Trade

**TRADE GOODS AND TRADE AGREEMENTS**

Trading is an important avenue for players to gain additional resources and influence. Trade can be used as important political leverage against hostile players or to help seal an important alliance.

**THE TRADE GOODS COUNTERS**

Players may spend Trade Good counters (TGs) from their Trade Goods area as a substitute for spending either one resource or one influence. In this way, a player can pay for a Dreadnought unit by spending 5 Trade Goods from his Trade Goods area, or by exhausting Planet Cards for 3 resources, and paying the remaining 2 resources with Trade Goods (etc). When a player spends a Trade Good, he simply moves it from his Trade Goods area to the common play area.

Players are allowed to give other players Trade Goods from their Race Sheet at any time. This makes the Trade Goods counter a flexible currency with which to bribe, pay, or assist other players economically.

Trade Goods are unlimited. If the tokens run out, players should use replacement tokens.

Trade goods are received through Trade Agreements when the Trade Strategy Card is activated.

**TRADE AGREEMENTS**

At the beginning of the game, each race is provided with two Trade Cards, each with a numerical trade value printed on the “trade agreement” side of the card (you may notice that some races have Trade Cards of differing trade values). At the beginning of the game, players should place these cards with the “Trade Contract“ side up in their playing area. This side has no trade value, as players derive no value from their own Trade Cards. The agreements only have value when given to other players.

**OPENING TRADE AGREEMENTS**

When the primary ability of the Trade Strategy Card is being resolved during the Action Phase, the active player may allow players (himself included) to forge trade agreements. A trade agreement is initiated between two players who agree to trade with each other. Before a trade agreement can be completed, the agreement must first be approved by the active player, the “Trade Master”.

If approved (and that may take some bribes to the active player), the players may exchange Trade cards. Upon receiving another player’s Trade Card, a player should place it before him with the number side face up. This agreement is now active.

Since every race has only two Trade Cards, each player may only have two active trade agreements at any one time.

Two players may only make one trade agreement with each other. Thus, for a player to utilize both of his Trade Cards, he must make trade agreements with two different opponents. If able, a player may initiate both of his trade agreements during the same execution of a Trade Strategy Card.

**RECEIVING TRADE GOODS**

When the primary ability of the Trade Strategy Card is activated all players immediately place trade goods on their active trade agreements equal to their value.

Then the active player has a choice: He may either receive extra 3 Trade Goods or cancel all trade agreements in play. If he chooses the first option, he also collects all TGs that are currently on his agreements, for free. If he chooses to cancel all agreements in play, all players (including the active player) immediately collect half of the total TGs on their agreements (round down), discarding the rest.

After the active player has completed the primary ability, the other players, clockwise from the active player, may execute the secondary ability of the Trade Strategy Card to collect the Trade Goods from their active trade agreements. If a player opts not to use the secondary ability, the TGs stay on the agreements and can be collected the next time the Trade Strategy is activated.

Trade Goods on the players' agreements may not be used for any purpose. Only when the Trade Goods are collected and placed in the Trade Goods area of a player's race sheet may they be spent to buy units, Command Counters, given to other players and spent on Objectives.

**BREAKING TRADE AGREEMENTS**

Any player involved in a trade agreement may unilaterally break the agreement during the Status Phase. Such a player simply announces that he is ending the agreement and immediately returns the Trade Card to its owner and retrieves his own Trade Card from the former trading partner (a player’s own Trade Cards are always returned with the “Trade Contract” side face up, as they provide no trade value for their owner). If there are Trade Goods on the agreements, half of them (round down) are immediately collected for free.

It is not possible for a player to break a trade agreement with the Hacan race in this fashion, as per the Hacan's special ability.

War between trade partners immediately breaks the Trade Agreement. This happens if:

• A player moves ships into a system containing his trade partner’s ships

• A player invades or bombards a planet belonging to his trade partner

If there are Trade Goods on the contracts, the attacker discards all TGs from his contracts but the defender may collect all of his TGs for free. The two players may later open another trade agreement, but this will again be broken if another act of war occurs between them. Trade agreements with the Hacan player are also broken in the event of open war between the Hacan and their trading partner.

Note that only Space Battles and Invasion Combat will automatically break a trade agreement between two players. Playing Action Cards or taking shots with a PDS, etc., does not cause an automatic break. Invading a planet that contains only an enemy Control Marker is still considered an invasion for purposes of cancelling trade agreements.