1

Diff’y Traits summary

Faction
Impact Play this if you…
SPECIES
Diff’y Traits summary
Faction
Impact Play this if you…

2 Colonies produce twice. Bids for colonies halved.

Plutocracy
0 Are comfortable choosing a path without landmarks.
CAYLION 3 Projects need votes. Loan project cards for votes.
Collaborative Are a charismatic new player who wants to be the
3*
focus of a game with experienced players.

Interest converters replicate cubes. You cannot run

5
them.
Ascendancy
Are skilled at reading others’ game state and finding
1
ENI ET opportunity in it.

4 Services halve economic input rounded up.

Engineers Are observant and can search the table looking for
0
ideal uses of their services.

Relic worlds with special effects. Trade

3
acknowledgements for possible future VPs.
Conclave
Enjoy being surprised and discovering strange play
0
styles mid-game.
FADERAN
Powerful bids. Fast inventions. No Sharing Bonus or
7
Society of inventions unless given away with regret.
Falling Light Enjoy building an unwieldy economy and making
2
challenging trades.

4 No colonies. Economy needs fleet support.

Nomads
0 Are comfortable with complex bargains.
IM’DRIL No colonies. Factories enhance colony output. Static
5
Grand Fleet fleet support limits growth.

0 Can scrounge up an economy for the late game.

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Split colony bids. Establish or upgrade powerful

2
Directorate territories by burning colonies.

KJASJA- 0 Enjoy analysis and puzzles.

VIKALIMM Initially produces mostly donations. Hungry for
4
Independent donations and others’ tech.
Nations
0 Can trade quickly at a loss to get resources moving.

1 Lots of colonies. Split starting converters.

Adhocracy Desire a razor-sharp focus on your goals and the tools
0
to negotiate for them.
KT’ZR
’KT’RTL Split starting converters. Kit research teams. Kit tech
5
upgrades starting cards.
Technophiles
Are skilled at getting others to invest in your tech by
1
showing how they’ll be beneficial to their strategies.

5 Wild input. Wild output. Eats colonies of any climate.

Unity Can make challenging negotiations trading quality for
0
quantity at an apparent profit.
UNITY
2* Dice rolls determine economy. Wild input and output.
Deep Unity Want clear short-term objectives and to trade in the
0
moment.

6 License inventions. Reduced sharing bonus.

Society
0 Enjoy paying attention to many things at once.

YENGII Gets VPs by selling constraints that prevent consuming

4
a resource while making more of it.
Jii
Are skilled at finding creative ways to help opponents
2*
overcome their limitations.

3 Get bribed or steal. Envoys make theft cheaper.

Anocracy
2 Are good at being mean and pretending to be scary.

ZETH Others have undesirables that only you can run. Cross
5
Charity colonization gets upgrades and VPs.
Syndicate Are comfortable with many urgent goals that need
1
convoluted trades.
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CAYLION PLUTOCRACY
Colonies produce twice. Bids for colonies halved.

Difficulty: 2 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 1 Colonies: 3

Background
Photosynthetic. Sessile. Mastered drones. Turned oceans into farms. Mined moons.
Uprooting yourselves to visit and colonise other worlds, to compete with the motile aliens.

Traits
+ White converters on colonies run twice in each Economy Phase. Each seedling token is
traded and/or discarded with its colony. Exceptions: starting colony, received in trade.
- Bids for colonies are halved.

Advice
● Get ships to get colonies quickly. Odd 5+ bids ensure getting a colony each round.
● Get colonies that all make the same resource once upgraded – for research teams.
● Upgrade colonies early.
● Trade colonies based on their output for the remaining game.
● Receive jungle colonies in trade to upgrade starting cards.

CAYLION COLLABORATIVE
Projects need votes. Loan project cards for votes.

Difficulty: 3 Impact: 3* Tiebreaker: 0 Colonies: 3

Background
Photosynthetic. Sessile. Can’t flee from danger. See the universe as within reach vs beyond.
Instead of uprooting and fragmenting, attract alien investment to become the central focus.

Traits
- Activating projects needs votes from others, e.g. in exchange for loaning project cards.
Loaned cards are further tradeable. You have 1 vote while everyone else gets 2.
= You can refuse votes and/or activation. Used / unused votes are returned at round end.
+ Activated project cards are returned (if traded) and upgraded at round end.

Advice
● Buy votes considering the productivity of project cards, ideally for just a small cube.
● Ensure a fair share of the profit from activating a project. Consider votes / cards ratio.
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ENI ET ASCENDANCY
Interest converters replicate cubes. You cannot run them.

Difficulty: 5 Impact: 1 Tiebreaker: 3 Colonies: 3

Background
Whale-like squids under iced-up oceans. Neolithic materials. Advanced sociology.
Inter-species charities pool limited resources for the common good, investing to influence.

Traits
= Interest converters replicate cubes of the same colour but you cannot run them.

Advice
● Loan interest converters to whoever can run them for around half their productivity.
Help acquire the input, or trade the package. Spread the wealth for mutual enrichment.
● Delay upgrading them until resources aren’t scarce and points are more in demand.
● Research teams compete with interest converters for input – multiple identical cubes.

ENI ET ENGINEERS
Services halve economic input rounded up.

Difficulty: 4 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 1.5 Colonies: 3

Background
Alien technology is a gift but inefficient. You can reduce wastefulness to return the favour.

Traits
+ You produce service tokens that attach to a white arrow to halve its input rounded up.

Advice
● Trade service tokens for an ongoing portion of the output of converters that otherwise
wouldn’t be run. Return should be proportional to input reduction - S for L, L for 2S etc.
● Value of service tokens reduces in proportion to rounds left to benefit from them.
● If inventions are slow, flip starting cards by burning colonies to boost your economy.
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FADERAN CONCLAVE
Relic worlds with special effects. Trade acknowledgements for possible future VPs.

Difficulty: 3 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 7 Colonies: 4

Background
Ancient. Futility of action in geologic time scale. Sabotaged Kjas’ and Kit’s interstellar tech.
Persuaded species to build a joint equal society with the promise of shared technology.

Traits
+ Face down shuffled deck of relic worlds can be drawn from by running the converter on
the back in the Trade Phase once per round. Each offers a special effect. Loanable.
+ You can trade acknowledgement tokens to others but they cannot trade them further.
When someone invents a tech, they return a token and you get a victory point.

Advice
● Acquire ice colonies to get relic worlds out early in the game, and adapt to their effects.
● Mid-game, trade acknowledgements with a cube, especially toward inventions.
● Streamline late game trades by getting paid in VPs through acknowledgements.

SOCIETY OF FALLING LIGHT

Powerful bids. Fast inventions. No Sharing Bonus or inventions unless given away with regret.

Difficulty: 7 Impact: 2 Tiebreaker: -1 Colonies: 8

Background
A dying Faderan faction scattered on the galactic rim. Seeks to end the corrupting Faderan
influence on younger species; to rip up the Confluence leaving all aliens to their own fates.

Traits
+ You can split your research team bids into half.
+ In bidding, players pick in order of fewer to more regret before considering bid sizes.
= Research team inputs are halved rounded up; output VPs are halved rounded down.
- You don’t share inventions, gain tech invented by others nor score the Sharing Bonus.
+ Invented teams get regret tokens. You can trade them together to gain the current
Sharing Bonus. Regret scores -1 VP at game end and cannot be traded further.

Advice
● Spread regret evenly, then trade your bids i.e. the right to choose and gain the item.
● Frequently invent mutually upgrading era II+ tech that eats large cubes / octagons.
● Trade invented teams with part of their input or roughly 1 small per Sharing Bonus.
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IM’DRIL NOMADS
No colonies. Economy needs fleet support.

Difficulty: 4 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 8 Colonies: 0

Background
Rich culture of artists and explorers. Genetic lineages with inherited instinctual skills.
A deep history with bad records. An inflexible economy with limited raw resource production.

Traits
- Can bid on colonies but only to consume or trade them before the Economy Phase.
= Establish any fleet by running its top violet converter in the Trade Phase.
- Economic converters need the specified fleets to run, can be from across fleet cards.

Advice
● Focus on building your economy instead of inventing in the early game. Trade for
resources now by overpaying for them in the next round. Build your fleet just in time.

GRAND FLEET
No colonies. Factories enhance colony output. Static fleet support limits growth.

Difficulty: 5 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 5.5 Colonies: 0

Background
An exceptionally inviting and wealthy fleet among the Im’dril.
Thrilled to join the Confluence but apprehensive about being swallowed by it.

Traits
- Can bid on colonies but only to consume or trade them before the Economy Phase.
+ You create orbital factories that can be freely traded and permanently attached to
colonies to enhance their output.
- Economy is capped as converters need fleets to run and you have only the 5 starters.

Advice
● Limited growth options: invent tech early, loan others’ cards ideally permanently, loan
resources for a higher return in the next round or a recurring supply each round.
● Orbital factories have decaying value with remaining rounds. Package with colonies.
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KJASJAVIKALIMM DIRECTORATE
Split colony bids. Establish or upgrade powerful territories by burning colonies.

Difficulty: 2 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 6 Colonies: 6

Background
Militaristic nations begrudgingly allied to subvert the meddling Faderan’s Confluence.
Pheromones enable extreme synergy within Kjas nations but the aliens smell suspicious.

Traits
+ An extra colony available for bidding. Can split colony bids in halves.
+ Instate any territory tile by running its top converter in the Trade Phase.

Advice
● Collect colonies through bidding and trade to instate and upgrade territories.
● Don’t burn colonies for converters that you can’t run this round.

KJAS INDEPENDENT NATIONS

Initially produces mostly donations. Hungry for donations and others’ tech.

Difficulty: 4 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 7.5 Colonies: 5

Background
A loose coalition of pariahs collaborating with the aliens to spite the Directorate.

Traits
= Starts with a research team in outgoing donations.
- Cubes produced by starting cards and colonies are all donations.
- 2 starting cards only accept others’ donations as input, though regardless of colour.
- Starting cards upgraded only by burning others’ tech, i.e. not returned at round end.

Advice
● Quickly get others’ donations in the Trade Phase, sweeten the deal by taking a loss.
● Pay to quickly launder your donations into legitimate consumables for yourself.
● Help others invent donation-producing tech.
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KT’ZR’KT’RTL ADHOCRACY
Lots of colonies. Split starting converters.

Difficulty: 1 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: ∞ Colonies: ∞

Background
Erratic. Eager. Frenetic. Myopic. The Faderan sabotaged the nullspace drive you invented to
solve overpopulation. On the Confluence: ‘The future is in chaotic flux, and it is awesome!’

Traits
- Starting converters are split into 2 cards that each need to be upgraded individually.
= Colonise any colony from your nullspace deck: run its top converter in the Trade Phase.
+ Infinite colony support and always win colony bid ties even if you have more colonies.

Advice
● Make lots of ships early for favourable bidding, or collect yellows to establish
nullspace colonies that you have the continuous economic input for.
● Trade nullspace colonies in exchange for their top input and a profit in the Trade Phase.
● If anyone is consuming a colony and its remaining output is worth it, get it from them in
exchange for a matching nullspace colony (costing you a yellow) plus an incentive.

KT’ZR’KT’RTL TECHNOPHILES
Split starting converters. Kit research teams. Kit tech upgrades starting cards.

Difficulty: 5 Impact: 1 Tiebreaker: 10 Colonies: 3

Background
A chaotic maelstrom of disparate ideas and goals. Leap to brilliant but convoluted solutions.
ADHD. Responsibility for what’s here and now, not for consequences. Test bounds of reality.

Traits
- Starting converters are split into 2 cards that each need to be upgraded individually.
= Recruit any Kit research team in the Trade Phase by running its top violet converter.
- Resulting inventions by you need an extra octagon that others are exempt from.
+ These techs when available to you by invention or sharing can upgrade starting cards.
+ Retrocontinuity tech treats one white arrow as violet per Trade Phase (except Eni Et
interest and Caylion projects) but these cards can’t be consumed in the same phase.

Advice
● Upgrade starting cards by facilitating inventions of your tech: offer the team plus a
little help to invent for a bit more than the top input. Match tech to species’ handicaps.
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UNITY
Wild input. Wild output. Eats colonies of any climate.

Difficulty: 5 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 4 Colonies: 1

Background
Imagination trapped in simulations. A minority concerned with the physical and mechanical
join the Confluence in their struggle for relevance amongst their own and the new aliens.

Traits
+ Most converters eat cubes of any colour of matching size, and spit out wild cubes.
+ Installing computer worlds and upgrading some starting cards consumes a colony of
any climate. You support only 1 colony but can consume extras in the Trade Phase.

Advice
● Usually Economy is the get rich phase and Trade determines resource types. For you,
Economy determines cube colours, so use Trade to make profits, however small.
● Set up computer worlds early to recycle unwanted cubes from others.
● Since you’ll take any cubes, offer what others need for future paybacks with a markup.

DEEP UNITY
Dice rolls determine economy. Wild input and output.

Difficulty: 2* Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 𝛑 Colonies: 3

Background
Infinite fractal universes. Populated to the brim. Every possible reality churning within.
Consider the aliens to be simple, unsophisticated, unidimensional, minimalist.

Traits
+ Some converters eat cubes of any colour of matching size, some make wild cubes.
= Cards and tiles are in play based on dice rolls in setup and at the beginning of each
Confluence Phase, with 4 economic converters always available. Double rolls flip the
respective card while triple rolls also flip the singular starting card.
+ Dice manipulation cards are planted by consuming tech - each can be reassigned
multiple times to different cards in the Trade Phase, changing the available converters.

Advice
● Run your converters using loaned cubes, since you output most of your input.
● Manipulate dice for flexibility in your demand / supply: switch to most apt converters.
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YENGII SOCIETY
License inventions. Reduced sharing bonus.

Difficulty: 6 Impact: 0 Tiebreaker: 5 Colonies: 3

Background
4 unrelated crystalline species whose mutual dependence precludes evil action.
The aliens have terrifying individual autonomy, so you share your tech only with safe species.

Traits
+ Don’t share your inventions but gain others’ inventions. Get a smaller sharing bonus.
+ You can permanently license your tech as part of a trade, even as soon as its invention.

Advice
● Quickly invent tech that consumes the oversupply and produces what’s in demand.
● License tech early to many players for a small supply of cubes.
● Get multiple players to contribute to your inventions in exchange for their licenses.
● Challenge is converting cubes to points – prioritise producing VPs and inventions.

YENGII JII
Gets VPs by selling constraints that prevent consuming a resource while making more of it.

Difficulty: 4 Impact: 2* Tiebreaker: 6.5 Colonies: 3

Background
A philosophy to constrain individuals’ ability instead of choice. Destroy authority and control.
Collective action based on collective assessment. Without empathy manipulating judgement.

Traits
- Trade away Jii constraints to get Yengii Sharing Bonus up to twice per round. Can’t be
traded away by others. That player and their loaned away cards (except Eni Et interest
and Caylion projects) can’t consume that resource but they produce more of it.

Advice
● Early game constraints are mostly beneficial as research teams have options for input.
● As economies develop, constraints diminish in value and have growing repercussions.
● Sell constraints for in-demand resources to players whose economies don’t use them.
● Make ongoing deals to accept the constrained resource for your excess supply.
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ZETH ANOCRACY
Get bribed or steal. Envoys make theft cheaper.

Difficulty: 3 Impact: 2 Tiebreaker: 2 Colonies: 3

Background
Primitive, iron age. Devious. Prone to theft, manipulation, blackmail, extortion. Fear racket.

Traits
- Envoys factory’s output is traded or donated as a package including an Envoy token.
= You can trade envoy tokens to others but they cannot trade them further.
+ After each Confluence Phase red stealing converters steal cubes of any colour but
specified size from players you didn’t trade with this round – use Danger / Safe tokens
to track. Each converter steals from a different player. Envoys make theft cheaper.

Advice
● Sell Envoys’ output early, even in a prior round, to minimise loss.
● Get bribed by each player each round through a profitable trade in exchange for safety.
● Steal from unyielding players, maximise economic damage to make an example.
● Multi-turn trades offer multi-turn protection, so account for that in what you charge.

CHARITY SYNDICATE
Others have undesirables that only you can run. Cross colonization gets upgrades and VPs.

Difficulty: 5 Impact: 1 Tiebreaker: 4.5 Colonies: 0

Background
Burned by disenfranchisement and slavery. Fomenting rebellion by society’s undesirables.

Traits
- Others have undesirable cards only they can upgrade but only you can run up to a limit.
+ Colony bid track short by 1 player. Fix cross colonization tokens on colonies by winning
bids. Discards move tokens to the next colony. When someone takes a colony with
tokens, upgrade starting cards. When they discard it, get a VP and the tokens back.

Advice
● Pay a fee to run undesirables for yourself or charge a fee to run them for others.
● Upgraded undesirables make for similar mutually beneficial recurring trades.
● Incentivise players to take your cross colonization tokens and consume those colonies
or sell them to you to be discarded at the beginning of the Economy Phase.