So, what is the deal with this Master of Orion II game? Master of Orion II (MOO2) is a turn-based strategy game, developed by Simtex and published by Microprose in 1996. It is a 4X game (expand, explore, exploit, and exterminate), and despite its age, is still bundles of fun to play.

It allows players to choose from pre-designed races (each with their own their own bonuses & detriments). The galaxy itself can be designed to some extent as well when beginning a new game. While playing, you will need to manage a wide variety of aspects: researching new technologies, building new colonies, managing your colonies, diplomacy with other races, fighting other races & spying on other races.

All in all, this makes for a very entertaining game. Depending on the size of the galaxy you choose, you can have anywhere from ~10 star systems up to ~80 star systems, each with up to 5 colonizable planets. Some systems have gas giants and asteroid belts in place of habitable planets: these can be made into planets if the correct technology is researched. The game can be won in three ways: eliminating all other computer players, winning a galactic vote and defeating the Antarans. The game has a point system that will "score" you once you have won. Depending on the difficulty, galaxy size, number of players defeated, population, captured colonies, capturing Orion and how you win, your score will be affected.

Below are some screenshots from the game. Enjoy!