These planets may be colonized by either player so long as a player has a colony ship in their hangar. If a planet is colonized, it is removed from the sector. Colonies allow a player to produce resources on a specific roll of the dice during the production phase. Colonies are also worth one Victory Point, and is the main way in which a player gains Victory Points. There are a total of twelve colony planets (three planets for ore, fuel, food, and Carbon), with each player beginning with one colony ("Megrez III" for the sun player and "Alioth VIII" for the moon player).