Hello Everyone,

This is my first post here but I have literally owned every single version/expansion of this game. In my opinion this is literally the best game ever made. The biggest barrier to play is the fact that the game always takes us, in the big 6-8 player sessions, about 8-12 hrs to complete. We play with the new strats besides new warfare(which blows imo) including burecracy instead of imperialism. It takes so long we can only manage a game once every few months. The second biggest killer of this game is new players who typically make that first issue of time just so much worse. We try our best to have everyone ready with their build purchases and have a good idea of what they are trying to do on their turn before it happens.

Does anyone have any other tips that don't destroy the integrity of the game(like playing to 6 VPs, etc)? We also use the fast start option where you activate 2 adjacent systems in order and take them over no random chance. That definitely changes the game(makes the Mecatol objectives way easier) and honestly I'm not sure I care for it. Unfortunately, with how long it has been taking we have little choice.

Thanks

Hi there!

Unfortunately, new players are always going to slow the game down massively. It's a huge game, and one that takes people quite a while to get their heads round. You've already hit on one of the big timesavers, which is pre-planning your moves. I can offer 2 more:

1.) Nominate someone to be the "It's your go!" man. One of the big timewasters is simply people not realising it's their turn.

2.) Do you care exactly what he's building in his turn? Thought not - so take your move! Don't wait for that space battle to end if you don't care who wins - take your move!

Past that, make sure you're playing to 9VP (not 10) and don't let political cards go on too long. Also, 8-player games take a lot longer than 6-player games.

Good luck!

We have found that using SET (Simulated Early Turn) to be as long as playing the fast mostly eventless first round.

And we found that using SET unbalance races penalizing big time some races (Yin, Saar, Hacan)

It is not worth using for the minimal time saved.

Ugluk

Take out actions cards that let you:

1) Search the deck

2) Mimics another action card

3) Draw action cards equal to players and distribute them

Ugluk said:

I second that Ugluk, that's some good analysis. The only thing I would add, is that some races do especially well on offense first turn if players start at close position (Mentak) but cannot use their fleet to negotiate if there is not chance of combat first turn. Oh, and the Jol get shafted since they can't pull the first turn nano tech trick.

In my play group we've added a rule that the last step of an action is to shout your strategy card number and the number that should follow you.

Possuman is right though, big games will just take longer. Something you might want to try is having a 4 player game on occasion you can hold the game more frequently since you need compliance from fewer people's schedules and it gets done faster.

-get rid of the unused home system cards in the planet deck

-Have someone playing as a ''banker'' near all the stuff thats need to be done such as Action and political cards distribution, trade good distribution, GF tokens, planet cards, etc.

-I'm thinking about using a timer during ''Assembly'' since sometimes it just get long for nothing

-Think of what you will do during your action phase BEFORE its your turn, if theres no move that concerns you

-Get yourself some 10dices, because rolling 12+ fighter with 4 dices is a waste of time and you have to share those 4 dices with all players lol

-have everything you need during a game such as food, drinks, smokes and freaking sharks with freaking laser beams on their freaking heads

thats pretty much it i dont have other idea

I recommend using a technology tech-tree or checklist with the stats printed on it. That way a player can mark which techs he has researched and can add his bonuses easily instead of shuffling through a bunch of cards. My friend suggested it and it is brilliant. He has his laminated and uses dry-erase markers to make them re-usable. It really speeds up combat resolution!

Saikoro said:

On this note, I was actually inspired by some pictures I saw over at BGG (I think) to make tokens to replace the planet cards. I found little wooden discs at a crafts store basically exactly the same size at the planets on the map, and I printed up front and back images to stick on them. They look gorgeous and we set them down on top of each planet as we build the map. The rest go back in the box, and this way we only concern ourselves with those planets (home system or otherwise) that are actually in play. It also means when you initially conquer a planet you can take it off the board yourself rather than having a designated "planet deck" player shuffle through to find your reward.

It adds a little extra time to set up, but the time it saves during play is huge. I mean, it won't cut a six hour game in half or anything, but every little bit helps, right?

im actually curious to see those ''planete token'' can you share any pic? hehe

Saikoro said:

I can certainly scan a couple of them when I get home tonight. Not sure if I still have the digital art files, but I'll check.

Here's a selection of the tokens I was talking about. I decided to put the resources and influence on both sides so that players can more easily keep track of how many resources they have in general without constantly peeking at their exhausted planets. The tech specs only appear on the front (due to not enough room on the back), but IIRC such planets have to be ready when you begin the spending process anyway, so that works out.

To make the tokens, I printed these images out on sticker paper, cut them out, and fixed them to little wooden disks (1.5 inches in diameter, IIRC.) I was very careful to make sure front and back matched as I went! Then I used some MacTac on both sides for added protection. For those who don't recognize the brand name, MacTac is this clear sheet plastic used to protect countertops and shelves, but if you're so inclined it's also great for protecting paper crafts like this. =)

I do have a bigger token for Mecatol Rex (2.5 inches, I think) that matches the size of MR on it's own tile. Makes you feel that much more the Emperor to have that huge planet token in your stack! =)

I would be happy to provide the files to people who want to make their own, but first I'd like to check the issue of distributing card text with someone more fluent in the terms FFG laid out. Was it only action and political cards we aren't allowed to transmit the text of? Or all cards? I suppose the front images are good either way since everything that appears there was taken directly from the tiles and we are allowed to use the tile images in online games, but the backs have the flavour text from the planet cards. Not sure if that's cool.

nice they are looking good and im sure they save some time during the game since you dont have to find them in a planet deck. it must be just a little longer to set de board due to those tokens placement. ill have an eye on those

One tip to speed up game play: Have a rule that negotiations must be done in the Strategy Phase.

This has been very effective in our games.

by negociation you mean something like: ''ah i give 5 Trade Goods and you dont screw me up in Mecatol Rex'' or ''dude dont attack me on "that'' system and i wont attack you in ''that'' one''. if its something else plz let us know what kind of ''negociation'' you group is having. oh and by the way is it allowed to do some negociation like mentioned before at ANY TIME during the game? because our group is kinda agressive these days and we are not so cooperating with each other. So i kinda want some tips or idea of possible negociation to cooldown the table when its too hot on the board.

Probably the best thing I ever did for our game group was make a sheet that keeps track of the player turns. It has 8 sections in order from 1 to 8 colored to represent the strategy card, I also have a counter with each of the players names on it but in two different colors. At the beginning of the game round organize the names as the players pick the strategy cards and then you have the turn order on the sheet. Call out names and when they take their turn flip their name over to the alternate color. Keep going around and as people pass take their name off which automatically gives you the new turn order. This really cuts down on a lot of down time, not only does the dynamic turn order becomes less of a pain to track, you can often let players that are on opposite sides go at the same time. It cut our play time from 8-9 hours to 6-7. Its so fast people are surprised when it gets back to their turn so often.

Simulated extra turns slows the game down, not only are your early turns more complicated you have more time to build up large fleets which leads to more epic late game battles. More fun, but also more time consuming.

btw, whats the Nano Tech trick

Nano tech trick= Jol-Nar can do the primary abilty of the Technology Strategy Card when he does the second....so you pick trade...do it asap....wait for the guy who picked the Technology card to play it so you can buy Micro technology+Nano technology.....so when you explore system in the first round...you can also spend the ressource on your new planet since they come Refreshed....oh and nobody can play action card on your dreadnaught/war sun.isnt it wonderful for a start?....the other races who has the pre-requist can buy those 2 tech but they need to pick the Tech Strategy card and must pay 8 instead of 6...which is a lot at start....and dont forget your 2 Political Cards that can be spent as trade goods...if youre in a 3-4 player game and you can pick tech+trade....youre pretty much in business for it...

lol, thats cool im gonna try that next time i play universities

Is it worth it for anyone else to get nano tech? We havent played without simulated early turns for a while so im not sure if it would be worth it for other races to get.