A Triumph & Tragedy Enthusiast Storms into the Expansion or Extinction Rulebook

I was recently asked to help bring Expansion or Extinction (EoE) to completion and I gladly jumped in. Having played a few games of the grandfather of the system, Triumph & Tragedy (T&T), as well as playtesting its offspring, Conquest & Consequence, I was fully aware of the game’s noble lineage.

In this article, I want to bring everybody’s attention to EoE. When a game has been sitting this long (yes, too long) on the P500, people systematically glance over it and even the backers start doubting whether it will see the light of day or not. Well, I can confirm we are on an aggressive schedule to get this out the door in 2026 and to build some momentum, I will showcase what T&T veterans can expect from their beloved system making the jump to a sci-fi setting.

Asymmetry from the Get-Go

Starting POP/RES/IND/Factory Cost is fixed in T&T and apart from a few subtle differences, everyone’s units start on the same footing. EoE kicks off every game with a draft, where players will grab Technology Cards that allow them to boost their starting POP/RES/IND, allow free Production of specific units every Turn and a lot of other perks. So, before you even set foot where no man has gone before, your Faction will have its own identity and that can change from game to game based on your ambitions when you sit at the game table.

Production… With a Twist!

What do you get when you conquer Poland? That’s right, 2 POP and 1 RES. But what do you get when you conquer Beta Leonis? Well, first you need to Explore the Star System by sending one of your Scouts there. If you succeed, you’ll get to peek at a planet marker that was placed there randomly at the beginning of the game. Is Beta Leonis a barren world or a vibrant star system worth adding to your trophy board?

Once you know its worth, you can start Influencing it or, if you get tired of your opponents spoiling your Diplomacy attempts, send in one of your fleets and Planet Fall a few Space Marines to subdue it. And if Beta Leonis does side with you, willingly or by force, you get its POP/RES but these are now kept secret on your Player Mat so no one will know for sure what your Production potential is until next Turn (and even then, they won’t necessarily know where this Production is coming from if a few systems joined your cause).

Restless Population Financed by your Enemies

Gaining Control of a Star System is just the beginning. If your Rivals have ties with that system, they can sponsor Rebels there. At first, these units are laying dormant on the system, waiting for the right moment to take back their home world but this whole thing can also evolve into a full-scale rebellion.

Mechanically, during the Government Phase, your opponents can play Action cards to add Rebels to the Star Systems you Control. You can deny them but like in T&T, it’s all about the cards and the many things you can do with them. Do you want to nip the threat in the bud or let the Rebels accumulate and deal with them later on with a Planetary Battle? Don’t wait too long though as Rebels are not always passive, an opponent can also trigger their actual uprising, in which case they will at best chip away at your units and at worst, take back their Star System, kicking you out and forcing you to declare another Violation of Neutrality to retake what was once yours.

SOL… Ultimate Battleground or Red Herring?

Without getting too much into the game’s backstory (which is a pretty good read), the use of AI went terribly wrong, Earth has been obliterated… Or has it? As one of mankind’s colonies, you lose contact with your home world and must fend for yourself. In the center of the player board sits SOL, which could range from being the most valuable Star System out there to being the crappiest of them all. Did aliens take over or was our planet simply crushed under its own ambitions, with only a few space debris left? No matter where you want to go, SOL is never far from it. Whether it’s a hostile outpost no one will want to get near or even more flush with resources than at Earth’s peak, it will shape up and change your games drastically.

Jump Gates Make Everything Close

If you enjoyed that cat and mouse game of Command Priority coupled with Command Value in T&T, you’re in for a treat. In EoE, you can move units from one Friendly-Controlled Star System to another… As long as they are Undisputed.  Which means that, even more so than in T&T, timing is everything. 

Getting the jump on an opponent could allow you to prevent them from sending reinforcements the easy way, forcing the relief force to travel all the way from their Home System. But will you have enough units to finish the job?

This is as Real as the Force and the Klingons

I’ll try to post more articles as we move closer to the finish line. And we will eventually be calling for playtesters. But if you ever wanted your blocks to leave the comfort of Europe or the Pacific, don’t hesitate to back this game. Its roots are solid and expect a polished final product for your enjoyment!