Imperial Wars multiplayer Internet online strategy role-playing space empire sci-fi game science fiction

The Imperial Dispatch Newsletters

"Imperial Wars has exceeded my expectations. I knew when I read the design document that it had the 'simple complexity' that always results in a great game, with exceptionally high re-playability and fun. It is that and much more;"

- Aaron Cammarata
Designer, Tony Hawk, Pro Skater
Versions 1,2,3,& 4
IWars beta tester

10 MOST COMMON NEW PLAYER ERRORS Keep these concepts in mind
1	Explore, explore explore - At the beginning of the game, get out there and get all those worlds and fleets that you can while they are cheap. Everyone needs fleets and at the beginning of the game all you have to do is find them before someone else does. You may not need the worlds you find but you'll probably run into another player who will want them so both worlds and fleets are a kind of currency in Imperial Wars.
2	Flying Fleets without ships on them. A Star Fleet must have ships attached to Fly them to another world and to Defend the ownership of these Fleets from any other player casually dropping into orbit. Remember Un-owned Fleets have 0 FS and 0 SS in their pop ups.
3	Putting Worlds and Fleets At Peace For No Particular Reason - The default state for your worlds and Fleets is AMBUSH. Just because you're fleets are set to Ambush, you're not being aggressive. Until you know some one really well you're just not likely to give them a key to your door (empire). Think of it as keeping your front door closed and locked at night. Not only is this a basic, passive protection for your empire, it is also the way that your Worlds and Fleets CONTEND for ownership and maintain their Owned status. Worlds and Fleets At PEACE, do not CONTEND for ownership. This is a bad thing early in the game when everybody needs to capture everything they can. Later, At PEACE is helpful when resolving ownership questions or when flying around in a friendly way in someone else's empire so that you will not accidentally capture something from a friend.
4	CONTENTION Contention is the principle behind how Imperial Wars determines ownership and is the primary cause for the 3 problems above. The best source for a concise explanation of CONTENTION is at this link. It defines the principle of ownership and its corollary - conquest. It makes worthwhile reading and will help you understand how you can resolve ownership issues that will be important as you meet players in the Universe.
5	Talking to your neighbors - It can't be over emphasized how important it is to let your neighbors know who you are and how you can help them, or to let them know how they can help you. At this point in IWars there is a general movement towards finding cooperative ways to make things work out and players are discovering the strength of combining their strengths. Alliances are being formed. Don't miss out on this part of the game as it will serve you well in turns to come.
6	Know the Characters - From this point forward in the game you exist with all the other players in the game. Read the Character Guide, be informed. It will pay off.
7	Snag the artifacts! - With all that is going on, artifacts you run across may not seem that important. As those of you who have discovered jewels have found, Jewels are usually very helpful strategically. However, obtaining gems and relics can reliably raise your score every turn. Relics in your character category are worth 50 per turn, and each gem in your category (except the cursed), is worth 50. A set of 6 in your category is worth a bonus of 500 points and the whole set of 7 is worth 750 points! That looks big at the end of the game.
8	What to do with Rebel Worlds & Fleets.- You must defeat either the Rebel World or Fleet by Attacking it to take possession of it. Because a Rebel Fleet or World is a CONTENDING force any other Un-defended Fleets or Worlds will stay or go un-owned.
9	What's the score? - In the War Room, on the State of the Empire report, all of the scores of the players in the Player List are reported, randomly. At some point it will be important to figure out who has what score. Taking into consideration the character type involved, you'll be able to see how well the players on the list are doing.. Remember when you chose an ending score during choosing your character to play? The beginning of the end of the game is 15,000 points, because the end of the game will occur when one of the players in your universe scores between 15,000 and 20, 000 points.
10	Read the Documentation. - Everyone hates to read the manual, and you can play this game without spending a lot time with the manual but there are times when you need to know specific information. This guide is meant for looking up specific information when you need it.. Players Guide
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