Master Of Orion

• If you play as the Alkaris then you want to use huge stacks of small ships. These get a nice defensive bonus and combined with your racial bonus they will be extremely hard to hit.

• Don't neglect missiles. Beam weapons are nice but you generally can't use them until you move to close range which wastes your first few turns.

• Try to acquire outdated ship tech. You may have something better but you want as many options as possible if you need to downgrade something to save on space or cost.

• Never ever pass up chances to build missile bases, factories or automation all the way to capacity at the first opportunity. This will maximize a planet's output quicker and is better in the long run since you won't have to play catchup upon further discoveries.

• Never allow any one civilization to become too expansive, even it means going to war. If they're elected in the Galactic Council, it's likely game over, so keep everyone's voting power (except yours) balanced.