Hi!

I'm _very_ new to TI3 and have yet to play my first round of it (as it is very hard for me to find enough players with enough spare time).

But while I'm trying to understand all the games' rules, I found one part that does not seem to make any sense to me: the Technology cards.

How are the Technology cards handled at all?

Does every player get his randomly shuffled deck or are they colour-sorted before the start of the game?

Where from and how many starting technologies does every player draw? What if the player draws a random technology that requires another tech to work at all?

Please guide a noob through the whole Technology card aspect of the game if you would be so kind, thank you all very much.

(And please forgive my hackbeaten english, as I'm from germany...) ;-)

rashktah said:

The things you need to realise about technology is that you don't draw the cards at random (similarly, no need to shuffle them), and that a player's technology cards are not in play until he or she buys them. Rather, they work in the same way that your spaceship reinforcements do:

Each player gets a technology deck of a different colour from which he can buy technologies. As with spaceships, these are not in play unless they are bought by the player.

Each race starts the game with a set of specific technologies (listed on the race card).

During the game, a player can buy any technology for which he has the prerequisite technologies. If a technology requires the 'stasis capsules' technology, for example, you can't buy that technology if you don't have stasis capsules. Buying technology normally happens, of course, when someone uses the 'Technology' strategy card as a strategic action.

oldthrashbarg said:

Ah, I see... ^.^

So everytime a player checks what technology he's going to aquire he scans through his entire technology deck and chooses the card he wants to get (if he has the prequisites)?

Exactly. You are always free to choose which technology you want to buy as long as you have the prerequisites. If you buy a technology you get the corresponding card from your technology deck and place it before you so everyone can see what technologies you have.

The rule book has a neat "tech-tree" showing an overview of all technologies. There are other helpful tech-sheets in the net (you may want to look here: www.boardgamegeek.com/files/thing/12493 )