RftG

Everyone's made their choice. We move to Phase IV (Consume), the choice of three of the players.

Connie is the odd player out. She consumes her 1 Brown good on New Earth (let's say) for 1 VP and 1 card.

Laga chose this phase, and chose to trade a good. She trades her Green good for 4 cards, and consumes the Blue good on Secluded World for another card.

omnis also chose to trade. He trades the Blue good from Pirate World. He gets to draw an extra 3 cards when trading from Pirate World, so he gets 5 cards. He consumes his other Blue good on New Survivalists for another card.

chrismg trades 1 Brown good from Imperium Armaments World for 3 cards. He has no Consume powers, so the Brown good on Alpha Centauri remains unconsumed.

And that's the end of the round! Or is it? With their big trades, Laga now has 13 cards and omnis has 11. They're both over their hand limit and must discard down to 10. Let me know which cards you discard.

And that means we've reached a milestone. The very first goal is about to be awarded! One of the "First" goals drawn is "First to discard at round end". Laga and omnis both met this condition at the same time, so it is awarded to both of them. (Laga has to discard two more cards than omnis; but with the "First" goals, that doesn't matter. All that matters is the timing.) They both receive a bonus 3 points.

WooT!! Bonus 3!

RftG

I have the discards, which makes it time for the end-of-round summary:

Round 3
Goals
Largest Industry - Most Blue/Brown Worlds
Greatest Military - Most Military Strength
Galactic Riches - First to 4 goods
Overlord Discoveries - First to 3 Alien cards
Budget Surplus - First to discard at round end (Laga, omnis)
Galactic Status - First to play 6-cost development

Connie Neil
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Expedition Force (Development)
New Earth (Non-Military Brown Production World)

Cards in Hand: 5
Victory Points: 1
Layout Value: 5
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 0

Laga
Layout
Ancient Race (Non-Military Green Windfall World)
Secluded World (Non-Military Blue Production World)

Cards in Hand: 10
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 2
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

omnis
Layout
Separatist Colony (Non-Military World)
Pirate World (Military Blue Windfall World)
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World)

Cards in Hand: 10
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 4
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

chrismg
Layout
Imperium Armaments World (Non-Military Brown Production World)
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World) + good

Cards in Hand: 8
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 2
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

VP Pool: 47

Time for Action cards! Everyone, please send me your choice.

RftG

Orders are in for Round 4:

Connie Neil: Phase II - Develop
Laga: Phase III - Settle
omnis: Phase II - Develop
chrismg: Phase II - Develop

No big surprise with people fairly card-rich. Phase II (Develop) is first. Those who chose this phase get -1 cost off their play.

Connie plays Terraforming Robots for 2 discards. She now draws a bonus card when she settles a world, and in Phase IV, may consume a Brown good for 1 VP and 1 card. She now has three Consume powers that give 1 VP and 1 card, but needs more production to go with them.

Laga passes, waiting for Phase III.

omnis plays Investment Credits at 0 cost. This gives -1 cost on any future developments.

chrismg plays Mining Conglomerate. This is useful for Brown production. He can get +1 cards when trading a Brown good and can consume up to 2 Brown goods for 1 VP each. In Phase V, if he produces more Brown goods than any other player, he draws 2 cards. He currently has a Brown production world and a Brown windfall world.

RftG

Phase III:

Connie plays Rebel Miners. This is a 2-strength military world, which Connie can match. It's also a Brown production world. She then draws 1 card from the newly played Terraforming Robots.

Laga plays Comet Zone for 3 discards. This too is a Brown production world (non-military), and lets her draw 1 card when producing on it. She chose this phase, so draws 1 card.

omnis passes.

chrismg plays Radioactive World, a Brown windfall world. He gets -1 cost from Alpha Centauri, so it costs 1 discard.

With that play, chrismg brings his total number of Brown worlds up to 3, which lets him claim the "Most Blue/Brown worlds" goal! But everyone else has two such worlds, so chrismg leads by just 1. Will someone overtake him and steal the tile?

That concludes Round 4. Everyone, please send me your choice of Action card for Round 5.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 4
Goals
Largest Industry - Most Blue/Brown Worlds (chrismg)
Greatest Military - Most Military Strength
Galactic Riches - First to 4 goods
Overlord Discoveries - First to 3 Alien cards
Budget Surplus - First to discard at round end (Laga, omnis)
Galactic Status - First to play 6-cost development

Connie Neil
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Expedition Force (Development)
New Earth (Non-Military Brown Production World)
Terraforming Robots (Development)
Rebel Miners (Military Brown Production World)

Cards in Hand: 2
Victory Points: 1
Layout Value: 8
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 0

Laga
Layout
Ancient Race (Non-Military Green Windfall World)
Secluded World (Non-Military Blue Production World)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World)

Cards in Hand: 7
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 4
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

omnis
Layout
Separatist Colony (Non-Military World)
Pirate World (Military Blue Windfall World)
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World)
Investment Credits (Development)

Cards in Hand: 9
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 5
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

chrismg
Layout
Imperium Armaments World (Non-Military Brown Production World)
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World) + good
Mining Conglomerate (Development)
Radioactive World (Non-Military Brown Windfall World) + good

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

VP Pool: 47

RftG

Here are the choices:

Connie Neil: Phase V - Produce
Laga: Phase II - Develop
omnis: Phase II - Develop
chrismg: Phase IV ($) - Consume (Trade)

Three phases this round, starting with Phase II (Develop). Everyone, if you haven't put in COs, please do so.

RftG

I have the orders. Connie and chrismg both pass.

Laga plays Mining League for 5 discards. This 6-cost development lets her consume 2 Brown goods for 3 VPs, and can produce on 1 Brown windfall world. Its value at game end is 2 VPs per Brown production world plus 1 VP per Brown windfall world; and another 2 VPs each for Mining Robots and Mining Conglomerate. It's currently worth 2 VPs.

omnis plays Galactic Survey: SETI for 4 discards (Investment Credits gives another -1 cost). This 6-cost development lets him look at an extra 2 cards when Exploring (for +4 cards, with Separatist Colony). Its value at game end is 1 VP per Explore power plus 1 VP per world. It's currently worth 5 VPs.

Furthermore, one of the goals was "First to play a 6-cost development". Once again, Laga and omnis both fulfil this condition simultaneously, and both lay claim to this goal for 3 VPs. They both now have 6 VPs from goals.

RftG

Phase IV (Consume) sees only chrismg with any goods, so he's the only one who does anything in this phase. He chose the Trade Action card, and trades the Brown good from Alpha Centauri. Mining Conglomerate gives him 1 extra card; he draws 4 cards. He then consumes his other Brown good on Mining Conglomerate for 1 VP.

RftG

We finish with Phase V (Produce), and everyone gets in the action.

Connie produces 2 Brown goods on her production worlds.

Laga produces 1 Blue good and 1 Brown good. She then draws 1 card for producing on Comet Zone.

omnis produces 1 Blue good.

chrismg produces 1 Brown good.

That concludes Round 5, with rather more goods and rather fewer cards in hand for most. Everyone, please send me your choice of Action card for Round 6.