Sequence of Play
Action Phases
Step 1: Move Your Ships
Light-second scale movement means choosing between speed and positioning. Will you use your engines to line up a perfect shot, or cross the battlefield to disrupt the enemy’s plans?
Step 2: Attack Your Opponents
A d10 system lets ships compare targeting algorithms against an enemy’s ability to avoid fire. No weapon can hit instantaneously dozens of light seconds away.
Step 3: Send Out Small Craft
Hangars deploy small craft able to attack enemy formations, defend friendly ships against a multitude of threats, and even capture objectives.
Support Phase
Step 4a: Assign ECM
ECM can degrade enemy ships or support friendly sensors. It takes time for electronic warfare to reach across stellar distances, but can change a battle once it hits.
Step 4b: Contest Objectives
From medical evacuation, to marine assaults, to delivering diplomats, and more, objectives justify sending expensive ships (and the lives onboard) into conflict.
Step 4c: Prepare the Next Turn
With limited time to achieve victory, sometimes the best decision is to protect your ships rather than doom those onboard for that which you cannot hope to achieve…
Tobias Caine and Arel-Zam face each other in single combat
The fate of billions rests on their hubris…
Maneuver Phase
Arel-Zam’s cruiser (A) moves first. Opting for double speed, her starship races toward Caine’s frigate (B). She turns to bring her weapons to bear.
In response, Tobias Caine decides to stay at close range, offering him superior maneuverability this turn.
Shooting Phase
Tobias Caine is single-minded in his assault. He fires both his ship’s weapons systems at Arel-Zam’s cruiser. Her shields absorb the first shot, but the second tears through her armor to inflict 1 damage.
Arel-Zam responds in kind, missing her first shot and landing the second. Though Tobias Caine uses his shields, her unrelenting volley ultimately scores a critical hit. This inflicts 1 damage and takes Tobias’ shields offline for the rest of the battle.
Support Phase
With no Small Craft, the two skip straight to the Support Phase. There are no Objectives in range, and neither is able to beat each other’s electronic systems, so they move right ahead to applying Critical Hit status effects and checking to see whether either ship counts as destroyed.
With both hulls able to keep fighting, the two prepare for the next turn…
What Happens Next?
Fleet Command Hevelius puts two players in the command center of opposing forces. Multiple objective types encourage both tactical and strategic decision making in building and deploying your fleet. Game sizes can range from just a few ships on each side to over a dozen per player - game time can range from under 30 minutes to around 2 hours as a result.