As independent starship captains granted letters of marque by the ConFederation, the players vie for control of a dangerous but lucrative area of space known as the Shadowstar Expanse. Though a Corsair enters the Expanse with but a single old ship and a handful of loyal crew, they may eventually command up to three customized ships, a trio of cargo shuttles, and more than a dozen squads of seasoned soldiers. Ships can be upgraded, territory claimed, and rivals fought both in space and on the ground. Conflict with other Corsairs is likely as each attempts to increase his or her reputation by demonstrating political influence, technical savvy, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to secure the Expanse.

During his or her turn a player will move their ships and choose actions from one of four categories (Technology, Politics, Personnel, or Finance), - deploying troops to hold territory and positioning resources where they are most needed. Potential combat is resolved and then the next player takes a turn.

The ultimate goal is to earn enough Commendations to be granted sole governorship of the Expanse.
Technology, Politics, and Contract Cards have important game effects and also earn the Reputation needed to win Commendations.
The cards are gained using resources harvested from the board and by fulfilling a contracts.
Employing their ship(s) and crew, a player must to secure enough resources or complete enough contracts to propel themselves to victory, while hindering (or destroying) the competition.

- - - Full Component List for Standard Edition - - -

Plastic:

16 player ships (2 of each type)
2 cruisers
6 alien scout ships
15 shuttles (3 in each player color)
75 crew figures (15 in each player color)
17 flight stands (3 in each player color + 2 black)

40 orange cubes (damage markers)
25 blue cubes (for resource levels and contracts)
2 dice

Boards & Mats:

12 sector tiles
5 player mats (1 in each player color)

16 ship mats
4 small reference mats
1 non-player phase mat (ConFed /Alien Phase)

Cards:

46 politics (blue) cards
46 technology (yellow) cards
46 contract (grey) cards

Other:

1 rule book (28 pages)
1 lore book (12 pages)
1 reference page (1 page)
1 box with custom insert

3 punch boards containing:

Cargo Tokens:
- 18 tribute tokens
- 18 politics tokens
- 18 recruit tokens
- 18 metal tokens
- 30 kiloCredit tokens
- 16 shield tokens
- 16 bomb tokens
- 16 fortification tokens
- 12 player & alien logo tokens

Round Tokens:
- 9 “plus four” tokens
- 15 battle station tokens
- 27 commendation tokens
- 6 A, B, C tokens
- 30 ownership tokens

Large Tokens:
- 8 minefield / forbidden zone tiles
- 1 Alien/ConFed phase token

Games