presumably an Alien that has lost 3 home planets and therefore his special ability can still play the wild version of his own flare card but not the super power version?

Chris

If you lose your power or have it zapped, you can only use the wild flare for your alien and not the super flare. You can verify this on the last pargraph of page thirteen, under the Flare Cards heading.

Cheers!

many thanks, the rules do seem pretty tight with this game.

Chris

A Pleasure! Also be aware of the FAQ on the support page .