galactic emperor strategy guide

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Galactic Emperor strategy guide

By Adam West (from BGG)

This is a quick read on a variety of

strategies and techniques for playing

Galactic Emperor. It is by no means the finalword, but should give you some insight as

you get into the game. Oh, and if you're

reading this, you're sharing these tips with

your gaming group. To make it more fun for

everyone, right? Hey, where'd you go?

In Galactic Emperor, because scoring

happens pretty evenly (through most of the

game, everyone will be getting pretty close

to the same amount of victory points), it'sthe small difference that makes all the

difference. So to win, you need to secure

those small advantages. Don't lose track of

this along the way. To win, you have to take

planets. You don't necessarily need to hold

them for extended periods of time, but you

do need to have them at the end of Regent.

An even progression - beating everyone by

a point or two every Regent - is very often

the right strategy. So how do you get that

done? Well, there's lots of things to consider

and we'll cover a few below.

WHO'S ON FIRST?

Role selection games aren't uncommon

these days, but role selection games that

determine the order of play are still rare

(hello Puerto Rico). Since it directly affects

game flow, you may wonder how valuable it

is to get the throne at the beginning of thegame, or acquire it during the Regent role.

Thinking through all the roles, only some are

truly impacted by turn order: Explorer,

Warlord, Regent and (to an extent) Scientist.

The other roles only convey a benefit to the

chooser: Merchant, Steward and Engineer -

but they are fairly even benefits. In the early

game, the turn sequence for Explorer and

Scientist are most important. Regent is

easily the worst role early in the game(unless you're particuarlly agressive in

nature). Prior to the first Explorer, it conveys

only the benefit of taking the Throne. So this

all goes to say getting the Throne isn't

incredibly important early on. If you can get

it, do so. But don't stress over not having it

all the time early on.

EARLY EXPLORER

In the early part of the game, the Explorer

role is very attractive. The first few sectors

you claim become your economic engine for

much of the game. What could be more

obvious than snatching Explorer? Not only

do you get to claim the best face-up sector

-- the other players only place them in

advantageous locations -- but you also get

to place at least 1 extra sector. This is all

true, but it can be deceptive. The advantage

of claiming a sector right away isn't that

important early on, but is later. Early on, the

instant claim is more of a psychological

security blanket

As for which sectors to pick, here's a quick

run down. More is better. Easy, eh? See

below on balancing resources, but ingeneral, take the sectors that have the most

stuff. The best sector in the early game is

one with 2 energy and 1 metal resource.

That's worth about 7 marks. 3 metal is

pretty good as well - it's worth about 5

marks. Don't ignore all food sectors either -

you should always strive to get enough food

to fund your other sectors. So over all this,

keep balance in mind. It's a good rule of

thumb while picking sectors.

Also, a bit about placement of sectors. In a 6

player game, the best place to put your first

and second sector: right in front of you

toward the Omega sun. This is the exact

distance you need so your opponent's ships

can't reach you in a single Warlord. If you

place to the left or right of your home

sector, you're inviting an aggressive

neighbor to come over and stir something

up - and you really want to avoid that in the

early game. In 3-5 player games, you have

more flexibility. In a 5 player game, only one

player has an advantage - and a bit of



flexibility with initial sector placement. With

fewer then 5 players, it's not a bad idea to

claim your area of space early - in other

words, put your sectors a bit further out

than right next to your home sector.

Always keep your sectors within range of a

starbase - so you can get ships on them to

protect them. Obviously with empty sectors,

put them next to your opponents -

especially to prevent them from doing what

you're trying to do. Clog up their area of

space with empty sectors. If you can do this

to impact two opponents, do it. The other

sector of interest is the Alpha Sun. This one

comes out after the Black Hole and has a

strategy all its own. The sun tiles allows you

to 'skip' over them - so they are a highway

for moving ships. Late in the game, you

have at least two choices with the Alpha

Sun. You can put it to give yourself an

advantage - a highway to the Black Hole for

example. This can allow Dreadnoughts to

get to the Black Hole in a single Warlord.

The other place to use Alpha is between

opponents - to 'encourage' them to 'visit'

each other.

EARLY SCIENTIST

Well, there isn't really a late scientist

because after Black Hole, it's gone. So what

is the point early on? In the opening rounds

(and even in the first round), you really want

to get the technologies that fit your

strategy. Choosing Scientist gives you a one

energy discount and also gives you first

choice - which is the real advantage. In a 6

player game, Scientist will very likely be

pulled every round - so you need to be

ready. 'Ready' means this: either you want

to go for a technology or you don't. It's

highly unlikely you'll be able to afford more

than 2 technologies in the game (maybe 3

in a 3 or 4 player game - but it's still pretty

difficult). See below for a tech by tech

guide.

It isn't impossible to get a really good tech

early - you just need to commit to it. Whenyou start the game, you have 1 energy, 1

metal and 5 marks. After the opening

Merchant, you could easily have 2 or even 3

energy - especially if you pull Merchant -

because energy could be priced as low as 3

marks. So yes, you can get the best techs in

the game in the opening round - or at least

by the second Scientist. Remember: it isn't

so much about having a tech early (except

for Long Range Scanners), it's more about

having it so other's don't.

BALANCE IN RESOURCES

When you're claiming sectors, you want to

look for balance in your resources. You'd

optimally like to have the perfect balance:

just enough food to fund your sectors and

just enough metal/energy sectors to fill your

facility (3 energy, 6 metal). The sooner you

can achieve that goal, the better off you're

going to be.

However, there is a variant on this, the Food

Baron Strategem. Trying to become a Food

Baron is possible in any game, but it can be

diabolic in games with lots of players. The

essence is simple -- most players prefer the

metal/energy sectors because most players

look at value. In an average market, Food is

worth 1 mark, Metal is worth 2, and Energy

is worth 3. A "good" food sector mightgenerate 3 food for no cost in Merchant. A

"good" energy sector might generate 2

energy for the cost of 1 food in Steward.

Doing the math, most players value the food

sector at 1+1+1=3 per round, and the

energy as 3+3-1=5 per round. Hey, that's

40% better, right? The heck with math, says

the Food Baron. After getting a couple food

sectors early in the game because he

chooses near the end of the explorer role,

the Food Baron says "what the heck" and

keeps grabbing food sectors even when he

doesn't have to.

There's a method to the Food Baron's

madness. Consider these advantages:

* No Steward Strings: The Food Baron never

needs to pull Steward, he's not tied to it for

development. Normal players need

Merchant to fund Steward, then Steward togenerate metal/energy. The Food Baron is a

free agent role chooser. Because he has

excess food, and doesn't need to fund



anything with it, he can sell it all for marks

or metal/energy directly. Therefore, he can

pull Engineer or Regent right after Merchant,

whipsawing the competition who have their

funds tied up.

* The Gambler's Touch: If a Food Baron can

choose Merchant and manage to jack theprice up to 2, he really cleans up. Combine

this with the Time Warp tech to reroll and he

increases his chances to do just that. Plus,

because he's created a shortage of food for

at least some other players, they have to

buy their food for funding at inflated prices.

So if you're unable to get Explorer early and

you get stuck with a food sector, consider a

food strategy. If you manage to jack the

price, so much the better (And by the way,spend that money now even though metal

and energy are high priced -- see the

section "Keep Your Motor Humming").

MANAGING MONEY

Speaking of money -- Galactic Marks --

managing money is the common newbie

blunder. You must anticipate which roles will

be pulled and what you want to accomplish

during them! Best is to be perfect with your

spending - optimal of course is always

having exactly what you need - no more and

no less.

Newbies don't remember to keep marks for

later roless and/or they forget they get 2

marks each round and so they keep too

much. Look at your facility. What ships are

you going to buy? I'll talk about the best

combination of ships below, but you need tohave in mind what you're going to buy - you

need resources and marks to buy ships.

Also, remember Regent. You want to buy

that extra influence almost every time.

On the sharkish side of the battle, look at

other player's money supply and their

facility. Imagine what they are going to buy

in ships. Who has too little of something and

what will cause them the most pain? If you

can catch them without money or with only

precisely enough for ships and not enough

for Regent, pull Regent. Any time you can

catch an opponent without enough money

or make them decide between ships and

influence, do it.

THE CONTRARIAN'S DELIGHT

There is an innocuous-seeming choice

during Merchant -- you can fund your

metal/energy sectors with 1 or 2 food. The

sectors will produce alike in Steward, it's just that loading one up with 2 food will

suffice for the next 2 Steward pulls. So what

you say? There's a critical dynamic with

Merchant/Steward.

You have an opportunity to play contrarian if

you have the guts to try. Suppose the other

players are loading their energy/metal

sectors up with 2 food during Merchant,

playing it "safe." (Incidently, there is no wayto actually play it safe). Well, those extra

food cubes represent a loss of income for

them right now. The contrarian could put 1

food on his sectors, and then angle for a

spendy role like Regent or Engineer or

Scientist. You've got more money to buy

cool stuff, so the other guys are going to

suffer in comparison.

Your risk is that you don't want Steward

pulled twice before Merchant is pulled

again! The others would be able to generate

on the 2nd Steward while you get bupkiss.

The crafty contrarian might angle for

Regent, so that he could have his cake and

eat it too, knowing that he can nab the

throne and go first next round, eliminating

the risk.

On the other side, suppose your foes are

funding just 1 on metal/energy sectorsbecause they know they need

money/resources for subsequent turns. If

you can afford it, the contrarian in you puts

2 food down on at least a couple of your

best energy/metal sectors. Try to get those

two Steward pulls before the next Merchant

pull! Instant windfall. Again, with Merchant,

you can double up with Time Warp. Or use

Space Pirates to un-fund an opponent.

Speaking of which, during Steward later in

the game, you might have more funded

sectors than you can actually store in your

facility. This is a bad thing in general -



because when Steward is pulled, you can't

really cash in completely. However, this can

be an advantage too. With a bit of good

fortune, you can manage a second Steward

prior to Merchant and again whipsaw your

opponents.

KEEP YOUR MOTOR HUMMING

Here's more newbie economic mistakes that

can make you cry. Or smirk, depending on

your disposition.

Case 1: Joe is a youthful, sound Galactic

Emperor playtester. He went Food Baron in

one game, managed to jack the price in

Merchant, and cashed out 26 marks on turn

4! Dazzled by his riches, Joe promptly blew

it. With an empty container, he simply keptthe marks and bought nothing. Oh, the

young man wasn't senseless -- a high price

in food means that metal and energy are

definitely high priced, and Joe was thinking

that he could buy cheaper in some later

round. NO! Time is money! You CANNOT

spin your wheels for a whole round looking

to save a nickel! Sure, metal and energy are

50% more expensive than usual, but Joe just

profited on food at 100% markup! Plus thefood-starved opponents had to buy that

costly food to fund sectors. Joe could have

topped off his container and still have had

plenty of galactic marks. Before anyone

could match him, Joe could have had deadly

ships, great techs, political influence, you

name it. This galaxy is not made for the

timid!

Case 2: Lou guessed wrong and messed up,

and he never even realized it. Lou had apartially full container with 2 energy and 3

metal. His sectors were funded. But instead

of getting a chance to spend during

Scientist or Engineer, someone pulled

Steward. Lou only needed to generate from

a couple of his 5 funded sectors to top off

his container. In Lou's defense, he was right

to feel good about still having funded

sectors in case Steward was pulled again

before the next Merchant. But Lou stillmessed up. Not being able to generate

metal/energy because of a full container?

That's basically leaving a gold bar in the

bank because you're carrying a gold bar. If

Lou had anticipated the Steward pull, he

would sold his metal/energy during

Merchant, leaving his container completely

open for a full generation Steward turn.

PRECOGS ARE REAL IN GALACTIC

EMPEROR AND PHILIP DICK NOVELS

Speaking of anticipation... you may be

objecting to the above "Lou" example,

thinking that there's no way he could've

known that Engineer or Scientist wouldn't

be pulled -- in which case his partially full

container would serve him well. Bollocks.

You have to look downstream and see what

the next guy, and the next guy after that,

need. Are they ready for Engineer or

Scientist? Or do they need Steward? Orwhat do they need? Anticipate!

And when all else fails, metagame your

heart out. Give the next player in line one of

those "Gosh, I'm not sure what to pull. I may

pull Merchant. What are you going to pull?"

Time honored intelligence gathering?

Devious skullduggery? You decide.

TAKING A HIT FOR YOUR ENGINEERS

We're the first to tell anyone that getting

extra influence in Regent is critical. By all

means it is, all through the game. But know

this -- in some Regent turns, you can get

away with lying low, just using your 2

influence to prop up your own borders,

hoping folks overlook you. Why? Because a

common -- maybe even the most common --

mistake in Galactic Emperor is getting all set

up with a bulging container and just enoughmarks to build ships in Engineer, but then

frittering away the money in Regent

because you just can't stand to lack

influence. We understand. It's a teeth-

grinder for sure. But know what you're

giving up and decide accordingly.

And by the way, don't forget that you gain 2

marks at the end of each round. That needs

to be factored in if you think a role won't be

picked until early next round.

CAPTAIN KIRK



A couple of home truths, just so we

understand one another:

GE is a game that favors offense, not

defense. If you like turtling, you might be

able to do a reasonable rendition of it in a 5

or 6 player game (see the Ion Cannon tech),

but in general, save your Turtle-hood for

games that accomodate it. No, you don't

need to go crashing around early in the

game, but you will need to play offensively,

sooner rather than later.

Fighters are lousy at taking over anything by

themselves. They exist primarly because

they're cheap cannon fodder escorts for real

ships - and they are very handly for taking

empty sectors. But in combat, at best, a 3

fighter group can be used to take out a loneempire somewhere - their chance of success

(without any special technologies) is about

70%. Add one more fighter to that group

and your chance goes up to near 90%. But

don't get crazy: 1 or 2 fighters can't do

anything well but occupy an empty sector or

defend. The chance of a single fighter taking

down an empire is a mere 10% and for

taking down a starbase is zero. So don't

attack an Empire or Starbase with just a pairof fighters. It's just this side of suicide.

Now let's talk technologies and that lone

fighter again. With Warlord against a lone

Empire, the lone fighter chances only go up

to 15%. Now give that Fighter shields too -

and it's nearly 50/50. Offensively, that lone

fighter with Warlord is now better than 2

normal fighters. Shields are one of the best

technologies for open warfare strategies.

Once you make the investment, however,

make sure you follow through on the

strategy. Shields don't work in defense - you

have to pull Warlord and attack all over the

place. If you really want to crush your

opponents, sink your money in Shields and

Plasma weapons. With that combination, 2

fighters are a force to be feared. They can

take out a lone Starbase 50% of the time.

Heck, they can take on a Dreadnought and

win over 40% of the time!

How do you get 5 energy fast to buy those

technologies? Remember - you start with 1

energy. If you can manage to pull Scientist,

you can get Plasma weapons right away

easily. Go through Merchant once and buy 2

more energy. Pull Scientist again, snap up

Shields and you're there. Combine that with

metal sectors and forget energy for the rest

of the game. Just buy fighters - they're

cheap, fast and with enabled with Shieldsand Plasma, incredibly fierce!

Cruisers are the small hammer, and

sometimes they're under-appreciated. In

open space, crusiers are easily the best

single ship. Faster than Dreads, more

powerful than fighters. A Cruiser

accompanied by 3 Fighters is a dangerous

force that is quite capable of knocking out a

Starbase (80%) or an Empire (97%) with

near zero loss. That fleet can face a lone

Dreadnought and win about 75% of the

time. Don't forget that they move two, and

ranginess is an excellent attribute,

especially in 3 or 4 player games.

Dreads get top billing for a reason. Because

they fire first, and because they take a free

hit (you do always use that free hit first,

don't you?), they excel at taking out even

good defenses with minimal losses. Alwayskeep a couple fighters along to escort a

Dread -- losing one hurts. But a Dread with

escort means death to opponents. They can

toast a Starbase or Empire easily - even if

they have a fighter or two - although if they

have 2, the chance of winning is down to

about 50/50.

SMART FIGHTS ARE BETTER THAN BIG

ONES

Even with the emphasis on offense, your big

payoff is not centered on an epic galactic

battle where your tremendous fleet just

ekes out a victory over some enemy's

tremendous fleet. The only time that's a

good idea is when a big fleet is directly

threatening you, or you have an opportunity

to jam up the player who's threatening to

win the game. In other words, it's not a good

general strategy. Save it for the end gamewhen you can put everything on the line.

In general, your ideal fight is one where you

have an overwhelming force. Like a Dread



and 4 fighters taking on an undefended

empire. That still gets you territory and a

victory point, plus your force will likely be

completely intact to throttle some other

sector on the following round. Dreads, used

properly, carve through space like ginsu

knives, turn after turn. If you lose a couple

fighter escorts from a Dread-led fleet, by allmeans, deploy and resupply the fleet with

more fighters. They can catch up to the

Dread and he needs them.

A TWO FRONT WAR

Don't lose your head and send your fleets in

one direction. No matter how many players,

you've alwasy got opponents on both sides.

It's surprisingly easy to think only one front,

and it's almost always a mistake. And if --and this is not good -- some border enemy

of yours is sending his entire fleet your way?

Doesn't happen often, but it's one of those

bad moves that threatens to drag you down

as well. Recognize it early and metagame.

Be sure to helpfully point out that he's wide

open to an attack from his other side before

he's fully committed to going your way.

Bring the player a drink of cocoa. Make nice.

And when he turns the other way a bit,grind him to dust.

THE BLACK HOLE (NO, NOT THAT

PUTRID DISNEY MOVIE)

Using the Black Hole sounds great on paper

(a free combat round? really?), but it's a

tougher decision in the game. With two

fronts to defend, your opponents have to be

weak indeed for you to be able to afford to

send a major fleet there. However, it'sdefinitely worthwhile -- if you can spare it --

to send, say, a Cruiser and 2 Fighters, or

even three Fighters, into the Black Hole.

They can augment a big fight or strike out

on their own to take out an empire behind

enemy lines.

And don't under estimate the value of a

threat. If you're parked in the Black Hole,

you're now officially threatening everyoneequally. Played right, it's a defensive move

than gives everyone pause before attacking

you for fear of retaliation.

I AM NERO

Regent... ah, what can we say about

Regent? It's a psychological turn, and you

don't want to irritate the heck out of anyone

early. Depends on the type of gamers at

your table. Do not pass by unclaimed

sectors. Easy pickings. Remember the turn

sequence. If someone has already played

their influence before you, they are now

your best target because they can't cancel

your influence. Also, remember than

influencing first is more powerful than later.

Think about it: you already have a claim and

for someone to over turn it, they have to

equal or best it. In other words, if you play 2

influence over an opponent's empire, it

takes 2 influence for a follow on opponent to

cancel you - not very beneficial for them.

From a non-psychological perspective, it

pays to be aggressive in Regent. Lots of

players get paranoid about their valuable

sectors and will load influence on them even

with a starbase already there. Okay, fine,

but fear is making you wasteful. Suppose

you put two influence on some enemy's

empire sector. Sure, he might take it back,

or he might go after your valuable starbasesector, but all things considered, you got a

better chance of actually making a gain.

And even if you can't take the sector, taking

a sector *away* is valuable too - you're

reducing an opponent's victory points and

that translates to you (and everyone else)

gaining points in an absolute sense.

Remember, as sweet as starbases are, they

don't earn you any more victory points than

empires. Upgrade to starbases where it's

critical to do so - especially if you're staking

out property on the other side of the galaxy.

As far as putting influence to the throne

goes, do it if you need it (see some of the

nefarious strategies above for example of

why you might need it). Some people shy

away from influencing the throne because

they know the Regent chooser gets last

placement and can match their move,thereby getting the throne. So what?

Paranoid thinking gets you nothing, and

other players may or may not target the



same things as you. If the Regent doesn't

match, you get it. If he does match, he at

least used his influence to do so. It's not a

bad play for you especially if you're placing

influence on the Regent's sectors.

Regent is also subject to metagaming table

talk, and it's also a turn where leaders can

be pulled back down a peg. Work the

situation to your advantage.

TECH TALK

And finally, a few brief strategy tips on

techs:

Diplomat -- it's nice to know exactly how

many marks you need to keep back for

Regent. More than a luxury. It only costs 1

energy (about 3 marks in value) and Regent

is one of the most common roles to be

played. Get it early and you'll definitely

make your money back - maybe in just two

Regent turns.

Long Range Scanners -- It's only of minor

value late in the game, but early on, it

nearly guarantees a good sector during

Explorer. If you're not planning on making

moves for the Throne, this is a good tech toget.

Saboteur -- Very useful in metagame, makes

players less likely to use techs against you.

May be held back until late in game, when

warlord techs become critical. But if you're

going to purchase this one, you need to use

it - often. Else, it doesn't pay for itself.

Time Warp -- Underestimated by many, this

tech is useful in combo with a variety of strategies. It's a bit like Shields, but can't be

used as often. It helps the Food Baron out to

get the prices just like he wants them. Also

a great combo with Saboteur.

Space Pirate -- The temptation is to always

grab a more valuable metal, but you can

also hose someone by grabbing food off of a

1 food funded sector. Always look around

and see where you can really put the hurton a player - and it's best to use on players

that have already takine their Merchant turn

- especially those who are 'perfectly'

balanced. Take that metal and now they

can't build that Dreadnought. But this is

another tech you have to remember to use!

Don't forget it! Prop it up in some obivous

place where you'll see it.

Protein Fields -- Verrrry useful for trying to

short sheet everyone by pulling Steward

when no one has funded sectors. You're

always funded. Also, obviously great if

you're short on food sectors.

Robotics -- Usually, a max Engineer turn is 1

Dread, 1 Cruiser, and 1 Fighter. With

robotics, you can add 2 more fighters.

Impressive. Best as a secondary agreesive

technology. Goes nice with Shields or

Plasma Weapons.

Fusion Engines -- Excellent in 3-4 playergames, not as effective with 5-6. But Dreads

that move 2 are suddenly far better. And

that's pretty much good in any game.

Plasma Weapons -- Like other warlord techs,

it's great on the last 3 turns of the game.

See above for how it changes the life of

Fighters (and other ships too).

Ambassador -- Evil fun factor is very high

here. Think about it: you get to claim anysector you want during Regent. Any sector.

Anywhere in the Galaxy. That means if

there's a 2 planet sector, it can be yours.

That's pure points in your pocket. Some

think this is the best technology in the

game.

Ion Cannons -- This is probably the weakest

3 energy technology. But the more players,

the better it is. In a 6 player game, they're

good because there are less Dreads around

and you have less borders to defend. Works

best for turtle types, so don't forget to

create a bunch of fighters to augment the

cannons. In general, Ion Cannons increase

your defense by at least 10% - on every

sector you control.

Shields -- Surprisingly quite good in combat.

Build a nice fleet and use it prudently, and

shields will make you smile. Just don't forgethow they work - you only get to ignore the

first (and only the first!) hit in combat. But



in general, it increases your chances by

about 25%.

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