We just had our first game. Players were (as seated):
Me - Universities of Jol-Nar, Kyle - Barony of Letnev, L1Z1X - Christian, the Mentak Coalition - Blaine and the Embers of Muaat - Alex
We spent an hour going over the rules, and covered the major differences. The initial turn was quiet, mostly light expansion but there were a couple action cards played.
Turn two saw the first conflict, Kyle took a planet from me so I beefed up my new SD in anticipation of future treachery. Alex expanded into Blaine's territory thanks to a non-aggression pact with me. Meanwhile Christian filled in the far side of the Galaxy with his blood-red troops. Blain positioned to seize the throne world.
Turn three Blain grabbed Mecatol and Kyle beefed up his infrastructure buying his second racial in the process. Alex beefed up as well and I scooped up some extra worlds for a VP. Christian pulled his fleet into position and started harassing the Mentak. The first votes saw a flurry of deals and we all agreed that the new political process was a vast improvement over 3rd edition. Fighters and Troops doubled in cost. And then, things got weird...
Turn 4... was short. No Trade, no Leadership and no Politics. Even so, by the end of this turn everyone had researched the dreaded War Sun. Small skirmishes broke out everywhere and the VP started to flow. Christian replaced Blain's small MR foothold with a fleet he felt would secure the capitol for the duration of the game.
Turn 5 started with Kyle knocking Christian off of MR, ended with Alex reducing his WS/DD fleet to scrap but the space drow held the planet.
Turn 6 was a blur, Kyle was leaving and we all threw in. Alex and Christian battled through the Wormholes, Christian and Blain sparred over their border. Alex had his large fleet with his prototype WS shut down by Blaine's Diplomacy play and I attempted to squash Kyle's flagship fleet. He responded by slipping by the lightly defended production system to grab not one but both of my home worlds. A last minute gamble got me one back but not both, keeping me from scoring the winning point.
End scores - Kyle, Christian and Alex at 7 points. Me at 6 and Blaine at 5. For us, a phenomenally close game.
Everyone agreed the subtle changes were vast improvements, the big changes were even better and even without Distant Suns (haters be hatin' but we're not amont them) we all agreed to do it again as soon as we can manage. Pics to follow ?