WINNING THE GAME

To win in Master of Orion, the High Council must declare you to be High Master of the Galaxy by a 2/3rds majority vote. The High Council is formed once 2/3rds of the planets have been colonized, and after that meets every 25 years, in years that end in a 00, 25, 50, or 75. Each race has 1 vote for every 100 units of population it controls. You can win by conquering 2/3rds of the population yourself. However, more diplomatic players can also win by having enough allies to provide the 2/3rds majority vote needed. Races also tend to side with whomever controls Orion.

Once the High Council has voted in a High Master, you may either accept their vote at that time, or challenge it. If you decide to reject their decision, they will then jointly declare war on you in a battle to the bloody end.

We recommend the following strategies to win the game:
• When the game starts, quickly send scout ships to explore nearby star systems. If you do not have any habitable planets within range, you should allocate your resources to propulsion technology to increase your ship’s range.
• Do not expand recklessly. Give your colonies time to build factories and defenses before colonizing new planets.
• Choose your new colonies wisely. To form a new colony you must build a ship equipped with a colony base. It may be quite a while before recouping the cost of building a colony ship.
• Heavily defend colonies with mineral rich deposits. They will certainly be targets for enemy attacks.
• Do not allow industrial waste to accumulate. Closely monitor waste buildup and never allow the waste to grow beyond 10.
• Do not fall behind in the technology race. An entire fleet can be defeated by a handful of ships equipped with superior technology.
• If you are missing a key piece of technology, (robotic controls, industrial waste reduction, or improved waste elimination) attempt to steal the technology from another player with your spies. Likewise, if your technology is superior, raise your internal security to protect your technology from other players.
• Do not pay more than 30% in starship maintenance. When maintenance costs grows too large, dismiss obsolete ships.