Index -> Playing the Game -> The Game Screen -> Map
The map (1) is the focus of the game. The section of the galaxy where you and your opponent face off is represented by several systems linked together by dotted lines (jump lanes).
A system can be a planet, an asteroid field, a nebula, the Star Chamber, or any other destination of merit in the galaxy. Systems are always named. Planets are the most important (and on most maps, the most plentiful) systems in the galaxy.
If a system name appears in gray, that system is uncontrolled. If it is in a player's color, it is controlled by that player. (Look at the Player Info Boxes (2) to see which color represents which player.)
You may see one or more colored dots orbiting a system. Each dot represents a modification that has been played on that system, and appears in the color of the player who controls that modification. (You can view these modifications in detail using the Information Panel (4).
Any modifications played on the galaxy will appear as icons in a column along the right edge of the map. You may double-click any of these icons to make a magnified image of the card appear on the map area. Click anywhere in the map, or on the magnified card itself, to close this image.
Any activated abilities you can use are displayed in a row along the bottom of the map.
There are several kinds of systems you'll learn more about later. For now, the most important ones for you to be aware of are:
- Star Chamber: This system is the seat of political power in the Republic, and is the place voting sessions are held.
- Homeworld: Each player begins the game with a homeworld under his control, corresponding to his primary race.
- Minor planets: All other planetary systems you see on a map. (The Star Chamber and each player's homeworld are planets, but they are not minor planets.) A minor planet can be an artifact planet, barren planet, or an industrial planet.
- Non-planetary systems: A map may have a variety of asteroids, nebulae, wormholes, and other destinations.
Jump lanes connect systems to each other. A jump lane is a line of dashes and dots. Each dash represents a "length." (For example: A jump lane made up of two dashes separated by one dot is a two-length jump lane.) Fleets can only move between systems with connecting jump lanes.
Jump lanes dashes are gray by default. If a player controls both systems at each end of a jump lane, that jump lane changes to his color. (Look at the Player Info Boxes (2) to see which color connects to which player.) The jump lane is not actually controlled by a player (nobody ever controls a jump lane); it's simply a graphic representation showing that the region of space is firmly under that player's control.
For more information on the map, see:
