Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy

Chuck (Black), Doug (Green), and Tim (Green) played Eclipse. With three players, there is a Guardian occupying what would have been a home world system between each player – in addition to any Ancients discovered. These Guardians can be quite formidable, even more so than the Ancients. This does a good job of keeping the empires separated at the beginning of the game, leaving more time to build an empire’s strength. However, by the end of the game, the three empires had filled their portions of the galaxy and were facing off in the galactic center as normal. A wormhole connecting Tim’s and Chuck’s system would open a new front, but Tim’s offensive through the wormhole – though securing the system on Chuck’s side – did not gain much territory.

Doug’s forces were first to enter the Galactic Center, quickly vanquishing its defender. However, Chuck would counterattack the next turn. Doug researched an Artifact Key after the invasion, however, giving him a vast quantity of Resources that he used to build a number of Starbases and Cruisers to stiffen his defenses of the Galactic Center, catching the invaders off guard. However, Doug moved a couple Cruisers to a neighboring, 4-point system to pick-up some extra points. The final battle for the Galactic Center saw Chuck’s two Dreadnaughts and one Cruiser facing Doug’s two Dreadnaughts and two Starbases.  Doug’s forces carried heavier weapons, but Chuck’s forces had better shields. In a shocking outcome, Chuck’s outnumbered and out-teched force was victorious!

Victory in the GC would lead to victory in the game for Chuck! He finished with 43 points (Systems – 20, Reputation – 15, Tech – 0, and Discovery Tiles – 8). Doug would come in 2^nd with 37 (Systems – 13, Reputation – 10, Tech – 10, and Discovery Tiles – 4) and Tim would come in third with 23 (Systems – 12, Reputation – 8, Tech – 3, and Discovery Tiles – 0). The 8-point swing caused by Chuck’s successful conquest of the Galactic Center proved decisive (Doug should not have moved the Cruisers out of the GC, as they would have provided the firepower needed to hold the line).