Stratagem
What is it?
Stratagem is a game, the concept of which was designed long before I ever joined the UFP. It
consists of two teams, with each vying to conquer a contested area of space. Stratagem utilises
every game that the UFP currently supports (Star Trek Online, Bridge Commander, Armada 2 and
Elite Force) and interlinks them all into one game of cooperative galactic conquest.
The Map
The initial focus of Stratagem is a single galactic star chart, which is split into one hundred sectors.
Note: This figure is dependent on the number of players participating and may be subject to change.
These sectors are represented as hexagons (Starfleet Command fans will be right at home here).
The star chart contains a variety of natural phenomenon and hazards, which each team will have to
master in order to gain a tactical advantage over their foes. These include planetary bodies, nebulae,
asteroid fields and even black holes; however there will also be areas of deep space. Should a
contested sector contain a nebula, then the match would take place in one of the aforementioned
games on a map containing a nebula. For example, if the teams were competing in Bridge
Commander the match would take place on the map named “cloudy” as it is situated in the middle
of a large green nebula. This would apply for other games with such environments like Star Trek
Online where the Briar Patch map could be used; or Starfleet Command 3.
Different environment types will have benefits and drawbacks, depending on which is being fought
in. These are outlined below:
 Planets: Allow for the construction of structures both on the surface and in orbit. No
negative effects apply for this environment.
 Nebulae: Fleets inside a nebula are hidden from their opponents, creating an opportunity
for surprise attacks. The opposing team can only “discover” this hidden fleet if they are
attacked or move into the nebula themselves.
 Black Holes: They are one of the most destructive forces in nature, and are to be avoided. If
a team moves into a sector containing a black hole they will be destroyed (or travel back in
time and create an alternate reality – either way it’s a bad idea). Due to their destructive
nature Black Holes are a hazard which will block travel into other sectors, meaning that
teams will have to be thoughtful and position their fleets effectively.
 Deep Space: No effects, positive or negative apply for this environment.
 Reserved for further additions (e.g. neutron stars)
At the start of the game, the star chart is split into three distinctive areas. Two thirds of the map will
held by each team, with an area of neutral space between the two. If you have ever played the table
top game Warhammer 40,000 you may think of this as your teams “deployment zone”. As stated
previously, the exact number of sectors will be determined by the number of players taking part.
However, for now we will assume that there are one hundred sectors. This means that they will be
distributed like so: thirty three sectors will be held by each team respectively with a further thirty
four neutral hexagons. Although this hasn’t been discussed in detail there is the possibility of there
being more than two teams should demand require it.
The Teams
Each team has its own leader or “Fleet Admiral” – he or she will be in command or that teams
resources including fleets (including their movements) and construction projects. This leader will
also be required to report back to the game master detailing their team’s actions in that turn. They
are also responsible for choosing which players will participate in smaller matches. Small matches
are played out in Bridge Commander, Armada 2 or Starfleet Command. They are required to be held
separately since these games aren’t capable of the larger scale matches found in Star Trek Online.
Every person on a team must be involved in their team’s activities to some degree. Also, should
someone be selected to take part in a Bridge Commander match that person will be unavailable to
play until another member has had their turn. For example, player A has just finished playing a game
of Bridge Commander. Player A will now be unable to take part in further matches until player B or
player C have taken part in a match of their own. This is there to ensure that all members get an
equal chance to take part, and prevents the selection of team favourites to win the match in that
game.
Team members don’t need to have every game that the UFP supports to play Stratagem, but if they
do it just means that they have the possibility of taking part in every battle their team is in.
Sensors
The standard sensor range for any fleet or structure is three sectors, but for Interdiction Fleets
(more information later) the range is extended by two hexagons. An exception to this would be
nebulae, which as previously stated hinders the team’s ability to detect opposing fleets. For
example, should a Interdiction Fleet be four sectors away from a Nebula their visible range would
still be three sectors, since any forces in the fourth sector are concealed by the nebula.
Moves
Movement range is determined by who occupies that sector and what fleet type is being moved:
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In friendly territory fleets can move up to three sectors per turn.
In neutral territory fleets can move up to two sectors a turn (both systems within the path of
the fleet will be captured).
Within enemy territory fleets can only move one sector per turn, due to the territory being
“unmapped” and your fleets are being cautious searching for hostile forces.
Interdiction Fleets can only move one sector per turn in both neutral and enemy territory.
However, in friendly territory they can move two sectors – this is to keep the ships that are
“cloaked” invisible from the enemy team’s long range sensors.
Territory Capture
Unoccupied systems (enemy or neutral) can be captured simply by moving a fleet into the system,
there is no need for a battle and the system comes under your team’s control. The map will change
to reflect the occupation.
Systems which contain fleets or structures must have a battle to decide whether the attacking team
wins the system, or whether the defending team successfully defends the system – the game(s) that
are played, are based off of the fleets or structures within that system and the fleets size.
Economy
Each sector within the map has its own “Economic Value”, which if held by the team will yield extra
points for that team’s economy. For example, if a team occupies four sectors with each yielding five
points their total economic output will be 25 points. The number of points a team can generate per
turn will affect how many credits are earned, which may be spent on construction projects such as
building fleets, shipyard and outposts or starbases. More detailed information on project costs and
turns will be provided at a later date.
Assets
Fleets:
Within Stratagem there are two main fleet types: Squadrons and Task Forces. Squadrons are smaller
fleets, which take fewer turns to create and will be used for “small matches” as defined previously.
Therefore they are restricted to being used in Bridge Commander, Armada 2 and Starfleet
Command. Task Forces are larger fleets and will play their matches in Star Trek Online.
However, if a Task Force attacks a Squadron that match will be played in Star trek Online. This is due
to the fact the larger force takes precedence. Likewise, if a squadron attacks another squadron that
match will be held on one of the other titles (to be determined prior the match) since there is no
disparity in fleet size.
There are also special fleets called “Interdiction Fleets”. These are fleets which comprise of ships
equipped with cloaking technology. They can be sent into enemy territory to destroy convoys, but
can be detected if moved within one hexagon of an enemy fleet (either a Squadron or Task Force).
Therefore while they offer great opportunities Fleet Admirals must be mindful of how they are
deployed as not to be detected.
Starbases/Outposts:
Starbases and outposts can only be constructed within occupied sectors. Their construction takes a
number of turns to complete. Construction times are as follows:
 Outposts – three turns (1.5 weeks)
 Starbase – six turns (3 weeks)
Should an outpost be attacked, the match will be held on Starfleet Command (base assault).
However Starbase attacks will be held on Bridge Commander (Defend the Starbase).
Shipyards:
There are two types of shipyards: Basic and Advanced. Basic shipyards are used to construct
squadrons, which take four turns to construct (2 weeks) and advanced shipyards which are used to
construct Task Forces which take 8 turns to construct (4 weeks).
Shipyards can only be built in a sector which has either an Outpost or a Starbase already
constructed. Shipyard construction times are:
 Basic – Two turns (1 week)
 Advanced – Four turns (2 weeks)
Sectors which have shipyards in them can only be captured through an Armada 2 game.
Convoys
Convoys are small NPC fleets, which move between a specific team’s Starbases along predetermined
trade routes. These can be attacked by the opposition to earn a set number of credits to boost their
economy output. The battle which will be played as a Bridge Commander match, as there are
freighters available to be used in game (the number of which will be equal to the number of
attackers) plus two escort vessels. These can be any ship type other than battleships such as the
Sovereign class.
Matches
The matches that take place are determined by what fleet types are attacking/defending and what
structures or environment that sector contains. These are the possible scenarios that could be
played:
 Any Squadron vs. Squadron battle: Takes place on either Bridge Commander or
Starfleet Command (depending on size – as squadrons can be up to four ships each,
and the number of ships can be customised during construction).
 Task Force vs. Anything (excluding structures): Takes place in Star Trek Online. If
there are more than ten players per side then those with fewer matches played take
priority and must be allowed to take part.
 If a Starbase or Outpost is attacked: Then one of two games will be played: Bridge
Commander will be played if there is a Starbase; Starfleet Command will be played
if there is an outpost (or if there isn’t enough people on one team [3 people] with
SFC3, then Bridge Commander will be played in both occasions) . Outposts and
Starbases can be captured by the opposing team (the attacking team MUST inform
the game master if they want to capture the facility), to capture the base an Elite
Force battle must be played. If the attacking team is defeated then they can choose
to try and capture again or destroy the Starbase (if there is a fleet in the same
system as the structure, then the fleet must be taken out in a Bridge Commander or
Starfleet Command game). Capturing the facility will mean that your team doesn’t
need to build another facility in the system
 Any sector with a shipyard: Has to be an Armada 2 game. Any fleets, Starbases and
shipyards within a system will be destroyed if the defending team loses the match.
 Homeworlds: To capture the opposing teams homeworld the attackers need to have
captured at least three of the six systems surrounding the home system, and need to
win these three matches in each game respectively (Star Trek Online, Armada 2 and
Elite Force).
 Planets: To capture systems which have planets, and are owned by the enemy an
Elite Force match must take place to capture it.
Both teams can make a “Tactical Withdrawal” at any point during the match. The ships that survive
will be reflected by the fleet’s size. For example if six enemy ships attacked four defending vessels,
and three attackers were killed the attackers can retreat but they will only have a fleet size of three
instead of six – this can be useful if the team wants to save more ships for a later battle.
Turns
Monday is an admin turn; where the results of matches are processed and the map is changed based
accordingly. As well as this economic output will be determined and the appropriate amount of
credits issued to both teams to spend during the strategy stage. Teams can also move their fleets
one extra system, as long as the system isn’t occupied by an opposing fleet or has an enemy
structure.
Tuesday to Thursday is the strategy turn. This is where both teams decide where to spend their
teams credits, where to move fleets and where to attack. All decisions must be relayed to the Game
Master, if they aren’t then that team will keep their credits however no construction projects will be
started nor will fleet movements be recognised.
Friday is an admin turn; this is when the decisions made in the strategy turn such as attacks, moves
and spending are processed. Both teams are notified of any and all matches that will be taking place,
along with any additional information i.e. the scenario and the environment.
Saturday to Sunday is the action turn; where all the battles take place and the results are collected
ready for the next admin turn to process. Teams can move their fleets one extra system after the
matches on Saturday, these could either be to systems which are occupied by fleets, structures, or
unoccupied.
Construction Times and Costs
Squadron – a standard squadron is four ships (that is also the maximum). However if you want to
your team can build a task force of and size between one and four ships. These take one admin turn
(3 days) per ship in a fleet and four turns for a standard squadron (2 weeks). They also require a
basic shipyard to construct. The cost per ships is 10 credits.
Task Force – it takes eight admin turns (4 weeks) to create a task force. They are of fixed size
(dependent on the number of players you can get into STO) and require an advanced shipyard to
construct. They cost 100 credits to create.
Outposts – take three admin turns (1.5 weeks) to construct and cost 150 credits to construct.
Starbase – takes six admin turns (3 weeks) to construct and cost 250 credits to construct.
Basic shipyard – takes four turns to construct (2 weeks) and requires at least an outpost to construct.
The cost of a basic shipyard is 125 credits.
Advanced Shipyard – takes eight turns to construct (4 weeks) and requires a Starbase to construct.
The cost of an advanced shipyard is 200 credits.