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Play Strategic Domination
Object of the Game:
The object of the game is to control the majority of the cities when the game ends. The game ends after 10 days. An alliance of up to two players can declare victory as a team.
General Game Play:
The game board consists of a grid-style map including ocean and land terrain types. Map areas appear black until they have been explored. Cities are placed randomly throughout the map on land sectors. They perform several essential functions, including refueling aircraft, performing repairs, and producing new units. Your military units are used to explore the map, capture cities, and fight your enemies. Each unit can be moved a certain number of map sectors per turn and can see a certain number of map sectors surrounding it.
Cities:
Capturing all the cities is the object of the game. Cities also offer important strategic functions in the form of fleet repairs and military production. Each city can be set to produce a particular military unit. The type of unit selected determines how long it will take to complete production. More powerful units take longer to produce than basic units. If you change production before a unit is complete, all work put towards the production of the unit before the change will be lost.
Turns and Moves:
Units receive more moves every 4 hours, and each unit can save up to 12 hours worth of moves. Moves are assigned at intervals relative to when the unit was produced. For example, a unit produced at 2:15 will receive its next set of moves at 6:15, while a unit produced 45 minutes later will receive its moves at 7:00.
Military Units:
Each unit type has varying attack strength, hit points, movement rate, production time, sight range, and special abilities.
Attack strength - maximum amount of damage inflicted on an enemy when initiating an attack (random factors apply).
Hit points - amount of damage a unit can sustain before being destroyed.
Movement rate - number of map sectors the unit is allowed to move per turn.
Sight radius - number of map sectors within which the unit can spot enemies and explore.
Production time - time required for a city to produce the unit.
Special abilities - certain units can perform special functions.
Unit Types:
| Unit | Attack | HP | Movement | Sight | Production Time | Special Abilities |
| Tank | 2 | 5 | 2* | 1 | 8 hrs | can capture cities |
| Fighter | 2 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 10 hrs | increased attack power against other air units and certain ships |
| Helicopter | 2 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 12 hrs | reduced attack power against other air units; increased attack power against tanks |
| Transport | 0 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 12 hrs | can transport up to 8 land units across water |
| Destroyer | 5 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 14 hrs | increased combat strength against submarines |
| Submarine | 4 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 16 hrs | increased strength against ships; slips out of view more quickly than other ships |
| Aircraft Carrier | 4 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 20 hrs | can refuel and transport up to 8 fighters and helicopters |
| Battleship | 12 | 42 | 6 | 1 | 40 hrs | can bombard units along coasts |
| Bomber | 0 | 4 | 10** | 1 | 48 hrs*** | destroys all cities and units within its blast radius, including itself |
* tanks are limited to a maximum of 2 moves while on a transport.
** bombers are limited to a maximum of 20 moves.
*** for each increase in blast radius, production time decreases by 12hrs.
Moving Units:
To move units, you must first be in unit mode. In unit mode, a list of your pieces appears to the right of the map. To switch to unit mode, press the "unit list" button. Select the unit to move by clicking its icon from the list. The map will center on the current position of the unit and a blinking yellow box will highlight the piece. With the unit selected, click the map sector to move to. A unit will stop moving if it encounters an obstacle, such as an enemy or a terrain type it cannot cross. If your unit is blocked, you will have to navigate around the obstacle to pass it.
Attacking:
To attack another unit, move the attacking piece next to the enemy unit you want to attack. With the pieces touching, click the enemy each time you want to attack. Attacking uses a move, and for aircraft it uses fuel too. Units without combat power cannot initiate an attack.
Combat Calculations:
Damage inflicted on an enemy unit during an attack is calculated based on the unit's attack power, random factors, and any special bonuses. Bonuses are applied after the base calculation:
Damage = int((power / 2) + rand(int(power / 2)) + .5)
The following bonuses multiply the unit's attack damage as calculated above:
Fighter x 1.5 vs. Fighter
Fighter x 2.0 vs. Helicopter
Fighter x 1.5 vs. Bomber
Fighter x 3.0 vs. Destroyer
Fighter x 2.0 vs. Battleship
Helicopter x 2.0* vs. Tank
Helicopter x .75 vs. Fighter
Destroyer x 3.0 vs. Submarine
Submarine x 4.0 vs. Transport
Submarine x 2.0 vs. Submarine
Submarine x 3.0 vs. Destroyer
Submarine x 4.0 vs. Carrier
Submarine x 4.0 vs. Battleship
* a helicopter has a 1 in 3 chance of receiving its bonus against a tank.
City Production:
To view city status and change city production, switch to city mode by pressing the "city list" button. A list of your cities will appear to the right of the map indictating what each city is building and when it will be complete. Click a city's icon from the list to center the map on that city. Press the city in the map area to zoom to the city's production menu. The production menu will allow you to change the unit it is producing.
Repairs:
Damaged units can be repaired by returning them to a city. For each turn a unit remains in a city, 2 of its lost hit points will be restored.
Fuel:
An air unit's range is limited by fuel capacity. Each sector an air unit travels requires 1 fuel. If an air unit runs out of fuel, it crashes and is destroyed. Landing in a city, or just passing through one, will refill an air unit's fuel tank. Fighters and helicopters can also refuel onboard aircraft carriers.
Ships in Port:
Ships left inside cities are extremely vulnerable. Any unit attacking a ship while it is in port will attack with 4 times its normal attack power.
Bombers:
Bombers are highly destructive pieces useful for destroying heavily fortified enemy cities and large groups of units. When a bomber is moved onto an enemy ground unit, water unit, or city, it destroys all units and cities within its blast radius, including itself and friendly units. A bomber's blast radius is determined by the total number of bombers used so far throughout the game. Blast radius is calculated as follows:
| Bombers Used | Blast Radius |
| 0-2 | 0 |
| 3-8 | 1 |
| 9-15 | 2 |
| 16-24 | 3 |
| >= 24 | 4 |
Alliances:
Players who form strategic alliances gain various advantages:
- Allied cities can be used to refuel aircraft;
- Allied cities can be used to conduct repairs;
- Units belonging to your allies are always visible on your map.
Note that while friendly cities will refuel your aircraft, allied carriers will not. Similarly, allied transports cannot be used to transport your own tanks. An alliance of up to three members may declare victory.
Strategic Domination was inspired by Strategic Conquest, a similar strategy war game.
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