games work and spin at the required speed, while others temporarily “freeze” due to the systematic arrival of “untimely” cards.

Setting and art

I’m not familiar with the computer game to which the box refers, but the gameplay itself does not evoke any associations. The illustrations are also quite simple, meaning they are formally there, but do not contribute to the atmosphere. The gameplay itself is quite abstract.

Quality

The only serious complaint I have about the cards is that protectors are a necessity.

Opinion

“Master of Orion: Board Game” is an excellent light strategy, a concentrate of euros and cards. A good product to satisfy the feeling of table hunger, ideal for an appetizing snack on a quick fix, can sometimes be offered as a light snack and for festive table. I recommend it to all beginners and enthusiasts.

pros

• Easy to learn.
• Ease of gameplay.
• Fast and dynamic games
• Replay value
• Mix of euro and card engines.
• Moderate conflict
• Plays perfectly with any declared composition (2-4 people).
• Thoughtful design.
• The game is fun.

Minuses

• The cards are not very diverse, the combos are simple and few in number.
• The randomness of cards coming into your hand can “slow down” the game.
• The setting and art do not create an atmosphere, although they are made good level. Perhaps the problem is the dryness of the mechanics themselves, where there was no room for the detail required by the imagination.
• Quality of cards.

When one wise head invented computer technology capable of performing unimaginable calculations, another, no less bright person figured out how to play with this technology... At the dawn of digital entertainment, every idea was new, and it was easy to amaze the public. In those days, programmers could implement their wildest ideas without regard to publishers, graphics were not so important, games had a well-thought-out storyline and “brain-breaking” gameplay (which is rare now). We will consider the desktop embodiment of one of these masterpieces. Today on the Pink Sofa is the galaxy-conquering board game Master of Orion.

In 1993, Microprose released a game by Steven Barcia called Master of Orion, which was destined to become a cult entertainment and eclipse the famous "Civilization". Players had to travel in space, explore planets, build bases, trade, engage in politics, form alliances and upgrade spaceships. Nothing like this had existed before, so millions of gamers clung to their monitors and to this day make forays into space. By the way, the fourth re-release of Master of Orion was recently released, which caused another intergalactic war between fans of this genre.

Such a remarkable event (re-release), as well as an interesting plot and a big name, prompted the developers to create a desktop version of the electronic version of Master of Orion.

Inside the space box you will find a stack of cards, a bag of alien dice, a handful of tokens, several tablets and beautifully designed game rules, which are also very intelligently written. The vast expanses of space that we have to explore are hidden under an impressive organizer...

Four civilizations will fight for dominance over the planets of the galaxy. Each of the applicants will receive 15 cubes of their own color to mark achievements and determine the number of available actions.

“+50” and “+100” markers will be given to successful rulers who manage to circle the victory point track several times. A modest round token (don't accidentally throw it away when you remove the cardboard from the base) will mark the number of rounds, the large token will go to the first player. A decrease in loyalty will be an unpleasant surprise for space explorers during the final count.

A compact space rectangle will inform you about the players’ achievements and the number of rounds played.

Opponents can choose any race they want to play for during intergalactic battles. The illustrations are taken from the modern version of Master of Orion, the characteristics and properties of the cardboard characters are close to their electronic counterparts. There are a total of 6 tablets available: on one side there are people depicted, on the other side there are alien creatures.

One of the points that has caused controversy among fans of the re-release of Master of Orion is the “humanoidness” inherent in all races. Alas, the imagination of modern designers is not as original as we would like...

Eight advisors will help with wise parting words, and will also allow you to use the properties indicated on the cards. As you can see, the council also fell victim to “standardization”, resembling people in exotic costumes...

The game deck consists of four types of cards, differing in background color. Despite the variety, there is nothing complicated in their use: the top block contains the name of the building and the resources it brings to its owner.

In the center there is an illustration and the cost that must be paid for the construction of this structure is indicated. The bottom block informs about victory points, special properties of the card and the time they are triggered.

To unknown worlds

Before the start of an intergalactic conflict, select the race that you will represent, mark with cubes on the tablet the starting indicators of food, fleet size, production efficiency, and the maximum indicator of population loyalty. Opponents also receive 5 random building cards. A player who arrives on Earth from another galaxy will start the game.

Place five random advisors in the center of the table (put the rest in the box), the dice take the starting position on the victory point track. The round marker is located on the first division of the track - everything is ready, you can take off!

Before developing your empire, attacking, trading and colonizing planets, pay attention to the loyalty scale located on the left of the tablet and the civilization achievements table located below.

The more you employ your subjects in production, recruit them into the navy, or send them to household work, the less they love you. And the smaller the population, the smaller your capabilities, as indicated by the explanatory text on some cards. Of course, it is possible to return love, but this will require certain sacrifices. Therefore, don't get carried away...

But high indicators on the scales make it possible to perform more actions during the current round.

This is determined by the rightmost marker on any of the tracks. The table is divided into three sectors, the outer ones indicate additional conditions, accompanied by the receipt of action dice. If your subjects blithely walk around the planet, throwing away their picks and shovels, you will receive a loyalty point, one card from the common deck and only three actions. A strict dictator who squeezes out all the juices of their people is given five actions, but his popularity is steadily declining.

The round begins with obtaining resources from the systems that you have mastered (more on that later). Each card brings as many resources as indicated in the upper right corner of the picture - move the markers along the scales. After that, take the appropriate number of action cubes, and you can begin.

Although, no. There are special cards, as well as locations on the tablet that allow you to get additional bonuses - don’t forget about them. Starting with the first player, opponents perform one action at a time, spending the cubes they receive from their personal reserve.

The simplest thing is to take two cards from the common deck (you need to replenish your hand somehow). This action is called a beautiful word“research”, although, in my opinion, it is not such in meaning. It’s more like “the development of construction technology”... Lots of cards?! In this case, reset one and get the resources indicated in the lower left corner of the picture.

You are allowed to colonize up to four systems, each of which can contain up to five buildings. Speaking in simple language– there can be 4 piles in front of you, each of which can consist of 5 cards. Objects are arranged in a ladder, and only the top (last) played card in each system is considered active. The cost of placing on the table is shown on the left - move the cubes on the corresponding scales.

Some cards can be activated using dice and receive bonuses indicated in the lower block. Useful feature, which sometimes allows you to carry out unique “combos”.

There are also special locations on the tablet that will help your empire prosper: through trade you can exchange resources, increase the loyalty of your subjects by actively promoting the colonial way of life, and hire an adviser for consultations and receive privileges for three cards from your hand.

And, of course, you are allowed to attack peace-loving neighbors, reducing their loyalty level and gaining victory points. But aggression is only feasible if your fleet outnumbers the enemy’s armada.

At the end of the round, remove all dice from the activated locations, discard your hand down to five cards, pass the starting player token around the circle, and move the round marker.

The game will end either after the eighth round, or when one of the players collects 5 cards in all four systems, or when the subjects of one of the rulers rebel (loyalty drops below zero). After the occurrence of any of these events, the colonization of space ends, and the time comes for summing up: the cost of all built objects, as well as the loyalty of the population, are added to the previously scored points.

The final result determines the winner, who is sent to the constellation Orion to undergo further service for the benefit of the galaxy.

Somewhere on the edge of the galaxy

Let me start with the fact that Master of Orion is based on the original development of Ekaterina Gorn and Igor Sklyuev (the board game “Kepler”). Well, year by year “our” games are becoming more and more serious, and at this rate we will catch up with the “west” in the very near future. Well done! I am sincerely happy for domestic authors who are rushing forward by leaps and bounds, ahead of the rest of the planet. Good luck to them and creative success!

The game itself, as you might guess, comes down to pumping up tracks, creating sets and cycling cards. At the same time, the number of actions and rounds is limited, which prevents the gameplay from being unnecessarily drawn out and makes you think about strategy, especially at the very beginning of the game. As it turned out after several combat missions, Master of Orion can be played comfortably with any composition, since, frankly speaking, there is not as much interaction as we would like...

I would also like to see special cards that would allow you to change buildings in systems in order to subsequently receive the maximum amount of resources for the collected sets. But this can be easily corrected with an addition, which, in my opinion, will only benefit the game.

Otherwise, this is a very good board game for players of all skill levels. Beginners will find it easy to navigate the variety of maps and tablet functions, while experienced space explorers will be able to develop several winning strategies. We are waiting for additions, although even in this form the game deserves your closest attention.

Board game

Number of players
From 2 to 4

Party time
40 to 60 minutes

Game difficulty
Average

A strategic space board game, which was created based on the computer game of the same name in 1993. You have to lead one of the civilizations and become the ruler of the galaxy, since humanity needs new house. You can explore space, build and develop colonies, engage in trade, and all this in order to lead your people to victory. The board game Master of Orion is very dynamic, vibrant and balanced.

The purpose of the board game Master of Orion board game:

You need to dial greatest number points at the end of the game. And congratulations to the ruler of the galaxy!

Players receive points for:

• card effects
• successful attacks by opponents
• structures in your systems
• loyalty to civilization
  IMPORTANT! If you have negative loyalty, but points are taken away.

The game ends when one of three conditions is met:

• the eighth round has ended
• at the end of the round one of the players in each system has five cards
• at the end of the round, civilization loyalty is 0 or lower

Board game Master of Orion: game rules

The Master of Orion board game lasts a maximum of eight rounds. One round consists of 3 phases, which go in order:

1. Phase: Preparation.

• Obtaining resources. Each player receives the resources that are shown at the top of their card. When you gain a resource, you move the die on your resource meter. IMPORTANT! It is prohibited to have more resources than there are spaces on your meter.
• Determining the level of mobilization and obtaining action. This determines the number of actions your civilization can perform in a given round. The level of mobilization can be: low, medium and high. When it’s low, you get the least number of actions, but gains loyalty; when it’s high, it’s the opposite.
• Effects. Players take turns using all their effects indicated on the cards.

2. Phase: Actions.

In this phase, all players take turns performing their actions. The first player takes one action, the second player takes one action, and so the action moves around until all players have spent their action dice.

• Construction - you can build a structure. The cost of the structure is paid, and the card itself is laid out on the table in one of your systems, or a new one is based at your discretion.
• Exploit - You can discard one of your cards from your hand and receive for it new map or resources. It all depends on the color of the discarded card:
  • 1. gray card - take 4 cards and leave 3 of them
  • 2. blue card - take 3 food
  • 3. red card - take 2 fleets
  • 4. gold card- take 1 production
  • 3. Research - you can take 2 cards from the deck
• Activation - You can trigger the effect of a special card with the Activation symbol. Some effects will need to be paid for, some will be activated without payment.
• Attack. To attack another player, you must first declare war by rolling the dice. You can attack an opponent from 1 to 3 times, depending on the number of opponents. You can only attack if you and your opponent have the same number of fleets or your fleet is superior. Do not forget also that you will need to pay for the attack with resources. After an attack, loyalty drops by one unit and the attacker receives 2 points.
• Trade - you can exchange your resources at market value. Resources above 9 are lost.
• Propaganda - increases the loyalty of your civilization, only once during the entire round. Loyalty can be higher than 10.
• Deal - You can hire an advisor. You discard any three cards and take one of the advisors. IMPORTANT! You can only have one advisor. If you want to take another, then discard the first one. All advisors provide unique bonuses and properties.

3. Phase: End of the round.

• Checked at the end of the game. The Master of Orion board game ends in three of the above conditions.
• The dice are discarded into the reserve
• Up to five cards are discarded
• The move is passed to the next player in the circle.

"Master of Orion" - a tabletop version of the legendary computer game, which stood at the origins of the development of galactic strategies, and indeed strategic games of the “space” direction in general.

On the packaging of the game, as befits a space strategy - starships and planets, everything is very stylish

Description and plot of the game

You can choose the race that you like more or whose strategy you prefer

“Master of Orion” (translated as “Lord or Master of Orion”) is the name of the game and, at the same time, the game universe.

The plot is quite traditional for this universe - people, having gone beyond the boundaries of their native star system, explore the expanses of the Milky Way and learn that other races live in space. Each of them has its own ways of achieving goals, but the main goal is the same - prosperity and establishment of hegemony in the Milky Way Galaxy.

In order to survive, humanity will have to maneuver between warlike, secretive and smart neighbors, find a common language with them, manipulate, share technologies or try to win a clash of star squadrons.

But you don't have to play for people. You can choose the race that you like more or whose strategy you prefer. Take by force - or diplomacy. By cunning - or by intelligence. And decide the fate of the galaxy.

Races found in the game:

Motto: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” They recently entered the political arena on a galactic scale and are now doing their best to establish relations with other races. But the space fleet is also kept at the ready.
Alkari. Motto: “One race under the shadow of the gods.” Militant religious bird-like fanatics. There is nothing easier than provoking them to start a war.
Psilons. Motto: " Common sense above all". The best scientists and researchers in the galaxy and the most peaceful race.

Game cards

Meklars. Motto: “Unity of mind and machine.” Machines that once rebelled against their organic creators and enslaved them. They are driven by cold calculation and their goal is to search for an endless source of energy.
Darloks. Motto: “We operate from the shadows.” Known for their treachery and secrecy. They can copy someone else's appearance and engage in espionage and technology theft.
Bulrati. The motto is “Defending meekness, crushing weakness.” Bear-like defenders environment, cruel and aggressive.
Mrrshany. Motto: “There is no greater honor than death in battle.” Graceful and independent, like the cats they resemble, they place the hunt above all else, no matter how powerful the intended prey.

What's in the set?

The "Lord of Orion" set includes:

1. The field on which points and rounds are counted.
2. Civilization tablets. They are two-sided: on the one hand, people, on the other, one of the 6 races participating in the game, with a tablet for each (the creators took only part of the races from the computer version of “Master of Orion”). They contain basic information about the race: appearance, name, basic gaming qualities, loyalty scale, counters for products, fleets, buildings, available effects.
3. Building maps – 90 pieces. They indicate what is needed for construction and what “buns” it gives.
4. Advisor cards – 8 pieces.
5. First player token.
6. Double-sided loyalty tokens with marks “–1” and “–3” – 10 pieces.
7. “+50/+100 points” tokens – 4 pieces.
8. Round token
9. Wooden cubes – 15 pieces each, 4 colors.
10. The rules booklet is colorful, thoroughly illustrated, covering all aspects of the game.

Rules and course of the game

Preparing for the game

Up to 4 players participate in the game. Before it starts, everyone chooses cubes of the same color, as well as a race, whose tablet is placed in front of them.

Players place one die at the starting positions of the resource counters. These positions are circled and are different for all races. Another cube is placed on the top division of the loyalty scale, at the “10” mark.

Then all participants place one die on the zero point of the score counter, and a round token on the first section of the round line. The remaining dice form the player's reserve and are placed next to his player board.

The decks are shuffled separately from each other. Five cards are taken from the advisor deck and placed in the center of the table, and the rest are put into the box - they will not be needed in the current game. The deck of structures is also placed in the center of the table, and everyone takes five cards into their hand. If you don’t like them, you can reset one or more and dial new ones, but only once.

The first player token is awarded to the person who last played Master of Orion on the computer (yes, this board game is primarily intended for fans).

Basic Concepts

• First player. The course and execution of all actions begins with it. At the end of the round, the first player token is passed counterclockwise.
• Player cards. They are considered only those that are on the table, that is, ready-made buildings and hired advisers.
• System. Buildings are combined into systems (up to four systems with five cards each). The cards are placed one on top of the other, shifted downwards. The one on top is considered a working card, and only its effects can be used.
• Reset cards. The discard pile lies next to the main one, but face up. The reset can be viewed at any time without changing the order.

• Receiving and spending resources. When a resource is received, the cube moves along the scale to the right, up to a limit of 9 (excesses are burned). When spending - to the left, up to the limit of 0. You cannot spend more than you have. Sources of resources: building cards, exploitation actions, card effects, trade. Expenses: construction, payment for effects, attack and again trade.
• Loyalty. An indicator of people's support for their leader. Decreases with high mobilization, when a race is drawn into an armed conflict, and when certain effects are triggered. Increases with low mobilization, good propaganda and effects with appropriate action.
• When loyalty is below -6, the ability to build and activate some cards is lost. If someone completes the round with 0 loyalty or lower, the game ends. The positive loyalty balance at the end of the game is added to the rest of the points earned.
• Victory points. They earn money from successful attacks and triggered effects and are marked on the corresponding counter on the field. If the score exceeds 50 or 100, this is marked with the appropriate token.

Progress of the game

The game lasts 8 rounds, each of which consists of 3 phases. In some cases it may end earlier.

Start of the round

• Participants receive resources(as many as shown on the top card of his systems) and move the cube along the resource counter to the limit at the last mark.
• The level of mobilization is determined, that is, how many actions a civilization can perform on this turn, taking into account bonuses and penalties. To find out, look at the cell with which number is the rightmost cube in the resource line:

7–9 – high: you need to take 5 cubes from the reserve, and reduce loyalty by 1;

4–6 – medium: take 4 cubes from the reserve;

1–3 – low: take 3 dice and one card, increase loyalty by 1.

All received cubes are placed on the boards in the area of ​​available actions; don’t be afraid to mix things up – there are hints under the resource table;

• Players take turns, starting with the first one, to activate the effects marked “At the beginning of the round.”

Actions

People. Motto: “If you want peace, prepare for war”

Players take turns performing one action at a time until they have done everything they planned. The number of actions is limited by the number of available dice - all of them must be spent. The cubes are placed in the corresponding cell on the card or tablet.

• Construction. A card from your hand is placed on the table on top of an existing system or starting a new one and is paid for with resources (a system of discounts applies when certain effects are activated!). If it lands on a card with a die, the die is put into reserve.
• Exploitation. One card is discarded from the hand, thereby activating its effect (icon in the lower left corner). Usually this is the receipt of resources depending on the color of the card.
• Study. The top two cards from the deck are sent to your hand.
• Activation. To activate a working card, a cube is placed in a cell with the letter A on it, after which the text written under the picture is triggered. If the cube is already lying down, re-activation is impossible. In some cases, you will have to pay extra for resources.
• Attack. Depending on the number of players, you can attack each of your neighbors in the galaxy from one to three times per round by placing your die on his board. This is acceptable, but you have no fewer fleets than he does. As a result, the attacker's loyalty drops by 1, and the attacker receives two victory points.
• Trade. You can exchange resources with another participant at the rate indicated on the tablet.
• Propaganda. Using it once per round gives +3 loyalty points.
• Deal. Three cards are discarded from your hand, and in return you take any advisor from the table. You can't take a second one, but you can change it by returning the old one to its place.