RftG

Phase V, here we go.

chrismg produces a Blue good on Gem World, which gives him 1 card draw. He also produces on Rebel Fuel Cache. This is a windfall world, so it normally doesn't produce in Phase V; but Galactic Engineers lets him produce on one windfall world.

omnis produces a Brown good on Comet Zone, which gives him 1 card draw, and 1 Green good on Plague World. Diversified Economy then lets him draw 1 card for each type of good he produced. He did Brown and Green, so he gets another 2 cards for a total of 3.

Laga produces 1 Blue good on the just-settled New Survivalists. She already has a Blue good on Star Nomad Lair as well.

Connie produces 2 Blue goods. Since she chose Phase V, she also gets to produce on a windfall world; she produces a Green good on Empath World.

That concludes Round 5! Rinse, repeat: time for Action cards for Round 6. Everyone, please let me know your choice.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 5
chrismg
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Public Works (Development)
Rebel Fuel Cache (Military Brown Windfall World) + good
Galactic Trendsetters (Non-Military World)
Galactic Engineers (Non-Military World)
Expedition Force (Development)
Gem World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good

Cards in Hand: 2
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 9
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)
Plague World (Non-Military Green Production World) + good

Cards in Hand: 6
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
Terraforming Robots (Development)
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World) + good

Cards in Hand: 3
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 8
6-Cost Developments: 0

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

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

VP Pool: 46

RftG

Round 6 begins; and here are everyone's choices:

chrismg: Phase IV (x2) - Consume (double VPs)
omnis: Phase II - Develop
Laga: Phase III - Settle
Connie Neil: Phase IV ($) - Consume (Trade)

Four different Action cards, three different phases. (Note for people learning the game: make sure you get how this is possible.) This round we'll do Phases II, III and IV. First up is Phase II (Develop). If you haven't sent in COs for this phase, please do so now.

RftG

Orders are in. The only one who plays anything in Phase II is omnis, who plays Mining Conglomerate for 2 discards. This card gives him an extra card draw when he trades a Brown good, he can consume up to 2 Brown goods for 1 VP each, and if he produces the most Brown goods in Phase V, he draws 2 cards. A multiskilled card.

RftG

there's a little more action in Phase III. omnis and chrismg both pass, but Laga plays the Yellow windfall world, Alien Robot Sentry. This is a military world with 2 defence; her 3 strength deals with it easily. She then draws 2 cards, 1 for choosing Phase III and the other from Terraforming Robots.

Connie uses Contact Specialist to play Reptilian Uplift Race, for 1 discard. This is a Green windfall world.

RftG

Phase IV rounds things off. chrismg chose this phase, with double VPs. He consumes his goods on Epsilon Eridani and Galactic Trendsetters for 3 VPs and 1 card; doubled, it becomes 6 VPs and 1 card.

omnis consumes his two goods on Plague World and Mining Conglomerate for 2 VPs and 1 card draw.

Laga has just one Consume power she can use. She consumes the Blue good from New Survivalists, on New Survivalists, for 1 card. She has 1 Blue and 1 Yellow good left.

Connie chose this phase (to trade). She trades 1 Blue good for 4 cards (Spice World adds 2 cards) and consumes the other on Earth's Lost Colony for 1 VP. She has 2 Green goods left over.

That concludes Round 6. Time to pick Action cards for Round 7. Everyone, please send me your choice.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 6
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)
Expedition Force (Development)
Gem World (Non-Military Blue Production World)

Cards in Hand: 3
Victory Points: 6
Layout Value: 9
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)
Plague World (Non-Military Green Production World)
Mining Conglomerate (Development)

Cards in Hand: 4
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 7
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
Terraforming Robots (Development)
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World)
Alien Robot Sentry (Military Yellow Windfall World) + good

Cards in Hand: 5
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 10
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) + good
Reptilian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World) + good

Cards in Hand: 8
Victory Points: 3
Layout Value: 6
6-Cost Developments: 0

VP Pool: 37

RftG

Choices for round 7:

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

We will have just two phases this round, Phases I (Explore) and II (Develop). For Phase I, I'm trying an experiment. For those players who have a game under their belts already, I'm going to leave out an explanation of the cards. See how you go with just the cards. If you need anything explained, just ask.

For Phase I, Connie does the standard "look at 2 cards, keep 1".

chrismg and Laga both get an extra draw (from Expedition Force and Star Nomad Lair respectively). They look at 3 cards and keep 1.

omnis also has Expedition Force and gets an extra draw. He also chose this Phase, and gets a bonus. He looks at 4 cards and keeps 2.

Cards are going out now. Everyone, let me know which card(s) you keep.

RftG

Administrative note: this Explore phase exhausted the deck. I've reshuffled the discards.

RftG

I now have all the orders for Phase II. omnis passes. This is not his fight. Everyone else chose this phase, so they get -1 cost for their developments.

chrismg plays Interstellar Bank for 1 discard. He now draws a card at the start of every Phase II. He already has Public Works in his layout, which means he also draws a card after developing; card is going out.

Laga plays Space Merinos! [link] Her military strength increases by 2 and is now 5.

Connie goes for the top shelf. She plays Free Trade Association, a 6-cost development, for 5 cards. This card lets her consume up to 3 Blue goods for 1 VP and 1 card each, and produce on one Blue windfall world. Its value at game end is 2 VPs per Blue production world plus 1 VP per Blue windfall world, plus extras for a couple of cards she doesn't have in her layout.

And that concludes Round 7! Short round. Everyone, please send me your choices for Round 8.