Twilight Imperium Variants

Here is an in-depth discussion of variants which are available for Twilight Imperium. Since this game is such an epic (ordeal) event, I believe its necessary to customize the flavor as much and often as possible.

Diplomatic Setup

One issue which can be cited about TI as a whole is that the setup takes a heck of a lot of time, and also that it gives the initial speaker an inherent advantage they have not earned. There is also an imbalance of races. This gives an extra layer of negotiation which can be done before we sit down to play. Originally there were 3 ideas here, and we tried some of them. Here is my new version which I propose to use for the current game. I just deleted the others to avoid confusion.

This rigmarole assumes 6 players, a slight adjustment could be made for less players. In the end, we have to do something randomly, so start by dicing off for an order. In the dice order, choose from the following:

1. Choose any available race.
2. Choose a starting position.
3. Take the speaker token and 2 trade goods.
4. Take 4 trade goods.

After everyone has chosen, any remaining decisions are handled randomly. Starting positions will be determined before races.

Multiple Paths To Victory

Right now, the way victory is achieved in TI can sometimes lead to a good game, but often leads to a pretty lame game for at least one player, and given the time investment, this isnt acceptable. I have long wanted to be able to make the game more flexible, to make the board position important along with the objectives randomly chosen. I have also felt like there were too few avenues to victory, which makes the random choices of objective cards and races super important, without much input from players.

To achieve this, I propose having 4 objective decks. The standard deck, built according to the rules as normal, and a military deck, political deck and an infrastructure deck, each of the auxiliary decks will have 4 cards, face up. During any turn a player may claim objectives from only one deck.

The Military Deck

The following cards will be removed from the standard objective pool and used to create the military deck:

I have controlled Mecatol Rex for the entire strategy phase and action phase of this round. 1 point
I won a space battle against at least 3 enemy ships this turn. 1 point
I control 11 planets outside my home system. 2 points
Domination. I control all the planets in two other players home systems. I win the game

The Political Deck

The following deck is created from cards which exist and some that do not.

I have proposed at least 2 laws that have passed. 1 point.
I now spend 10 influence. 1 point.
I control planets with a total influence greater than the player to my immediate right and greater than the player to my immediate left. 1 point.
I now discard 3 action cards and 2 political cards. 2 points.

The Infrastructure Deck

This deck encompasses cultural infrastructure in ways such as technology and economy.

I have more than 1 technology advance in 3 different colors. 1 point
I now spend 6 trade goods. 1 point
I now spend 4 trade goods, 3 resources, and 3 influence. 1 point
I have at least 9 technology advances. 2 points.

Racial Objectives

I also think it might be a good idea to have 3 racial objectives for each race, and a player randomly chooses one of those instead of a secret objective. They are achieved exactly the same way as secret objectives.

Increased Strategy Cards

Instead of choosing from the cards with the same name but different numbers, both will be available in the game, but only one can be chosen per turn. In other words, both Technology I and II are available to choose, and the player who picks Technology decides which one he likes best for the given turn. The only exception is Imperial I.

Variant Races

There are at least 3 versions of variant Star Trek races, and also Dune and Star Wars versions. This allows a more close association with their abilities. Many of us have no connection to Hacan or Naalu, yet we know exactly who the Borg and Klingons are.

--Dieter the Bold 15:08, 28 April 2010 (MST) I'm open to using variant races (of any kind), just so long as we agree early enough so I can look things over.

--Amir 14:22, 18 October 2012 I'm open to any of the sets of races but am particularly curious about the Dune version.

Borg

Comments

I think that while the Borg are certainly overpowered, their -4 VP start is probably too harsh. Its very difficult to gain victory entirely through conquest. It might be prudent to try them at -2 or -3.

Cardassians

Ferengi

Klingon

Romulan

Comments

I think there is a misprint on the Romulans, it lists the power for Cloaking Devices on there race sheet and gives them the technology. They do not get to fire 4 times before combat!

Tellarites

Human

Vulcan

Comments

Something should be done about the Vulcan Assembly ability.

Xindi

Andorian