by MarcM, 16 November 2025
If you’ve played Civilization, Alpha Centauri (I loved Alpha Centauri), Endless Legend, Galactic Civilizations, Distant Worlds, or (on and on and on), you’re familiar with the 4X concept, as I was but it’s interesting to see how the mechanics of a 4X game unfold in the tactile world.
How to Conquer the Universe
click images to enlarge
I’m playing what I guess you’d call two-handed solo. I have just enough imagination and almost enough discipline to pretend I don’t know what I’m doing when I’m playing the other side. There is some hidden information in the game that makes this problematic. Ship types and the number of ships in a fleet are meant to be hidden, as are your opponents’ technology levels and the tech on their ships. So I’m not getting the full experience, but I’ll do my best.
Exploring Space
I start with the basic 2-player scenario. Both empires get their full set of system markers and a homeworld. Each system hex in play gets a marker. Players can place their homeworld anywhere, but the other markers are flipped over and randomized to hide what awaits you in that hex.
After a ship enters a hex, it explores the system and the player flips over the counter to see what awaits. This is how you discover planets to colonize, minerals to exploit, or nebulae and asteroids that affect combat. The system markers within your area range from valuable to mostly harmless. Black holes are the exception. You have a 60/40 chance of surviving those.
Once you delve into the deep space system markers between empires, things are different. You have similar possibilities, but you also have the danger markers that destroy any ships in the system. And, in the advanced rules you might incur the wrath of high-powered aliens.
The game is split into a series of rounds. Three turns of movement, exploration, and combat, followed by an economic phase where you tally your income and spend it to maintain your ships, build new ships, and buy technology. Empires start with three scouts, three colony ships, a mining ship and four shipyards. Only the scouts have firepower, and not much of it, so the exterminating will have to wait.
So, I start exploring. A ship can move one system per turn with basic movement technology. If the ship has a firepower rating, it can enter an unexplored system and see what there is to be found. First priority is finding habitable worlds. I can colonize them to start generating income and develop technologies and ships to exterminate opponents. Green has two habitable worlds right next to home. Since the colony ships don’t have far to move, that’s fast money.
Red discovers the habitable Sheldon next door. They discover minerals as well. Minerals are valuable too, but more on that later. Asteroids aren’t helpful at the moment. But they can even the odds a bit in combat.
Green’s exploration uncovers a black hole. A roll of 1 to 6 means they survive and they get a 3. That’s really good. They can keep exploring. Exploring quickly is key to building an income stream and, well…everything else in the early game. Black holes are (I think) the most dangerous things you’ll find exploring your home system. Good reason to stay close to home in the beginning.
Expanding and Exploiting Space
Red starts to expand by colonizing next-door Sheldon. Colonies start small but their income value grows at the end of each Economic Phase to a max of 5. Not a lot, but they add up. We find habitable Cerberus and barren Anyon. I’ll send the colony ship to Cerberus but I can’t expand to Anyon until I develop terraforming.
I can exploit the minerals, using a mining ship to tow them to be harvested. Minerals give you five points of income once you bring them to a homeworld or colony. You don’t have to wait for the mineral income to mature like you do with a colony. The bad news is that it’s good for one turn only. But there are lots of minerals scattered through the empires. And in open space, you can find minerals valued at 10 points.
Both empires spend the first few turns exploring what lies under system markers. In addition to discovering colonies and minerals. For now, both empires stay in the safety of their home systems.
Keeping the Record Straight
As I mentioned before, there’s record-keeping and math. After every third turn of exploring, expanding and exploiting, you sum up income from colonies and minerals, and, if you’re using the advance rule, merchant lines. You then deduct the upkeep costs of your ships and income you spend to try and take the initiative next turn. This is also when you spend income to buy technology or ships or retrofit existing ships.
The included sheets make this pretty simple. But I started using a calculator to keep me sure of what I had. And you do have to keep a good record of what you have. Do you want larger fleets than your opponent? Bigger, badder ships? Faster ships? Smaller ships with advanced technology? The ability to terraform barren planets? And what do you think the other empire is doing over there? The decisions you make here determine how the four Xes play out for you.
Space Empires 4X Series
(Re)introduction ~ (Re)Learning AAR pt 1 & pt 2 ~ Ground Battles pt 1 & pt 2 ~ Replicators pt 1 & pt 2 ~ All Good Things pt 1 & pt 2 ~ Forum Thread
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