Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy
239 questions players ask about Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-25.
239 questions players ask about Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy, answered in plain words and graded by where the answer comes from. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-10-25.
The publisher's 2021 change log lists this as an added setup clarification.
No — species boards and starting sectors are double-sided, so choosing either side takes that whole board (and its color) out of the game for everyone else. The publisher's 2021 rulebook revision added a sentence to setup stressing this. Some groups house-rule that Terran players choose last so no alien species gets blocked, but that is not required.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling was needed.
Yes — any mix is legal. Every alien species board has a Terran side on its back, so each Terran player simply flips a board and uses that color's ships, discs and cubes. The Terran sides are identical to each other.
Several experienced players agree; no rule removes any tiles.
No — the rules don't remove them. Terrans already start with Starbase and nobody can research a tech they own, so those tiles become dead draws, but some techs are useless in every game and the tray's draw counts are balanced around the full bag. Pulling them is a harmless house rule if your table agrees.
Experienced players agree nothing is removed; the rulebook's Cleanup Phase only varies the number of tiles drawn.
No — the bag is the same at every player count. Player count only changes how many regular techs are drawn into the Tech Tray each Cleanup (5 at two players up to 9 at six). Removing tiles would also change how often Rare Techs show up.
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
No to both — every tech tile starts in the bag. You draw the number listed for your player count as a total across all three categories, and Rare Techs drawn along the way don't count toward that number. Everything not drawn stays in the bag for later rounds.
Place it next to the tray — it is still available to research. The tray's slots do not cap how many Rare Techs can be on offer, and extra ones are not returned to the bag. The publisher added this clarification to page 5 of the 2021 rulebook.
One player's count of the tiles, uncontested in the thread; no official list.
Five of each tech in the first four cost columns, four of each in the fifth column (the Advanced planet techs), and three of each in columns six to eight.
A single experienced reply; nothing in the setup removes tiles.
No — nothing is taken out of the bag. A tech printed on your species board simply counts as one tile of that tech you already own, so you can't research it again.
Several players agree on the breakdown; no official ruling.
The extras are for techs that give you additional Influence Discs. Each color has 16 discs: 12 start on the Influence Track, 1 goes on your starting sector, and 3 are spares for those techs.
A single experienced reply based on the setup text.
Not freely — seating order comes first, and each starting sector goes in the starting zone nearest its player, so there is normally no choice to make.
A single reply citing setup; uncontested.
Yes — Colony Ships start faceup and ready, so you can use them from your first turn.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
Use a substitute marker, such as a spare Guardian. The number of Ancients placed is not meant to be limited by the miniatures, though running out is rare.
Several players agree, and the one-per-sector limit is in the Build rules.
They are spares for when the plastic miniatures run out, so Orbitals and Monoliths are not capped by the component count. The real limit is one Orbital and one Monolith per sector.
Two players agree; no official ruling.
No — every species has the same ship limits; the extra miniature is a spare.
A single experienced reply; uncontested.
Yes — blueprints, and nearly everything else, are open; you can always check an opponent's shields, computers and initiative. Facedown Reputation Tiles are the main hidden information.
Several players agree, pointing to the trade rules.
No — you can only trade with the bank at your species' Trade rate. The only exchange between players is Ambassador Tiles through Diplomatic Relations.
No — gameplay is identical across printings. Later rulebook versions only add clarifications and fix small errors, so the newest online rulebook applies to every copy.
“No gameplay changes between the printings of Second Dawn.”
— jkasanen, publisher
Several experienced players agree; no official ruling.
Only the outer (III) stack is built to a set size for the player count; the inner (I) and middle (II) stacks are used in full, minus tiles for optional modules you aren't using. Tiles are drawn face down at random, normally from the top.
The rulebook's Wormholes and Sectors section defines a connection as both edges having a wormhole.
No — a Wormhole Connection needs a wormhole on both touching edges. A half wormhole on one side is not enough unless you have the Wormhole Generator tech.
One experienced explanation, uncontested; the tech text doesn't restrict the side.
No — with Wormhole Generator you can cross an edge as long as either of the two touching sectors shows a half wormhole there, whichever side it is. If neither side has one, there is still no connection.
Two players agree; no official ruling.
No — Wormhole Generator only lets you use edges where one side has a half wormhole. Warp Portals connect to each other for everyone, with or without the tech.
Two players agree that nothing in the tech extends beyond movement.
No — Jump Drive is a drive and only changes how a ship moves. Unlike Wormhole Generator, it does nothing for exploring or influencing.
The rulebook's Wormholes and Sectors section makes portal sectors adjacent for everyone.
Every player — all sectors with a Warp Portal are adjacent to each other with a full Wormhole Connection, for anyone's Move, Influence and Diplomacy. The Warp Portal Rare Tech only lets you add a portal tile to a sector you control (worth 1 VP to whoever controls it at the end).
The rulebook connects all sectors bearing portals, and players corrected an initial wrong answer.
Yes — any two sectors showing a Warp Portal are connected as soon as both are on the table. A Warp Portal from a Discovery Tile or the Rare Tech just adds another sector to that network; a Warp Portal discovery goes in the sector where it was found.
Two players agree the rules don't forbid it.
Yes — nothing forbids it, for the Rare Tech or the Discovery Tile, though there is rarely any benefit beyond the portal's VP.
The rulebook labels Warp Portals an optional module.
Yes — Warp Portals are an optional module, so you may leave those hexes out of the stacks.
The usual number for your player count. Shuffle the optional sectors into their stacks first, then draw the normal count (for example 18 outer sectors at six players), so some of them may not appear at all. No official adjustment to the count exists.
Several players agree; no other rule refers to Artifacts.
Nothing by itself. Artifacts only matter for effects that count them, such as the Artifact Key tech (5 resources per Artifact sector you control when you research it) and some Discovery Tiles and Rare Techs.
No — the shield number is the sector's VP at game end. A sector with the Discovery symbol gets exactly one Discovery Tile; the 2 VP printed on Discovery Tiles is the value if you keep one VP-side up instead of using it.
Two players confirm the change from first edition.
Yes — two normal Science squares with no advanced one. This differs from the first edition tile.
Several players agree; the rules set no boundary.
No — you can place sectors past the playmat's printed rings and in any shape. The only practical cap is the number of outer (III) sectors, which depends on the player count.
Yes — you may use Colony Ships and form Diplomatic Relations on any of your turns, including the turn you Pass and turns where you take a Reaction. Early rulebooks only said "during your Action or Reaction"; the publisher confirmed passing counts in 2021, and later rulebook updates reworded it to "any time during your turn".
“You are allowed to use Colony Ships and form Diplomatic Relations when you Pass.”
— kilgore, publisher
You gain it immediately when you pass first, along with the Start Player Tile. Passing is your whole turn, though, so you can't spend it on that same turn (for example to buy a Minor Species); it is available for your later Reactions and in Upkeep.
A single experienced reply; nothing in the rules limits it.
Yes — whoever passes first each round takes the tile and the money, even if they already held the tile.
Two players agree; the rule has no exception.
Yes — why you pass doesn't matter. If you are the first player to pass, you get the 2 Money and the Start Player Tile.
The rulebook's Action Phase section sets clockwise play from the Start Player.
No — in the base game play always goes clockwise from the Start Player, and the only thing passing order decides is who passes first and takes the Start Player Tile. Turn order by passing order is the separate Turn Order variant.
One experienced player's reading of the Action Phase rules, uncontested.
No — each turn you either take one Action or Pass. Once you've passed, each later turn is one Reaction or another pass.
The rulebook's Action Phase section allows one Reaction or Pass on each later turn.
One per turn. Each time play comes back around to you after you've passed, you may take one Reaction or pass again, and you can skip and react later as long as you have discs. If everyone else passes before your turn comes, you get no more.
Yes — like Actions, the same Reaction can be taken on several of your later turns. The publisher added this clarification to the 2021 rulebook.
The rulebook's Action Phase section says it ends immediately.
No — the Action Phase ends immediately once every player has passed and flipped their Summary Tile.
The rulebook's Reactions section grants a single activation each.
No — a Reaction always gives exactly one activation. An Upgrade Reaction places one part (you may still remove any number first), a Build Reaction builds one ship or structure, and a Move Reaction moves one ship its full movement.
The rulebook's Explore section requires a single connection to a sector where you have Control or a Ship.
Neither — the new sector only needs one Wormhole Connection to any sector where you have Control or a Ship. It doesn't have to be the sector you thought of exploring from, and its other edges may face blank edges, so you can even orient it to wall yourself off. Wormhole Generator relaxes even the one-connection requirement.
The rulebook's Explore section puts the wormhole requirement on placement, not on choosing the zone.
No — you may Explore any Unexplored Zone next to a sector where you have Control or an unpinned Ship. The wormhole requirement applies only when placing the tile: it must be rotated so a Wormhole Connection forms (the page 10 example shows this). If no rotation works, you discard it.
The rulebook's Explore section has you choose the zone, then flip and place or discard.
No — you pick the zone first, then flip a tile from that ring's stack. Your only choices are the tile's rotation or discarding it.
The rulebook's Explore section allows exploring next to sectors you Control or with an unpinned Ship.
Yes to both, with one condition. You can always Explore from a sector you Control, whatever ships are there. From a sector you don't Control, you need at least one unpinned Ship there; a pinned Ship lets you Influence from that sector but not Explore.
The rulebook's Explore section grants the tile as part of the Explore Activation.
No — when you Explore a sector without Ancients you take its Discovery Tile whether or not you then take Control. This is a change from the first edition, which required the disc. Tiles guarded by Ancients can only be claimed in the Combat Phase.
The rulebook's Explore section ends the activation on a discard; Discovery Tiles are only placed on placed sectors.
The tile is discarded face up (other players see it), no Discovery Tile is ever drawn for it, and that Explore Activation ends. The zone stays unexplored, so a later activation — even a second activation of the same Explore Action — may target that same spot.
Two players agree, consistent with the Explore and Colony Ship rules.
Yes — you may place a disc as part of the Explore Action and use Colony Ships at any time during your turn. You also don't need a ship to Explore; a Controlled neighboring sector is enough.
Two players agree; no official ruling needed.
No — Explore and Move are separate Actions. To fight Ancients on a newly explored sector you need a Move Action; if it has no Ancients, you take its Discovery Tile while exploring.
You choose when you take and reveal the tile, one tile at a time if you get several. The choice is final: if you keep a ship part instead of the VP, you never get the 2 VP, even if you never install it.
Many players agree; one early claim that it must be placed at once was not supported.
No — you may place it right away for free, or set it aside and install it later with one of your normal Upgrade activations. Either way it follows normal blueprint rules (energy, drives) and may cover a part already there; it goes on one blueprint only.
Only if an energy cost is printed on the tile. In the base game four of them need energy — Plasma Turret, Soliton Charger, Flux Shield and Conformal Drive; the rest use none.
It produces energy — it is a drive with 2 movement that also gives the ship +2 energy and no initiative. If it cost energy it would be strictly worse than the Fusion Drive.
The cheapest regular tech you don't own yet, across all three categories, judged by printed cost without discounts. Rare Techs never count, and if several tie you choose.
You can't have a second one there, so you must keep the tile as 2 VP. The same logic applies to an Ancient Cruiser Discovery when all your Cruisers are already on the board.
In the sector where the Discovery Tile was found. Only a tile that didn't come from a sector, such as one gained through Ancient Labs, puts them in your starting sector.
Two players agree; consistent with the rules.
No — each sector's Discovery Tile is claimed once and never replaced, so later controllers get nothing extra.
A single reply quoting the Discovery rules.
3 Money plus 3 more resources, all of one type of your choice. The gray octagon stands for any resource type.
Two players agree, one citing the rulebook FAQ.
Place it as a wormhole on the sector where you found it (or keep it as 2 VP). If it comes from Ancient Labs it goes on your starting sector; if you no longer control your starting sector, you must take the 2 VP.
The rulebook's Research section states both restrictions.
No — you can't research a tech already on your species board, and you can't discard a researched tech to make room.
Two players agree, quoting the activation wording.
Yes — activations are "up to" your species' number, so you may skip some or all of them. The same goes for other actions, such as taking Influence only to flip Colony Ships back.
A single reply; no rule forbids it.
Yes — nothing stops you, and it still counts on your tech track for category discounts and end-game VP.
Two players agree; consistent with the Instant tech type.
One-time — you gain the resources once, when you research it, based on the Artifact sectors you control at that moment. Techs marked with the small instant symbol take effect only when researched.
A single experienced reply; uncontested.
It isn't a misprint. The icon on the tech tile only identifies the part type; the Ship Part Tile shows the actual dice. Plasma Missiles work the same way.
Several players agree, citing the rulebook.
The small white lines show the matching Ship Part's energy use, and the ^ marks show its initiative bonus, so you can plan a blueprint before buying. The rulebook explains the lines on page 10.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No — Metasynthesis works like Advanced Mining, Advanced Economy and Advanced Labs together, opening all advanced squares, but cubes still come from the matching Population Track. Only advanced gray (wild) squares take a cube of any type.
Several players agree, citing the population square rules.
Any one Advanced tech, placing a cube of its type — for example Advanced Labs lets you put a Science cube there. Metasynthesis isn't required.
A single reply; consistent with the Permanent tech type.
No — Neutron Bombs is a permanent tech that works directly, like Wormhole Generator. There is no Ship Part Tile and it uses no energy.
Two players agree; same as first edition.
It is a Hull ship part worth 3 Hull that uses 2 energy, so the blueprint needs enough energy to power it.
Many players agree, pointing to the Requires Tech icon and the rulebook FAQ.
Yes — those basic parts (the ones printed on the starting blueprints) have no "requires tech" icon, so anyone can install them from the start. Every other Ship Part needs its matching tech first.
The rulebook's Upgrade section allows empty or pre-printed spaces with only energy and drive limits.
Yes — any part may go on an empty space or cover any pre-printed part, including the starting drive. A covered printed part no longer counts. The limits are energy use within production, at least one Drive on Interceptors, Cruisers and Dreadnoughts, and no Drives on Starbases. Each slot holds one tile, so remove the old tile before placing a new one.
The rulebook's Upgrade section says all Ship Part values are cumulative.
Yes to both — you may install as many copies of a researched part as fit, and all values add up: two +2 Computers give +4 on every die, two drives add their movement and initiative, extra Hulls add Hull. Dreadnoughts even start with two printed Hulls.
The rulebook's Upgrade section only requires consumption not to exceed production, plus a drive.
Yes — an energy source is only needed to cover the energy your parts use, so a design whose parts use no energy (for example Transition Drive plus Ion Missiles, or Orion's built-in energy) is legal. There is no limit on how many missile parts you mount.
The rulebook's Upgrade section states both drive rules.
No — Interceptors, Cruisers and Dreadnoughts must always keep at least one Drive (a printed drive counts), so you can't replace the last one with something else. Starbases are the opposite: they can never have a Drive.
The rulebook's Upgrade section describes the remove-any-then-place-one activation.
Each Upgrade activation lets you first return any number of parts from any blueprints, then place exactly one part — so replacing a part is one activation, but three Improved Hulls take three activations. Removing parts without placing anything still uses an activation.
The rulebook's Upgrade section returns parts to the tray and removes Ancient parts from the game.
No — parts are never moved once placed; you can only remove them and place new ones. A removed regular part goes back to the Upgrade Tray, but a removed Ancient Ship Part is out of the game.
Two players agree on reading the tile.
No — the Muon Source attaches outside the blueprint grid without using a normal space, and nothing can be stacked on it.
Yes, during the Action Phase — with an Upgrade Action, or an Upgrade Reaction (one part) after you've passed. Upgrades apply to every ship of that type, wherever it is. Once everyone has passed and combat starts, no more upgrades are possible.
The rulebook's Build section allows building in any sector you Control.
Yes — Building only requires that you Control the sector, and enemy ships don't take Control away until the Combat Phase. A defender can reinforce with a Build Action, or a Build Reaction after passing, as long as the Action Phase hasn't ended. Ship supply limits still apply.
The rulebook's Build section limits only Monoliths and Orbitals per sector.
No — Starbases are ships, so you can build as many in one sector as your supply allows. The one-per-sector limit applies only to Orbitals and Monoliths.
Many players agree; no rule allows disbanding.
No — nothing lets you voluntarily remove your own ships, Starbases, Orbitals or Monoliths, and Starbases can never move. A ship returns to your supply only when it is destroyed in combat, and then it can be built again anywhere you Control.
The rulebook's Action Phase section makes Colony Ships the only way to move cubes to sectors.
You need a Colony Ship. Building an Orbital only adds an empty population square; like any square, it is filled by flipping an unused Colony Ship, now or later.
No — Orbitals only take cubes from the Science or Money tracks.
The rulebook's Move section checks pinning on every Move Activation.
Not while it is still pinned. Pinning is checked on every Move activation, and each opponent ship in the sector pins one of yours, so a lone ship facing an enemy ship is stuck until combat. Bringing in a second ship lets one of them leave, and Cloaking Device changes the count.
Count every ship in the sector that isn't yours — all players' ships plus Ancients and Guardians — and each one pins one of your ships, even if it is also pinning someone else. You can move a ship out only while you have more ships there than that total; for example, with one ship each from three opponents, your fourth ship may leave. The GCDS pins everything.
The rulebook's Move section lets you choose pinned ships and checks pinning per activation.
Yes to both — you choose which of your ships the pins fall on, and pinning is rechecked each activation. You can move another ship in to absorb a pin and then move the freed ship out with a later activation.
The rulebook's Move section says the GCDS pins all ships in the Galactic Center.
No — the GCDS pins every ship in the Galactic Center, as if it were an unlimited number of ships. Cloaking Device doesn't help against it.
Yes — "opponent" includes non-player ships, so each Ancient or Guardian pins one of your ships like an enemy ship would.
Several players agree with worked examples; no official ruling.
Opponents need two ships to pin each of your ships — in effect count enemy ships as half, rounded down — so five cloaked ships facing three enemies can move four out. It only helps its owner: your ships still pin enemies one-for-one. It works against Ancients and Guardians but not the GCDS.
Two players agree, consistent with the Move rules.
No to both — only ships pin ships. You can move freely through an enemy sector that has no ships, and Control never matters for moving out; only pinning does.
Many players agree; no rule requires different ships.
Yes — each activation can go to any ship, including one already moved, so one ship can move its full movement twice or more in a single action.
Two players agree; the rules set no limit.
No — any number of ships may share a sector.
The rulebook's Influence section requires only a Ship or Control, with no unpinned condition.
Yes — Influence only needs a connection to a sector where you have a Ship or Control, and unlike Explore the ship doesn't have to be unpinned. The target must still be uncontrolled with no opponent ships.
The rulebook's Influence section lists the legal targets, none with opponent ships.
No — an Influence activation can only target an uncontrolled sector with no opponent ships (or one where only you have ships). To take a sector with enemy ships in it, you must win it in the Combat Phase.
The rulebook's Influence section lists this as a separate target.
Yes — an uncontrolled sector where only you have ships is a legal target on its own, with no connection needed. Several ships are fine, and Starbases count as ships. The connection requirement applies only to sectors with no ships of yours.
The rulebook's Influence section lets a disc move from a controlled sector; players agree on the connection caveat.
Yes, a disc may go directly from a sector you control to a new legal target in one activation. But the target must still be legal once that disc has left: if the disc you're lifting was the only thing connecting you to the target, the move fails (rulebook FAQ). It's fine if another sector you control or a ship of yours — even a pinned one — still provides the connection, as in the page 17 example.
The publisher's 2021 change log made the once-per-sector rule explicit.
No — each sector can have a disc moved to or from it only once per Influence Action. That blocks bouncing a disc to re-place cubes on gray planets, and placing a disc and moving that same disc onward.
Several players agree, pointing to the end-of-combat Influence step.
You may remove it with an Influence activation (its cubes return to your tracks), but it doesn't deny them anything: at the end of the Combat Phase, any player with a ship in a sector without a disc may place one there for free. Pulling out just costs you production.
The rulebook's Influence section sends the cubes back to their tracks.
Straight back to their Population Tracks, not the Graveyard; cubes from gray squares or Orbitals go to a track of your choice. No Colony Ships are involved. This is also the only way to change cubes already placed — remove the disc, then re-influence and recolonize later. Only cubes destroyed in combat go to the Graveyard.
The rulebook's Influence section grants up to two Colony Ship flips per action.
Two in total per Influence Action. You get your species' Influence activations plus up to two used Colony Ships flipped faceup, independent of each other.
Yes — the two Colony Ship flips can happen at any point during the Influence Action, before, between or after the disc moves, and Colony Ships can be used at any time on your turn. So you can take a sector, colonize, flip two ships back and colonize again. Only used Colony Ships can be flipped.
Many players agree; no rule requires the disc moves.
Yes — the disc moves are optional, so Influence can be used purely to flip two used Colony Ships back up.
The rulebook's Action Phase and Upkeep Phase sections state the two rules.
During the Action Phase, yes — you only need to Control the sector, and enemy ships don't remove Control. In the Upkeep Phase, no: remaining Colony Ships can't place cubes in sectors containing opponent ships. That stops a defender refilling planets after a failed population attack and producing from both the new cubes and the Graveyard.
No — cubes come from the matching Population Track, and Graveyard cubes only return to the tracks in Cleanup, so they can't be placed until the next round.
No — using Colony Ships never takes an action; you use them alongside an action or reaction, on the turn you pass, or in Upkeep. You do still need an unused Colony Ship for every cube, even in Upkeep.
Two ways: place a disc right after exploring the sector as part of that Explore Activation, or, at the end of the Combat Phase, place a disc from your track in a sector where you have a ship and no disc is present — even if no battle happened anywhere. Discs only leave sectors through Influence, losing the sector in combat, or bankruptcy in Upkeep.
Several players agree that Control and having a ship are separate conditions.
No — Control comes only from an Influence Disc; the page 9 graphic is misleading. A ship alone lets you Explore (if unpinned) and Influence from that sector, but not Build or colonize there, and the sector scores nothing for you.
Straight back onto your Influence Track, immediately — so you don't pay upkeep for it that round, while the lost cubes still produce from the Graveyard.
Both — you may form Diplomatic Relations at any time during your turn (including the turn you pass) and also at the end of the Combat Phase, as in the first edition. The original Second Dawn rulebook said "during their Action" only; the publisher called that an editing oversight in 2021 and later rulebooks were corrected.
“You can form Diplomatic Relations at the end of Combat Phase.”
— kilgore, publisher
The publisher's 2021 change log confirms Warp Portals; the rulebook excludes Wormhole Generator.
You need a direct Wormhole Connection between a sector you control and a sector they control; a path through other sectors doesn't count. A Warp Portal connection between your sectors does count — the publisher made that explicit in 2021 — but the Wormhole Generator can't be used.
The rulebook's Diplomacy section only excuses movement while your ships stay unpinned.
Yes — Diplomatic Relations are a non-aggression pact, not an alliance, and change nothing about pinning. If your partner's ships pin yours in their sector and you are still there at the end of your action, that is an Act of Aggression. A partner who wants to let you through must move their ships out first.
The rulebook's Diplomacy section defines the Act of Aggression by where ships are at the end of your Action.
Not if you pass through. Relations break only if, at the end of your whole action, you have a ship in a sector where they have a ship or Control. Passing through their sectors unpinned (no ships there, or slipping past with Cloaking Device) is fine — a change from the first edition.
Several players agree, and the original claimant accepted the correction.
No — the trigger is ending your action with a ship in a sector where they have a ship or Control, not being pinned. Cloaking only lets you pass through.
The rulebook's Diplomacy section restricts relations per pair of players only.
Yes — the only restriction is that you can't form relations again with a player you already exchanged Ambassadors with. You also need an empty Reputation Track space for each one.
Yes — both players return the Ambassador Tiles they received, including the player who didn't break relations, and each cube goes back to a track of its owner's choice. Only the aggressor takes the Traitor Tile.
Several players agree; the rules contain no alliances.
No — Second Dawn has no alliance rules (those were in a first-edition expansion). Diplomatic Relations are a non-aggression pact, and battles are always between two sides.
The rulebook's Diplomacy section gives the Traitor Tile only those two effects.
No — the Traitor Tile only stops you forming new relations while you hold it (and costs 2 VP at the end if you still have it); your existing relations stay.
The rulebook's Round Structure puts all battles in the Combat Phase after the Action Phase.
No — combat waits until every player has passed and the Action Phase is over. Until then the defender can still build, upgrade or move in response; battles are then fought in each contested sector during the Combat Phase.
The rulebook's Combat Phase section sets reverse order of entry, two at a time.
Two sides at a time, in reverse order of entry: the last two players to arrive fight first, the survivor fights the next-latest arrival, and so on down to the Defender (the first to arrive, or the player Controlling the sector). Ancients, Guardians and the GCDS fight the last surviving player. Damage is not repaired between these battles.
The rulebook's Combat Phase section makes the Controlling player always the Defender.
Yes — the player with the Influence Disc in the sector always counts as having entered first. They are the Defender, fight last among the players, win initiative ties, and draw Reputation Tiles first, however late their ships arrived by Move or Build.
Single replies on each point; no official ruling.
All of one player's ships in the sector fight together in a single battle, and their order of entry is set by when that player first entered. If all of a player's ships leave and later come back (possible with Cloaking Device), the return counts as a new entry.
Most replies favor this order, but some players disagree and there is no official ruling.
Draco first, then the Ancients. Player battles come first in reverse order of entry, and non-player ships fight whoever survives, so you fight Draco's ships and Starbases, and if you win you then fight the Ancients. A minority argued Draco, as controller, should fight last, but most players and the rulebook's battle order go the other way.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section sets activation by Initiative per ship type.
By initiative only. Each ship type's initiative is the total of the initiative symbols on its blueprint, and ship types activate from highest to lowest across both sides, all ships of one type together. There is no fixed order by ship size.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section resolves ties in favor of the Defender.
No — the Defender's ship type fires first, and its hits are applied before the attacker's type fires, so the defender can destroy ships before they shoot back. Fire is never simultaneous.
Yes — you choose the order for your own tied ship types, and a Lautapelit developer confirmed in 2025 that you may choose differently each Engagement Round. Some earlier replies held the order was fixed for the whole battle, because initiative is determined once in the battle's step list. Tied types never roll together either way.
Several players agree; the values are printed on the blueprints.
For most species, unupgraded: Interceptor 3, Cruiser 2, Dreadnought 1, Starbase 4 — count every initiative arrow on the blueprint, including those printed outside the part slots; some species differ. The basic GCDS has 0 initiative (it fires after everything with initiative, but as Defender it beats a 0-initiative attacker), and the Advanced GCDS has 2.
Several players agree; it follows from sequential initiative.
No — ships fire in initiative order, so a ship destroyed before its turn in the missile step or an Engagement Round never fires. Slower ships must survive to shoot back.
Missiles fire once at the start of each battle, in initiative order, before the Engagement Rounds; after that only non-Missile weapons fire. A sector with several opponents has several battles, so Missiles fire again at the start of each — including the battle against Ancients or a Guardian after a player battle — but damage from earlier battles stays.
The publisher's 2021 change log states dice are rolled per ship.
Per ship — every ship of the activating type rolls its own dice for each weapon, all at once. Two Interceptors roll twice as many dice as one. The publisher corrected the rulebook text and the Missile example in 2021 to say so.
The rulebook's End of Combat Phase section removes all Damage Cubes as the last step.
No repair until the very end of the Combat Phase — damage from an earlier battle in the sector carries into the next. Then all Damage Cubes are removed from every surviving ship, including Ancients, Guardians and the GCDS.
A single reply; uncontested.
Yes — the orange (Guardian) and yellow (GCDS) dice are missiles, so after the missile step each fires only its red cannon die.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section covers the stalemate.
It's a stalemate: the Attacker must Retreat or have all its ships destroyed, and the Defender keeps the sector. Ships aren't required to carry cannons.
The publisher's 2021 change log rewrote the Damage rule to tie damage to the weapon's die symbol.
Yes — every hit deals damage equal to the bursts on the weapon's die symbol, however it hit: yellow 1, orange 2, blue 3, red 4. A Plasma Cannon hitting on a modified 5 still deals 2. Computers and Shields only decide whether a die hits.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section states it directly.
No — a burst always hits, even against Shields that cancel all your Computers, and a blank always misses, even with large Computer bonuses. Only the numbered faces are modified, and they hit on 6 or more. The same rule applies to Ancients and other non-player ships.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section makes bursts always hit.
No — without Computers only bursts can hit, and bursts ignore Shields. Shields only cancel the attacker's Computer bonus on numbered faces.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section applies the modifiers to each die.
Dice are never added together — each is resolved on its own, adding the ship's full Computer total and subtracting the target's Shields, and it hits on 6 or more. So a ship with two Ion Cannons and +2 Computer turns both 4s into hits.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section rolls all dice and then assigns them.
After — roll all dice for the ship type, then assign each die to any opponent ship, so a modified result that beats one ship's Shields but not another's goes to the one it hits. Different dice may go to different ships. Only non-player ships follow fixed targeting rules.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section says excess damage cannot be reassigned.
No — each die goes to a single ship, and damage beyond what destroys it is lost. A Plasma hit's 2 damage can't kill two Interceptors, but two separate hitting dice can. The only exception is Antimatter Cannon damage with the Antimatter Splitter Rare Tech.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No — a die is modified by the Shields of the ship it is assigned to. Shields on your Interceptors do nothing for dice aimed at your Dreadnoughts.
Several players agree; consistent with per-blueprint values.
No — Computers only modify dice rolled by ships of that blueprint. Each ship type rolls separately using its own Computers, and bonuses from different ships never combine on one die (the same goes for Ancients' Computers and Shields).
Many players agree, citing the combat example.
Yes — Missiles hit exactly like cannons, with Computers added and the target's Shields subtracted (a burst still always hits). They differ only in firing once, at the start of each battle. The rulebook's combat example shows missiles missing because of Shields.
The publisher's 2021 change log corrected the combat example's Hull values, matching the rulebook's Damage rule.
When damage exceeds its Hull. Hull is only the total of Hull symbols on the blueprint, so a ship with no Hull dies to its first point of damage and a ship with 2 Hull dies to its third. The same goes for non-player ships, so a basic Ancient with 1 Hull takes two damage. The Hull values in the original page 22 combat example were wrong and were corrected in 2021.
The rulebook's Resolving a Battle section gives the non-player targeting rule.
Another player rolls for them, then assigns dice to destroy as many of your ships as possible, largest first, combining dice on one ship if needed. Dice that can't destroy anything go where they do the most damage, again favoring larger ships. Each die is checked against its target's Shields, a die's damage is never split, and true ties are random.
The publisher's 2021 change log clarified the tech's targets; the tile names Antimatter Cannons only.
It lets you split an Antimatter Cannon hit's damage among any targets that die would hit after Computers and Shields — not onto ships it couldn't hit. The publisher added "any targets the Attack Hits" to the tech's text in 2021. It works only with Antimatter Cannons, not Antimatter Missiles.
Several players agree, one relaying the developer's answer.
Like damage from non-player ships, but only onto your ships that carry Rift Cannons (any of them, not just the type that fired): destroy a ship if possible, largest first by blueprint size; otherwise put as much damage as possible on the largest ship. You can't spread it to avoid a kill.
One experienced reply notes the rules aren't explicit.
No, by the common reading — the battle ends when the last enemy ship is destroyed or retreats, so you don't finish the round. But if a population attack that needs dice follows, every ship you have there rolls, Rift Cannons included, and can still damage itself.
Several players agree it follows the Damage rule's wording.
No — a ship is only destroyed at the moment it takes damage exceeding its Hull. Swapping out a damaged Hull (for example by placing a Discovery part) doesn't trigger destruction, though players consider this an unintended gap.
The publisher laid out these steps in 2020, matching the rulebook's Retreat rule.
Retreat takes two activations. When a ship type activates you may declare a Retreat instead of attacking: move those ships to the edge of the retreat sector, and they don't fire. On their next activation they move out. Until then every opponent may still target them, so the enemy always gets another chance to fire before they escape.
The publisher ruled on this in 2020 and added it to the rulebook in 2021.
No — the final round still activates every remaining ship type, but ships that began retreating in that round never get the next activation they need, so they stay in the sector (and may be drawn into a later battle there). Ships that started retreating in an earlier round do complete it on their activation in the final round.
“if you choose to Retreat some of your Ships on the same Engagement Round your opponent is destroyed, the Ships do not move to the neighboring sector”
— kilgore, publisher
No — retreating ships can't attack and must complete their Retreat on their next activation. The publisher removed the word "may" from that sentence in the 2021 rulebook.
The publisher's 2021 change log added this sentence to the Retreat rules.
No — non-player ships never retreat; they fight until destroyed.
No — Starbases can't move at all, and retreating is moving. A developer confirmed this by geekmail, and the first edition was played the same way.
A developer's answer was relayed by a player, and several players agree.
Yes — Warp Portal sectors count as neighbors with a full Wormhole Connection, so a portal sector you control with no opponent ships is a legal retreat destination. A developer confirmed this by geekmail.
The rulebook's Retreat rule moves all ships of a type at once, and a publisher answer relayed by a player says they all go to the same sector.
All your ships of one type in the battle retreat together, to the same sector — you can't hold some back. Different ship types may each choose their own legal sector: a neighboring sector you Control with no opponent ships.
Several players agree, based on the battle step order.
No — Retreat is declared when a ship type activates in an Engagement Round, which comes after Missiles have fired. You also need a neighboring sector you Control, with no opponent ships, to retreat to.
The rulebook's After a Battle section keeps one tile per draw.
No — you draw your tiles, keep at most one and return the rest to the bag. You draw separately for each sector where you fought, so battles in two sectors can mean two kept tiles. Draw right after the battles in that sector, not at the end of the Combat Phase.
No — all battles in a sector count as one draw per participant, made after they're all resolved: one tile for taking part, plus tiles for every enemy ship you destroyed in the battles you were in, up to five, keeping one.
The publisher's 2021 change log made the controller draw first.
The player Controlling the sector always draws first, even if their ships arrived last; the others follow in order of entry. Winning or losing doesn't matter. Control here means control going into the Combat Phase, since tiles are drawn before the population and influence steps.
The rulebook's After a Battle section removes only the participation tile.
No — you only lose the one draw for taking part, and you still draw for enemy ships you destroyed. The penalty applies once all your remaining ships are retreating, checked when the retreat is declared: it holds even if those ships are then destroyed before escaping, and it doesn't apply if another ship type of yours was still fighting at that moment.
No — draws depend only on taking part and on the enemy ships you destroyed. A loser who destroyed nothing still draws one tile, and you still draw if your Rift Cannon took out your own ships along with the enemy.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No — Reputation is drawn only after a battle between ships. Attacking population and taking control happen later in the Combat Phase and aren't battles.
The rulebook's After a Battle section lists the draws for each ship.
Not directly — they give extra Reputation draws: 2 for a Guardian and 3 for the GCDS, plus 1 for taking part, keeping one tile. The Galactic Center sector itself is also worth VP to whoever controls it.
Several players agree, and an initial objector conceded.
Yes, during a battle — each opponent ship destroyed in a battle you fought counts toward your draws, whoever destroyed it.
Two players agree, based on the species board.
As many as your species board's Reputation Track has spaces. You may swap a kept tile for a better one, and the shared spaces hold either a Reputation or an Ambassador Tile.
Several players agree; one quotes the return rule.
Yes — you may check your own tiles at any time (including the Eridani's starting ones), and you may return a tile to the bag at any time, for example to free a space for an Ambassador or after drawing better ones.
Yes — Attack Population happens at the end of every Combat Phase in every sector where your ships share the sector with opponent cubes, whether or not there was a battle there. A ship sitting alone in an undefended enemy sector bombs it, and if no cubes remain the owner's disc comes off. The publisher made this explicit in the 2021 rulebook.
The rulebook's End of Combat Phase section allows a disc wherever you have a ship and no disc is present.
Yes — in the Influence Sectors step, any player with a ship in a sector with no disc may place one from their Influence Track, whether or not a battle happened there, whether the ship moved this round, and even in rounds with no battles at all. It's free and isn't an action, and it doesn't need a connection to your other sectors.
The rulebook's End of Combat Phase section removes the disc once no opponent cubes remain.
Move a ship in and keep it there until the Combat Phase. There's no battle, but at the end of the phase your ships attack the population; if no enemy cubes remain, their disc is removed and you may place yours. Control doesn't change before then, the owner can still move ships in during the Action Phase, and you don't need to be adjacent to your own territory.
No — only opponents' cubes are attacked, and discs are removed only in opponent-Controlled sectors with no cubes left. Your own disc never comes off in the Combat Phase just because your sector is empty; to give up your own sector you need an Influence activation (or bankruptcy in Upkeep).
The rulebook's Combat Phase section lists the steps in this order.
After every battle — first resolve all battles in all sectors, then attack population everywhere, then handle influence, discoveries and repairs. The only thing done per sector right after its battles is drawing Reputation Tiles.
Yes — every disc that must come off is removed first, in all sectors, and only then do players place discs. So a disc you lose in one sector can be used right away to take another, even if your track was empty. A developer confirmed this by geekmail.
In descending sector number, per the rulebook FAQ. All disc removals are still done in every sector before any discs are placed, so a disc you lose anywhere can be used for any placement.
Several players agree, quoting the Influence Sectors step.
From your Influence Track only — you can't move one from another sector. If your track is empty, you can't take the sector.
The rulebook's End of Combat Phase section removes the disc and then lets you place yours.
Removing theirs is mandatory in every sector where you have a ship and they have no cubes, battle or not. Placing your own disc is optional; their disc goes back to their track and they lose the sector's VP either way.
Players disagree on the wording, with most favoring optional; there is no official ruling.
Contested, but most players treat it as optional. The rule says each ship "may" attack population once, which the common reading takes as a choice — useful when you don't want the sector or want the defender to keep their disc tied up. Others read "may" as "may only attack once" and point to the player aid's summary, which has no qualifier, making it mandatory.
Several players play it this way, but the wording is debated and there is no ruling.
By the usual reading, yes: if you attack the population with cannons, every ship of yours there rolls once; you can't pick only some ships. One player argued "each ship may attack" lets you choose ship by ship.
The rulebook's End of Combat Phase section gives each ship one attack with non-Missile weapons.
Each ship rolls its non-Missile weapons once in total — a single round, not a repeated battle and not one roll per cube. Missiles can't attack population at all. Computers apply, and cubes have no Shields.
The rulebook's End of Combat Phase section has each damage destroy one cube.
Yes — each point of damage destroys one cube of the attacker's choice, so a Plasma hit removes two cubes, even on different planets. Unlike ship combat, a die's damage can be spread.
No — using Neutron Bombs is optional, but it's all-or-nothing: if you use them, every opponent cube in that sector is destroyed. You may instead skip them and attack normally with cannons.
Many players agree, citing the tech text.
Yes — Neutron Bombs destroy all opponent cubes automatically in the Attack Population step, with no dice, so any ship of yours left there will do. Only the Neutron Absorber tech stops them.
Several players agree, citing the Upkeep Colony Ship restriction.
The owner keeps the disc and Control. If your ships stay, they attack again at the end of the next round's Combat Phase. Meanwhile the owner can't use Colony Ships in Upkeep to refill planets in a sector with your ships, but can during the next Action Phase. Neutron Bombs avoid the problem.
Several players agree, citing the Graveyard rule.
They go to the owner's Graveyard (gray-square cubes to a Graveyard of the owner's choice) and only return to the tracks in Cleanup. Because they haven't gone back onto the Population Tracks yet, the owner's production in this round's Upkeep is unchanged. If the sector is lost, its disc returns to the Influence Track immediately, so no upkeep is paid for it that round.
A developer posting for the publisher ruled on this in 2021, correcting the rulebook's step order.
Claim the Discovery Tile first, then decide on influence — the same order as the Explore Action. The original rulebook lists Influence Sectors before Discovery Tiles; a Lautapelit developer confirmed in 2021 that this was an editing mistake, so the rulebook's order is corrected by that ruling. Older replies that follow the printed order predate it.
“the Discovery Tiles step should come before the Influence Sectors step”
— kilgore, publisher
The rulebook's End of Combat Phase section gives the tile to players with a ship there.
No — at the end of the Combat Phase you take the tile if you have at least one ship in the sector, whether or not you influence it. Requiring control was a first-edition rule. The exception is a sector someone else still controls, such as Draco's.
Several players agree, and the designer's relayed answer matches the rulebook FAQ.
If someone Controls the sector, they take it at the end of the Combat Phase. If nobody does, it stays: the first player to place an Influence Disc there (by Influence Action) takes it immediately, or else the first player with a ship there at the end of a later Combat Phase. Without a surviving ship you also can't place a disc there after combat.
The publisher's 2021 change log sets the controller-first priority, and a developer reaffirmed it in 2025.
Draco does. An unclaimed Discovery Tile goes first to the player Controlling the sector, so if Draco still controls it after Attack Population, Draco takes it at the end of the Combat Phase even with the attacker's ships still present. If Draco loses control, the attacker with ships there claims it. Some players read the rulebook FAQ as covering only the case where no attacking ship survives, but the publisher and a developer have both backed the controller-first reading.
The rulebook's Upkeep Phase section describes the net comparison and bankruptcy.
They happen together: compare your Money income with your upkeep cost and move your Money Storage by the difference. If that would go below zero, trade or abandon sectors, then recalculate with the new values. An abandoned sector's disc returns (lowering upkeep) and its cubes go straight back to their tracks, not the Graveyard (which can lower income), so one abandonment can force another.
The rulebook's Upkeep Phase section puts Production after Civilization Upkeep.
No — Money upkeep is settled first, using only what you already had in storage (you may trade it). Science and Materials are produced afterward.
The rulebook's Upkeep Phase section allows trading at any time.
Yes, it's legal, since you may trade at any time. You can only trade Money already in storage, before or after the upkeep step — your income is netted against upkeep directly and never passes through storage, so it can't be traded away.
Several players agree; the rules set no restriction.
Any sectors you choose — there is no requirement to keep your territory connected. You can also combine remedies, trading some resources and abandoning some sectors, or skip trading and go straight to abandoning.
The rulebook's Upkeep Phase section opens with this Colony Ship step.
Yes — at the start of Upkeep every player may use their remaining faceup Colony Ships, except in sectors containing opponent ships.
The rulebook's Upkeep Phase section is where income and production happen.
No — moving a cube onto a planet raises your production, but you only collect it in the Upkeep Phase.
The rulebook's Upkeep Phase section covers Player Elimination.
They're eliminated — as is a player who can't pay upkeep even after trading and abandoning. Score them at that point and remove their civilization components (ships, discs, cubes), but the sector tiles, home sector included, stay on the board.
Several players agree on the icon.
They show how much the upkeep cost rises from the visible number to the next one, so you can see the cost of your next disc. The same kind of lines on ship part techs show energy use.
No, per a Lautapelit developer's answer relayed in 2025: the owner may not repopulate those squares in Upkeep, since the destroyed cubes in the Graveyard would let them produce twice. As written the rules would allow it (no enemy ships remain), and the developer said a future rules update would address it.
The rulebook's Game End and Scoring section ends the game after the 8th full round and breaks ties on resources.
Yes — round 8 is played in full, with Combat, Upkeep (where you can still go bankrupt) and production. Leftover resources matter because total Materials, Science and Money in storage break VP ties.
Single replies on each point; no official ruling.
A placed Warp Portal tile's VP is added to the sector's printed value for whoever controls it: the researched Warp Portal gives 1 VP, and the Ancient Warp Portal Discovery gives 2 VP if used as a portal instead of being kept as 2 VP. Warp Portals printed on sector tiles give nothing beyond the sector's own VP.
Several players agree on the total-based reading.
At game end, add up the VP of all your Reputation Tiles and gain 1 VP for every full 3 in that total — 14 Reputation VP gives +4. It's not +1 per individual tile worth 3. The tile comes from a Kickstarter add-on pack.
No — Second Dawn dropped the first edition's recommendation, so every species may be played at any player count, including two players. Some groups still find Planta and Draco strong in small games.
The publisher's 2021 change log added this sentence to the species rules.
No — Ancients never pin Draco's ships. The publisher added this to the Descendants' species text in 2021. Guardians and the GCDS still pin them normally.
No — the GCDS and Guardians aren't Ancients, so Draco fights them, is pinned by them and can't take control of their sectors through its ability. The digital app treats Guardians as Ancients for this, which differs from the board game.
Many players agree, citing the Descendants' species text.
Draco may place a disc in a sector with Ancients — for example right after exploring it or with an Influence activation. All the normal Influence requirements still apply (connection or own ship, no enemy ships). The disc goes on top of the unclaimed Discovery Tile.
Several players agree this is legal.
Yes — combat only comes after the Action Phase, and Influence works from a pinned ship, so a Draco ship sitting with the GCDS can be the connection for taking the surrounding inner sectors that still have Ancients, even though the ship will probably be destroyed in combat.
Several players agree, applying the standard pinning rule.
The opponent counts both the Draco ship and the Ancients as enemies, so each of them pins one of the opponent's ships. Draco ignores the Ancients but the opponent's ships still pin Draco's ships one-for-one — the Ancients don't add to Draco's side.
Several players agree, consistent with the Discovery rules.
No — the tile can't be claimed while Ancients remain, and an unclaimed tile scores nothing. Draco still scores the sector's printed VP, still takes unguarded tiles when exploring, and gets the tile if the Ancients are later destroyed while Draco controls the sector.
The rulebook's Game End and Scoring section lists the Draco bonus as an extra source of VP.
Yes — Draco scores every controlled sector normally, and the 1 VP per Ancient on the board is a bonus on top.
Draco explores a single zone, may look at up to two tiles for it, places one and discards the other. Per the rulebook FAQ, they may place the first tile without drawing the second.
A single reply citing the definition of ships.
Yes — Starbases are ships, so they coexist with Ancients like Draco's other ships, and you may have several in one sector.
Most replies in one thread agree; one player suggested a firepower limit, and there is no official ruling.
In the Attack Population step, before Influence Sectors, a single opposing ship destroys all Planta cubes in its sector, as if it had Neutron Bombs — no rolls, and Neutron Absorber doesn't help. Unlike normal population attacks, the wording has no "may", so it's treated as automatic.
A single uncontested reply; no official ruling.
Yes — Planta still explore two tiles every time they take the Explore Action.
A single reply; uncontested.
Apply their special rule first by leaving the two leftmost spaces empty, then take the disc for the starting sector as usual — so three spaces are empty at the start.
A developer's answer was relayed by a player; one player argued for the Combat Phase too.
Only on one of your turns in the Action Phase — with an action, a reaction or when you pass — not at the end of the Combat Phase like player diplomacy. The Traitor Tile doesn't stop you. Both points come from a developer's answer relayed by a player.
Yes to both. Minor Species work at every player count; the rules just point out they're also allowed at 2–3 players, where normal diplomacy isn't used. Without them, a species' dedicated Ambassador space stays empty in 2–3 player games.
Several players agree, while noting the rules are not exact.
The rules only say "at the beginning of the game". The common practice is to set them up before species selection, along with the other variable setup (Tech Tray, Ancients, GCDS), since all of that is known before you choose.
A single reply quoting the Minor Species rules.
No — Minor Species Ambassador Tiles stay for the rest of the game; you can't remove them to free the space.
Several players agree.
Yes — the first player to pass still takes the 2 Money. The Start Player Tile itself is redundant with the turn order track, so some groups leave it out.
A single reply citing the add-on's rules.
Yes — the add-on's rules allow mixing them into 2–6 player games as well as larger ones.
The 7–9 player expansion plus at least one species pack (Seekers or Outcasts) for enough species. The 7-player setup uses 22 starting techs, 10 drawn each round and 22 outer sectors; without the Expanded Galaxy add-on you'll run short of techs, Reputation Tiles and outer sectors.
Single replies on each point; no official ruling.
Before any of your actions in the following round, not only your first. A ship returning from Cygnus X-1 is lost if no inner sector is available, as with the other Black Hole when there's no valid connection. Ships must return to an already explored sector — the event never reveals new tiles — and only one Black Hole is in play.
Several players agree.
They're Galactic Events sectors: each round you roll two dice against the round number plus a tech-based modifier, and on a low enough roll the star explodes (full rules are in the Galactic Events sheet). Ships and Starbases destroyed this way return to their owner's supply as usual; only components the rules say are "removed from the game" are gone for good.
Several players agree, quoting the Pulsar rules.
You take a Pulsar like any sector, and your disc goes on its action space. Activating it replaces a normal action, so you can't use it on the turn you place the disc, but can later that round. It's a single-activation action once per round using the sector's disc.
Several players agree, one quoting the Pulsar rule.
No — using a Pulsar isn't taking the normal Build, Upgrade or Move Action; it just grants one activation, so techs that boost those actions don't apply.
Sectors joined by a line still need a wormhole at each end of the line to connect, as normal. On the small warp sector, all of the crossing lines on that side connect to each other; the tile is meant to compress space.
Several players agree; a developer's answer was relayed for the final-round case.
It has two separate effects: a −1 Shield, and repairing 1 damage after each Engagement Round (the rules only explain the repair icon because the shield icon is standard). A developer confirmed the repair also happens after the final Engagement Round of a battle.
Several players agree; the original claim of six Shrines in the center was corrected.
One per planet of the matching color, not per population square, and several per sector are fine if the sector has several planets. A planet with a regular and an advanced square still takes only one Shrine, so the Galactic Center (six squares on three planets) holds at most three. A gray planet can take any type of Shrine.
Several players agree and the community Lyra FAQ lists it; one player assumed colonizing was needed.
Yes to both — a Shrine only needs a planet of the matching color in a sector Lyra controls. No Population Cube or Advanced tech is required.
Two players agree, and the community Lyra FAQ lists it.
No — each time Lyra builds a Shrine it may take any Shrine still on the board.
Several players agree, and the asker accepted the correction.
Lyra only scores VP for Shrines in sectors it controls at game end, so a lost sector's Shrines stop scoring — but Lyra keeps any bonuses already unlocked on the Shrine board. Shrines are worth nothing to other species.
Several players agree, and the community Lyra FAQ lists the population case.
Yes to both — attacking population is part of the Combat Phase, where the reroll works, and Lyra can keep rerolling the same die as long as it has unused Colony Ships to spend.
Several players agree; no official ruling.
No — they gain the Wormhole Generator ability but take no tile and place nothing on their tech track, and it works even if no tile is available. Players think Lyra may still research the tech separately.
Several players agree, quoting the activation wording.
Yes — Research activations are optional, so Lyra may use the action just for its Shrine.
Yes, by the usual reading — at setup every starting-sector Population Square without a star gets a cube, and an Orbital is such a square, so the Exiles put a Money or Science cube (their choice, from the 3 space) on it, with no Colony Ship needed. This also matches the first edition. One player noted that the Exiles text only says to start with an Orbital, so a strict reading gives no cube.
Several players agree, quoting the setup and species text.
Yes — the starting Orbital is in addition to the normal starting Interceptor. Unlike Orion's starting Cruiser, it doesn't replace anything.
No — Exiles Orbitals are still Orbitals, and nothing in their rules lifts the one-per-sector limit. They count as ships only while holding an Exiles Population Cube, which mainly matters for pinning; a newly built one is just an Orbital.
A single reply based on first-edition rulings.
Yes — like any species, they may research a tech they can't fully use, and it still counts on their tech track. This follows the first-edition ruling.
Several players agree it is what the rules say.
Yes, as written — if no opponent ships remain in the sector, remaining Colony Ships may put a cube back on the empty Orbital during Upkeep, even though the destroyed cube is still in the Graveyard. Players see it as an odd quirk, but no ruling has changed it.
A single reply; uncontested.
Yes — it reduces the Exiles' Orbital cost from 5 to 4 Materials.
Two players agree.
Yes — the printed character is a zero; the font's notch makes it easy to misread.
A single reply comparing the English board.
It doesn't — that ship is a Starbase (no drives, Starbase shape), as the English board shows. Rho Indi can't build Dreadnoughts.