Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition

2017 · Political

Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition

Players lead one of multiple asymmetric alien factions competing for control of a galaxy through exploration, trade, technological research, military conquest and political influence. The modular board is built from dozens of hex tiles around a central capital, producing a different galaxy each game with hazards like supernovas, gravity rifts and asteroid fields affecting movement and strategy. Each round players choose a strategy card that sets turn order and grants a special action, then take turns moving fleets, colonizing systems, resolving combat, managing trade and expanding their economies. Periodic galactic council phases introduce agendas and laws voted on by players. Public and secret objectives award victory points; the first faction to reach the required total wins.

Players
3–6 best 6
Playing time
240–480 min
Age
14+
Complexity
4.4 / 5
8.1 on LudoyaScience FictionSpace ExplorationGrid MovementAction DraftingTech Trees / Tech Tracks

On Ludoya's tables

Full stats in Ludoya
419
Plays logged
742
Players
6h 48m
Average play
196
In collections
47
On wishlists

8.1/10

from 74 Ludoya reviews

  • Mestremuten6.0

    Rating: 3/5 Production value: 3/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 0/1

    First impressions · 1 play

  • Garfield8.0

    #30

    No plays logged

  • Владимир Андреевич9.7

    Большая комплексная 4Х стратегия. Есть место боям, науке, героям, политике, дипломатии, путешествиям, экономике и немного сюжету. Действия и навыки интуитивны, кризис принятия решения наступает из-за высокой вариативности действий. Игроки возглавляют ассиметричные рассы и в одном пространстве захватывают территории. ПО приносят задачи и их выполнение. Всё остальное - ресурсы для выполнения задач.

    First impressions · 1 play

Read the reviews and rate it

Upcoming events with this game

All events

Rules questions

Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.

Do fighters count against my fleet pool or my capacity?

Fighters do not count toward your fleet pool limit; they instead count against a system’s capacity (page 20).

When can I score objectives — only in the status phase or also during actions/combat?

You can score objectives during the action phase at any time and during the status phase in the Score Objectives step; you can score a maximum of one public and one secret objective each status phase, you may score any number of objectives during a turn of the action phase but only one objective during each combat (page 17).

Do I have to spend a command token to use another player's strategy card secondary ability?

After the active player resolves a strategic action, each other player may resolve that card’s secondary ability by spending a command token from his strategy pool, except the Leadership card’s secondary (Leadership does not require spending a command token) (pages 9, 15).

If all units are destroyed during an invasion, who controls the planet?

If a combat results in all units of both players being destroyed on a planet, the defender retains control of the planet and places one of his control markers there (page 15).

When does Space Cannon fire, and do rerolls or combat modifiers affect its rolls?

Space Cannon can be used after the Move Ships step (Space Cannon Offense) and during the Invasion step (Space Cannon Defense); space cannon rolls are not affected by rerolls, combat modifiers, or other combat roll effects (pages 20–21).

When does Anti‑Fighter Barrage occur — can it be used in later combat rounds?

Anti‑Fighter Barrage is resolved simultaneously by players at the start of the first round of a space combat (immediately before retreats) and cannot be used in subsequent rounds (page 22).

Opens Ludoya's rules assistant, which reads this game's rulebook.

Score sheets and play helpers

  • Full Game Kit
  • Partida convencional
  • ES ✶ Twilight Imperium (4ª Ed.)
Use them at your next game

Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.