Learn to Play

Throughout a game of Twilight Imperium, players will barter, plot, and wage war upon one another to complete objectives. The first player to accumulate 10 victory points claims the Imperial Throne and wins the game.

When playing for the first time, players perform the following steps to set up the game. Some components are not used during the first game and are explained in detail at the end of this booklet.

1. Determine Speaker: Randomly determine one player to take the speaker token. This player is the speaker and will go first when the game begins.
2. Assign Factions: Each player controls a faction with unique strengths and weaknesses. Each faction has a sheet which shows the attributes and abilities of that faction’s units as well as abilities unique to the faction itself. Gather the following faction sheets:

• The Xxcha Kingdom
• The Barony of Letnev
• The Federation of Sol
• The Sardakk N’orr
• The Emirates of Hacan
• The Universities of Jol-Nar The speaker deals one random faction sheet from the list above to each player.

3. Gather Faction-Specific Components: Each player takes the following components that match their faction:

• 1 home system tile
• 17 control tokens
• 16 command tokens
• 2 technology cards Each player’s faction-specific components contain a faction symbol that matches the symbol on their faction sheet. Each player places their faction sheet and all of their faction’s components in front of them. Return all unused faction components to the game box.

4. Choose Color: Each player chooses a color and takes the following components that match their chosen color:

• 59 plastic units
• 1 command sheet
• 25 technology cards Each player slides the edge of their command sheet under their faction sheet and places the other components nearby.

5. Gather Starting Planet Cards: Each player takes the planet cards that correspond to the planets in their home system. Then, each player places their planets faceup near their faction sheet.
6. Create Game Board: Players create the game board using the diagram that corresponds to the number of players shown on page 22. Experienced players create a custom game board at the start of each game, as explained later.
7. Place Custodians Token: Place the custodians token in the center of the game board on Mecatol Rex.
8. Shuffle Common Decks: Shuffle the action, agenda, stage I objective, stage II objective, and secret objective cards into separate decks and place them near the game board.
9. Create Supply: Create separate piles near the game board for trade good, infantry, and fighter tokens.
10. Gather Strategy Cards: Place each of the eight strategy cards faceup in the common play area within reach of the speaker.
11. Gather Starting Components: Each player takes the starting technology and starting units listed on the back of their faction sheet. Each player places the technology cards faceup near their faction sheet and the starting units in their home system. If a player has multiple planets in their home system, it is recommended that they place their space dock and infantry on the planet with the highest resource value.

Each player places three command tokens in their tactic pool, three command tokens in their fleet pool (ship silhouette side up), and two command tokens in their strategy pool. These pools are located on the player’s command sheet.

12. Prepare Objectives:
13. i. Each player draws one secret objective and keeps it hidden from other players.
14. ii. Place the victory point track near the game board with its 0–10 side faceup. Then, each player places one of their control tokens on space “0” of the track.
15. iii. The speaker draws five stage I objective cards from the deck and places them facedown in a row above the victory point track. Then, the speaker draws five stage II objective cards from the deck and places them facedown in a row below the victory point track.
16. iv. The speaker reveals the first two stage I objectives.

Twilight Imperium is played over a series of game rounds, each of which contains the following four phases that players must resolve in order.

1. Strategy Phase: During this phase, each player chooses a strategy card. These cards provide players with powerful abilities to use during the action phase. Each card also has a number that determines turn order for the game round.
2. Action Phase: During this phase, the majority of the game’s action occurs. This includes moving units, producing units, resolving combat, and using strategy cards.
3. Status Phase: During this phase, players perform cleanup steps in preparation for the next game round.
4. Agenda Phase: During this phase, players vote on political agendas, which can have lasting ramifications in the game. The agenda phase is added to the game after a player gains control of Mecatol Rex.

These phases repeat in successive game rounds until one player accumulates 10 victory points and wins the game.

These phases are described in detail in the following sections.

During the strategy phase, players take turns selecting a strategy card that provides them with a unique action they can use during the action phase. First-time players may not know which strategy card to choose and should consult the strategy card overviews at the bottom of this page and the next.

Beginning with the speaker and continuing clockwise, each player chooses one of the strategy cards from the common play area and places it faceup near their faction sheet. After a player chooses a strategy card, it is not available for other players during this game round.

Each strategy card has a number between “1” and “8” in the upper-right corner. During the action phase, players take turns in order according to the number printed on their chosen strategy card, starting with “1.” This is called initiative order.

After each player has chosen a strategy card, the speaker places one trade good on each strategy card that was not chosen. During future strategy phases, when a player chooses a strategy card that has one or more trade goods on it, that player gains those trade goods.

The action phase is the main phase of the game, during which players produce units, move ships, enact strategies, and interact with other players.

During the action phase, players take turns in initiative order. While a player is taking a turn, they are the active player, and they can perform one action. After each player has taken a turn, player turns begin again in initiative order. Initiative order may repeat in this manner several times within a single action phase. The action phase does not end until each player has passed (see below).

There are three types of actions: tactical actions, strategic actions, and component actions. They are described in detail later.

If a player does not wish to perform an action during their turn, they may pass. After a player passes, their turn is skipped for the remainder of the action phase. A player cannot pass until they have performed their strategic action, which is explained later. After each player has passed, the game round continues to the status phase.

During the status phase, players perform various upkeep tasks, including repairing units and scoring objectives. To resolve the status phase, players perform the following steps in order:

1. Score Objectives: In initiative order, each player may score up to one public objective card and one secret objective card if they fulfill those cards’ requirements. This is the main way in which players gain the victory points they need to win the game. Objectives are described in detail later.
2. Reveal Public Objective: The speaker flips the next unrevealed public objective card faceup. The first stage II objective is not revealed until all stage I objectives have been revealed.
3. Draw Action Cards: Each player draws one card from the top of the action card deck.
4. Remove Command Tokens: Each player removes all of their command tokens from the game board and returns them to their reinforcements.
5. Gain And Redistribute Command Tokens: Each player gains two command tokens from their reinforcements. Then, each player may redistribute any of the command tokens on their command sheet by moving them between the tactic, fleet, and strategy pools.
6. Ready Cards: Each player readies all of their exhausted cards, including planet, technology, and strategy cards.

After the custodians token has been removed from Mecatol Rex, a new phase is added to each round for the remainder of the game: the agenda phase.

During this phase, the galactic council convenes to discuss issues that affect the entire galaxy. Players vote for outcomes on two agendas, establishing laws and policies that have lasting repercussions.

Voting on agendas is described in detail later.

After resolving this phase, a new game round begins with the strategy phase.

A game of Twilight Imperium immediately ends when one player has gained 10 victory points. Players gain victory points by completing objectives. There are two types of objectives:

• PUBLIC OBJECTIVES: During setup, the speaker reveals two public objectives, and more are revealed throughout the game. Any number of players can score each of these objectives.

Important: A player cannot score a public objective if they do not control all of the planets in their home system.

• SECRET OBJECTIVES: Each player begins the game with one secret objective that they may look at but must keep hidden from other players. A player can score their own secret objectives but not those belonging to other players.

Important: A player cannot have more than three total scored and unscored secret objectives. If a player draws a secret objective and has more than three, they must choose one of their unscored secret objectives and return it to the deck. Then, they shuffle the secret objective deck.

Objective Timing

Each objective specifies when a player can score it, either during the status phase or during the action phase. This timing is indicated directly below a card’s title. If a player scores an objective during the status phase, they must fulfill the requirement on the card during the “Score Objectives” step of the status phase to score that objective. For example, if an objective states that a player must control six planets outside of their home system, they must control those planets when they score the objective—having controlled those planets earlier is not sufficient.

Players can score some objectives by spending resources, influence, or tokens, as described by the objective card. To score such an objective, a player must pay the specified cost at the time indicated on the card.

If an objective’s timing specifies “Action Phase,” a player can score it during the action phase immediately after they fulfill its requirements.

Scoring Objectives

A player who fulfills an objective’s requirements at the time indicated on the card can score it. To do so, the player advances their token on the victory point track a number of spaces equal to the value of the objective card.

After scoring an objective, a player places a control token from their supply on that objective card to indicate that they have scored it and cannot score it again this game. If a player scored a secret objective, they place the card faceup in front of them before placing a control token on it.

Important: Each player can only score one public and one secret objective during each status phase and each step of the action phase.

Imperium Rex

The game can end early if no player has scored 10 victory points and there are no more objectives to reveal. When the speaker would reveal an objective but cannot, the game immediately ends and the player with the most victory points wins the game. If there is a tie, the player among the tied players who is earliest in initiative order wins the game.

This section contains detailed rules for performing a tactical action. To perform a tactical action, players follow these steps in order:

1. Activation
2. Movement
3. Space Combat
4. Invasion
5. Production

These steps are described in detail in the following sections:

The active player must choose one system that they would like to make the focus of their tactical action. They activate that system by taking a command token from their tactic pool and placing it on that system. That system is the active system for the remainder of the tactical action. A player cannot activate a system that already contains one of their command tokens, but they may activate a system that contains other players’ command tokens. A player also cannot activate a system if they do not have any command tokens in their tactic pool.

During the movement step of a tactical action, the active player may choose to move some of their units into the active system.

Each ship has a move value printed on its faction sheet. This value indicates how far that ship can travel to reach the active system. For example, a ship with a move value of “1” can only move to adjacent systems.

To resolve this step, the player chooses any of their units that can move into the active system and places them in that system. When moving a ship, a player must obey the following rules:

• A ship must end its movement in the active system.
• A ship cannot pass through a system that contains another player’s ships.

1. A player cannot move units out of a system that contains one of their command tokens.

Some ships have a capacity value printed on their faction sheets. When such a ship moves, it may transport a number of fighters and ground forces, in any combination, up to the ship’s capacity value. Transported ground forces and fighters move to the active system along with the ship that is transporting them. These units must remain with the ship in the space area, though ground forces may be able to land on planets during the invasion step. The active player’s ships may also pick up and transport ground forces and fighters from systems that they pass through that do not contain any of their command tokens.

If multiple players have ships in the active system, they must resolve a space combat in that system. During combat, the active player is the attacker and the other player is the defender.

Players resolve space combat by performing the following steps in order:

1. i. ANTI-FIGHTER BARRAGE: Each player’s units can use their “Anti-Fighter Barrage” abilities.
2. ii. ANNOUNCE RETREAT: Either player may choose to announce a retreat. A retreat will not happen immediately; the units will retreat at the end of the combat round.
3. iii. MAKE COMBAT ROLLS: Each player rolls one die for each ship they have in the active system. If the result of a unit’s die roll is equal to or greater than that unit’s combat value shown on its faction sheet, that roll produces a hit. The total number of hits a player produces will be used in the next step.

If a unit’s combat value contains two or more burst icons, the player rolls this number of dice instead, potentially producing one hit with each die rolled.

1. iv. ASSIGN HITS: Each player must choose and destroy one of their ships for each hit their opponent produced. A player removes destroyed ships from the game board and places them in their reinforcements.

Since players assign hits to their own units, it is a good strategy to assign hits to units that are cheaper to replace. Because of this, fighters are often used as fodder to protect the rest of a player’s ships.

1. v. RETREAT: If a player announced a retreat during the first step of the combat round, they retreat. To retreat, the player takes all of their ships from the combat and places them in an adjacent system. The chosen system cannot contain ships that belong to another player and must contain either a planet that the retreating player controls or at least one of their units; otherwise, the player cannot retreat.

If the chosen system does not contain one of that player’s command tokens, the player must place one token from their reinforcements in that system when they retreat.

The active player can invade planets in the active system. Players resolve an invasion by performing the following steps in order:

1. i. BOMBARDMENT: If any planets in the active system contain another player’s ground forces, the active player may use the “Bombardment” abilities of any of their units in that system. This may allow the active player to destroy some of the defender’s units before landing ground forces. Bombardment is described in detail later.
2. ii. COMMIT GROUND FORCES: The active player decides which ground forces they wish to land on planets. To do so, the player takes any of their ground forces that are with their ships in the space area of the active system and places each one on the planet they wish to invade.
3. iii. SPACE CANNON DEFENSE: If another player has a PDS on any of the planets the active player has committed ground forces to, the player who has a PDS may be able to use its “Space Cannon” ability to destroy some of those ground forces before they land. The “Space Cannon” ability is described in detail later.
4. iv. GROUND COMBAT: If multiple players have ground forces on the same planet, those players resolve a ground combat. Ground combats on multiple planets are resolved in the order of the active player’s choice.

Players resolve ground combat over a number of rounds that each consist of two steps, following the same rules as the space combat steps of the same name:

1. Make Combat Rolls 2. Assign Hits After assigning hits, if multiple players have units remaining on the planet, they resolve another round of ground combat starting with the “Make Combat Rolls” step. After all units on one or both sides of the combat have been destroyed, proceed to the next step.
2. v. ESTABLISH CONTROL: The active player gains control of each invaded planet that still contains at least one of their ground forces. When a player gains control of a planet, they gain its corresponding planet card and place it in their play area exhausted. Then, if the planet contains structures that belong to another player, those structures are destroyed.

The active player can produce units using their space docks in the active system. When a player produces units, they may choose to produce any of the units on their faction sheet by spending resources equal to the chosen unit’s cost.

When a unit is produced, the player takes the unit from their reinforcements and places it in the active system. Players always place ships in the space area of the system in which they were produced. Players always place ground forces on the planet that contains the space dock that produced them.

When producing multiple units at a time, the cost values of those units are added together to determine the total cost.

Each space dock’s “Production” ability has a value that limits the number of units that it can produce during this step. A player cannot produce more units than the combined production values of their units in the active system.

If a unit’s cost is accompanied by two icons, such as the cost values of fighters and infantry, the player receives two units for the indicated cost. When producing these units, each individual unit counts against the production limit.

When a player wishes to produce a unit but has no units of that type available in their reinforcements, that player may remove one of their units of that type from a system that does not contain one of their command tokens and return it to their reinforcements.

When a player produces a fighter or infantry unit, but has none in their reinforcements, that player can use fighter or infantry tokens from the supply instead. These tokens function identically to plastic figures of that type; however, they must be accompanied by at least one plastic figure of that type that matches their color.

If a player’s space docks are in the same system as another player’s ships, those space docks are blockaded. Blockaded space docks cannot produce ships. They may, however, still produce ground forces.

This section contains additional rules that players need to understand to play their first game.

Throughout the game, players will accumulate action cards. Players can use action cards to resolve powerful one-time abilities. Each player can have a maximum of seven action cards in their hand. If a player exceeds this number, they must choose which seven cards they wish to keep and discard the rest.

Each action card indicates when it can be used at the top of its card. When an action card is used, the player using it reveals the card, resolves its effect, and discards the card.

If an action card begins with the word “Action,” it can be used as a component action during a player’s turn of the action phase.

Trade goods are a universal currency that players will use to produce units or bribe other empires. A player may spend a trade good as either one resource or one influence.

Players may also accumulate commodities. A commodity represents a product that is plentiful within a player’s empire. Commodities have no inherent value but become trade goods when given to another player. Both trade goods and commodities are represented by opposite sides of the same token, and exist in values of “1” or “3.”

During the game, players may replenish commodities by using the abilities of the “Trade” strategy card. When a player replenishes commodities, that player takes commodity tokens from the supply until they have a number of tokens equal to the commodities value on their faction sheet. A player cannot have more commodities than that printed value.

When a player gives another player a commodity, that commodity converts into a trade good; the player receiving the commodity flips the token to its trade good side. Players are encouraged to replenish commodities through the “Trade” strategy card and trade them to one another in mutually beneficial transactions.

As players move their ships about the galaxy and invade planets, they will undoubtedly come into contact with other players’ empires. While this may often lead to war over planets and systems, it does not have to. Neighboring players can peacefully trade with each other.

If a player has a unit or controls a planet in a system that is adjacent to a system that contains a unit or planet that another player controls, those two players are neighbors.

During the active player’s turn, they may negotiate a transaction with one or more of their neighbors, even during a combat. As part of a transaction, the negotiating players may exchange any number of trade goods and commodities.

The active player may negotiate only once with each of their neighbors per turn. After a transaction has been finalized, no other transactions may occur between those players that turn.

Frequently, players will negotiate transactions that go beyond a simple exchange of goods. These transactions are called deals. For example, the active player might move his ships into a system that contains another player’s PDS, at which point the active player might offer the owner of that PDS a trade good to refrain from using the “Space Cannon” ability. Because the effect can be resolved immediately, this deal is a binding deal. When a deal is binding, a player must honor their end of the bargain. In the previous example, if the owner of the PDS agrees to this deal and takes the trade good, they cannot fire their PDS as this would violate their agreement.

Not all deals are binding, however. For example, a player might offer another player a trade good to attack a specific player during a later turn. Because the effect cannot be resolved immediately, this deal is a non-binding deal. The player who was given the trade good, despite the terms of the deal, is not required to honor their end of the bargain and may fulfill or ignore the deal as they choose.

During the game, players will gain technology in the form of technology cards. Technologies provide players with powerful abilities and allow players to upgrade their units. Each player has an identical deck of technology cards that they may look through at any time, as well as a number of faction technology cards that they set aside during setup.

There are four basic colors of technology. A technology’s color is indicated by a green, red, blue, or yellow symbol located on the lower-right corner of the card. Players use these symbols when researching technology.

Each player begins the game with a number of starting technologies as indicated on the back of their faction sheet. Additionally, a player can research new technologies from their deck during the game. A player places their starting technologies and any technology they research faceup in their play area.

After a technology is faceup in a player’s play area, that player owns that technology. A player’s owned technologies remain in play for the duration of the game and their abilities can be used as described on the card.

Some technologies have the word “Action” in their card text; players can resolve these cards by using a component action during the action phase.

Some technologies are unit upgrade technologies. Unit upgrades technologies match a unit on a player’s faction sheet. When a player gains a unit upgrade technology, they place its card over the corresponding unit on their faction sheet. The white arrows next to an attribute’s value on the faction sheet indicate that the attribute will improve when its unit is upgraded.

When a unit is upgraded, all the player’s units of that type, both on the game board and in their reinforcements, now have the attributes shown on the unit upgrade technology.

Researching Technology

Players gain new technology by researching it, usually by using the “Technology” strategy card. To research a technology, players must satisfy the prerequisites of the technology they wish to research. Prerequisites are printed as a column on the lower-left side of each technology card and contain one or more symbols that correspond to the four basic technology colors. Some technologies have no prerequisites and can be researched without owning any technology.

To satisfy a technology’s prerequisites, a player must own a matching technology for each prerequisite symbol on the card that they wish to research. For example, a player that owns two red technologies may research the red technology “Duranium Armor,” as it has two red prerequisites.

After the player researches the “Duranium Armor” technology, it satisfies another red prerequisite, as indicated on the lower‑right corner of the card; the next time that player researches a technology, they may research a technology that has three red symbols as a prerequisite. Unit upgrade technologies, unlike other technologies, may have prerequisites composed of multiple colors. Additionally, unit upgrade technologies do not satisfy prerequisites when researching technology.

Technology Specialties

Some planets provide the player with a technology specialty. Technology specialties are extremely valuable and help players research new technologies.

If a player controls a planet that has a technology specialty symbol, they may exhaust that planet when researching technology to ignore a prerequisite that matches that technology specialty. While researching technology, players may exhaust planets for their technology specialty or for their resources, but not for both.

Most planets outside of home systems have a planet trait. There are three types of planets: cultural, hazardous, and industrial. Traits have no inherent game effect, but are referred to by some cards and abilities.

Many units in the game have unit abilities that appear as bulleted keywords on faction sheets and unit upgrade technology cards. The rules for these abilities are as follows:

This section contains rules for the agenda phase, which is added to the game after a player gains control of Mecatol Rex. The agenda phase involves heavy negotiation and political maneuvering.

The custodians token represents the caretakers that safeguard Mecatol Rex until one of the great races can claim the throne.

Players may freely move units into the Mecatol Rex system, but cannot land ground forces on the planet while the custodians token is present. To remove this token, the active player must spend six influence immediately before landing ground forces on the planet. If the player cannot spend six influence, they cannot land ground forces on the planet.

When a player removes the custodians token, they place it in their play area and gains one victory point. Since the galactic council can now convene on Mecatol Rex, the agenda phase is added as the last phase of each game round, including the round during which a player gained control of Mecatol Rex.

After the agenda phase has been added to the game, the galactic council votes upon issues that affect the entire galaxy. These issues are referred to as agendas and are represented by agenda cards. Each agenda card has text that includes a number of possible outcomes. Each outcome will affect the game, and players will vote for which outcome they want to occur.

To resolve the agenda phase, players perform the following steps in order:

1. First Agenda
2. i. REVEAL AGENDA
3. ii. VOTE
4. iii. RESOLVE OUTCOME
2. Second Agenda
3. i. REVEAL AGENDA
4. ii. VOTE
5. iii. RESOLVE OUTCOME
3. Ready Planets

After players have played their first game, they should use the advanced rules found in this section.

This booklet contains rules for an abridged “First-Game Setup” to facilitate players’ first time playing the game. During setup for a standard game, players have a wider array of factions to choose from, many of which are more complex than the factions suggested in the “First-Game Setup.”

During setup, players are dealt a hand of system tiles to create the galaxy instead of using a preset map. Full rules for setup can be found in the “Complete Setup” section on page 2 of the Rules Reference. Additionally, during setup, players will receive promissory notes, a type of card that players can use to facilitate negotiations with other players. Finally, players who wish to play a longer game may use the 14-space side of the victory point track.

Each player begins the game with five promissory note cards; four of which match their player color, and one faction-specific card. A promissory note helps players negotiate with each other by creating an enforceable contract between them.

A player can offer a promissory note to another player as part of a transaction. Each promissory note contains text that describes the card’s effect and indicates when the card can be resolved. A player cannot resolve their own promissory notes, but they can resolve other players’ notes that they receive from a transaction.

When a player resolves a promissory note, they reveal the card and resolve its text effect. Though some promissory notes will stay in play after they are resolved, a promissory note is usually returned to its original owner and may again be offered by that player as part of a transaction.

When a player offers a promissory note to another player as part of a transaction, the offering player may allow the receiving player to view the card being offered if they wish. A player cannot trade more than one promissory note during a single transaction. Players can also exchange promissory notes that they have received from other players. This does not require permission from the promissory note’s original owner.