RftG

Phase III (Settle) is next, and everyone's in for this one.

omnis plays Insect Uplift Race. This is a Green windfall world.

chrismg plays Rebel Colony for 2 discards, using Rebel Cantina. He gets -2 cost from Replicant Robots. This lets him consume 1 good for 1 VP. Plus, it's a Rebel World, which means that in Produce phases, he'll draw an extra card from Rebel Cantina (total of 2). He then draws 1 card from Terraforming Robots.

Connie discards Colony Ship immediately to play Imperium Blaster Gem Consortium. This is normally a 6-cost card, the most expensive world one can play with Colony Ship. It's a Brown production world, it gives +1 military strength (now at 2) and can consume 1 Brown good for 1 VP and 2 cards.

Ryan plays Runaway Robots. This is a 1-defence Brown windfall world. It gives 1 card draw whenever he produces on it. Interstellar Prospectors lets him produce on 1 Brown windfall world whenever we have Phase V, which can be applied to this world.

-t chose this phase, and plays Blaster Runners. This is a 1-defence military world. It gives her +1 military strength (now at 5), and also has an Explore power. Whenever she explores, she takes the cards into her hand and chooses discards from her whole hand. She then draws 2 cards - 1 from choosing this phase and 1 from Terraforming Robots.

Laga play Snuggling World for 1 discard. This is a Blue production world. It also has the Explore power that lets her choose discards from her whole hand. It also gives her -1 cost on Blue non-military worlds and +1 strength for Blue military worlds.

RftG

We finish up with Phase IV (Consume). chrismg and -t pass; chrismg has no goods and -t has no Consume powers she can use.

omnis chose this phase, and opted for double points. He has 3 goods, which he consumes for a total of 2 VPs and 2 cards. He gets double the points, for 4 VPs and 2 cards.

Connie has 1 Brown good, which she consumes on her new Imperium Blaster Gem Consortium for 1 VP and 2 cards.

Ryan chose this phase, and opted to Trade. He trades 1 Brown good from Runaway Robots, from which he gets +2 cards from Space Port for a total of 5 cards. He then consumes 1 Blue good on Epsilon Eridani for 1 VP and 1 (more) card.

Laga also chose this phase and chose to Trade. She trades 1 Green good for 5 cards (+1 card from Export Duties). She then consumes her other 2 goods for 2 VPs and another 2 cards.

That concludes this round; and with Laga's draw, she has 12 cards in hand, 2 cards over. Laga, let me know which cards you discard.

RftG

I have Laga's discard (it was actually only 1 card over her hand limit). One last piece of business, and that is that omnis now has over 5 VPs from consumption, and claims the Galactic Standard of Living goal for 3 points! That's the last of the 'first' goals. The only goals unclaimed is for the most Explore powers.

And that concludes Round 7. Everyone, please send me your choice of action card for Round 8.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 7
Goals
Research Leader - Most Explore Powers
Greatest Infrastructure - Most Developments (Laga)
Expansion Leader - First to 8 cards in layout (chrismg, Laga)
Innovation Leader - First to have a power in each phase (Laga)
Galactic Standard of Living - First to 5 VPs (omnis)
Uplift Knowledge - First to 3 Uplift cards (-t)

omnis
Layout
Galactic Developers (Non-Military World)
Public Works (Development)
Blaster Gem Mines (Non-Military Brown Windfall World)
Lost Species Ark World (Non-Military Green Production World)
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World)
Space Marines (Development)
Galactic Advertisers (Development)
Insect Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World)

Cards in Hand: 8
Military Strength: 3
Victory Points: 6
Layout Value: 13
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

chrismg
Layout
Rebel Cantina (Non-Military World)
Outlaw World (Military World)
Trading Outpost (Non-Military World)
Replicant Robots (Development)
Reptilian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World)
Export Duties (Development)
Star Nomad Lair (Military Blue Windfall World)
Terraforming Robots (Development)
Rebel Colony (Military World)

Cards in Hand: 1
Military Strength: 0
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 14
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

Connie Neil
Layout
Separatist Colony (Non-Military World)
Mining Robots (Development)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World)
Interstellar Bank (Development)
Imperium Blaster Gem Consortium (Non-Military Brown Production World)

Cards in Hand: 6
Military Strength: 2
Victory Points: 1
Layout Value: 9
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 0

Ryan
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Investment Credits (Development)
Genetics Lab (Development)
Space Port (Non-Military Blue Production World)
Interstellar Prospectors (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Runaway Robots (Military Brown Windfall World)

Cards in Hand: 8
Military Strength: 1
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 7
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 0

-t
Layout
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World)
Space Marines (Development)
The Last Of The Uplift Gnarssh (Military Green Windfall World)
Devolved Uplift Race (Military Blue Production World) + good
New Galactic Order (6-Cost Development)
Avian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World) + good
Terraforming Robots (Development)
Blaster Runners (Military World)

Cards in Hand: 5
Military Strength: 5
Victory Points: 0
Layout Value: 7
6-Cost Developments: 5
Goals: 3

Laga
Layout
Ancient Race (Non-Military Green Windfall World)
Expedition Force (Development)
Export Duties (Development)
New Vinland (Non-Military Blue Production World)
Investment Credits (Development)
Public Works (Development)
Artist Colony (Non-Military Blue Production World)
Galactic Salon (Development)
Smuggling World (Non-Military Blue Production World)

Cards in (continued...)

( continues...) Hand: 10
Military Strength: 1
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 10
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 11

VP Pool: 61

RftG

Orders are in for Round 8, and we have:

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

That is a lot of developing going on right there. But we also have Phase I (Explore) and Phase V (Produce), so let's get into the Explore.

omnis draws 2 cards and keeps 1, because he is the only player still without an Explore power.
chrismg chose this phase. He draws 4 cards and then discards 2 from his hand.
Connie draws 4 cards and keeps 1.
Ryan draws 3 cards and keeps 1.
-t draws 2 cards and then discards 1 from her hand.
Laga draws 3 cards and then discards 2 from her hand.

Cards are going out now. Everyone, please send me your choices.

RftG

Ok, everything's sorted, and we can move to Phase II (Develop), where everyone has found something worth playing.

omnis draws 1 card from Galactic Developers, then plays Genetics Lab for 1 discard. This gives him +1 card when trading a Green good, and lets him produce on one Green windfall world. He then draws 1 more card from Public Works.

chrismg plays Interstellar bank for 2 discards (the rest of his hand). This gives hime 1 card draw at the start of any future Phase II.

Connie already has Interstellar Bank, and draws 1 card from it. She then plays Mining Conglomerate for 2 discards. This is a Brown-themed card. She gets +1 card when trading a Brown good, can consume up to 2 Brown goods for 1 VP each, and in Phase V, if she produces more Brown goods than any other player, she draws 2 cards.

Ryan plays Trade League for 4 discards, getting -1 cost from Investment Credits. This card gives him +1 card when trading, and lets him trade 1 good in Phase IV, even if he didn't choose Trade. (If he did choose Trade, he can trade 2 goods.) It's a status development, worth 2 VPs per development with a Trade power, and 1 VP for each world with a Trade power. It's currently worth 5 VPs to him.

-t plays Improved Logistics for 2 discards. This lets her play two worlds instead of one in Phase III.

Laga plays New Economy. This gives her 1 card draw in Phase IV.It's a status development, giving 2 VPs per development with a Consume power, and 1 VP for each world with a Consume power. It's currently worth 7 VPs to her. She then draws 1 card from Public Works.

We'll finish up with Phase V (Produce).

RftG

Phase V. We have the following production.

omnis produces 1 Blue good and 2 Green goods; Genetics Lab lets him produce on his Green windfall world. He then dras 2 cards for producing on Lost Species Ark World.

chrismg has no production worlds, so he produces nothing. However, he draws 2 cards from Rebel Cantina.

Connie produces 2 Brown goods. That's more Brown than anyone else, so she draws 2 cards from Mining Conglomerate.

Ryan produces 1 Blue good and 1 Brown good; Interstellar Prospectors lets him produce on his Brown windfall world. He then draws 1 card for producing on Runaway Robots.

-t already has a good on her one production world. She passes.

Laga chose this phase, so she produces on one windfall world. She produces 3 Blue goods and 1 Green good.

That concludes Round 8. Well, almost; omnis has 11 cards in his hand and must discard 1. omnis, let me know which card you discard. Meanwhile, everyone, please send me your choice of action card for Round 9!

Note: once any player(s) have at least 12 cards in their layout the game ends that round. chrismg and Laga both have 10 cards in their layout. In all likelihood, the end of the game is approaching.

RftG

End-of-round summary:

Round 8
Goals
Research Leader - Most Explore Powers
Greatest Infrastructure - Most Developments (Laga)
Expansion Leader - First to 8 cards in layout (chrismg, Laga)
Innovation Leader - First to have a power in each phase (Laga)
Galactic Standard of Living - First to 5 VPs (omnis)
Uplift Knowledge - First to 3 Uplift cards (-t)

omnis
Layout
Galactic Developers (Non-Military World)
Public Works (Development)
Blaster Gem Mines (Non-Military Brown Windfall World)
Lost Species Ark World (Non-Military Green Production World) + good
New Survivalists (Military Blue Production World) + good
Space Marines (Development)
Galactic Advertisers (Development)
Insect Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World) + good
Genetics Lab (Development)

Cards in Hand: 11
Military Strength: 3
Victory Points: 6
Layout Value: 14
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

chrismg
Layout
Rebel Cantina (Non-Military World)
Outlaw World (Military World)
Trading Outpost (Non-Military World)
Replicant Robots (Development)
Reptilian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World)
Export Duties (Development)
Star Nomad Lair (Military Blue Windfall World)
Terraforming Robots (Development)
Rebel Colony (Military World)
Interstellar Bank (Development)

Cards in Hand: 2
Military Strength: 0
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 15
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 3

Connie Neil
Layout
Separatist Colony (Non-Military World)
Mining Robots (Development)
Comet Zone (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Interstellar Bank (Development)
Imperium Blaster Gem Consortium (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Mining Conglomerate (Development)

Cards in Hand: 8
Military Strength: 2
Victory Points: 1
Layout Value: 11
6-Cost Developments: 0
Goals: 0

Ryan
Layout
Epsilon Eridani (Non-Military World)
Investment Credits (Development)
Genetics Lab (Development)
Space Port (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Interstellar Prospectors (Non-Military Brown Production World) + good
Runaway Robots (Military Brown Windfall World) + good
Trade League (6-Cost Development)

Cards in Hand: 5
Military Strength: 1
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 7
6-Cost Developments: 5
Goals: 0

-t
Layout
Alpha Centauri (Non-Military Brown Windfall World)
Space Marines (Development)
The Last Of The Uplift Gnarssh (Military Green Windfall World)
Devolved Uplift Race (Military Blue Production World) + good
New Galactic Order (6-Cost Development)
Avian Uplift Race (Military Green Windfall World) + good
Terraforming Robots (Development)
Blaster Runners (Military World)
Improved Logistics (Development)

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

Laga
Layout
Ancient Race (Non-Military Green Windfall World) + good
Expedition Force (Development)
Export Duties (Development)
New Vinland (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Investment (continued...)

( continues...) Credits (Development)
Public Works (Development)
Artist Colony (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
Galactic Salon (Development)
Smuggling World (Non-Military Blue Production World) + good
New Economy (6-Cost Development)

Cards in Hand: 6
Military Strength: 1
Victory Points: 2
Layout Value: 10
6-Cost Developments: 7
Goals: 11

VP Pool: 61