BELLUM ASTRALIS

copyright 2005 Tuomo Sipola (tuomosipola at hotmail dot com)

Space empires against each other and the bug threat.

Goal

The winner is determined after 10 (or any number the players prefer)
turns. Who has accumulated the most victory points has won.

Map

Use a paper sheet. Small dots present agricultural worlds, dots and
circles industrial worlds and big dots core worlds. Routes are presented
with lines between the worlds.

Worlds

Worlds come in three flavors: agricultural, industrial and core. The
first two support the latter by producing food and machinery. A world is
under an empire's control if there are that empire's troops in the world.

Fleets

Fleets are represented by cardboard chits on the map. List the fleets'
ships and troops.

Troops' values

Units have two values: shock and defence. Shock is used for first
strike. Fighting is used when defending or raiding an already invaded
world.

Bugs

Bug chits represent bug presense and every bug listed unit is worth 1-1
unit. Bugs do not have specific space ships.

Map creation

Draw a world and draw six lines from it. Throw d6 to determine how many
worlds are connected to it. These worlds may conect to already known
worlds or you can create new worlds, decide in turns if necessary.

Each player selects a world for his empire. Throw with d6 the type of
the world 1-3 agricultural, 5,6 industrial, 6 core world.

Pick d6 worlds that will be infested with one bug unit.

Empire creation

Each player receives 6 food units and 6 machinery units. They also have
one fleet that compromises of one frigate and one freigter. The
freighter and the planet house five 1-1 troops.

Turn

1. Bugs phase
1.1 Bug reproduction
1.2 Bug movement
2. Interphase
2.1 Collect income
2.2 Determine turn order
3. Player phase (each player at the same time)
3.1 Production
3.2 Orders
4. Collect victory points

1. Bug phase

1.1 Bug reproduction

Every world that is infested adds one bug unit to its strength. Core
worlds get two.

1.2 Bug movement

Each bug colony attacks.

The bugs always hit the weakest possible world. They move to the
unoccupied worlds first and then attack players. They first attack
agricultural, then industrial, then core worlds. They first attack the
world with least connections.

2. Interphase

2.1 Collect income

Every agricultural world produces one food unit. Every industrial world
converts one food unit to one machinery unit.

Each trade route connected to a core world produces food and machinery
for each agricultural and industrial world it is connected to.

2.2 Determine turn order

Each player rolls the dice. The biggest score goes first and then the
player to his left etc.

3. Player phase

Each player completes the phase and then all the players move on to the
second.

3.1 Production

For every excess food + machinery the player gets a production point.
The player may produce new fleets, ships and units by spending
production points.

Cruisers cost two production points. Each cruiser adds one to the
movement of a fleet. A cuiser is worth two battle point.

Frigates cost one production point. A frigate is worth one battle point.
Note: fleets of only frigates get movement rating of one.

Freighters cost one production point each. They carry the troops to the
battlefield. Each freighter houses five troops.

New troop costs shock * defence. So if you want the troop to be good at
both first strike and defence you have to pay a lot. Troops are always
assigned to a fleet or to a planet.

3.2 Orders

The player can assign one order each turn.

a) Discover world

Discover a new agricultural world connected to one of yours. Determine
the type: 1-3 agr, 5,6 ind, 6 core. On 1 of d6 the world is infected
with d6 bug units.

b) Infrastructure

Promote an agricultural world you control to a industrial one or an
indutrial world to core world.

c) Trade

Create a trade route between two worlds denoted by a colored line (or
dotted line) characteristic to each player.

d) Imperial

Gain one victory point.

e) Move fleet

Move a fleet the amount of its movement allowance. The fleet may merge
with other fleets or give units away.

f) Attack world

Attack a world. If no fleets are present the world becomes yours if you
leave some troops there. If there is a fleet a battle occurs.

Battle

The side who has a bigger battle points + d6 wins the space battle and
the loser suffers the amount of that d6 damage. If the attacker won he
may attack to the world with his troops. Each troop attacks one at a
time and the attacker chooses first which unit attacks. The attacker
uses his shock value and the defender his defence value. The higher
value + d6 wins and the loser is destroyed.

4. Collect victory points

Each agricultural world: 1 VP
Each industrial world: 2 VP
Each core world: 5 VP
Longest trade route: 2 VP
Each cruiser: 1 VP