Do I understand the tech rules correct :

Imagine a starting player having TWO encounters in his first turn. After the second regroup phase, ALL players may have TWO ships on there tech card. So imagine the second player having two encounters as well. After the second regroup phase of the second player ALL players may have a total of four ships researching. Is that the correct way ?

Thx,

Hunter42

Yes, according to the rules, every regroup is an opportunity to research your Tech.

A related question...

I've read through the Tech rules multiple times, and as far as I can tell, the only way to get a new Tech is to sacrifice your second encounter if you get one on your turn. I assumed at first that you would get a new one after using one, but I don't see the rule now. Did I dream this up, or am I missing something? That seems like too much to ask for a new card when the good ones (well, they're all good, but the cheap ones are no better than artifacts) already take a lot of time and resources to use. Then again, my games so far have mostly been with new players who are much more willing to invite everyone than I am, so I guess our games are going faster than normal because of this friendly attitude.

I see nothing in the rules that allows you to get a new tech other than giving up your second encounter. The only reason everyone gets one at the start is so everyone gets a chance to use them.

And don't count out the usefulness of the one-shot artifact-like Techs. What makes them better than artifacts is that you can wait to use it without worrying about losing your hand, and even more importantly, there's no card zap that can cancel its effects.

Except for the Tech Scramber, of course. AKA the Tech Zap.

Toomai said:

Yes, there's always an exception

I understand the usefulness. In my game I had a 2-cost artifact that let me take a card from the discard, so I got to reuse my 30. Pretty nice.
However, given the realization afterward that it was highly unlikely for me to get another Tech card and be able to research it before the game ends, I think in the future I will always choose the more expensive card with more oomph unless I'm Masochist or Amoeba or someone else who needs those tokens in the Warp or in use.

I plan to use Tech in every game from now on because it is a pretty fun addition and easy to ignore for those who don't like it, so my opinion is likely to change with more experience, but these are just some early thoughts.

I think it adds another strategic element to the game, I enjoy the chaos, but deep down, I do appreciate having a good strategy that can help you win the game --- in this case, are you willing to sacrifice your 2nd encounter to instead try and gain another (possibly game-changing) technology.

Although, I would be interested in alternative ideas in how to incorporate them.

I've yet to research a second tech card in any of my games. It seems like the opportunity typically comes up too late in the game to seriously consider abandoning a second encounter.

I haven't played that many times, though, so I'm not claiming the above to be some sort of proof of anything. More of an early observation.

In the games I've played I keep forgetting

It'd be a good idea to get a tech when you don't have a strong hand for a second attack.

As has been said, it is a good way to gain an advantage when you don't have the hand for a second encounter.

Don't forget that you draw more tech cards to choose from if you have foreign colonies. You don't get to keep more, but you at least have more to pick from.