Game Tips for Core Worlds

6

garbled {Avid Gamer}

Mar 15th, 2014| Strategy

46 of 49 gamers found this helpful

“There are two ways to deck-thin!”

You can garrison units used in an attack by placing them under a world you just conquered (one per world). However, there is a less obvious way to deck thin. Simply deploy the units. If you are going for a fleet-heavy deck, deploy all your grunts and any other ground units you might have in-hand. This helps in two ways: 1) You don’t have the lesser cards in-deck. 2) Near the end of the game, if you want to try for a 10/5 or 8/8 world, you might just have enough of the opposite out to pick up one of these extra core worlds.

6

Magno {Power Gamer}

Feb 26th, 2012| Strategy

46 of 50 gamers found this helpful

“Energy rush vs Unit drafting early game”

Core worlds is a management game that requires tough decisions in the early game that can indeed affect how you are going to perform in the middle sectors. The decision is even tough because it’s not possible to game whether to draft or set up up for Invasions because no one knows how many cards will be revealed in each new sector. So distill down your early game strategy to energy vs unit drafting. Invade too many planets up front you will have more energy than other folks but they will be able to max out the energy surge and have comparable energy to you.
Better to not worry to much about early game invasions for the tiny planets because you’d rather be setting up for late game VP maxing with one of the final planets.
Have a focused unit drafting strategy: fighters, robots, cruisers or infantry and plan to invade the last planets for that planet that gets you the extra VPs. Typical games will have VPs of 15-30, where the victor is separated by just a few VPs. If you don’t get that bonus planet because someone else was grabbed it before you, you might want to pay better attention to how other players were drafting or you usually should have a chance at the planet Ra.

6

garbled {Avid Gamer}

Mar 15th, 2014| Strategy

46 of 50 gamers found this helpful

“Plan your first move based on the core worlds”

At the top of your player board, is a list of the core worlds. You need to start planning before the very first turn as to which core world you want to go after. Look at the bonuses for each world. For example, if a world gives bonuses for starfighters, make sure you are primarily purchasing starfighters during the game. Also be sure that if you are going for one of the 14 worlds, that you use the ability to garrison units to deck thin the other type of unit (ie, if you need 14 ground, start garrisoning starfighters).

5

Brady Boothe {Avid Gamer}

May 4th, 2012| Tip

46 of 51 gamers found this helpful

“Read the Entire Rulebook”

Typically, this is something that I do anyway. But many people like to learn a game by just reading those sections that seem to be relevant to the portion of the game they are in.

For example, at the end of the rule book is a section about what to do at the end of the game. Since we were under a time constraint, we decided to go out of our normal method of game play and forego reading that section until we got to the last Sector. It was at that point that we discovered the Core Worlds vastly depend on what strategy you are pursuing through the earlier portions of the game. Had we known this, we likely would have made some different choices in what cards we would have drafted.

So, for those people who like to compartmentalize their learning of new games, I’d recommend avoiding that method for this one. Besides, the game is easy enough to learn that you won’t be inundating yourself with too many details.

10

Andy {Avid Gamer}

Feb 23rd, 2012| Rule

33 of 37 gamers found this helpful

“Should I Use the Pregame Draft (Sector 0)?”

Core Worlds includes a variant in the rulebook (along with 12 cards) for a pregame draft. The rules specifically suggest that you should only use this draft with experienced players.

Can I use the Pregame Draft in my first game, or with new players?

You can use it, but this is a case where I agree with the rulebook, wait until you have at least one game under your belt before using it.

The mechanics of the draft itself sound simple (throw out a grunt and snub fighter, then start player picks one card, then everyone in turn order takes a card, then everyone takes a card in reverse turn order starting with the last player). The problem is that without having played the game, you’ll spend much more time reading the cards and trying to figure out what they do and why you want them. Additionally, without having played through the game (having read the rules isn’t enough) you don’t have a great basis for decision making. The first game will take you longer than you expect already, don’t compound the problem by using the Pregame Draft, it’s just not worth it for new players.

Is the Pregrame Draft worth using if you’ve played before?

Once everyone has played at least one game, I think the draft it worth using. Having seen how the game plays and getting a feel for how often (or probably more correctly, how rarely) your deck turns over, you can make value decisions on the cards in front of you. They can also help give you a bit of direction for what you may draft in your first few rounds.

A major benefit of waiting to do the draft is that the time needed to read and understand the draft cards is significantly less once you know the game and have experienced the terminology.

The cards in the first Sector tend to be more basic, and don’t depend as much on combos. First time play benefits from this as you’re introduced to the game gradually. Many of the Sector 0 draft cards are built to work well with other cards, further increasing reading/analyzing time.

The Pregame Draft can add a strategic element to the game, but this is a case where you should follow the rulebook and be sure all players have at least played through the game once before making the addition.

10

Andy {Avid Gamer}

Feb 24th, 2012| Tip

34 of 43 gamers found this helpful

“Save Your Rulebook - Ditch that Insert”

I’m normally not one to dwell on the components and packaging of a game, and have become increasingly unable to guess at how people will perceive a game based on these items.

After opening Core Worlds, I fully expect complaints about number of components, and disapproval of the insert. I’m quite happy with the cost vs. gameplay and don’t mind that there isn’t much beyond the cards, but the insert is, simply, awful, and needs to be discarded quickly.

It is both too small for the box it is in, and ends up causing damage to the rulebook. The page size for the rules is large, giving a book that just fits within the cross-section of the box. This is fine, except the insert has high walls with a very large open section in the middle. Setting the rules on this insert will cause it to deeply bend in the middle (yet still not touch the bottom of the box).

If you want to keep things from moving around too much (which even keeping the insert won’t help), get two Ziploc bags (sandwich size works great), keep the Sector cards in one, and the player start piles in the other. Then, you can toss the cardboard chits (action counters, energy, energy surge, and start player tokens) in with one of these bags. Set the rules on the bottom under everything, and you’re set to go.

The insert is really bad in this game, but given the choice, I’ll take a bad insert with a good game over the opposite any day!

9

Ricardo Azimovas {Casual Gamer}

May 20th, 2014| Rule

46 of 67 gamers found this helpful

“Core Worlds”

To help players

Draw Phase
Draw until you have 6 cards (7 in Rounds 9 & 10). On Round 9, or if draw deck is empty, you may shuffle your discard pile into your draw pile.

Energy Phase
Count Energy generated by all Worlds. Optionally play Energy Surge Tactics cards and/or use Home World abilities.

Galactic Phase
Perform the following steps in order:
1. Remove cards with Energy Tokens.
2. Add 1 Energy Token to each remaining card.
3. Draw new cards from the current Galactic Deck until there are 6/8/10/12 for 2/3/4/5 players. Keep drawing until World and Non-World cards at least equal the number of players.
NOTE: on the 10th Round, ALL cards are placed in the Center Area.

Action Phase.
Begin with player holding Destiny Marker and take turns doing any of the following Actions (Energy Surge tokens may be used anytime now, but Energy Surge cards may only be played during the Energy Phase):

1. Draft 1 Non-WORLD Card
Pay Draft Cost in Energy. Units and Tactics go to your discard pile. Prestige Cards go to your Warzone.

2. Deploy X Units
Spend 1 Action Point per Unit plus their Deployment cost in Energy and place them in your Warzone. They remain there until they take part in an Invasion.

3. Invade 1 WORLD
Once per turn, spend 1 Action Point & 1 Energy. Discard Units that equal or exceed the World’s Fleet & Ground Strength. Place the World in your Warzone.
Optional: Place 1 Galactic Grunts or Snub Fighter used in an invasion under the conquered Planet. The Unit is part of your Empire, but not part of your Warzone.

4. Use 1 “Action as an Ability”
Costs 1 Action Point.

5. Pass
You may not play for the remainder of the Round.

DIscard Phase
Discard your hand, keeping one card if you wish. Set Energy to 0.

End Phase
Advance the Round Marker 1 space. Set Action Markers to level indicated on Sector Card. Pass the Destiny Marker clockwise

9

Ricardo Azimovas {Casual Gamer}

May 20th, 2014| Rule

46 of 70 gamers found this helpful

“CONDENSED FAQ”

Does Double Feint swap printed or modified values?
It swaps current, modified values. Any values modifed after Double Feint is played are not affected.

Do the printed Fleet and Ground Strength values printed on Tactics Cards apply in addition to the text bonus?
No. They reflect the text bonus and are not added to it.

How do the World Ship’s Empire Points work?
It is worth 5 points if it is in your Empire at the end of the game, and 9 points if it is in your Warzone.

Do cards discarded for Flame Troopers help all copies of Flame Troopers in your Warzone?
No. They help a single copy of the card.

Can Genetic Super Soldier pay for Tactics cards during an Invasion he participates in?
Yes.

Can Genetic Super Soldier help pay the Draft Cost of Tactics cards in the Central Zone?
No.

When playing Imperial Dropship/War Byrd do you only spend 1 Action to deploy that and all the Infantry/Starfighters added afterwards?
Yes.

Can I use Idunn to draw 7 cards in Sector 5?
No. Only 6 cards.

Can Chancellor Augustus immediately use his Energy Tokens to deploy Infantry Units?
Yes.

Can Baron Viktor discard Starfighters that were used to activate a Coordinated Assault?
No.

Can Simon the Fox re-play a Tactics card from my discard pile that was played during that same Invasion?
No. You cannot use the text on a card more than once during the same situation for which it qualifies, even if it enters the discard pile.

Can I use Repair Station to use Medibot or Workbot twice in a row?
No. (See previous answer)

When using Experimental Prototype do you add the flipped card’s Deploy Cost or Draft Cost to the Fleet Strength?
The Deploy Cost.

Is the Promethean Cyborg both a Robot and a Hero?
Yes.

Core Worlds - Tips & Strategies

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