Spoils of War can greatly enhance the speed of the game, especially when war breaks out and cities begin falling like flies. The conquering hero will suddenly find all manner of new technologies streaming into his empire. If used in conjunction with the conquest victory condition, Spoils of War can make for a quick and brutal play experience.

Victory Conditions
Setting the variables on winning will have a big impact on the flavor of the game. While leaving the paths to victory completely open has its merits, narrowing the focus can give players, especially newer ones, the ability to focus on a particular area of the game.

Diplomatic Victory
You may win the game diplomatically by convincing enough faction leaders to unite behind you as supreme leader of Planet. A three-quarters vote of the planetary council is required to secure the election. Only the leader of one of the two factions with the highest vote totals may stand for election as governor or supreme leader. When a supreme leader is elected, a faction leader may choose to defy the will of the council and refuse to submit. When this happens, the supreme leader must, with the help of loyal factions, conquer all defiant factions to achieve a conquest victory. Because of the military power usually required to secure elections as supreme leader, defying the will of the council borders on lunacy. Other factions will usually only take this course of action if you have committed atrocities against them or betrayed them at some point.