Orders in Forbidden Stars

Hi there! Let’s talk about something exciting today – the orders in Forbidden Stars. If you’re a fan of strategy board games like me, you’ll know just how crucial orders are in shaping the outcome of a game. They are like the building blocks of your strategy, the tools that allow you to control your forces and outmaneuver your opponents. In this article, I want to explore the different types of orders in Forbidden Stars and discuss their importance in the game.

Deploy Orders

The first type of order we’ll look at is the deploy order. As the name suggests, a deploy order allows me to bring in new units onto the board. These units can be reinforcements or new troops, depending on what I need at that moment. Deploy orders are vital because they give me the flexibility to adapt my strategy on the fly, responding to the changing dynamics of the game.

Move Orders

The next type of order is the move order. Ah, the thrill of moving your units across the board, with your opponents trying to anticipate your every move. With move orders, I can relocate my forces, seize control of key positions, or launch surprise attacks. The possibilities are endless! Move orders grant me the freedom to explore different strategies and keep my opponents guessing.

Build Orders

Now, let’s talk about the build orders. When it comes to building structures and fortifications, build orders are your best friend. They enable you to construct powerful structures that can provide various benefits, such as additional resources, defensive capabilities, or special abilities. Building orders are essential for establishing a strong presence on the board and fortifying your positions.

Domination Orders

Lastly, we have the domination orders. These orders allow me to exert my influence and control over specific regions on the board. By dominating certain territories, I can gain valuable advantages, such as extra resources, strategic positioning, or even victory points. Domination orders are the key to securing a strong foothold and increasing your chances of victory.

So, there you have it – the different types of orders in Forbidden Stars. By mastering these orders and using them wisely, you can craft a winning strategy that leaves your opponents in awe. The beauty of Forbidden Stars lies in the endless possibilities these orders offer. Each game presents new challenges and opportunities for you to explore. So, go ahead, grab your orders, and conquer the stars!

When it comes to playing the game, each faction is equipped with two tokens for each of the four orders. So, I have a total of eight tokens at my disposal. Now, pay close attention to this part, because it’s important. During the Operations Phase, when I decide to carry out an order, I need to place one of my tokens on the system tile I want to activate. This means that the system tile becomes the active system for that order. Do you get it so far? Great!

Now, let’s dive into the details and take a closer look at each of the four orders and how I resolve them:

Deploy Order

When playing the game, I can use Deploy Orders to bring new units and structures onto the game board. To use a Deploy Order, I need to follow these two steps:

1. Purchasing Units: If I have a factory in the active system, I can buy units and put them on any friendly or uncontrolled area that doesn’t have any units or structures.
2. Purchasing Structure: I can also buy a structure and place it on any friendly world in the active system that doesn’t already have a structure.

Purchasing Units

When I want to buy a unit, I need to use materiel. The amount of materiel I need is shown on my faction sheet. To pay for it, I decrease my materiel dial by that amount. Once I’ve done that, I can put the unit in any area that belongs to me or is not controlled by anyone.

Some units also require a forge token, in addition to the materiel cost. If I want to use a forge token, I take one from my play area and put it in the supply.

When it comes to playing the game, I have to take into account a few restrictions. First of all, I can only place ground units on worlds and ships on voids. It’s important to remember this rule as I strategize my moves.

But that’s not all. I also need to consider the command level restrictions. These restrictions determine the maximum number of units I can purchase with one Deploy Order.

My deploy limit is determined by the unit capacity of the world where my factory is located. The unit capacity is represented by the skulls on the world’s banner. It’s like a measure of how many units I can deploy in that world.

Understanding these restrictions is crucial for success in the game. By following them, I can make the best decisions and come up with winning strategies.

#image.jpg

Command Level

In this game, I have a command level that tells me which units and upgrades I’m allowed to buy. It’s like a ranking system. The more cities I control, the higher my command level is.

Every unit and upgrade card has a command level requirement. I can only buy units and upgrades if their requirement is the same or lower than my current command level.

Purchasing Structures

When I want to buy a structure (like a city, bastion, or factory), I need to spend a specific amount of materiel. This amount is shown on my faction sheet. Once I’ve paid, I can put the structure on one of my structure control tokens in the active system, which is a friendly world. The token under each structure shows who owns it.

But here’s something important: I can’t put a structure on a world that already has a structure. It has to be clear and empty for me to add mine.

When I play the game, I can use Dominate Orders to get things I need and activate special abilities that only my faction has. To use a Dominate Order, I follow these steps:

1. Get What I Need: First, I check all the worlds in the system I’m in and see if they give me any assets. Assets are useful things that can help me in the game. I take the corresponding tokens from the supply and put them in my area. If there are more than one kind of asset, I can take them all.
2. Use My Faction Ability: After I get my assets, I can also use a special ability that only my faction has. This ability is listed on my faction sheet and can give me an advantage in the game.

Plan My Strategy

So, here’s how you can handle a Strategize Order. If you’ve got a unit or structure in the active system, you can check out all the cards in your upgrade decks. Take a good look and decide if you want to buy an order upgrade and/or a combat upgrade. Just make sure you meet the command level restrictions on each card.

Once you’re done with this order, put the order token on top of your event deck. This way, you can draw an event card during the Refresh Phase. It’s a neat little bonus!

If you want to buy an upgrade, you have to spend some materiel. The amount you need to spend is shown on the upper left of the upgrade card. Just subtract that from your materiel dial and you’re good to go.

So, there are these two types of upgrades that you need to know about: order upgrades and combat upgrades. Let’s break it down for you:

First, we have order upgrades. These upgrades make your order tokens even more powerful. When you buy an order upgrade, you put it next to your faction sheet. Each upgrade matches one of the four orders: Deploy, Strategize, Dominate, and Advance. And here’s the cool part: each upgrade gives you a special advantage when you use the matching order. It’s like supercharging your strategies!
#image.jpg

Next up, we have combat upgrades. And let me tell you, these upgrades are no joke. They’re like supercharged combat cards that you add to your deck. Just think of the possibilities: more power, more strategy, and more chances to dominate your opponents.

Now, let’s talk about how you can get your hands on these awesome upgrades.

When you want to improve your combat abilities in the game, you can buy combat upgrades in pairs. This means that when you purchase one combat upgrade card, you actually get two copies of the card.

Here’s how it works: when you buy a pair of combat cards, you need to remove two copies of any other card from your combat deck. These cards go into your combat upgrade deck. After that, you add both copies of the purchased upgrade to your combat deck and give it a good shuffle.

Your combat deck will always have two copies of five different cards, making a total of ten cards.

Now, let’s talk about the Advance Order.

When we want to make a move and start a battle, we use Advance Orders. It’s how we strategize and plan our actions in the game. To resolve an Advance Order, it’s important to follow these steps:

1. Move Ships: First, I can move my ships in the active system and to any neighboring system that doesn’t have any units or structures.
2. Move Ground Units: Next, I can also move my ground units. I can move them within the active system and to one neighboring system, but only if I already moved ships from there. I can’t move ground units from a different neighboring system.

This way, I can carefully position my units and plan my strategies. It’s a way of analyzing the battlefield and deciding how to navigate the game board. By following these steps, I have more control over my movements and can make strategic decisions that can potentially give me an advantage. So, before making any moves, remember the importance of Advance Orders in the game.

When we’re playing the game, there’s a step called “Resolve Combat.” This means that if there’s a fight happening in an area, the player who’s turn it is has to work out what happens. Sometimes, though, there might not be a fight, so instead, the player can choose to do an orbital strike.

It’s really important to remember that units can’t move through Warp Storms. Also, when a player uses an Advance Order, they can only make one area into a contested area. If a player uses a Mobilize Order, they can move as many units as they want, but only five units can end up in each area.

Now, let’s talk about moving ships. When you want to move a ship, you can move it from one area to another in the active system. It doesn’t matter if the areas aren’t right next to each other.

Moving ground units is a little different. You can only move them to a neighboring area in the active system.

So, here’s the deal: when I want to move one of my ground units, I can take it from where it is and move it to any other world in the active system. Sounds pretty straightforward, right?

Well, here’s the catch – I can only do this if there’s a path connecting the two worlds. And by path, I mean a bunch of connected areas. These areas can be worlds or voids, and they have to be right next to each other. No diagonal stuff, only straight lines.

But here’s the interesting part – I don’t need a fancy spaceship to move my ground units between adjacent worlds. Nope, these units can use other means of transportation, like regular old transport ships or even some totally unremarkable ways of getting around that aren’t even represented in the game.

Oh, and get this – there’s no limit to how many units I can move through these friendly areas. So if I want to transport a whole army, I totally can!

Now, for Unit Capacity.

Did you know that each area in the game has a limit to how many units it can hold? It’s true! We have different types of areas, each with its own unit capacity.

First, we have voids. Voids have a unit capacity of three. This means that you can only have up to three units in a void area at any given time.

And then we have worlds. The unit capacity of a world is determined by the number of skull icons on its banner. If a world has two skull icons on its banner, it means that its unit capacity is two. So you can have up to two units in that world.

The unit capacity of an area tells you the maximum number of units that can be present in that area after resolving an order. It’s important to pay attention to this limit because after resolving an order, including any combat that may happen, you’ll need to get rid of any extra units that exceed the area’s unit capacity.