John Butterfield has been hard at work on SpaceCorp: Ventures, the first expansion to his hit space-exploration game SpaceCorp. Developer Jason Carr is here to share the final of four sneak-peeks at what comes in the Ventures box. This week’s Corporation is Stellar Security, providing best-in-class security operations… for a price.

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One aspect of SpaceCorp that is difficult to grasp initially is the use of Secure bases. Sure, they protect you from Aliens, but they can also be used to Profit in regions that have been thoroughly exploited by your opponents. In a game that usually rewards being first, Secure bases give you an option to time your approach more deliberately. Stellar Security gives you much more flexibility in your deployment of Secure bases, and new avenues for Profit.

Space is a dangerous place. From the time of the Apollo and Soyuz programs, humanity has understood the risks of entering space, but new dangers lurk on every moon and planet. Are we alone? Are you willing to bet your life? Let Stellar Security provide your full-service security services. Not only do we guarantee your safety from interstellar risks, but we provide full-service rescue and assistance services in our dozens of protected regions. Let us guarantee your safety while you are away from Earth; let us make you Stellar Secure!

Stellar Security Advertisement, circa 2200.

Stellar Security introduces a concept specific to their HQ: Protection. A region is protected by Stellar Security if they have the only Secure base in a region, and there is an opponent team or base in the region. In exchange for their services, every time Stellar Security builds a new Secure base, they gain Profit for each region they protect. Since Security Starts at Home, Stellar Security can start Profiting from Protection in the Mariners era.

What Stellar Security won’t be doing is playing Revelation cards. They don’t have a revelation cube at all, but unlike Humanistics, they will still be able to gain Breakthrough cards: at the start of Planeteers they take the 2 Profit Force Fields card (and the associated Profit), and at the start of Starfarers they use their Skunkworks to gain any Breakthrough card from the Sideboard automatically. This focus on practical application of technology gives Stellar Security the benefit of technology without investing the time and energy involved in Revelations.

Revelation cards still have a benefit to Stellar Security, as long as they are not the Leader, via their Security Sweep: Revelation actions grant them Profit equal to the number of regions they protect. To fuel their Security Sweep, they use Spinoff Tech, which allows them to draw a card from the Offers whenever they reveal a Discovery tile with a Revelation award. This strategy pays off even more in Starfarers, where Stellar Security can use their Secure bases to protect nearby regions as well. Combined with their alternative final profit option which scores Profit for each protected region, Stellar Security has a lot of ways to make good on their promise of security.

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Previous Articles:

Inside SpaceCorp: Ventures — SpaceCorp HQ

Inside SpaceCorp: Ventures — Next Generation HQ

Inside SpaceCorp: Ventures — Humanistics HQ