How to play Nova's Dominion
Everything that matters in one page: how a star changes hands, what each structure does, and what the galaxy does to you while you are busy.
The goal
Every star is a colony to develop or a target to take. In skirmish and multiplayer you win by taking the whole sector; in the campaign each mission sets its own objective, from holding one system for a number of turns to surviving a siege. The clock runs in real time on a fixed tick — you can pause it with Space, or run at 1×, 2× or 3×.
Taking a star
Select one of your stars, press Send, then click the star you want. Your garrison travels the route between the two systems and fights whatever is there when it arrives.
The defender gets a 15% advantage. To take a star you need to arrive with more than the defender's garrison plus that 15%. A star held by 10 troops needs more than 11.5 — so 12 — to fall. A Shield Generator makes that far harder: it adds 8 defence and multiplies the defender's strength by 1.4.
Two exceptions: there is no defender advantage at a wormhole portal, and none at a supernova remnant. Fleets that meet in open space fight without any advantage at all.
The six structures
| Structure | Cost | Turns | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mining Ring | 20 minerals, 10 energy | 3 | +3 minerals per turn |
| Solar Array | 15 minerals | 2 | +2 energy per turn |
| Research Hub | 25 minerals, 20 energy | 4 | +2 research per turn |
| Shipyard | 40 minerals, 30 energy | 5 | +5 garrison every 4 turns (8 minerals and 8 energy a batch) |
| Shield Generator | 45 minerals, 45 energy | 3 | +8 defence and ×1.4 defender strength; destroyed when the star is taken |
| Comm Array | 20 minerals, 25 energy | 3 | Unlocks Send All, and +10% research per linked array |
Minerals and energy pay for structures and for the Shipyard's batches. Research only buys upgrades.
Research
There are 14 upgrades in three branches — five economy, five military, four defence — and each one needs the one before it in its branch. Economy raises what your stars produce and cuts build times; military makes fleets faster and attacks harder; defence makes your stars regenerate and hit back. Open Upgrades in the bottom bar to spend research.
The galaxy fights back
- Wormholes open shortcuts across the map and later collapse. Anything parked on a portal when it closes is lost.
- Supernovae give a warning first, then destroy everything in the system and leave a remnant that produces nothing. You choose the frequency in setup, from off to apocalyptic.
- Fog of war is optional. With it on you only see what you have scouted.
- Charting a route creates a new lane between two stars for 425 research, 425 minerals and 425 energy (scaling with distance) — an attack nobody is watching for.
Fleets and routes
Fleets travel only along routes, so geography matters: a star with one approach is far easier to hold than a junction with four. Split sends part of a garrison instead of all of it, and a Comm Array unlocks Send All to move everything you have in one order. Fleets that meet in transit fight in open space.
Playing on a phone
Tap a star to open its panel, tap Send then tap the target, drag to pan and pinch to zoom. The browser version works on phones and tablets in either orientation; no install, no account.
Multiplayer in one minute
One player hosts and shares the six-character room code or the invite link. Up to ten players join, free-for-all or teams, with AI filling any empty seats. Everyone picks a starting star in turn (15 seconds each), then the host launches. The host's machine runs the simulation and syncs everyone once a second — so the host should leave the game open.