* Imperia are played using version 1.3 of Master of Orion.

* Absolutely, positively no spoilers allowed until the game is closed! This means you do not talk about your results at all. Not directly, not indirectly, not publicly, not privately, until Closing Day, when reports are to be posted. If you have questions, you may ask the game sponsor through email, or post your questions on the forum. If you post questions and the issue arose during play, try to minimize the details that you reveal in your question.

* We value legitimate, cheat-free gameplay at Realms Beyond! Use of in-game cheat codes to scramble leader personalities, disable events, add money to your reserves, or any other such activity, is not allowed. Checking for captured spies and scrapping missile bases is OK.

* Use of third-party software to edit saved game files or alter gameplay values is not allowed. EXCEPTION: If you encounter the negative fleet bug (65000 ship stacks appearing). If this happens, contact us for help.

* Scenario designers may use editing tools in crafting a scenario for the Imperia. Use of scrambled personalities, events toggle, and other effects are also permitted in setting up a scenario, but not during actual play.

* Players should keep their game's final save file. Although file submission is not standard for Imperia games, the game's Sponsor or an Imperia organizer may request files from players for verification purposes. In addition to the final saves, players may want to keep save files from earlier points in the game to enhance discussion. Sponsors may choose to require saves at particular points in the game, although this is not standard for every event. If earlier saves are necessary, this information will be provided when the game is announced.

* Reports are normally due within one day of an event's closing day. The minimum report includes all information and statistics relevant to scoring, plus enough details to give at least an outline of your results. You are allowed to post a minimum report by the due date and fill in more details later, if you wish.

* Because of the no-spoilers nature of tournament events, when in doubt over a situation or rule, use your best judgment (bearing in mind the value we place upon non-exploitative gameplay), and mention this in your report. Hopefully, the ensuing discussion will help to clarify this for future events.

* Any variant rules established for a specific game must be observed.

* Restarting the game from scratch is not permitted. Reloading to recover from strategic error is not permitted. If something occurs between turns that you did not notice and then forget about, or did not anticipate, you should eat the mistake, including unexpected elections, unforeseen attacks, etc. Reloading to change erratic AI choices, event luck or artifacts scouting luck is specifically prohibited.

* There are exceptions to "no reloads". A misclick, causing an unintended diplomatic offer to be made, ships to be scrapped by mistake, or ending your turn prematurely, may be cause for reload. Reload from autosave by exiting the program and Continuing upon restart, or you may load a manual save if you have one very recent. We're not here to measure how flawless your clicking and control-interface skills are, but the results of your strategy. Master of Orion is a phased game, so most misclicks can be corrected and undone without problems. This rule is intended to enhance your game enjoyment. Please do not abuse this privelege.

* Losing your colony ship at game start by sending it to Orion by mistake, should Orion happen to be placed next to your start position, is one of the few catastrophic luck factors present in the game. This is a more probable happening on smaller maps, but can happen on any map size. To remove this catastrophic swing of fortunes from tournament play, we will allow restart for any player to whom this happens. HOWEVER, you must exit the game as soon as you realize your colony ship is doomed, avoiding any further revelation of spoiler info, and upon restart (from the game's first turn), you must send a scout to the Orion system, and you must leave your colony ship and your second scout in orbit of your homeworld until the first scout reaches Orion and is destroyed. Only then may you send your surviving ships, or any newly built ships, on to a different system. Obviously, this rule applies only when Orion is placed within three parsecs of your homeworld.

* There are two victory conditions in the game. One is diplomatic, the other military. As it is possible to win both ways, in a sense, the Imperia will recognize four distinct categories of victory:

1) Extermination. All rivals have been exterminated to the last sentient.
2) Conquest. Your civ has two thirds or more of total galactic population. You have conquered the galaxy and may vote yourself emperor any time you please.
3) Domination. Your civ has settled and occupies half the stars or more in the galaxy, and you enjoy enough support from rivals to be voted emperor.
4) Diplomatic. You win the vote in the high council without meeting the above criteria.

* Absolutely, positively no spoilers allowed until the game is closed!