Just re-read my post...ugh...boy do I RAMBLE and not make much sense (was hurrying since wifey was pulling lasagna from the oven).
Yes, sometimes, the game could have swung widely given a couple more (or less) turns to get something prepared.
For example:
(1) The stellar ship I build was a planet creator. I built it while waiting on the next step so I could build an opener. I agonized over that "waste" of refitting (about 80Kt of minerals and 40Kt of rads) but finally clicked to build it because I figured the 4 turns wait would haunt me (that's how scared I was of your ships).
(2) I studied APBs (but forgot they don't really pay off till around APB 9 or 10 over the PPBs). What a waste that was. I wanted them on medium platforms.
(3) I held off on optics ONE and got burnt, then held off on optics TWO (for only 62500 research points!) and got burned again! Even worse
.
(4) I had JUST started building platforms on my bigger planets a turn or two before you sneaked your ships in. Though you avoided bigger planets on your first attack, you hit them later when they wouldn't have had time to be built if I had waited longer. In fact, some were still being completed (the ones without shipyards) as you attacked.
So, as I said, I think you outplayed me. You used the parameters of the game better than I did. Maybe you didn't expand as well as you could have...only thing I can think of. But, a couple of decisions and choices in this game could have made the differece either way. My way of saying that the Talisman didn't give me a win, it helped me win, sure.
So, as I said, it was a good game and I thoroughly enjoyed it.