Galactic Imperialism

How to play - a quick tutorial. See the in-game Rules button and the PDF manual for full detail.

How to begin

Launch the game from the Tronsoft Games library. On the start screen pick a technology target - 55 for a shorter game or 79 for a longer one - and press Begin. You then assemble a starting fleet from 300 stellar credits; press Recommended for a balanced opening, then Launch Invasion. Your ships appear at your entry edge of the map.

Controls

• Mouse only. Left-click a hex to select it.
• Mouse-wheel zooms toward the cursor; click-and-drag pans the map.
• The +, - and reset buttons (bottom-right) also control the view.
• The right-hand panel drives the current phase; the blue button advances to the next phase.
• Hover any stack badge on the map to see exactly what is in it.

Turn order - the eight phases

1. Income & Events - collect stellar credits and draw an event card.
2. Research - buy up to two dice (8 credits each) to climb the tech chart.
3. Move - pick a fleet hex, choose how many of each ship to move, click a highlighted destination.
4. Space Combat - resolved automatically where your warships meet the enemy.
5. Land Combat - drop troops onto a system whose space you control to invade it.
6. Build - spend credits on ships, troops and star bases.
7. Place - position newly built units at a star base you own.
8. Adjust Tech - automatic; sets the independent tech level and checks the victory clock.

Movement

Ships move up to their speed in hexes; enemy ships do not block you. Select a fleet hex and dial in how many of each ship type to send - moving only some splits off a new fleet and leaves the rest behind. Troops ride in transports (or aboard a Dreadnought). At a system you own you can Load onto ships or Garrison here to leave troops defending.

Combat

Every ship or troop rolls one six-sided die. A roll less than or equal to its attack/defense value scores that many losses on the enemy; in space a roll of 6 always misses. Both sides fire at once and there is no retreat. To take a system, first clear its Guardians in space, then land troops to defeat its militia. A round-by-round Combat Review popup shows exactly how each battle went.

Winning and losing

The game ends when any empire reaches the technology-point target. Your score is systems x total base value x tech level; the highest score wins. An empire that loses every system and unit is eliminated.

Saving and restarting

This release does not save between sessions - a game is played in one sitting. Use the browser to reload, or finish a game and choose New Game from the end screen to start again.