With a deceptively simple scoring system, this game offers lots of potential trade-offs: Do you give all possible tech gifts to all possible aliens as soon as possible, or hoard important expansion techs to ensure contact with all races and better tech speeds for more valuable gifts later on? Will it be worthwhile to exchange techs with one race so as to be able to gift techs that aren't even in your tree to the other three races, or is it better to rely on spying? Should research be arranged to bring in the early techs fastest, or concentrated on economic techs for better teching later on? With enough care and planning in deciding the answers to all these questions, I'll bet I could micromanage and milk my way to an unbelievable score! In a game that I know I'll never lose, let's see what's possible, shall we?
Naaaaaah.
Variant: Family-Friendly, Fun-Filled Holiday Spectacular! The famous Captain Giving of the good ship Spirit (with his loyal copilot RefSteel) has received an emergency message from the Human Government, located at the "top of the world" at the North Pole! The Holiday Season is upon us, with just 200 years to go before the 2500 Jubilee, and the Humans just discovered four powerful races to add to their holiday gift list! They've used up their whole holiday budget, and don't know what to do! After all, what do you get for the interstellar emperor who has everything? It's time for Giving and Ref to answer the call, take charge of the Human empire, and teach humankind the real meaning of the holidays: Peace on Earth, and Goodwill Toward Bug-Eyed Aliens!
My Variant Rules:
1. Peace: I may never attack! No sending starships to known alien colonies. (Exception: As a last resort to prevent genocide; see 3, below.) No sending armed starships to any neutral world unless I expect to have a colony there by the time they arrive. I may defend Human worlds, but timing out alien ships or forcing them to retreat is far preferable to actually fighting when possible. In case of war, I must always accept any direct offer of peace (I need not accede to demands however, even to achieve peace). I may not issue threats, nor request war declarations (even against a race that is at war with me already) and must always refuse allies who would have me declare war on their enemies.
2. Love: I must gift any tech that an AI will accept at the first opportunity I notice. These will of course be recorded for scoring purposes, though I won't exactly be playing for score. I may not however spy on my fellow races - not even see-what-they've-got hide spying! - and may never break any treaty of my own accord.
3. Family: This is a family-friendly game! The good guys must win, and the bad guys must all survive and see the error of their ways. Every effort must be made to keep all four alien races alive throughout the game (besides, it doubles my score!) even if it means sending fleets to defend their final planets for them (in spite of 1, above). Every effort must likewise be made to win an election unanimously (without resorting to enemy-of-my-enemy). The first opportunity to take such a victory must be accepted even if it would reduce my score. (Exception: If I'm having way too much fun to stop, I'll keep playing.)
Cue the uplifting feel-good holiday music (no, don't actually cue it - just pretend it's starting! Good heavens, haven't you had enough of that sort of music in the past couple months already?) and get ready for a Very Special Episode of Master of Orion!
Read On!
