SUPERNOVA

Rules of the Game

Part 4: Hints & Sample Play

Helpful Hints

....anyone that had survived the Empire Wars suddenly was an "expert." Usually, they became tactical advisors....


Sample Play

....complex computer simulations were used extensively to prepare for an assault. Sometimes, the simulations were so real that commanders had trouble telling the sims from reality....

Andy, Tom, and Ellen decide to play Super Nova. Ellen shuffles and deals 10 cards to each player. Since Andy is on Ellen's left, he is the opening player for each phase of the first turn.

Turn 1: Draw
Andy does not need to draw so he passes. Tom does not have any planets in his hand, so he puts his entire hand in the discard pile and draws 10 new cards. Ellen passes.

Turn 1: Discover Planets
Andy has one planet in his hand, Freya, so he plays it face up on the table in front of him and declares that he has "Discovered Freya." Tom discovers Ko'ol, a Koolian Homeworld. Ellen has three planets in her hand, Antares, Scorpius, and Altair. Ellen plays Altair, which is not a pre-designated Homeworld. Since she currently has no Homeworlds in play, she can declare Altair to be a Homeworld. Since Antares is a permanent Homeworld of the Antarians, she can play it later and have two Homeworlds. Had she played Antares first, she would not be able to designate Altair as a Homeworld next turn.

Turn 1: Discover Environments on Other Players' Planets
Andy puts Cold Climate on Ko'ol, reducing its Economic strength to zero. The card seems to work, because immediately he gets a cold stare from Tom. Since Andy knows he will go first during the Action phase, he is hoping that Ko'ol will be an easy target later in the turn. Tom and Ellen do not play any cards.

Turn 1: Discover Environments on Your Planets
Andy passes. Tom passes. Ellen plays Abundant Land on Altair, raising its population potential to 4.

Turn 1: Build
Andy builds the Evil Clones and Nora Lucre on Freya. Next he builds the Battleship and the Garbage Scow in orbit around Freya. He places the ship cards just above Freya to indicate they are in orbit there. Tom builds Chort's Marauders and Lord Faslk on Ko'ol. He also builds a High-G ship around Ko'ol. Ellen declares that Altair is a Tlisk Homeworld and builds a Tlisk and General Bellis on it. Next, she plays Monarchy on Altair, which increases its population potential. Finally, she builds a Cruiser and a Cargo Ship in orbit.

Turn 1: Action
Andy gleefully declares that he is attacking Ko'ol and moves his Battleship and Garbage Scow close to Ko'ol. Tom's High-G ship has a Military strength of 2 ("M2" for short) and Andy's Fleet has a combined strength of M3. Rather than fight, Tom orders his ship to hide in Deep Space. To indicate this, he moves the High-G ship off to the side (not near any other planets).

Since Andy's Fleet has defeated the ships in orbit around Ko'ol he can attack Ko'ol itself. Andy declares that he is attacking Ko'ol Economically. Andy's fleet has an E1 (from the Garbage Scow); Ko'ol has an E0 (due to Cold Climate). Andy buys Ko'ol. Andy picks Chort's Marauders as the Asset he wants. Andy moves Ko'ol and Chort's Marauders in front of him; Tom puts Lord Faslk back in his hand.

Now it is Tom's turn. Since his ships veered into Deep Space they cannot attack this turn. Tom decides to trade. Tom offers to trade a Piracy License and mentions that he's "looking for planets." Ellen offers to give him Scorpius, they agree, and they trade cards.

Now it's Ellen's turn. Ellen announces that she is attacking Freya with her Cruiser, leaving her Cargo Ship to guard Altair. This seems strange because Freya is stronger in all 3 categories. Ellen then plays Warp Cannon which increases her Military strength by 6. Boom! Ellen takes Freya and places her Cruiser in orbit around it. Andy takes the Evil Clones and puts them back in his hand (a special ability of that card); Nora Lucre gets sent to the Scrapyard.

Turn 1: Transport
Neither Andy nor Tom can transport, but Ellen decides to move General Bellis onto her Cargo Ship and then move the Cargo Ship to Freya. She moves the Cruiser from Freya to Altair, figuring that next turn she will move the Tlisk onto the Cruiser.

Turn 1: Discard
Andy discards a card. Tom is in more trouble: his High-G ship has no planetary support so he throws the ship in the discard pile along with his one discard card. Ellen discards a card.

Turn 2: Draw
Since Tom is to the left of Andy (the opening player from turn 1), he becomes the opening player for the second turn. Tom draws first....


Questions

....the Super Nova wars shifted so rapidly that occasional confusion could not be helped....

Q: Why do you call planet cards "planets," when you named them after stars?
A: When you see "Vega" just assume that we actually mean the most habitable planet around Vega.

Q: What happens if an opponent plays Hot Climate on my new planet and I then play Cold Climate?
A: The cards negate each other and both are removed to the Scrapyard.

Q: Can I play a Build card on another player?
A: Yes, if that card says it may be played on other players. Any card played on another player's empire become the property of the other player.

Q: Can I defend my planet with more than one ship?
A: Yes, you can use as many ships as you have around the planet, combining their strengths.


Optional Rules

....as planets changed hands, new governments would spring up and the laws could change overnight....

Below are some optional rules that give Super Nova a slightly different flavor. If you would like to try something different, give some of these a try. Also, feel free to make up your own rules.


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