Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy

2011

Immerse yourself in Eclipse, a strategic interstellar game. Explore new star systems, research technologies, build spaceships, and lead your civilization to galactic victory!

180
minutes

2 - 6
player(s)

14+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Welcome to the vast, unexplored cosmos of Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy, a thrilling board game that invites players to navigate the complexities of interstellar diplomacy, warfare and commerce in a bid for galactic supremacy.

Set against the backdrop of a sprawling galaxy filled with a myriad of alien races and uncharted territories, Eclipse offers an immersive experience steeped in strategic depth and thematic richness. As the leader of your civilization, you must explore new systems, research advanced technologies, build mighty starships, and engage in epic battles to secure a place for your people among the stars.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

In the game ‘Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy’, several key components contribute to creating an immersive gaming experience. Each of these components has its own unique role and interaction within the game.

1. Game Board

The game board is the central element of the game, where players will play their pieces and perform actions. The game board is made of hexagonal tiles, which represent different sectors of the galaxy. Tiles are revealed and added to the board as players explore the galaxy.

2. Player Boards

Each player has a player board, which represents their civilization’s infrastructure. The board is used to keep track of the player’s resources (money, science, and materials), population cubes, and ship parts. The player board’s state is constantly changing as players upgrade their technologies, build and upgrade ships, and manage their resources.

3. Ship Tiles

Ship tiles represent the different types of ships that players can build and use in the game. There are four types: Interceptors, Cruisers, Dreadnoughts, and Starbases. Each type of ship has different capabilities and requires different amounts of resources to build. Players can upgrade their ships by adding new ship parts to them.

4. Technology Tiles

Technology tiles represent the different technologies that players can research. There are three types of technologies: Military, Grid, and Nano. Each type of technology provides different benefits and requires a different amount of science to research.

5. Dice

The dice in Eclipse are used to resolve combat between players. The game comes with custom six-sided dice, with different symbols representing hits, misses, and possible critical hits.

6. Influence Discs

Influence discs are used by players to control sectors of the galaxy. When a player moves into a sector, they place one of their influence discs there to show that they control it. Players can also use influence discs to take actions on their turn.

7. Population Cubes

Population cubes are used to represent the population of a player’s civilization. These cubes are placed on the player’s board and are used to generate resources.

8. Discovery Tiles

Discovery tiles are revealed when players explore new sectors of the galaxy. They can provide players with immediate benefits, such as resources or technology, or they can be saved for later use.

9. Damage Cubes

Damage cubes are used to track the damage to a player’s ships during combat. If a ship takes enough damage, it is destroyed.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy is an epic space exploration and conquest board game. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game.

Step 1: Choose Player Races

Each player selects a player board which represents the race they will be playing. The race can be Human (Terran) or Alien. The choice of race determines the player’s starting resources, technologies, and special abilities.

Step 2: Prepare the Game Board

Place the Galactic Center tile in the middle of the table. Surround it with six hexagonal sector 1 tiles, forming a larger hexagon. Each sector 1 tile should be face down (the side with the small number 1 visible).

Step 3: Set Up Player Boards

Each player places their selected board in front of them. The board has an area for resources (money, science, and materials), population cubes, ship blueprints, and technologies. Each player places their starting resources and population cubes on the designated spots on their board.

Step 4: Set Up the Technology Board

Shuffle the technology tiles and place them in a face-up stack next to the game board. Draw the top 16 tiles and place them on the technology board.

Step 5: Prepare the Ship Part Tiles

Create stacks of each type of ship part tile and place them next to the game board. These will be used to upgrade players’ ships throughout the game.

Step 6: Distribute Starting Components

Each player receives a set of starting components according to the instructions on their player board. These components include starbases, ships, and influence discs.

Step 7: Prepare the Sector Tiles

Shuffle the sector 2 and 3 tiles separately and place them in face-down stacks next to the game board.

Step 8: Random Elements

There are several elements of Eclipse that are randomized each game. This includes the orientation of the sector tiles, the technology tiles available at the start of the game, and the ancient ship locations. This ensures that each game of Eclipse is unique.

Now that everything is set up, you’re ready to start playing Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy! Enjoy your space exploration and conquest journey.

Game flow Round and round we go

‘Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy’ is an immersive, grand strategy board game that combines elements of space exploration, economic management, and combat. The game is structured in a series of rounds, each of which is divided into four main phases. These phases are: Action Phase, Combat Phase, Upkeep Phase, and Draw Phase.

Action Phase: During the Action Phase, players take turns performing one action each until all players have passed. Possible actions include:

Explore: Draw and place a new hex tile from the bag, potentially discovering new systems or running into ancient civilizations.
Influence: Expand your civilization’s influence by placing influence discs on a hex you control.
Research: Spend science resources to learn new technologies.
Upgrade: Improve your civilization’s spaceships using the technology you have researched.
Build: Spend materials to construct new spaceships, orbital structures, or monoliths.
Move: Move your spaceships from one hex to another, potentially initiating combat.

Combat Phase: If any hexes contain spaceships from two or more different players, combat occurs. The player with the initiative (determined by the initiative track) chooses the order of combat. Each combat is resolved using dice, with the results influenced by the technology and abilities of the spaceships involved.

Upkeep Phase: During the Upkeep Phase, players must pay for the upkeep of their civilization. This includes the cost of maintaining their influence discs, colonies, and spaceships. If a player cannot afford the upkeep, they must remove components until they can. After upkeep, players score victory points based on the number of hexes they control, the technologies they have researched, and any reputation tiles they have earned.

Draw Phase: During the Draw Phase, players draw new technology tiles from the technology bag and place them on the technology board. These will be available for research during the next round. The round marker is then advanced one space, and a new round begins with the Action Phase.

The game ends after a set number of rounds (usually nine). The player with the most victory points is the winner.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy is a strategic board game where players take turns to expand their galactic empires. Each player’s turn comprises several actions. Here’s a breakdown of these actions and how they affect gameplay:

Action 1: Explore

A player can choose to explore a new sector. This action involves drawing a random sector from the bag and deciding where to place it on the board. Exploring new sectors can lead to discovering new planets to colonize and/or ancient civilizations to confront. The player can choose to pass and not explore a sector, which might be strategically wise if their empire is already stretched thin.

Action 2: Influence

A player can choose to expand their influence across the galaxy. This action involves placing or moving influence discs to control sectors. More sectors under a player’s influence mean more resources, but also more territory to defend.

Action 3: Research

A player can choose to research new technologies. This action involves paying the cost in science points and placing a cube on the tech tile on their player board. Research can give a player a variety of advantages, such as improved ship parts, new abilities, or increased resource production.

Action 4: Upgrade

A player can choose to upgrade their starships. This action involves replacing one or more parts on a ship blueprint with new parts. Upgrades can enhance a ship’s speed, power, or hull strength, providing a strategic edge in combat.

Action 5: Build

A player can choose to build structures and ships. This action involves paying the cost in materials and placing the new item on their player board. Building more ships and structures can strengthen a player’s military presence and resource production.

Action 6: Move

A player can choose to move their starships. This action involves moving ships from one sector to another. Movement can be used to expand influence, retreat from threats, or position for attacks.

Action 7: Pass

A player can choose to pass, ending their actions for the current round. Passing can be strategically useful to conserve resources or to react to other players’ actions.

The strategic choices a player makes during their turn – which actions to take, when to take them, and how to use their resources – can greatly influence the development of their empire and the outcome of the game.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy is a strategy game where players aim to build a space civilization that outperforms others. The game ends after the ninth round, and the player with the most victory points is the winner. Let’s delve into the details.

Game End

The game of Eclipse ends after the completion of the ninth round. Once this round is over, players must proceed with end-of-the-game scoring to determine the winner. No further actions or rounds are allowed after the ninth round.

Victory Conditions

Victory is determined by the number of victory points each player has at the end of the game. The player with the most victory points is declared the winner. Victory points can be gained in several ways:

Hexes: At the end of the game, each player gains one victory point for each hex in their empire.
Discovery Tiles: Any player who has taken Discovery Tiles during the game can add the victory points indicated on those tiles to their score.
Monoliths: Each Monolith a player has built during the game is worth three victory points.
Reputation Tiles: Players can gain Reputation Tiles during the game by winning battles. Each tile is worth the number of victory points indicated on it.
Technology Tiles: Some Technology Tiles give victory points as indicated on the tile.

Final Scoring

After the ninth round, players must calculate their final scores. This involves adding up all the victory points they have earned from Hexes, Discovery Tiles, Monoliths, Reputation Tiles, and Technology Tiles. Players should compare their scores, and the player with the highest total is the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most money left is the winner. If there is still a tie, the victory is shared.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In ‘Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy’, scoring is based on a number of different factors, all of which contribute to a player’s overall victory points (VPs). Here is a detailed breakdown of the ways in which points can be awarded:

1. Influence Discs:

At the end of the game, each player gets 1 VP for each of their influence discs on the game board. This includes both discs on hexes and on the influence track.

2. Controlled Hexes:

Each hex a player controls (i.e., has an influence disc on) with at least one discovery tile or ancient ship part also awards 1 VP.

3. Discovery Tiles:

Some discovery tiles award VPs. The VP value of the tile is indicated by the number in the star on the tile. Note that discovery tiles that have been exchanged for resources or used for other purposes do not count for VPs.

4. Technologies:

Each technology a player has researched awards VPs as indicated by the number in the star on the technology tile. The more advanced the technology, the more VPs it is usually worth.

5. Monoliths:

Each monolith a player has built awards 3 VPs.

6. Reputation Tiles:

At the end of the game, each player adds up the VPs on their collected reputation tiles.

7. Diplomatic Relations:

If a player has a diplomatic relation with another player, they get 1 VP for each such relation.

After all points have been calculated, the player with the highest total of VPs is the winner. In the case of a tie, the following tie-breaking rules are applied:

The player with the most hexes on the game board wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most discovery tiles wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most technologies wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most ships on the game board wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most resources (money, science, and materials) wins.
If there is still a tie, the victory is shared.

Please note that some expansions and scenarios may introduce additional ways to score VPs or alter the tie-breaking rules.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy is a complex board game that involves space exploration, territory control, and various forms of conflict. There are several rules, exceptions, and clarifications that players should note:

1. Exploration:

When a player decides to explore, they draw a hexagonal tile from a bag and place it adjacent to one of their controlled hexes. However, there are two exceptions:

The first round of the game doesn’t allow exploration of the center hex.
Players cannot explore beyond the game board.

2. Influence Action:

Normally, when a player chooses to perform an ‘Influence Action’, they can only move one of their influence discs from their player board to a hex on the game board. However, there are two exceptions:

If a player’s influence disc is already on the hex, they can flip it over to show their race’s symbol without having to move it there.
During the ‘Influence Action’, a player can withdraw any number of influence discs from the board by replacing them with a population cube of the same color.

3. Combat:

Combat in Eclipse takes place in rounds, and each round has a specific order of operations. However, there is a key exception:

If a player has a technology that allows them to change the order of operations (such as Initiative), this rule is superseded.

4. Population and Resources:

Each hex in the game can support a certain amount of population, based on the number and type of planets it contains. However, there are several exceptions and clarifications:

A hex without a planet cannot support any population.
If a player’s population cubes exceed their resource track, they must remove the excess and adjust their income accordingly.

5. Monoliths:

Monoliths are special structures that provide victory points at the end of the game. However, their placement is subject to certain rules:

Monoliths can only be built on a hex that a player controls.
A player can only build a monolith if they have the corresponding technology.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy is a strategy board game that requires players to manage resources, explore the galaxy, and engage in tactical combat. However, with its complex mechanics and numerous options, it can be challenging for new players to get the hang of. Here are some strategies, beginner tips, common mistakes to avoid, and ways to optimize gameplay:

Advanced Strategies:

Focus on Economy: In the early game, focus on expanding your economy as much as possible. This will give you a solid foundation to build upon in later rounds.
Plan Ahead: Try to plan your actions several turns ahead. This will allow you to utilize your resources more effectively and keep you ahead of your opponents.
Adapt and React: Despite the best planning, the game’s randomness can throw a wrench into your plans. Be prepared to adapt your strategy on the fly when needed.

Beginner Tips:

Learn the Basics: Spend time learning the basic rules and mechanics of the game. This will save you from making simple mistakes and give you a solid foundation to build your strategy upon.
Don’t Neglect Research: Technology can give you a significant advantage in battle and economy. Don’t overlook its potential.
Balance Your Resources: Try to balance your resources as much as possible. Running out of a crucial resource at the wrong time can be disastrous.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Overexpansion: While it’s essential to grow your empire, overexpansion can leave your borders vulnerable and your economy stretched thin.
Ignoring Your Opponents: Eclipse is a game of interaction. Neglecting to pay attention to what your opponents are doing can leave you unprepared for their actions.
Misspent Resources: Every action you take costs resources. Be sure to spend them wisely and not waste them on unnecessary actions.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Efficient Action Selection: Try to choose actions that will benefit you the most at the current moment. This will help you maximize your efficiency and get the most out of each turn.
Utilize Diplomacy: Using diplomacy can help you gain allies and avoid unnecessary conflicts. This can be a valuable tool for gaining an advantage over your opponents.
Know When to Fight: Combat can be costly, but also very rewarding. Knowing when to fight and when to avoid conflict can be the key to victory.