The Ashes of Empire

the strategic card game for 1-8 players

The game material: 40 planet cards at 10 clusters in the 1. Degree. You will need 18 sixsided dice per player.

The goal of The Ashes of Empires, the strategic card game, is to colonize planets and to build the economically strongest empire.

The cards:

   planet number: is a means to determine the distance to this planet.
   clusters: A 1^st degree cluster consists of 4 planets with the same letters (e.g. A1 to A4). A 2^nd degree cluster consists of 6 planets with the same numbers (e.g. A2, C2, E2, F2, G2, H2).
   population: equals both value and defense strength of the planet.
   planet morale: see advanced rules.
   distance (field D / line D)

• field D: The distance equals one gameturn.
• line D: planets with these numbers are in reach within one gameturn.
• (fields and lines D+1, D+2, D+3: see advanced rules.)

   homeplanets are the three cards in the players hands.
   colonies are the cards on the table in front of the player.
   An empire includes all homecards plus colonies of a player.

A die is used in different ways:

1. One eye on an already placed or received die (during the replacement phase) equals 1 spaceship.
2. One die per spaceship is thrown to determine the number of hits scored.
3. A die showing the equivalent number of current morale points of the planet is placed on the satellite icon.

Movement:
A maximum number of 6 spaceships can be moved during each game turn (exception: 2.d, reorganisation).

The stacking limit of a planet equals its population × 2 for each game turn. Maximum strength of an empire = 108 spaceships (18 dice at 6 spaceships).

Starting the game:
Each player receives 3 planet cards, concealed (the homeplanets). Next, 8 neutral planets are laid on the table, topside up (see below). The rest of the deck is stacked (topside down) in the middle of this 'explored galaxy' - this is the 'black hole'. The youngest player begins, the others follow clockwise.

Sequence of Play

One game turn consists of:

1. reinforcement phase
2. movement phase a, b, c, or d if 2.c then follows
3. battlephase
   1. execution
   2. evaluation
4. phase of retreat

Reinforcement Phase:
Each player receives one spaceship for every planet in his possession (as long as there is one of his 108 spaceship 'in stock'). He can then place these reinforcements on his homeplanets and colonies as he chooses, within the stacking limits.
He can only place reinforcements, not spaceships already stationed on homeplanets and/or colonies (see 2.d).

Movement Phase:
Every player can choose between the following movement possibilities:

1. exchange homeplanets: One handcard is shoved underneath the 'black hole', a new one is taken off the top.
2. change homeplanets into colonies: A player places one of his handcards topside up on the table in front him and occupies it with up to 6 spaceship (stationed before that on his homeplanets). After that, a new homeplanet is drawn.
3. prepare conquest: The player chooses one target planet, i.e. one of the 8 planets of the galaxy or a colony of another player's empire, and lands there with a maximum number of 6 spaceships coming from the colony wich in line D shows the planet's number. The spaceships are placed on field D of the target planet. If the target planet can only be reached from one of the players homeplanets, he must prove this by showing the card. 1-6 spaceships stationed on the homeplanets are deployed for the attack. The shown handcard is shoven underneath the deck, a new homeplanet is taken.
4. reorganisation: A player is allowed to place (within the stacking limit) every spaceship already in the game onto every colony and/or homeplanet. Every player needs to again/still hold three homeplanets in his hands after this phase.

Battlephase:
If ,during the movement phase, the last spaceship has been removed from any one planet, a revolution starts on this planet. It becomes neutral and his player must shove the card underneath the 'black hole' - out of reach for potential conquerors...
Every spaceship which lands on a neutral planet or a colony initiates a battle.

Execution:
Each die brought into action is thrown only once. Attack: One die per spaceship; Defense: Neutral planets defend themselves with one die per population point, colonies defend themselves with one die per spaceship.

evaluation:
The player with the highest die cast wins. The defender wins if it is a tie. Losses are determined as following: Die result divided by 6, rounded down. Example: 6 attacking spaceships throw 6+5+5+3+2+4 = 25 which means 4 hits. The 5 defending spaceships throw 6+5+5+4+4 = 24, which also means 4 hits. The attacker keeps 2 spaceships, the defender keeps one. He also looses the battle.

Phase of Retreat:
   Loser: neutral planet: A 'newly explored' planet is taken off the deck and placed in the neutral galaxy. Possibly remaining spaceship of a conquered planet now strengthen the defense of one of these 8 neutral planets, which is chosen by the conqueror. Spaceship exceeding the stacking limit of this planet is eliminated.
   Colony: After the battle for a colony, the loser send his spaceship back to his home-planets. Spaceship exceeding the stacking limit are eliminated.
   Winner: The winner places the conquered planet/colony in front of him as his colony and occupies it with those spaceship that survived the battle. Spaceship exceeding the stacking limit are eliminated.

End of the game:

1. The first player to possess a 1^st or 2^nd degree cluster wins.
2. If no player possesses a complete cluster before the last card is drawn off the deck, the game ends immediately. Now the player having the highest total amount of population points wins. In case of a tie, these players win together.

Used for advanced rules.