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: Hold more than half of the original capitals – your own among them.

Domination is the most direct path to victory – crush your rivals and seize their capitals. Every civilisation has an original capital (their first city – it stays the original capital even if the Palace later moves elsewhere). To win by Domination, you must hold more than half of all the original capitals, and one of them must be your own:

The Empire screen shows how many you hold and how many you need.

You do not need to conquer every city on the map, or even every capital. You simply need to hold the majority of original capitals, including your own, 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.
• A Republic can declare war only once relations with the target have fallen to -10 or below.
• Defeated civilisations still count. A defeated civilisation’s original capital is still one of the capitals – whoever holds it counts it. Only a civilisation eliminated before it ever founded a city is left out. (A civilisation with no cities and no Settler to found one is eliminated when a turn ends, and its remaining units leave the map. One that has never founded a city survives while it has any units, and is eliminated once it has none.) Domination is checked again straight after any elimination.
• Losing your own capital stops the clock. However many capitals you hold, you cannot win by Domination until you take your own back.

Science Victory

Condition: Build all four spaceship parts, launch, and survive until your spaceship arrives.

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 400 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 400 x 4 = 1,600, plus 150 for the Apollo Program.

3. Launch and hold on. The moment the fourth part is complete, your spaceship launches automatically – and every civilisation is told. It arrives 20 turns later, and only then do you win. If an enemy captures your capital while the ship is in flight, the spaceship is destroyed along with all four parts – you must rebuild every part to launch again. The launch must also arrive before the game’s turn limit; a ship still in flight when the turn limit is reached counts for nothing.

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.
• Fortify your capital before you launch. The launch is public news, and the 20-turn flight is your rivals’ last chance – expect coalitions to march on your capital. Losing it during the flight costs you the entire spaceship.
• 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 (2 per city, double Despotism’s).
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. Pick off the capitals you can reach; you only need the majority.
6. Keep a garrison at home. An undefended capital is an invitation to lose the game to a surprise attack.
7. Keep your government war-ready. Democracy cannot declare war at all, and a Republic only once relations have soured to -10.

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, and once you launch they have 20 turns to take your capital and destroy it. Walls, units, and alliances are your shield – and your capital’s garrison matters most of all.

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 holds more than half of the original capitals, their own included (Domination).
2. A player’s launched spaceship arrives, 20 turns after completing all four 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.