Alright, enough of the administrivia, it's time to play a game!
After you've collected some models, dice, a tape measure, and your secret strategies, you and your opponent will need to agree upon:
Point Value - What is the maximum points worth of models you're allowed to bring to the table?
Once you've selected the Point Value at which you're playing, go ahead and assembled your force of models. Detailed Fleet Construction rules are available.
If this is your first game, we recommend starting at 250 points. Feel free to ignore the Force Construction rules for now. Rule of cool is the most important at the moment, but having a mix of capital ships and squadrons will allow you to explore the game mechanics. Note that your game might not be balanced, but you're just learning how the game works, so that's okay!
Mission - What mission are you going to play? This defines the victory conditions for the game.
If it's your first game, agree on a number of Game Turns to play and just see who has killed more points at the end. That's the winner!
Most missions will have some way of defining a player as either Attacker or a Defender. The Attacker generally has Initiative unless the mission specifies otherwise. In the event that a mission does not specify Initiative, use Random Selection to determine a player to have Initiative.
Each Game Turn is made up of three phases:
Typically, a game lasts for seven Game Turns, unless a player is deemed victorious during an End Phase.
In the event that one player has more Models to deploy or activate, that player will simply have several consecutive deployments or activations to perform during the appropriate phase once their opponent has run out of groups.
In a game of Jovian Wars each player will have one or more Deployment Zones where models will be placed on the table during the Deployment Phase. The zone(s) in which a player deploys their models is called the Friendly Deployment Zone(s) and the opponent's zone(s) are called the Enemy Deployment Zone(s). Any table edge contacting a Deployment Zone will be a Friendly or Enemy Table edge, as appropriate.
Missions will typically define a deployment zone, but in cases where they do not, players select opposed table edges randomly or by mutual agreement. The deployment zone for each player is the 12" strip extending from their table edge.
All models start the game either Embarked or In Reserve.
Missions will define which Models are eligible for deployment during each Game Turn's Deployment Phase. In the event that a mission does not define which Models are eligible, all Models are eligible.
To deploy an eligible model, a player simply places it anywhere in their Deployment Zone. The model must be wholly contained within the Deployment Zone, but otherwise may be placed in any facing the player wishes.
Players alternate deploying models until both players decline to deploy models. Once you have declined to deploy a model, you may not resume deploying models until the next turn's Deployment Phase. If you have no more eligible models to deploy, you are obligated to decline deploying models.
Models which can be Embarked may be deployed in sequence either directly on the table or Embarked in a model with available capacity.
In the Activation Phase, starting with the player that has Initiative, players alternate activating Models until all eligible Models in their Fleets have been activated at which point the Activation Phase is over.
An Activating model must first
After it has done the above, the model may:
Attacks and Actions may be resolved before, after, or while interrupting a move.
A player using their Fire Control to make an attack may spend their Fire Control all at once or at different points of their movement for each point of Fire Control. Attacks made with each Fire Control rating are distinct attacks and are resolved before completing further attacks.
When Squadron models activate they may be limited by their Fuel rating. The amount of Fuel rating remaining is tracked over the course of a model's activation and once used up the model may no longer take any actions that require fuel.
When a model's activation ends its fuel rating, and the fuel rating of any other model that used fuel during its activation, is refreshed to its base value. Squadrons do not have to return to a capital ship model to refresh their fuel.
A Squadron's Fuel rating refreshing represents in space refueling drones and/or replenishment of the model's plasma reserves from onboard reaction mass. The term "Fuel" denotes the amount of reactor plasma available for short bursts of activity such as a dogfight or bombing run.
The End Phase is used to complete any game effects that specifically occur in the End Phase, such as certain States which are cancelled during the End Phase.
Victory conditions and scenario turn limits are checked and if there is no winner then a new Game Turn begins.