RftG

omnis and Laga both pass on Phase III. chrismg plays Galactic Engineers for 2 discards. He now receives an extra card whenever he trades a good, and may produce a good on one windfall world in Phase V. (He currently has a windfall world, Rebel Fuel Cache.)

Connie chose this phase, and plays Empath World for 1 discard. This gives her another -1 to her military strength, for a total of -2. Damn hippies. It's also a Green windfall world. Since she chose Phase III, she finishes by drawing a card.

RftG

We close out the round with Phase IV. chrismg has no trade goods, while omnis has a trade good but not trade powers that worl on a single good. They both pass.

Laga chose Phase IV ($), and trades her one Blue good. She gets an extra card from Export Duties, for a total of 3 cards.

Connie has three goods, but just one Consume power. She consumes the Blue good on Earth's Lost Colony, at Earth's Lost Colony, for 1 VP.

That concludes Round 3. Time to choose Action cards for Round 4! Everyone, if you haven't done so already, please send me your choice.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 3
chrismg
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Public Works (Development)
Rebel Fuel Cache (Military Brown Windfall World)
Colony Ship (Development)
Galactic Engineers (Non-Military World)

Cards in Hand: 3
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 5
6-Cost Developments: 0

omnis
Layout
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World)
Expedition Force (Development)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Diversified Economy (Development)

Cards in Hand: 2
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 5
6-Cost Developments: 0

Laga
Layout
New Sparta (Military World)
New Military Tactics (Development)
Former Penal Colony (Military Blue Windfall World)
Export Duties (Development)

Cards in Hand: 5
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 4
6-Cost Developments: 0

Connie Neil
Layout
Earth's Lost Colony (Non-Military Blue Production World)
Spice World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Contact Specialist (Development)
Empath World (Non-Military Green Windfall World) + good

Cards in Hand: 1
Victory Points: 1
Layout Value: 4
6-Cost Developments: 0

VP Pool: 47

RftG

Round 4 is going to move quickly. Here's everyone's choice of Action card:

chrismg: Phase III - Settle
omnis: Phase IV ($) - Consume (Trade)
Laga: Phase III - Settle
Connie Neil: Phase IV ($) - Consume (Trade)

Only two Phases. Phase III is first. omnis and Connie both pass.

chrismg discards Colony Ship from his layout to play Galactic Trendsetters. This card allows him to consume a good for 2 VPs, an excellent Consume power. It normally costs 5 discards to play this world, but Colony Ship allows him to ignore this cost. He chose this phase, so he draws 1 card.

Laga plays Star Nomad Lair. This is a 1-defence military world. Laga's military strength is 3, so she can play it. It's a Blue windfall world, starting with a good already on it. Whenever she trades a Blue good from this world, she draws an extra card; with Export Duties as well, she can trade this good for 4 cards. She looks at 1 extra card in Phase I as well. She also chose Phase III, so she draws a card.

RftG

Next is Phase IV. chrismg has no goods and Laga has no Consume powers, so it's their turn to pass.

omnis trades a Brown good for 3 cards.

Connie trades a Green good for 4 cards. She has one other (Blue) good, which she consumes on Earth's Lost Colony for 1 VP.

Cards are going out. That concludes Round 4. Everyone, please choose your Action card for Round 5.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 4
chrismg
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Public Works (Development)
Rebel Fuel Cache (Military Brown Windfall World)
Galactic Trendsetters (Non-Military World)
Galactic Engineers (Non-Military World)

Cards in Hand: 3
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 7
6-Cost Developments: 0

omnis
Layout
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World)
Expedition Force (Development)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World)
Diversified Economy (Development)

Cards in Hand: 5
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 5
6-Cost Developments: 0

Laga
Layout
New Sparta (Military World)
New Military Tactics (Development)
Former Penal Colony (Military Blue Windfall World)
Export Duties (Development)
Star Nomad Lair (Military Blue Windfall World) + good

Cards in Hand: 5
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 5
6-Cost Developments: 0

Connie Neil
Layout
Earth's Lost Colony (Non-Military Blue Production World)
Spice World (Non-Military Blue Production World)
Contact Specialist (Development)
Empath World (Non-Military Green Windfall World)

Cards in Hand: 5
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 4
6-Cost Developments: 0

VP Pool: 46

RftG

Just quickly, there's a player with some real-life intrusion who let me know they'd be a bit late with orders. Should hear from them in the near future.

RftG

Round 5 selections! And they are:

chrismg: Phase II - Develop
omnis: Phase III - Settle
Laga: Phase I (+1/+1) - Explore (draw +1 card, keep +1 card)
Connie Neil: Phase V - Produce

Another busy round, with four phases to resolve. First is Phase I. chrismg and Connie both get the standard "look at 2 cards, keep 1" draw. omnis looks at an extra card with Expedition Force, so he checks 3 cards and keeps 1.

Laga chose this Phase, and her bonus for doing so will be to look at and keep one extra card. She also gets an extra peek from Star Nomad Lair, so she looks at 4 cards and keeps 2.

Cards are going out now. Everyone, when you're ready, please let me know which card(s) you keep.

Those who haven't done so, you can also send me COs for Phase II (Develop) and Phase III (Settle), which will follow. Even if you have done so, if your Explore draw changes any plans, let me know.

RftG

Everyone's put in their choices. On to Phase II. omnis and Connie pass on playing a development.

chrismg plays Expedition Force. This gives him +1 military for a total of 2. It also lets him look at 1 extra card when exploring. (omnis has a copy of this in his layout as well.) As he chose Phase II, he gets -1 off the cost; it costs him nothing. Public Works gives him a card draw aftr developing.

Laga plays Terraforming Robots. Whenever she plays a world, she will draw 1 card. She can also consume a Brown good for 1 VP and 1 card. It costs discards.

Phase III (Settle) is next. If you haven't sent me orders, please do so now.

RftG

Orders are in for Phase III. Connie passes on playing a card, but there's action among the others.

chrismg plays Gem World for 2 discards. This is a Blue production world, that also gives 1 card draw every time it produces a good. So that's nice.

omnis plays Plague World for 3 discards. This is a Green production world. It also has a consume power: consume a Green good for 1 VP and 1 card. That might come in handy. omnis chose Phase III, so he draws 1 card after settling.

Laga plays New Survivalists. Another Blue production world; it also lets you consume 1 Blue good for 1 card draw. This is a militay world, with 1 defence; Laga's 3 strength covers it easily. Thanks to Terraforming Robots that she played in Phase II, she also draws a card.

Phase V (Produce) is next. Three new production worlds hit the table in Phase III, so we'll see some activity.