# Race for the Galaxy: Rebel vs Imperium

Race for the Galaxy: Rebel vs Imperium is a board game for 1–6 players. It plays in 60 minutes and is meant for ages 12 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 2. It is rated 6.7 out of 10 by 4 Ludoya reviewers.

- **Players:** 1–6 (best with 2)
- **Playing time:** 60 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 12+
- **Complexity:** 3.1 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2009
- **Categories:** Expansion for Base-game, Space Exploration, Science Fiction, Civilization, Economic, Card Game
- **Mechanics:** Hand Management, Variable Player Powers, Simultaneous Action Selection
- **Ludoya rating:** 6.7 out of 10, from 4 reviews
- **Owned by:** 35 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 7
- **Unique players:** 6

**Designers:** Thomas Lehmann

**Artists:** Claus Stephan, Martin Hoffmann

**Publishers:** Rio Grande Games

## Expansions

- [Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-the-brink-of-war)

## Rules questions

### Can I declare a takeover against a world that was just placed this Settle phase?

No — a takeover target cannot be a newly placed world and newly placed worlds’ powers or attributes have no effect on takeovers during that Settle (Rulebook p.4).

### What makes my empire vulnerable to a takeover?

Vulnerability depends on your tableau: you’re vulnerable to the Imperium Seat if you have at least one Rebel military world, vulnerable to the Rebel Alliance if you have at least one Imperium card, and some powers make you vulnerable if your total Military is ≥1 (Rulebook pp.3–4).

### When a takeover is being resolved, can the defender use temporary Military boosts they haven’t spent yet?

Yes — when resolving a takeover the owner may invoke any unused temporary Military (and may finish partially used temporary powers); this can change the outcome and affect later takeover attempts (Rulebook p.5).

### How do I calculate 'total Military' for takeovers — do temporary, negative, or specialized Military count?

The Military slide’s tracked total is calculated like New Galactic Order (include negative but not specialized or temporary on the slide), but for takeover comparisons any temporary, negative, or specialized Military actually being used in that resolution do apply to the players’ totals (Rulebook pp.3–5).

### How does the Military slide and its cubes work — what do the cubes mark?

Use the red cube to track your total Military on the slide and place a light-red or purple cube when you put a Rebel military world or an Imperium card respectively to mark takeover vulnerability (a second light-red cube tracks additional Military vs Rebel worlds; flip/abut a second slide if >10) (Rulebook p.3).

### If I Explore and draw extra cards, do I combine those with my hand before discarding?

Yes — all exploration draws are combined with your cards in hand before you discard, so an Explore+5 becomes draw 7, combine with your hand, then discard down as required (Rulebook p.9).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/race-for-the-galaxy-rebel-vs-imperium)
- [Race for the Galaxy: Rebel vs Imperium in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/race-for-the-galaxy-rebel-vs-imperium)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40210)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-23. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._