1
Determine player order
Shuffle Turn Order cards and deal one to each human player
2
A.I. turn placement
The A.I. always takes its turn after all human players have completed their turns
3
Apply passive A.I. effects
Trigger any A.I. Advancement effects that activate during human turns (e.g., Gravitic Mine Fields for Cardassians, Extremely Territorial for Breen)
4
Resolve A.I. retreats
If Federation or Vulcan A.I. is attacked and has fewer ships than the attacker, it retreats at impulse speed via connected paths toward homeworld
5
Process A.I. defensive abilities
Roll dice for defensive Advancements like Cloaked Orbital Mines (Romulan) or Extremely Territorial (Breen)
6
Purchase ascendancy token
If the A.I. has 5 Culture tokens, spend them to buy an Ascendancy token
7
Colonize uninhabited worlds
If an A.I. ship is in orbit of a pre-warp or uninhabited world and the A.I. has a Culture token available, colonize the planet
8
Apply colonization bonuses
For Federation, use Class 4 Industrial Replicators to build one free Production node during colonization
9
Handle Vulcan colonization
Vulcans spend 5 Culture to colonize any undeveloped world anywhere on the board, then build one free node via Communication Network
10
Prioritize production nodes
Build a second Production Node first on any A.I.-controlled planets with open slots
11
Switch to research nodes
Once the A.I. has at least two Production Nodes total, prioritize building Research Nodes
12
Fill remaining slots
Build Research Nodes for any remaining open slots
13
Save production tokens
Always save the last production token unless it can complete a Production Node this round
14
Upgrade weapons or shields
If enough research tokens are available, upgrade the most expensive option affordable
15
Stockpile research
If upgrades are unaffordable, continue saving research tokens for future turns
16
Construct new ships
Use all but one remaining production token to build ships at the homeworld (or starbases for some factions)
17
Save one production
Always reserve one production token for the next round
18
Build at uncontrolled systems
Cardassians build up to 3 ships in any one uncontrolled system via Covert Military Bases
19
Add free ships
Klingons place 1 free ship at each controlled starbase via Orbital Ship Yards
20
Apply buy-2-get-1-free
Ferengi build a third ship free for every 2 ships built at a starbase
21
Build starbases
Exhaust a Command token to build one starbase per turn at a controlled system (not homeworld), until all three are placed
22
Form fleets
If three or more ships can be formed into a new fleet per Ascendancy rating, exhaust a Command token to create that fleet
23
Select fleet card side
Build fleets on the designated side of Fleet cards (varies by faction - blank, non-blank, or specific ability side)
24
Initiate combat
If A.I. ships/fleets are in the same or adjacent sector as human ships/fleets, exhaust a Command token to start a space battle
25
Never retreat
The A.I. will never retreat from space battles it initiates (except Federation/Ferengi/Vulcan which retreat when outnumbered)
26
Apply first strike
Klingon and Romulan A.I.s have First Strike in space battles via their Cloaking Device Advancements
27
Roll for hits
Apply faction-specific combat bonuses (Disruptor Technology, Energy Damping Weapons, etc.)
28
Ignore first casualty
Romulan A.I. ignores the first casualty in EACH round via Superior Shield Harmonics
29
Claim destroyed ships
The A.I. claims one destroyed rival ship as a research token for next turn
30
Federation hegemony
If Culture is available and ships orbit a warp-capable system, exhaust Command and attempt hegemony with +1 from Universal Translator
31
Vulcan hegemony
Attempt hegemony on independent systems (with +1 if Ambassador present) or rival systems with equal/higher Ascendancy than the A.I.
32
Breen hegemony
Only attempt hegemony on systems adjacent to Breen territory, adding +2 from Ever Growing Confederacy
33
Invade developed systems
If A.I. ships/fleets orbit a developed system after unsuccessful hegemony (or if hegemony is not attempted), exhaust a Command token for one invasion attempt
34
Never attempt hegemony first
Cardassians and Klingons never attempt hegemony; they proceed directly to invasion
35
Apply invasion bonuses
Use faction abilities like Planetary Bombardment (Klingon First Strike destroying nodes), Metagenic Weapons (Cardassian auto-hits), or Andorian Legion (re-roll To-Hit rolls of 1)
36
Retreat on failure
If the first invasion attempt fails, the A.I. retreats (except Klingons who continue indefinitely)
37
Merge single ships
Any single ships in the same sector as a fleet with empty slots join that fleet before movement
38
First round exploration
On the first round, roll the Space Lane die for each starting ship and move them on three separate paths until reaching first System Disc destinations
39
Move fleets in order
Fleets move in numerical order (Fleet 1, then Fleet 2, then Fleet 3) toward nearest connected targets at faction impulse speed
40
Prioritize targets
Move toward targets in priority order: i) enemy ships/fleets, ii) rival systems with starbase, iii) rival systems without starbase, iv) inhabited systems with no control node
41
Expand to new space lanes
If no valid targets exist on connected paths, roll the Space Lane die and place a new space lane toward a target
42
Observe hostile rule
The A.I. may not enter sectors with hostile ships/fleets but may move through systems it controls regardless of rivals in orbit
43
Brave hazards normally
Unlike the Borg, A.I. ships are NOT immune to hazardous systems/phenomena
44
Move single ships
If Command tokens remain, single ships move exactly like fleets at faction impulse speed
45
Place Andorian tokens
Fleet 1 places an Andorian Token on rival-controlled systems or adjacent space lanes, even without Command tokens
46
Dispatch Cardassian ships
If a fleet is at a system with a Production Node and no single ships orbit, one ship leaves the fleet to guard orbit
47
Ferengi warp calculation
Fleets calculate paths touching the most rival-controlled and warp-capable systems, then warp up to 3 systems, dropping one ship at each qualifying system
48
Move Vulcan ambassadors
Place Ambassadors on independent civilizations when fleets arrive in orbit
49
Refresh exhausted cards
Refresh any Advancement cards exhausted during the A.I. turn (Sirillium Warheads, Metagenic Weapons, etc.)
50
Generate resources
The A.I. earns Research and Culture tokens normally from controlled systems
51
Apply production restrictions
Cardassians only earn Production from systems with a Cardassian ship in orbit
52
Apply Ferengi piracy
Ferengi gain 1 Production for each rival-controlled system and warp-capable system with Ferengi ships in orbit
53
Apply Vulcan monasteries
Vulcan systems producing Culture produce one additional Culture if no ships are in that system or connected space lanes
54
Gain ambassador culture
Vulcans take 1 Culture for each independent civilization with a Vulcan Ambassador
