During the Heats, all games will be either 3- or 4-player. Due to popular demand, the Heat time block has been reduced to two hours, so 3-player games will be preferred to help ensure timely finishes. Please bring a copy of the game, as the increased number of 3-player tables will require additional sets.

Winning a 4-player game in the Heats will give you a tie-breaker advantage over winners of 3-player games. However, a single win in a 4-player game does not outrank a win in a 3-player game paired with a second place finish in another heat.

The basic game with the four “updated technology” cards (from the expansion) will be used. No other cards from the expansion will be used. We will use the basic side of the faction mats and the standard method for discovering new technologies. During the Heats, the non-updated technology cards can be used if the updated cards are not available and everyone at the table agrees. The updated cards are required for the Semifinal and Final.

For the Heats, the starting faction and the starting order will be determined randomly. For the Semifinal and Final, the starting faction and the starting position will be paired and there will be an auction to bid for the faction/position pair.

When revealing technology cards while searching for the chosen technology color, everyone at the table is allowed to see the cards that are discarded. Remember only the discarded cards are shuffled (not the whole deck) and put at the bottom of the deck. The game as printed associate certain colors with each faction. During this tournament, this association will be ignored (e.g. the “United Nations of Sol” doesn’t have to play blue).

Throughout the event, family members will be separated unless it is impossible to avoid.

Ties within games will be broken by the following:

1. The player with the fewest remaining food and ore production discs on their player mat (Not automated discs)
2. The player with the highest number of remaining population cubes
3. The player with the highest number of remaining ore
4. The player with the most achievements completed
5. The player going later in the turn order

After the three heats, the players will be ranked using the HEATS: MOST WINS - POINTS standard tie-breakers with a GM specific tie-breaker.

Assuming at least 32 total players, the top 16 players will qualify for the Semifinal. If there are fewer than 32 total players, the Semifinal count will be the largest multiple of four that is less than or equal to half the total number of players. Alternates may be taken in ranked order to fill the Semifinal slots as needed up to the next multiple of four. The top four seeds from the heats will be separated for the Semifinal as much as possible.

If there are not enough alternates to fill the full field of 16 in the Semifinal (which happened in the previous two years), then a mix of 3- or 4-player games will be used to accommodate all the players. The top seeds will be given their choice of a 3- or 4-player game in the order of the seeds (this is different from the previous years when the 3-player games were randomly chosen).

Final placement for non-finalists (5th and 6th place if the final is a four player game) will be determined by finishing position in the Semifinal, determined by the GM-specific tie-breaker

HEATS: MOST WINS - POINTS (HMW-P):

1. Most Wins (e.g., total in all heats entered)
2. Total Points – Players earn the following pints in each heat they entered:
   • 1st Place - 1,000 points
   • 2nd Place - 100 points
   • 3rd Place - 10 points
   • 4th Place - 1 points
   • All other places - 0 points
   • e.g. player has a 1st, 2nd, and 4th in three heats: total points would be 1,101
3. GM Specific Tie-breaker:
   1. 90 points for a win in a 4-player game, 9 points for a second place in a 4-player game
   2. For wins (your score/second place score)
   3. For non-wins (your score/winning score)
4. High dice roll.

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