Space Empires: Replicators

About this expansion

Space Empires: Replicators is a 2018 expansion for 1–5 players, with games lasting about 180 minutes. It adds new empires, terrain, resource cards, ships, counters, and Empire Advantages to the Space Empires series.

Its centerpiece is the Replicator, a Von-Neumann Machine empire that behaves, researches, and reproduces differently from other empires. Replicators can serve as a fifth player, an opponent in cooperative games, or a teaching empire, since their player does not need to complete a production sheet or track technology on ships.

Exploration can now reveal permanent terrain effects, including planets, asteroids, nebulae, and other features. The exploration marker is replaced by a hex-sized terrain tile, making the map easier to read and adding a visual record of discoveries. Epic games can use the backs of some tiles to connect two Space Empires boards.

• New Deep Space terrain: Galactic Capital, Regional Map, Gravitational Anomaly, Space Pirates, and the Fold in Space.
• Resource decks: Each player starts with three cards and draws one each turn, using cards as events or converting them into CP.
• Advanced Construction ships: Battle Carriers, Advanced Destroyers, and Advanced Raiders expand late-game options.

Resource cards can affect battles, exploration, economics, and more, introducing unpredictable twists while stronger cards require an extra discard. Advanced Construction has three levels and becomes available only after the appropriate economic milestone, keeping these ships out of the early game.

Battle Carriers carry six Fighters and include Anti-Sensor Hull, while Advanced Destroyers gain Heavy Warheads and Advanced Raiders can carry a ground unit. Space Empires: Replicators also adds corrected counters and further Empire Advantages.