first: great game! we have a blast and i would like to congratulate you on an awesomw product!!!

we did run into several rules issues though and i would like to start a thread regarding them. (i have not not played any previous editions and english is not my first language, sorry if the answers are obvious to you guys...)

1) is there a maximum number of cards you can have in your hand (i assume no)? what happens when a player has to draw a card but can not? we just played a game with the kaikaze and he had close to 40 cards in his hand (he had some moebius tubes) and we almost ran out of encounter cards! are we doing something wrong?

2) what if the *hate* has 1 or 0 cards in hand at the start of his turn? discard first and then draw 8 or the other way around?

3) what if the looser declares an upset and one player has to play a negotiate? are compansations payed? who will get them?

4) can i use a special or wild card to attack players in my own system? what if i draw a special and i am the player in questiuon? can i discard the card and draw again as with a normal card of my own color?

there are more questions but we want to get back to playing... i will come back to post the rest in a bit.

than you for the help!

1. There is no maximum. I don't know the answer to the rest of your question. However, if Kamikaze actually had 40 cards in hand, I'd have to say you were probably doing something wrong.

2. Well, if he has 1 card in hand, he must use his power, and then draw a new hand. If he has 0, then he draws first, and uses his power second. Kevin Wilson answered this question on another forum.

3. If you CAN'T play an attack, then a Negotiate is allowed. The amount of compensation is based on how many ships you lost. So, if you win, you would get no compensation because you lost no ships.

4. My old edition didn't have these, so I'm not 100% sure, but I assume you would treat this as if you drew your own color.

RE: Question 4

Destiny cards will generally say "in that player's home system". Drawing your own colour allows you to have an encounter with another player on a planet in your home system, if you want to do so. I believe wild says any player (in his or her home system) so this is only possible when your own colour is drawn.

the special destinies say *other than you* so that answers itself but the wild also says any OTHER player so i am not sure on that (the explanation in the rulebook says any player without the word other...)

5) the gambler says *do not use with sorcerer* how is this implemented? do you remove one of the flares if you want toi play with the other (at the start when determinating the alien powers of the players)?

6) can you ally with either offence or defense if you are a bystander (someone who allready has a colony on the contested planet)? the rules give no info on this.

minor nitpick: just noticed a spelling error on the reserve alien flavor text *bcame*

thak you for the quick reply !!! i will be back for more ...

It's not impossible to get 40 cards... start with 8, and then ally with the defense ALL the time. Then there's the Filch flare... that will get you all the cards you can eat. If the deck disappears completely, then you just gotta wait for some cards to get discarded... keep your eyes peeled for whoever is "stealing" the cards.

When you have Do Not Use powers, you need to just redraw them. You can either get all the aliens before shuffling the Flares in, or just go through and pick out one of the unused aliens- or just draw a new flare and add it in... one more won't kill you.

You can ally with either side (if you are invited), even if you have nothing to gain. Ally with the defense to get cards or ships, even if you are otherwise a bystander. Ally with the offence, even if you have a colony- maybe because strategically it will improve your situation if the defense loses (maybe they lose their power, or maybe it's better for the offense to gain the base to set you up for a joint win).