Below is another fun Space Empires article from one of our newer blog contributors, David Waldorf. You can find his previous Space Empires articles here. Enjoy! -Rachel

The abundant mix of deep space counters in Space Empires means there are virtually limitless configurations for the cold darkness that lies between warring empires.  It could be be fraught with peril and stark beauty in one game, or a rich source of planets and minerals in another.  For me, discovering what is out there is a large part of the fun in the early to middle stages of the game.  The feel of actual exploration is present as I hunt for the stuff that I can use, always hoping to come across a space wreck to tow home.

It is a little strange, though, that my enemies also benefit from my exploration.  I lost the lives of everyone on board the scouting vessel that encountered danger in sector G5; yet because of their sacrifice, any and all foes may now enter that hex with impunity.  Did they steal my star maps?  Are there spies in my ranks?  How did they know that part of uncharted (to them) space was now safe to fly their whole fleet into?

Of course, this is still a board game, and abstractions have to be made.  It is simply not feasible to keep all the terrain face down and have each player do actual cartographic star mapping on a separate sheet of paper.  I suppose it could work for a while (with a lot of bookkeeping), but it would inevitably become problematic once you begin to interact with what you find out there and with other players.  Realism has to be abstracted somewhat in any war game if you want to have a playable result.  However, if you want to push the abstraction meter a little farther toward the realism side (at the cost of some extra fiddling), the game system is flexible enough to allow it.  Simply use “first” and “second” deep space markers (DSM) in the following manner:

The first player to explore a hex and flip its DSM should place a second DSM face down in the same hex (with some exceptions noted below).  This player may now interact with that hex/terrain as though the second marker was not there, but every other player must follow the movement rules for undiscovered hexes.  The exploring player should mark the hex in some way, either by placing a token of his color from some other game into the hex, or orienting the DSM’s closer to his empire/side if the board (see the illustration below).

The second marker is flipped by the second person to enter the hex (or if he reveals it using Exploration Technology), after which the hex is considered publicly charted and other players may enter it normally.  Depending on what the second marker is, it will either stay in the game for a unique terrain combination or be removed:

1. Always remove secondary Nebulae, Planets, and Black Holes with no effect.
2. Always leave secondary Asteroids, Minerals, Space Wrecks, Doomsday Machines and Warp Points in the hex (unless Doomsday Machines and Warp Points are not being played with, in which case they are removed).
3. Resolve secondary Danger! and Lost in Space DSM’s normally, with the results only affecting the exploring ship.
4. Treat secondary Supernovae like Danger! markers, unless the first marker is a Planet—in which case that planet’s star has gone supernova, and everything in the hex is destroyed.

If playing with the additional DSM’s from the Replicators expansion and you flip one of them as a second marker:

1. The Galactic Capital should be removed without effect, unless players unanimously agree to leave it in. Under no circumstances is it allowed to be left in the same hex as another planet or a nebula.
2. Regional Map DSM’s are treated like case C, and Space Pirates like case B.
3. Fold in Space DSM’s replace any terrain that used to be in that hex.

Exceptions and Hints:

• Home systems never get second markers—only deep space hexes.
• If the first DSM is a Supernovae or a Black Hole, it does not get a second DSM.  (The same goes for a Fold in Space marker from Replicators.)  These phenomena are large enough to be detected by long-range instruments.
• Combat rules for hexes that have not had a second explorer are the same as those found in the base game solo scenarios for unexplored hexes: if your opponent is in a hex that you have not explored, you may not enter that hex to engage in combat.
• For hexes with combinations of terrain (such as Planets with Asteroids around them, or a Nebula with a Warp Point in it), follow all applicable terrain rules for all types of terrain.  Example: you want to use a Warp Point that has its other end terminating in an Asteroid field.  You may only do so if you began your move in the starting Warp Point and stop once you enter the destination Warp Point, to comply with rules 4.2 on Asteroid movement and 16.3 on Warp Point movement).

Finally, note that this variant will not work for the larger deep space set-ups, as you will not have enough markers.  You could potentially mix some of the home system markers from the unused empires into the initial map layout, or use the deep space markers from a second copy of the game. The larger terrain tiles from the Replicators expansion could also help alleviate this issue.

Author: David Waldorf