Omega Centauri

Two millennia ago, a loose federation of planets combined to form the Galactic Empire. From that small beginning, the Empire ruthlessly expanded, enslaving or exiling all races that were a threat to their dominion. Recently, the Empire has suffered revolts from conquered races, and on the barren galactic rim, the exiled races gather their forces to strike at the weakened Empire. As the Empire's might and influence wane, a new era is dawning. Which new race will ascend to power?

Omega Centauri is a game of galactic empire building for 2 to 4 players. The play map is made up of sector tiles, and at the beginning of the game the majority of the map is Empire-controlled resource sectors. A variety of map layouts are included and the size of the map depends on the number of players. During each round of play, you have the opportunity to perform three of five possible actions:

Assemble (place your fleets into sectors with shipyards)

Build (build monuments, construct shipyards, and erect planetary defenses)

Move (move fleets into a sector or out of a sector)

Politics (gain resources or increase your fleet capacity)

Research (select an available technology)

In the base game, players take turns each round selecting and executing one action at a time until each player has taken three actions, then a new round begins. The base game offers a compelling mix of strategic planning and tactical play, as players must balance their long term goals for development and for technology acquisition with the need to take advantage of the opportunities that arise during action selection. The base game provides a streamlined 4x experience that can be completed in about an hour.