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   My Review

   Having played a lot of the online strategy games, I'd say that most share a common set of
   weaknesses. The greatest of these is the overwhelming strength early players build up and the
   totalinability of a new player to develop a strategy before being eliminated. You know you're in
   one of these games when you run into bullying adolescents grouped into "clans". Fortunately,
   Spacemaster Rich has included design elements in this game that enrich gameplay and minimize
   the opportunity for the game to be hijacked by kids with too much time on their hands.

   The game is designed to be played by 12 players on a "board" filled with neutral worlds. Each
   game lasts 3 weeks and successful diplomacy is vital throughout the game to insure your
   success. As play progresses, and the number of worlds you control increases, your growing
   wealth enables you to overcome the initial limits on strength, range and speed of your fleets.
   The importance of how and on what you spend your money is so crucial to your success that
   you must have a well-conceived yet flexible strategy.

   Overall this is a great game with a well thought out design and sufficient variable elements to
   create a variety of tactical and strategic playing options while not demanding too much of your
   time to complete each turn. (Although constant e-mail and fleet progress checking can ;) ).

   The 3 week time period is good, but usually a few days too long and the gaming experience is
   further enriched by having newbies start out playing amongst themselves. A discussion board
   and decent e-mail system add to the sense of community. Other good design elements include;
   limited number of players starting more or less evenly and a variety of tactical options based
   on production, range and speed. The scope of the game expands over time due to a map design
   that concentrates your thinking on the actions of the 2 or 3 people closest to you at any time
   while you plan and execute your moves. Overall an excellent online strategy game that's highly
   recommended for individual play.

   Thanks, Rich, I hope you have a winner here. I know I enjoy it so much I'm doing these pages!

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