STARFLEET BATTLES RULES Copyright W.Jordan 1990 All rights reserved INTRODUCTION Starfleet Battles is a 1-4 player game of space exploration and conquest. When one player is playing, the computer plays the role of a second player. Starfleet Battles is a fast moving and easy to play game. The game is both abstract and simple, but still provides plenty of scope for strategy and tactics. OPTIONS Before the game you can select from a number of different options. You may choose between 1 and 4 human players. If you select 1 then you will be playing the computer. When playing the computer you may select a level of difficulty between 1 and 10. The higher the number, the stronger the computer player will be. You may choose to generate a completely different star system each game or you may select 1 from 100 different set star systems. If you wish to play a star system only once then it is suggested you choose the random option. Choosing a number between 1 and 100 allows you to replay the same setup. You may wish to use the same star system with a different level of difficulty or try the same star system again if you were beaten by the computer, or in a multi-player game. The following rules explain both the one player, and the multi-player modes. HOW TO WIN A player is eliminated from the game when his home planet has been lost. The last remaining player is the winner. INSTRUCTIONS Starfleet is a mouse driven game in which decisions are made by clicking the left mouse button when the mouse pointer is over a particular point on the screen. When the instruction "OK" appears click in the box to continue the game. THE TURN Starfleet is a doubleblind game, in which a player does not know the location of an opponent, and must explore to find him. In the multiplayer version, only the player to move looks at the screen during his turn, but all players may look at the screen while combat is in progress. STARMAP Space is represented by a 16x16 grid called the starmap. A key to the right of the starmap explains the different contents of each space. SHIPS There are 6 types of spaceships: CLASS SHIP 1 Cargoes 2 Scouts 3 Destroyers 4 Cruisers 5 Battlecruisers 6 Battleships A player may have up to 6 of each type of ship. The cost of a ship is double their class. The combat value is the same as the cost. INCOME A player's income is equal to the total current income of all his planets. Income can be accumulated from turn to turn. Income is used to build ships. SHIP BUILDS To build a ship, click on the ship name during the build phase. You are not allowed to spend more than you can afford, or have more than 6 of each type. You may build any number of ships within these restrictions. To finish building, click in the OK box in the lower portion of the screen. SHIP MOVEMENT Ships are moved individually, by clicking on the starmap. A drawing representing the ship that was moved will be displayed on the map. Ships can only move to spaces that have been explored. There can be any number of ships in the same space. EXPLORATION At the start of the game, all spaces are considered unexplored except for the home planet and the spaces adjacent to it. Scouts have a special exploration ability. They explore all adjacent spaces and 2 spaces away in perpindicular lines. In other words, their exploration pattern is a diamond. Of course, you have no idea where your opponent/s have explored. COLONISING A planet is colonised by landing cargoes there. For each cargo that has been landed, the income of that planet increases by one. A planet's income cannot exceed its maximum. You cannot colonise a planet owned by someone else. COMBAT Combat happens whenever ships of different sides are in the same square. If the combat strength of both sides is equal then the battle is a tie. The weaker side loses up to the difference in strength of the two sides. Multiplayer combat is slightly more involved, but follows the same principle. If there are 3 or 4 players in the same square then the strongest player attacks everyone else. CAPTURING PLANETS A planet is either owned by one of the players, or by player 0(unowned). Moving any ship to an unowned planet will capture it. A planet remains owned until captured by another player. To capture a planet owned by another player, the class of the strongest attacking ship must EXCEED the current value of the planet. Once a planet is captured the capturing player recieves the current income for that planet from the next turn on. Combat occurs before capture of planets. ATTACKING A HOME PLANET Capturing a home planet is similar to capturing another planet. The defender defends with the strength of a battleship(32) in addition to any other ships present. If a home planet is captured, all planets owned by the defending planet are also captured and the defending player is eliminated from the game. 'If players simultaneously attack each other's home planets then the game is 'a draw(if there are 2 players). STRATEGY AND TACTICS What to build is an important decision. Sometimes it may be worthwhile to save credits from turn to turn. Scouts and cargoes are important early in the game, but become less useful as the game continues. You will need to decide whether to build many weak ships or fewer strong ships. Strong ships are useful for capturing opponent planets. In a 3 or 4 player game a possible strategy is to build no cargoes at all! In all versions you will need to outguess the other player/s. Careful deployment of scouts will maximize the area you can explore. Cargoes are both important and vulnerable and need to be well defended. Later in the game, whether to defend your home planet or not can be a critical decision. There is some chance involved in the star distribution and some star systems will create a more difficult game than others. With 3 or 4 players this should balance out. There will range between 15 and 45 stars. The computer should be a very tough opponent at the higher levels in most star systems. The 4 player version creates a very interesting game.