The problem also occurs when assassinating workers. In a videogame, I could just let it go because the targets are killed either way. However, in a board game, players can see what their opponents are doing. Nobody is going to target a worker that has already died. Order matters.
- Move: (Simultaneous) Each ship will generate energy that is diverted to its engines. Ships may spend this energy to move. Contracted workers can be placed before leaving. Ships that have passed all checkpoints (in any order) will have completed a lap. Ships that don't move at all must give half of their energy to their sector as rent.
- Manage Sectors: (Asynchronous) Contracted Assassins can kill opposing workers within their sector. Contracted Administrators can transfer ally workers between their sector and neighboring sectors.
- Survive: (Simultaneous) All remaining energy will be diverted to weapons and shields. Ships can spend energy to attack each other. At the end of this phase, ships with negative energy are eliminated from the game. A surviving ship with enough laps will win the race.
- Trade: (Asynchronous) All remaining energy will be sold for credits. Credits can be spent to purchase any contracts available in a ship's current sector. Likewise, stored contracts can be sold.
While it seems necessary, I'm not entirely happy about defining a phase that requires certain pieces to be on the map... I kind of like the symmetry of the phase cycle though.
As for what order turns are taken in, I think those with the most credits will go first. (A spinner will decide the order for ties.) Thematically, the assassins, administrators, smugglers and sector merchants are greedy. Mechanically, it provides a reason for players to continue selling energy and contracts for profit even when there isn't a specific type of worker they want to place. Meanwhile, I figure players might be more likely to leave contracts for others to buy if the money has value on its own.
...There's no picture this time, but I have been working on the interfaces for each phase. Pretend I posted something impressive.
