Fantasy Flight Games is getting back to its roots, announcing the new fourth edition of Christian T. Petersen’s magnum opus Twilight Imperium, which will release in Q4.

Like previous editions, Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition is a “4X” style wargame in which players control an interstellar empire trying to reunite the galaxy under its own banner.  Players choose one of seventeen different factions, each with unique strengths and weaknesses.  Using a combination of military power, political savvy, and economic wile, they conquer planets, exploit them for resources, and expand their power across the stars.  By completing public and secret objectives, a faction can gain victory points, and the first to acquire 10 points wins the game.

The game is played on a tile-based game board, allowing for a wide variety of galaxies to compete over.  Each player also has their own faction board, which they use to track their resources and the capabilities of their fleets, which can change during the game as new technologies are discovered.

Twilight Imperium Fourth Edition was designed for 3 to 6 players, ages 14 and up, and takes between 4 and 8 hours to play.  MSRP is $149.95.

Fantasy Flight is pushing fans of Twilight Imperium to pre-order the new edition through their local game retailer by offering exclusive promo items available only to those who pre-order, while supplies last.  The promo items include a hardcover version of the game rulebook, expanded with additional background material and fiction, as well as two 11” x 17” art prints showcasing artwork from the game.

It has been twelve years since the release of Twilight Imperium Third Edition (2005), which spawned two expansion sets.

Fantasy Flight just promoted FFG veteran Andrew Navaro as the new head of the studio, overseeing game development (see “Fantasy Flight Games Promotes Andrew Navaro”).