Victory Conditions

“Victory belongs to the most persevering.”

Every game of Annhexation ends with one civilisation triumphant. There are three paths to victory, each rewarding a fundamentally different playstyle. Whether you conquer the world by force, ascend to the stars through science, or simply build the greatest civilisation in history, the game provides a clear framework for measuring success.

The Three Victory Paths

Domination Victory

Condition: Control all enemy capital cities.

Domination is the most direct path to victory – crush your rivals and seize their capitals. Every civilisation has an original capital (their first city, marked by the Palace). To win by Domination, you must capture the original capital of every other civilisation that is still alive.

You do not need to conquer every city on the map. You do not need to eliminate every enemy unit. You simply need to hold every original capital at the end of your turn.

Key considerations:

• Capturing a capital means defeating its garrison with a melee unit (ranged units cannot capture cities).
• If a civilisation has already lost its original capital to another player, you need to capture the city from whoever currently holds it.
• Democracy cannot declare war. If you are pursuing Domination, do not adopt Democracy until after all wars are concluded.
• The Currency technology is required to declare war through diplomacy. Without it, you can only fight barbarians and civilisations that declare war on you.

Science Victory

Condition: Build all four spaceship parts.

The Science victory rewards the technologically superior civilisation. To win, you must:

1. Research Rocketry and build the Apollo Program wonder (150 production). This enables spaceship construction.
2. Build all four spaceship parts, each costing 100 production:

Spaceship parts are produced in cities just like any other item. Multiple cities can produce different parts simultaneously, but each part can only be built once. The total production investment is 100 x 4 = 400, plus 150 for the Apollo Program.

Key considerations:

• You need a strong tech lead to reach Rocketry before your rivals.
• High-production cities are essential. A city with Workshops, Factories, and production focus can churn out parts faster.
• Defend your cities fiercely. If a city building a spaceship part is captured, the accumulated production is lost.
• Republic government’s +1 research per city accelerates the tech path to Rocketry.

Score Victory

Condition: Highest score when the maximum turn limit is reached.

If no player achieves Domination or Science victory before the game’s turn limit, the civilisation with the highest score wins. Score is a comprehensive measure of civilisational achievement, rewarding broad development across multiple dimensions.

Score Calculation

Your score is the sum of five categories:

Score Breakdown Example

A civilisation with 6 cities, 35 total population, 20 researched techs, and 3 wonders:

Score Strategy

To maximise score:

• Expand aggressively. Each city contributes 12 points (7 territory + 5 cities) plus its population.
• Grow your cities. Large populations contribute directly at 1 point per citizen.
• Research broadly. Every technology is worth 3 points, so do not neglect research even if you are not pursuing Science victory.
• Build wonders. At 10 points each, wonders are the most valuable individual items for score. Prioritise wonders you can realistically complete.
• Balance military and economy. You need cities and population to score, which means you need to defend them and keep them productive.

Strategy for Each Victory Path

Domination Strategy

1. Choose a military civilisation. Greece (+1 melee movement), Mongolia (+25% mounted attack), or Aztecs (heal on kill) are strong choices.
2. Prioritise military technologies. Iron Working, Chivalry, and Gunpowder give you increasingly powerful units.
3. Adopt Monarchy for the higher free unit count (3 per city).
4. Build siege units. Catapults and Cannons with the +50% city bonus are essential for cracking fortified cities.
5. Target capitals specifically. You do not need to conquer everything – focus your forces on the enemy capitals and leave secondary cities alone.
6. Keep a garrison at home. An undefended capital is an invitation to lose the game to a surprise attack.
7. Research Currency early for the ability to declare war.

Science Strategy

1. Choose a science-friendly civilisation. France (+1 research per city at war) or any civilisation that can sustain peace.
2. Build Libraries and Universities in every city. Research infrastructure is your lifeline.
3. Adopt Republic for the +1 research per city.
4. Expand to 6–8 cities for a strong research base, but do not over-expand and bankrupt yourself.
5. Build the Great Library for a free technology boost.
6. Rush to Rocketry through the tech tree.
7. Build the Apollo Program in a high-production city.
8. Produce spaceship parts across multiple cities simultaneously.
9. Defend. Other players will try to stop you if they see you building the spaceship. Walls, units, and alliances are your shield.

Score Strategy

1. Expand broadly. More cities mean more territory, population, and production.
2. Build every wonder you can. 10 points per wonder is the highest-value score source.
3. Research everything. Even seemingly useless techs contribute 3 points to your score.
4. Grow population. Food infrastructure (Granaries, Farms, Aqueducts) feeds both growth and scoring.
5. Avoid destructive wars. Losing cities hurts your score across multiple categories. Fight defensively and only attack when the gains clearly outweigh the costs.
6. Egypt’s wonder discount (25% cheaper) is ideal for score games, as it lets you build more wonders faster.

Victory Timing

The game ends when any of the following occurs:

1. A player captures all enemy original capitals (Domination).
2. A player completes all four spaceship parts (Science).
3. The maximum turn limit is reached (Score – highest score wins).

Plan your strategy around the turn limit. If Domination or Science is out of reach, pivot to maximising your score. Conversely, if you are behind on score, look for a Domination or Science breakthrough before time runs out.