Space combat occurs after jumping a fleet into a system with unfriendly fleets. Ground combat occurs when invading an unfriendly system. A combat is fought in rounds, until one side is destroyed or, in space only, retreats. In space, each Shield will absorb one hit per round. Thus, it takes four hits to do any damage at all to a fleet with three Shields.
Owners assign losses and, in space, check cargo capacity before beginning the next round of combat.
Expansion - one regular jump, followed by one scan or survey jump. Each player has a hand of five action chits, one of which can be played each turn. These allow extra jumps, research, local production, etc. The goal is to take a set number of systems. The Throneworld is worth six systems.