The turn player is referred to as the "offense." On a player's turn, they retrieve one ship from the warp, and then draw a card from the "Destiny" deck, containing color-coded cards which indicate which player's system they must attack; the player who owns this system becomes the "defense." Using a special "hyperspace gate" (formerly "hyperspace cone" or simply "cone") indicator, the offense selects which opponent on which planet to attack, and then places from 1 to 4 ships on the gate; the defense simply defends with however many ships he has on the targeted planet. Both the offense and defense can ask the other players individually to ally with their side; each invited player may commit up to 4 ships to either side of the conflict.