// OPERATION: STARTUP TACTIC
Starting is the most critical phase. Good openings multiply late-game options. Assess
PROTECTION years first:
- ~20 years: Accelerate early military prep.
- ~50–70 years: Focus on economy first; delay military until ~day 3.
Set Industrial Production to 100% Carriers early—selling carriers beats minting coins. Issue tariff-based trade agreements (avoid free trade unless you trust the player; riots in their empire hurt your Popular Support). Sell excess food at the Planetary Food Market; once established (~50–60 turns), maintain a surplus buffer in case supply dries up.
Tax Rate
Avoid bank loans at the very start—they’re usually too small to matter. In System Menu, set taxes to 9–10% to turbocharge population growth (often your top income source later). If growth slows, buy a few Urban regions.
Military Production (Early)
First few days: don’t buy Military/Industrial regions—except in low-protection games (~≤20) where prepping for combat is mandatory.
// OPERATION: REGIONS
Sell any starter military for cash. Early gold ≫ early firepower. Don’t buy
Industrial on turn one (you need every credit for expansion). Prioritize money-makers:
- Coastal and River (cash engines; Rivers sometimes flip to food).
- After ~300 Coastal, add Rivers; Coastal can cover food flips.
Example first-day purchase plan (budget for ~150 new regions):
Opening Allocation (Given → After Purchase)
------------------------------------------------
Coastal : 3 → 153
River : 0 → 0
Agricultural : 2 → 2
Desert : 5 → 5
Industrial : 0 → 0
Urban : 0 → 0
Mountain : 5 → 5
Technology : 0 → 0
NEVER BUY INDUSTRIAL ON YOUR FIRST TURN unless absolutely necessary. Sample end-of-day (10 turns):
Day 1 Tally
-----------------------------
Coastal : 400
River : 200
Agricultural : 60
Desert : 5
Industrial : 0
Urban : 15
Mountain : 2
Technology : 0
Total : 675 regions
Coastal:River = 2:1
All:Coastal = 3:2
This mix prints money early. Agri feeds growth; Tech can wait. Urban pulls steady immigration; Agri covers the mouths.
Low-protection / hostile games (attack right out of protection) might pivot to a war footing:
Wartime-Ready Mix (Local, Aggressive)
--------------------------------------
Coastal : 100
River : 0
Agricultural : 20
Desert : 5
Industrial : 200
Urban : 10
Mountain : 100
Technology : 0
Total : 430 regions
Coastal:Industrial:Mountain = 1:2:1
All:Industrial = 2:1
As conflict intensifies, bias toward
Mountain (stability, boosts Industrial output). Coastal is vulnerable to war/unrest. Mature wartime blend often trends toward ~40% Industrial / ~40% Mountain.
Typical mid-game (10k regions; military buying disabled during tally):
10k Region Snapshot
--------------------
Coastal : 2500
River : 2000
Agricultural : 400
Desert : 200
Urban : 200
Mountain : 200
Technology : 500
Money Producers :Industrial ≈ 5:4
Industrial : 4000
All:Industrial : 5:2
// OPERATION: POPULATION
Many underuse population. Open at 9% tax to fuel growth; buy Urban if people stall. In late game (≥5k regions), taxes often top revenue. For an even larger pop, try a low-tax ramp:
Low-Tax Growth Ramp (Military purchasing enabled)
--------------------------------------------------
Turn 1 Tax: 1%
End Day 1 : 2%
Region Mix (465 → scale to ~10k movement)
-----------------------------------------
Coastal : 300 → 1000
River : 100 → 1000
Agricultural : 50 → 4400
Desert : 0 → 0
Industrial : 0 → 0
Urban : 15 → 2500
Mountain : 2 → 0
Technology : 0 → 1000
As you scale, drift taxes back toward ~9% for massive revenue. Need a population burst? Drop taxes to 0% for a couple of turns (ensure food/Urban capacity first) — 18–25k million people per turn is common.
// OPERATION: MILITARY
Begin building on day 3–4 (depending on protection). Choose a doctrine:
- Aggressor: Emphasize Jets (offense) + Tanks (flex).
- Turtle: Emphasize Turrets (core defense) + Tanks.
Keep a reserve. Jets cannot defend; tanks can.
Attack Points (Units)
Unit Power
-----------
Troopers : Off 1 | Def 1
Jets : Off 2 | Def 0
Turrets : Off 0 | Def 2
Tanks : Off 4 | Def 4
Bombers : Off 0 | Def 0 (special payload carrier)
* Note *
Bombers contribute no direct attack/defense. They (1) carry bombs & s-ops and (2) destroy grounded jets on strike.
Production Mix Examples
Doctrine Mix
------------
[Offensive]
Trooper : 15%
Jets : 45%
Bombers : 0%
Turrets : 10%
Tanks : 25%
Carriers : 5%
[Defensive]
Trooper : 0%
Jets : 10%
Bombers : 0%
Turrets : 40%
Tanks : 50%
Carriers : 0%
Pros / Cons
Troopers — Cheap to buy/maintain; 7 Troopers ≈ 1 Tank’s power. Effective vs IP missile % when count favors you. Vulnerable to t-ops; heavy food use.
Jets — Excellent offense; 6 Jets ≈ cost of 1 Tank. High upkeep; need carriers; vulnerable to SDI and Bomb Airbases t-op.
Turrets — Defensive backbone; immune to t-ops. Upkeep nearly jet-tier.
Tanks — Strong on both sides; moderate upkeep; priceier to buy; impacted by HQ strength.
Strategic Hint: Jets can’t defend. On IP attacks, send 100% of Jets; holding them back provides zero defensive value.
Strategic Hint: Troopers vs Tanks — Short term: Troopers win on cost efficiency; ~after 450 turns, Trooper upkeep surpasses Tanks. Expect an inflection; buy Troopers if a near-term attack is imminent.
Military Maintenance (per turn)
Upkeep by Setting (Low / Med / High)
------------------------------------
Trooper : 0.10 / 0.60 / 1.60
Jets : 0.30 / 1.20 / 4.80
Turrets : 0.255 / 0.90 / 3.60
Bombers : 0.32 / 1.30 / 5.20
Tanks : 0.15 / 0.60 / 2.40
Carriers : 0.025 / 0.10 / 0.40
Pure Defense Doctrine (long-term under fire):
- Troopers: 0%
- Jets: 0%
- Bombers: 0%
- Turrets: 60%
- Tanks: 40%
- Carriers: 0%
Industry → Carriers to sell (beats minting coins).
Always maintain a reserve. Launching without one leaves you open to counterstrikes.
- Too weak to form a reserve (unavoidable) — accept risk.
- Blundered — expect heavy region losses.
- Calculated risk — win if timing holds; lose if misread.
// OPERATION: COVERT OPS
More agents = harder for enemy l-ops/i-ops to land. Buy agents when under t-op pressure. Terrorist Prevention combines allied agent counts defensively; Intelligence Alliances combine them offensively.
Targeted Ops
------------
Troopers : Demoralization, Dissensions, Bomb Food Markets
Jets : Bomb Airbases
Turrets : Demoralization
Tanks : Demoralization, Sabotage HQ
Net Worth Factors
Net Worth Table (unit → value)
-------------------------------
Troopers : 0.250
Jets : 0.325
Turrets : 0.425
Bombers : 3.000
Agents : 0.500
Tanks : 1.250
Carriers : 1.000
Regions : 12.50
// OPERATION: INTER-PLANETARY (IP) WARS
Strategy is dictated by available tactics. Teamwork is the force multiplier. Core tools below.
Trading
The trading menu is your strongest economy lever. Send tariff agreements to teammates on day one. After protection, coordinated funds let you buy regions fast; repay with interest via the new income. This beats bank loans by magnitude.
Specializing
Decide who makes what (Turrets/Jets/Troopers/Tanks). Trade outputs to cover each other’s deficits. Efficiency rises with coordination.
Coordination
Big leagues demand synchronized strikes and aligned diplomacy. Elect a savvy GC and a military coordinator. Know each teammate’s ceiling; operate as one.
// OPERATION: PLANETARY TAKEDOWN
Planet target example: John Do's BBS. Step one—Bomb Planetary Food Market to trigger civil war (no food = implosion). Layer t-ops, s-ops, and military pressure; destroy ability to wage war (Rule 11). Nukes are costly but decisive.
Attack Modes
Modes & Effects
----------------
Normal Attack : 15% region capture; 100% combat effectiveness (default)
Quick Strike : 10% capture; 115% effectiveness; both sides halt at ~8% losses
Extended Battle : 20% capture; 85% effectiveness; best vs smaller foes
S-3 Sabre
Commonly used settings: 7 (destroys regions) and 4 (destroys airbases). Dial can slip to adjacent numbers. (Exact tables omitted—field test to master.)
Consolidated tactic: Demoralize population & military first (chemical bombs + t-ops). Maintain relentless pressure with strikes and nukes. Starve markets; erase Agri base; break morale. Objective: force total defensive posture, then collapse. Victory.
Quick-Strike IP Raids
Goal: profit, not annihilation. Target high-region/low-net empires. Execute simultaneous individual attacks (higher region gains), plus t-ops. After 2–4 days, sue for peace. Most rational boards accept.
SDI Defense
SDI (v0.970+) ramps spending to 100k/turn initially; max invest 2B (even if not 100% complete). Pair with Technology regions to lower maintenance. SDI intercepts ~50% of inbound missiles and a large share of attacking jets.
// OPERATION: CASH OPS
Investments
Begin investing as you spin up military (~3–4k regions). Reinvest daily returns in a 10-day ladder until you’re receiving 2B/day (v0.964+ cap). For v0.97+, total investments cap at 20B gold. Only spend after the 2B/day pipeline runs 10 days deep.
Savings
If the Savings rate beats Investments by ~≥5%, stash cash in bank for a couple of days and stage a 2-day invest. If the spread is small, keep investing.
Cash Relief / Loans
Bank loan size scales with region count, but terms are rough and totals are usually too small to matter. Avoid borrowing except on a final turn to top off an attack.
// OPERATION: DIPLOMACY
Being a capable diplomat wins wars before they start.
Rules of Engagement (Diplomacy)
- Don’t insult (unless in jest).
- Don’t brag.
- Don’t mock weak opponents.
- Seek advantageous allies.
- Know enemy capabilities & weaknesses.
- Know your team’s capabilities.
- Don’t betray allies/teammates.
- Leaders: listen to your team.
- Project strength with fairness.
- Don’t drag wars out; make peace and move.
Leaders continually reassess the field; allies you spare today may save you tomorrow. Don’t humiliate defeated foes—grudges reset hard. Win, sign peace, move on. If a war is a draw, make peace; endless stalemates waste everyone.
Summary
-------
• Teamwork is essential.
• Trading is the backbone of teamwork.
• A lone empire cannot outlast a coordinated team.
• Disorganized teams fall to united ones.
• Investing is the road to individual dominance.
Above all, this is a game—keep it fun.