GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Basic rules of Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition and Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition FAQ (version 1.2) are used, unless stated otherwise (see Optional Rules and House Rules below).

2. The Game Master (GM) maintains the official count of all game variables, including, but not limited to, the game board, units, Strategy Cards (including Bonus Counters), Command Counters, Planet Cards, Trade Cards, Trade Goods, Technology Advances, Action Cards, Political Cards, victory points, Public Objectives and Secret Objectives. The GM also keeps track of all deadlines.

3. All players are encouraged to regularly check all publicly accessible information pertaining to the game. In case of discrepancies players should contact the GM and ask to correct the mistake. Any problems arising from a player's failure to notice such discrepancies will not be considered a valid reason to back up a game in case of irreversible negative consequences for the player(s) involved.

4. The GM has final say on all issues.

OPTIONAL RULES

1. The Leaders game option will be used.

2. The Homeworlds game option will be used (from Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition Game Options and Variants (version 1.1)).

HOUSE RULES

1. Secret Objective Cards are not dealt to players as described in the normal rules. Instead, after races are selected and starting tile hands are dealt, six Secret Objectives are drawn openly for everyone to see. Each player secretly selects one of these objectives, after which Home System placement commences. During the game, the first person to qualify for a certain Secret Objective Card receives 2 Victory Points. If later another player qualifies for the same Secret Objective Card, he receives 1 Victory Point. Any further qualifications for the same Secret Objective Card will bring no Victory Points to the player involved.

2. The Imperial Strategy Card will have the following Primary Ability instead of the current one. "Receive 1 Victory Point. Draw the top card from the Public Objective Deck and put it into play. Then draw three more Public Objective Cards. Choose one and put it on top of the Public Objective Deck, putting the remaining two cards at the bottom of their respective decks (Stage I deck or Stage II deck). You must put Stage I Public Objective Cards into play, if possible. If the Imperium Rex Public Objective Card comes up, it causes the game to end after the Status Phase of that round (not immediately). In case no one takes the Imperial Strategy Card during a round, the top card from the Public Objective Deck is put into play at the start of that round's Status Phase".

3. The Diplomacy Strategy Card will have the following Primary Ability instead of the current one. "Choose either a) or b); a) see current Primary Ability; b) choose a neutral planet in a system adjacent to a system containing a planet you control. Place a Control Marker there. You now control this planet".

4. The Political Strategy Card will have the following Primary Ability instead of the current one. "Draw three Action Cards and receive one Command Counter from your reinforcements. Then draw the top three cards of the Political Deck and resolve their agendas. After resolving the agendas, draw the top five cards of the Political Deck, secretly read them, and then place three cards down on the top of the deck in any order, and the rest face down on the bottom of the deck".

5. Political agendas are resolved in the following order:

a) The active player reveals the top three cards of the Political Deck, and then chooses the order in which the agendas will be voted on.

b) The players count up their total available influence and take that number of Vote Tokens.

c) Each player secretly selects a number of Vote Tokens from his supply to be used during the first vote. The number of Vote Tokens chosen by the players is revealed simultaneously. Then the actual voting occurs, with each player voting with the number of tokens he has selected for this vote.

d) The procedure for the second vote and the third vote is repeated with the remaining Vote Tokens.

e) For purposes of Action Cards, racial abilities, etc., a Political Card is considered to have been drawn only when it is put up for voting, and not during the initial draw and revealing of all three Political Cards.

RULES CLARIFICATIONS

1. If two Generals participate in a single Invasion Combat, the Generals' combined special abilities allow four dice to be re-rolled (unofficial clarification by Corey Konieczka). 

2. A General may not be used to re-roll the opponent's dice (unofficial clarification by Corey Konieczka).

3. The General's special ability allows a single unit's combat roll to be re-rolled two times in a row.

4. If a player plays the Strategic Shift Action Card on a certain Strategy Card, no one can later take that Strategy Card as a replacement with the use of the Strategic Flexibility Action Card.

5. The special ability of the Emirates of Hacan allows them to conclude trade agreements without the active player's approval, but they still must have approval from the person with whom they're trying to conclude the agreement (i.e., the agreement is not concluded unilaterally).

6. On the Imperial Peace Political Card all instances of the word "invade" should be read as performing an invasion of a planet controlled by another player. Neutral and friendly landings are not considered to be invasions.

7. When purchasing a Technology Advance, you can apply the Technology Specialty discount from a planet even if that planet is being exhausted as part of that Technology Advance purchase.

8. The special re-roll ability of Universities of Jol-Nar and the Recheck Action Card can be played on any die roll after all rolls have been made for one side (attacker or defender) during a single round of combat.

9. The Diplomatic Immunity Action Card should read "round" instead of "turn".

10. The secondary ability of the Imperial Strategy Card cannot be used to build Space Docks.

11. If the Core Stability law is in effect, Action Cards are drawn before planets are refreshed (this is a reversal of an unofficial clarification by Corey Konieczka, in effect for this game only).