RftG

Discards are done. We move to Phase IV (Consume).

Ryan chose this phase, and trades his Green good for 6 cards, getting +2 from Merchant World. He then discards 2 cards for 2 VPs, again from Merchant World.

Laga draws 1 card from New Economy.

omnis also chose this phase, and trades his Yellow good for 6 cards (+1 from Export Duties).

Connie and chrismg both pass, having no goods.

RftG

Finally, Laga chose Phase V (Produce), and everyone is welcome.

Ryan replaces his Green good and adds a Brown good. In addition, he now has 4 Rebel worlds in his layout; he draws 4 cards from Rebel Cantina.

Laga produces 2 Blue goods, 1 Brown good and 1 Green good. She produces on a Green windfall world as she chose this phase.

omnis produces 3 Blue goods; Free Trade Association lets him produce on his Blue windfall world.

Connie produces 1 Brown good and 1 Green good. She then draws 1 card for producing on Comet Zone, and 4 more from Uplift Code as she now has two Genes cards (with the Chromosome symbol).

chrismg produces 1 Blue good and 1 Green good.

Cards are going out now. And that concludes Round 10. Everyone, please send me your choice of Action card for Round 11. Everyone but Ryan, who can send me his Action card; but with the 6 cards he drew from trading, and the 4 from producing, he now holds 14 cards. Some discarding will be in order.

By the way, in amongst the Explore draws, the Trade draws, the Produce bonuses and the goods produced, this round you all drew a whopping total of 53 cards from the deck. That's more than 10 cards each, on average.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 10
Goals
Propaganda Edge - Most Rebel Military Worlds (Ryan)
Production Leader - Most Production Worlds
Overlord Discoveries - First to 3 Alien cards
Galactic Riches - First to 4 goods (Laga)
Uplift Knowledge - First to 3 Uplift cards (Laga)
Innovation Leader - First to have a power in each phase (Laga)

Ryan
Layout
Rebel Cantina (Non-Military World)
Merchant World (Non-Military World)
Distant World (Non-Military Green Production World) + good
Rebel Pact (Development)
Primitive Rebel World (Military Blue Windfall World)
Rebel Outpost (Military World)
Rebel Miners (Military Brown Production World) + good

Cards in Hand: 10
Military Strength: 1
Victory Points: 9
Layout Value: 12
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 5

Laga
Layout
Galactic Developers (Non-Military World)
Contact Specialist (Development)
New Vinland (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Star Nomad Lair (Military Blue Windfall World)
New Earth (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Devolved Uplift Race (Military Blue Production World) + good
Insect Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World) + good
The Last Of The Uplift Gnarssh (Military Green Windfall World)
Rebel Alliance (6-Cost Development)
Clandestine Uplift Lab (Military World)
New Economy (6-Cost Development)

Cards in Hand: 6
Military Strength: -1
Victory Points: 4
Layout Value: 12
6-Cost Developments: 13
Goals: 9

omnis
Layout
New Sparta (Military World)
Free Trade Association (6-Cost Development)
Smuggling World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Galactic Resort (Non-Military Blue Windfall World) + good
Prosperous World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Deserted Alien World (Non-Military World)
Export Duties (Development)
Alien Robot Scout Ship (Military Yellow Windfall World) + good

Cards in Hand: 9
Military Strength: 3
Victory Points: 8
Layout Value: 11
6-Cost Developments: 5
Goals: 0

Connie Neil
Layout
Imperium Warlord (Non-Military World)
Outlaw World (Military World)
Abandoned Alien Uplift Camp (Non-Military World)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Reptilian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World)
Plague World (Non-Military Green Production World) + good
Avian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World)
Uplift Code (6-Cost Development)
Galactic Genome Project (6-Cost Development)

Cards in Hand: 8
Military Strength: 1
Victory Points: 4
Layout Value: 11
6-Cost Developments: 16
Goals: 0

chrismg
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Runaway Robots (Military Brown Windfall World)
Secluded World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Interstellar Bank (Development)
Mercenary Fleet (Development)
Hidden Fortress (Military World)
Space Mercenaries (Development)
Rebel Base (Military World)
Imperium Cloaking Technology (Development)
Malevolent Lifeforms (Military Green Production World) + good
Galactic Imperium (6-Cost Development)
Rebel Homeworld (Military World)

Cards in Hand: 3
Military Strength: 9
Victory Points: 2
Layout (continued...)

( continues...) Value: 24
6-Cost Developments: 7
Goals: 0

VP Pool: 35

RftG

Note to self: when working on a military based strategy, make sure you have actual Military Strength to work with.

RFTG

I'm right there with you. I had every intention of military strategy. The cards failed me.

RftG

O my people! Orders are in, and I have everything sorted. The game will end this round! Unfortunately, the power company decided today was the time to do some maintenance, and the power's off until later this afternoon - taking with it my internet connection. I shall post the final orders and outcomes this evening.

RftG

Ok! Power is restored. Not our heating, though. That unit seems to have packed it in with the power outage. I am ready to take it out on the unsuspecting. And on that note, I have everyone's orders.

Ryan: Phase III - Settle
Laga: Phase III - Settle
omnis: Phase IV (x2) - Consume (double VPs)
Connie Neil: Phase III - Settle
chrismg: Phase III - Settle

Very interesting, this. I have many COs from players, the things they would do if only someone picked Phase II. But everyone went for Phase III for preference. We therefore have no Phase II!

Furthermore, Laga chose Phase III, and she will be playing something. That guarantees that this will be the final round. So everyone had best bring out their best play. Here it is:

Ryan plays Rebel Stronghold for 7 cards. This is the highest-defence and most valuable card in the game, with 9 defence and worth 9 VPs. Ryan can play it as non-military with Rebel Cantina, and gets -2 cost from Rebel Pact. He then draws 1 card for choosing this phase.

Laga plays New Survivalists. This is also a military world, but only 1 defence. She can play it for free with Contact Specialist. It's a Blue production world, and can consume 1 good for 1 card. It's a pretty cheap card, but it is also Laga's fourth production world. She now has enough of them to claim the "Most Production Worlds" goal, for 5 VPs. She then draws 1 card for choosing this phase.

omnis is the only one who didn't choose this phase, but he still has something to play. He plays Gem World for 2 discards. This is a Blue production world that gives 1 card draw when you produce on it. It adds 2 points to the value of Free Trade Association.

Connie plays Aquatic Uplift Race. This is a 2-defence military world. Connie normally has 1 strength, but gets +2 against Green worlds from Abandoned Alien Uplift Camp. As well as its own value, this Green Uplift card (with a Chromosome symbol) adds 2 points to Galactic Genome Project, and 3 to Uplift Code. She then draws 1 card for choosing this phase.

chrismg plays Alien Monolith. This is the second-most valuable card I the game, and has the second-highest defence (at 8 apiece). He has military strength 9 (10 with this card). It's also a Yellow windfall world. He then draws 1 card for choosing this phase.

RftG

The final phase is Phase IV (Consume). Everyone is loaded up with goods. Let's see what they can get for them.

Ryan has 2 goods, but he has no Consume powers that he can use on them. He does have a power on Merchant World that lets him discard up to 2 cards from his hand for 2 VPs, which he does.

Laga has 4 goods and a bunch of powers. Together, she consumes her goods for 3 VPs and 5 cards.

omnis chose this phase, and opts for double points. He consumes 3 Blue goods on Free Trade Association for 6 VPs and 3 cards.

Connie has 3 goods. She consumes the 2 Green goods on Galactic Genome Project for 3 VPs, and the Brown good on Outlaw World for 1 VP and 1 card.

Finally, chrismg has 3 goods but only 2 Consume powers for them. He consumes 2 goods for 1 VP and 2 cards. (There's now 1 card left in the deck.)

Laga now has 12 cards in her layout. The game ends! We'll break out the points and find the winner next.

RftG

As usual, we'll go through the points by category.

Consumption VPs
Ryan: 11
Laga: 7
omnis: 14
Connie Neil: 8
chrismg: 3

omnis leads in this category, having twice x2 consumed for 6 VPs. Interestingly, Ryan is in second place, despite having precisely zero Consume powers for goods. He earned all his 11 VPs from the Merchant World power, by discarding cards from his hand.

Layout Value
Ryan: 21
Laga: 13
omnis: 12
Connie Neil: 13
chrismg: 32

chrismg has a clear lead here, the product of a military strategy. Just three cards in his layout accounted for a total of 21 points. Ryan also clocked a decent score here, and also from military worlds. We'll have more to say about military strategies in the wrap-up.

6-Cost Developments
Ryan: 0
Laga: 15
omnis: 7
Connie Neil: 21
chrismg: 8

Here the big score goes to Connie whose two 6-cost developments meshed particularly well with her layout. She had four green worlds, and five Uplift cards, making Galactic Genome Project and especially Uplift Code very valuable. Indeed, such 6-cost developments as were played were generally good picks. Laga had New Economy and Rebel Alliance, omnis got Free Trade Association and chrismg had Galactic Imperium, none of them worth below 7 VPs. Ryan, alas, had none.

Goals
Ryan: 5
Laga: 14
omnis: 0
Connie Neil: 0
chrismg: 0

No results were more lopsided than this. While Ryan snagged the "Most Rebel Worlds" goal, Laga grabbed all the remaining ones that were claimed. She had three of the four "First" goals by the end of Round 5. (She also had 8 cards in her layout by then, at least 2 more than any other player.)

So who wins out? chrismg's layout, Connie's variable plays or Laga's high achieving? Next post.