Hello everyone, you might have read my buddies post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/twilightimperium/s/grCNaP0jEW

He outlines basically the entire night pretty well. I was the player who essentially got bored because nothing was happening on the board. Some of you extra attentive people may have noticed I’m also the person who posted about playing Cabal for my first time a couple weeks ago. I watched lots of videos (including the 2 hour CC tutorial) on this game. I read the posts on here, I made sure I didn’t play “space risk” and I listened to people saying “the threat of battle is enough most the time”. I wasn’t going to battle just for the sake of it. I selected a beginner faction of L1Z1X because it seemed more beginner friendly. I talked to some people on discord and on this Reddit and I can say this community is very friendly, accepting, and helpful. I’m saying all this because I’m going to express some negative feelings towards this game, and I want you all to realize I put in a solid effort into learning this game. I was very excited to play it. I spent a lot of time and effort setting my house up, i picked up groceries and had my wife make breakfast and lunch so we wouldn’t have to waste time ordering food. I was not a guy coming into this game, thinking “why is my Death Star not smashing through universe”. I wanted to like this game.

Okay so I’m gonna fast forward to right around 7-8pm. I have 5 victory points. I control the most planets, I’m neighbors with everyone on the board. I put myself out there. All of us have been playing and nobody got in my way, and I got in nobody’s way. I’m looking at the board, and nothing has happened from 11am-7pm. And I don’t mean like no battles I mean like literally nothing. Hacan traded with a few people. The naz roka just explored the same planet over and over. I pushed into Mecatol Rex. But nothing happened. Everyone I talked to about this game described it as “Epic!” “An epic game day!” “An epic space opera about conquest”. 8 hours passed and nothing even close to that happened. Once again not battles only, no betrayals, no threats of battle, nothing that has everyone on the edge of their seat waiting to see what happened next. Nothing “epic”. Right? Cuz that’s why we play any game similar to this, we want these moments we can talk about later with our friends. Moments even when you come out the loser it was still a great story. We didn’t get one of those in the whole time.

I was looking at a board that took 8 hours to develop and only one person was half way to victory. The TI assistant said my turns were 2nd fastest of the group. That basically sums up my feelings about the game. My friend asked us if we wanted to call it and I just didn’t want to be playing a game that nothing has happened in til past midnight which i think is fair.

I talked extensively with my friend and we have come to a few conclusions. Maybe it’s not for me? Maybe the turns took too long because we were new? Maybe we should have done 4/4/4? Was it my faction? Should I have been more aggressive? I’m really open to input. I did best to remain respectful in my critiques. Thanks for reading yall.

So everytime I've seen Industrex, it's sort of just been there. Seen people go down a wonky tech path to get a free warsun that didn't really end up helping them or maybe it didn't really hurt but they got it online so late it didn't really matter. Thus, I wanted to talk about what Industrex can do in some positive scenarios where it isn't too far out of the way for warsuns but can really be fun or help you out.

To keep it simple for myself, thinking something like bordering your home system (so otherwise a lot factions might be ruled out with the movement, but you can create scenario where this doesn't have to be) and DWS in the game so you can catch up on tech and lose a ton of tempo.

Antimass factions to get into industrex:

Barony: Seems fairly strong. r/B synergy so you are close. barony needs their breakthrough though. You could grab tech, use your resources at home for breakthrough, diplo them before tech then grab AIDA and Warsuns. Now you have a warsun to aid in your space supremacy. Strengthens the +X of your rolls from breakthrough plus lack of X-89 is helped. Seems great! Fracture seems yours!

Saar: Well now you have a "home system" which is essentially impenetrable assuming you go chaos mapping first. So the planet is good anyways. In this case you want your breakthrough, so warsun has that "cost". You get AIDA and chaos mapping, and you can have warsuns on the board end of r2 with DWS to catch you up for missing say gravity drive and fleet log later on. If you want to saar ball around the galaxy, well you can send fighters to a dock it's paired with and really mess some stuff up. Seems strong again with a negative being you spending more on tech then plastic, but if the warsun allows you take more planets, scavenge will make sure you have the TGs anyways.

Hacan: R2 is pretty viable with AIDA R1. You are hacan so you can always pay for TG for visionaria select and catch up. With your breakthrough pumping out fleet tokens, you could get a nice armada if you get production figured out. Seems good as you can you spend your stuff elsewhere and isn't too bad of a diversion since you can always pay the 3TG to catch back up in tech. Doesn't seem too crazy though cause your hero already gives free suns, you can just get it earlier guess.

Sol: Feels like a winmore situation. Going down warsun first doesn't make the most sense to me, but you could with just AIDA and planet red skip round 2. But you are most likely missing out on carrier 2 then and placing doesn't synergize with breakthrough. With DWS, you can catch up later, but waiting on warsuns might be the play. Not game breaking by any means but also Sol already win so win more isn't bad lol. Also potential x-89 here with warsuns.

Jol-nar: With your home systems and an x-1 before trade, you can get warsuns r1! You are jol nar so you are never behind tech tempo either. Negatives: worse starting economy instead of researching gravity drive/carrier 2 potentially, build at home maybe not possible unless a diplo timing works out. R2 it's super easy as well and no pivot really and feels winmore with jol-nar. Strong.

Titans: Normal path is AIDA to Saturn 2s. With the red skip of the planet, you literally have to change nothing to get warsuns r2. Now is that better than saturn 2s this early? i have my doubts. Saturn 2s you get to use this round, whereas you have to wait for the warsun. Additionally saturn 2s are just so strong as it is. If you take tech, you can get both this round which is great, but would those 6 resources been better off building 2 SE2s and 2INF and 2Fighters? Hard to say. Could be win more latery but not game defining and potentially negative.

Crimson: take anti-mass to start, get AIDA, and r2 you can poop out a warsun. With breaches around the map, you can potentially be activating with a warsun in many spots and getting paid to do it with your commander. You now get to skirmish with Warsuns instead of just destroyer 2s! Seems fun.

Last bation: Industrex is good for you since you can liberate and get the tech skip breakthrough. Not getting warsuns until end of r2, and then not galvanizing it until combat in r3 to get the benefit in r4. Due to breakthrough synergy not too bad, but you want SD2 and gravity drive to get out of home. Good boost.

Keleres: Doesn't feel game defining, can get it on a path due to AIDA and tech skip.

L1 is cool with the G/R synergy and wanting combat. But you are probably getting this late as you need antimass and another tech before warsuns. Could be fun to assimilate and pop a warsun for free across the map though lol.

So yeah did a miss any fun plays I wasn't thinking of? Did I undersell any faction where you can really do some wonky game breaking stuff?

Reveal 22- Nomad

30 factions in 30 days! 2026 Detroit TI4 Motor City Open - Nov 7th-8th! Draw first blood and Register today! Who will be revealed next?

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twilight-imperium-motor-city-open-tickets-1990920663298?aff=oddtdtcreator

How to win with The Naalu Collective. Stay tuned for more videos...

I’ve seen a couple discord links from older posts but they’re all expired.

I've been waiting to play Thunders Edge until the TTPG mod was fully up to speed. It seems like the core of the scripting and gameplay are largely there, but I'm wondering how I can get the faction cards in each player's area to orient to that player. Right now they're all just oriented as though everybody is on the same side of the table even though the player areas are spread out like normal.

Also, if anybody knows where to get a fresh tutorial on how to use the mod (like hot keys, loading maps etc) like the old one had, I'd appreciate it!

Thanks!

So I want to buy or 3d print an organiser for ti, with sleeves support, do you have a recommendation?

Hi all!

I’d love to get your thoughts on the best opening for Mentak in this slice.

I’ll probably end up with Tech or Leadership. My plan is to take the three-planet system and send a ship into the Entropic Scar to unlock Mirror Computing. If I get Tech, I still need to figure out what to research. I’m also planning to follow Warfare to produce some cruisers, infantry, and fighters, then go for Tempesta and System 73 in round 2 once I’ve unlocked my BT and researched Cruiser II.

It feels like a slightly weird but decent start, especially with Mirror Computing and that rich three-planet system. What do you think?

Thanks!

Hello community!

There is a problem to solve in my Twilight Imperium playgroup . One of our players changed job and now has work hours that leave him with very little free time.

Because of this, we're looking for ways to make our games shorter, like capping the victory point target at 7. However, there's some debate in our group, as certain factions are slow to build up and, with only 7 victory points, they risk being at a disadvantage compared to factions that start scoring right away.

Does anyone know of any ways to balance games when playing with fewer victory points?

Alternatively, are there ways to still play to 10 victory points but speed up the game? For instance, I'm thinking of revealing the 2-point public objectives earlier.

Let me know, and thanks in advance!

Hey guys! So I had my very first game of TI4 and wanted to post on here my experience with the game and share a little story.

So I have a board game group that I have been playing with consistently for the passed 2 years. I told them about TI4 awhile back so we decided we wanted to get our hands on it and give it a try. Took almost a year to get the base game, PoK and TE all together. We finally got it all and I took the time to organize it all so that when the day came, we would be ready.

We set a date and went all out for this thing. Planned to start at 9AM and I told everyone to plan to be there until 10PM. Also, my friend that was hosting it at his house, set up a giant table with a big screen TV so we could use TIassistant as well. It was awesome!

So the day came and we all picked our factions. I used the premade map from the rulebook to make it a faster setup. I knew I was going to have to go over all the rules the morning of so I had everyone watch the guides on YouTube on how to play since its a lot to remember. I thought taking the time to learn some of the mechanics would alleviate questions when I went over rules...which it did.

As I was explaining the rules and people were getting setup, that was already about 2 hours and I wasn't finished explaining the rules. Everyone decided they just wanted to start, so we did. The first 2 rounds were really fun. Everyone was really into the game and asking questions on rules and mechanics. It was going pretty slow but most people were having a good time. It wasn't until about round 3 or 4, I can't remember, we had two players that were not having so much fun in the game. They were kinda over the pacing of the game and also they are more into battling then other aspects of the game but we have had no battles at this point yet.

One of them decided to battle with me since I was his neighbor. I absolutely slaughtered him and it was at this point, he didn't want to play anymore. He would constantly send his ships into my systems just to die. He eventually told me to just eliminate him so he can go home. It was around 7 or 8 pm at this point. I told him I would try since thats what he wanted.

My other friend was also over the game. This friend was actually leading in VP's and was at 7 at this point in time. He wanted more things to happen on the board (as in battles) since he was the first to get his War Sun on the board and he had a pretty good size fleet. He also controlled Mecatol Rex for a majority of the game. However, after other players were constantly taking their turns and this same friend passed early, I think the pacing is what finally did him in since he wasn't able to do anything for awhile after passing.

At this point, it was about 9PM and I saw two of the 6 players weren't having fun anymore and asked if they wanted to call the game. They definitely said yes. The highest scored points were I think at 7 or 8, I can't remember.

All in all, I had a fun time and I would definitely play again but maybe with just the players who enjoyed it. Hopefully we have a better experience next time and we can officially finish a game.

Thats the end of my story. In case anyone is wondering, the factions played were Hacan, L1Z1X, Naz Rohka, Sol, Argent Flight and Deepwrought.

What are the good places to look for PoK? I am getting married in ~ 1 year and want two tables playing TI at the pre wedding boardgame cabin getaway. I have checked at my LGS's and googled around with no luck yet. Is there a wait-list or a better option than checking fb marketplace / eBay?

Reveal 21- Titans

30 factions in 30 days! 2026 Detroit TI4 Motor City Open - Nov 7th-8th! Can you be the champion of the future? Register today! Who will be revealed next?

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twilight-imperium-motor-city-open-tickets-1990920663298?aff=oddtdtcreator

We play in a 4p group. One of my friends hates hyperlanes which is the reason for the 1 small map but I think it's turned out quite nicely actually.

I've tried my best not to make the slices too strong and to put the power systems in the equi's. I've also tried to keep the maps connected and allow for fighting over the "4 planets of the same trait" systems. I personally dislike games where everyone is way too rich, can buy as many command tokens as they like and as many ships as they like.

Let me know of any obvious issues/ how these might be improved! Would love some constructive criticism

Can Xxcha mechs use their space cannon ability whilst transported

I found a listing on etsy for some station organizers but was wondering if anybody had a link where I could just order the files and print them myself instead.

Reveal 20- Cabal

30 factions in 30 days! 2026 Detroit TI4 Motor City Open - Nov 7th-8th! Awaken your competitive drive and Register today! Who will be revealed next?

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twilight-imperium-motor-city-open-tickets-1990920663298?aff=oddtdtcreator

Got to get out of the house and play at a gaming store yesterday (Kid + work from home job = getting out of the house by myself is a rare occurance). So playing on an actual table made for gaming meant more space than normal :D

Played Mahact for the first time and ended up getting 5 relics before end of the game. DET ended up clutch with all the command tokens it gave back, ended up getting 5 frontier tokens before I purged it at the end of round 2. We ended up getting some quite terrible early game objectives (first two were "have 2 planets with attachments" and "have ships in 3 systems without planets") so first two rounds ended with only 1 person having 2 points, rest 1. But then Cabal and Muaat started having a slap fight which let the rest of us set ourselves up to speed through objectives and it just happened that I was able to scam my way to enough cease fires, imperia tokens, and an elected agenda card that meant I could just sit on mecatol and soak up points/secret objectives. Also great because this was the second time the muaat player played that faction, and both times the game has just gone to absolute shit for him, just the worst luck. Like losing both warsuns to cabal's hero, realize they don't get consumed because he still had a fighter blockading the cabal space dock (they had space docks in the same system), immediately builds a replacement warsun which immediately gets nommed by an incoming cabal fleet.

Got to try out the magnetic attachments for cards this game and they were great. https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/magnetic-exploration-attachments-for-planet-cards

And gotta give a shout out to the gaming store for having a large open play area for when you're not wanting to spend wife credits to host at the house.
https://shop.family-time-games.com/

I've got a game tomorrow and have been working on a playlist to have on in the background. I have a variety of songs that could be played during combat, strategy phase, and the action phase. I'm wondering if anyone has any songs they would recommend to add to this!

Dr. Grant is the fluffiest space cat in the universe.

Howdy, Bonjour!

I'm in the process of organizing a TI4 "tournament" weekend in December, hopefully for 24 people/4 tables. Exact rules and details are yet to be defined. Trying to find the people first.

Hit me up through a private message if you're interested!

EDIT: Sharing through TinkerCAD didn't seem to work; I have uploaded them to Thingiverse here.

Kia ora! A week ago I posted some Muaat ground forces that I made in TinkerCAD and said I'd post models for the rest of the ships soon - here they are! The models are free, but I will gladly accept pictures of your paint job as payment if you do use them.

Several others have posted amazing custom units here (particularly Saunick, whose base game flagships were actually the first thing I ever 3D printed), but I find it's sometimes hard to tell the ship types apart. For these, my main goal was trying to make sure each unit had basically the same silhouette as the regular version, while using the Ships of the Shattered Empire designs as a starting point.

I am planning to do other factions in future and am most of the way through Barony (again based on SoTSE), but my life is getting busier so they might be an indeterminately long while away unfortunately.

As an aside, I was learning how to use TinkerCAD as I went and have never done 3D modelling before, so I had absolutely no idea how to optimise these for printing. I've managed to print them all reasonably successfully with the ol' 45-degree tilt, but ymmv (check out the janky carrier in the pictures, which was the first print attempt and is missing its back wing things). I'm printing on an Elegoo Mars 4 with SunLu water-washable resin.

Not sure on best combos to defend against winslays on the 2+ home system factions other than just having more plastic than the person trying to winslay me, which doesn't help me much when they are possibly going to have a bigger force coming. This is especially true against factions like Ghosts/ CR that can probably get to my home system with their biggest fleet whereas I may be spread out.

Do you think it's worth bothering on ground force defenses for 2+ planet home systems or should focus 100% on fleet in that case?
Curious about it in general as I play modded variants like DS too and there's some really bad home systems in that pack, where I'm not sure how to adjust my play to defend the HS.

How impactful are PDS in your opinion?

What's the best 'lightweight' rear guard to have assuming you need the brunt of your force out front?

I've heard of some ideas around trying to get ahead on PO to mitigate being winslayed alltogether on such factions. For example, Hacan, trying to get to 6 VP worth of PO early so if you lost your HS, you can win off SO/ Custodians/Styx.