Simulated Early Turns

Simulated Early Turns is an option introduced in the Shattered Empire Expansion that allows players to speed through the first few turns of the game 
To simulate the early turns of a game, the following steps are completed in order (after setting up the Game Board) 
=== 1 - Claim Territory ===
Starting with the Speaker and proceeding clockwise, each player places a Command Counter from their reinforcements on a system 
The first system a player selects must be adjacent to their Home System
The second system a player selects must be adjacent to either their Home System or the first system they selected
=== 2 - Produce Units and Buy Technology ===
Starting with the Speaker and proceeding clockwise, each player receives resources equal to the Total number of resources provided by the planets in their Home System +3
These resources may be used to build additional starting units and/or acquire 1 Technology
* Each Technology costs 4 resources (cannot be reduced) and players must have the necessary prerequisites 
* Players cannot purchase Race-Specific Technologies
* Players that start with Trade Goods may use them when building additional starting units.
* A player cannot keep any unused resources generated during this step.
=== 3 - Place Units ===
Starting with the Speaker and proceeding clockwise, each player places their starting units in their home system and then in any system which they placed a command counter in Step 1
Each player may only place a Space Dock on one of their Home System planets
Fighters, Ground Forces, and PDS Units can only be placed in non-Home Systems that a player controls if the total Capacity among ships in the system is equal to or greater than the total number of Fighters, Ground Forces, and PDS Units being placed there
=== 4 - Receive Planets ===
Each player receives the planet cards of each planet with at least 1 Ground Force on it.
Each player removes their Command Counters from the board and places them back in their reinforcements.
=== 5 - Reveal Objectives ===
Reveal the top card from the Public Objective deck and place it in the Common Play Area.
=== 6 - Abbreviated First Turn Status Phase ===
Each player receives 1 Action card and refreshes their planets
Players may use Refresh Abilities on planets they control
=== Other Rules ===
Players may not use any special abilities or technologies while simulating the early turns of the game
If using the Shattered Empire Variant Strategy Cards, players may, at any time, discard a Political Card from their hand instead of spending 1 Trade Good when building units if using the Assembly Strategy Card 
Following Simulated Early Turns, players then proceeds to the first Strategy Phase as normal
== FAQ ==
Q: How does the Simulated Early Turns option work with the Distant Suns option?
A: The Distant Suns counters should be set up after the simulated early turns procedure, on all planets not under a player’s control