[tkobo]

EFS is a great game,its one of my Favorites.

BUT,if you know how you can beat it very easily.
If you are playing the original Version(patched with the officail 1.4 patch) all you have to do is stage commando raids on your opponents ,steal their sceptars and bring them back to your capital.The AI is very bad at protecting these and they are ALWAYS kept in the AI's palace.Which of course is very easy to spot.
Once you have enough sceptars(sp),all you have to do is surround and protect the palace that you store them in, AND surround and protect your nobles on the imperial planet,declare yourself emporer and hold out for 10 or 20 turns and you win.

Nova is by far the best Version. In nova the sceptars are non-moveable,so you have to take your opponents palace and HOLD it.
Nova also redoes the AI's build directives so that they build tons of cities ,LARGE armies,LARGE navies,and spread to other planets very efficeantly(sp).In Nova it is virtually impossible to wipe out your AI opponents thru standard war ,because
they build and colonize like mad.
In Nova artillary is also non-mobile.This is a big change from the 1.4 patch Version because artillary is all players and AI build in it(its very cheap,uses little resources to build, and is very effective.FAR TOO effective actually).
But as it cant move on its own in the Nova Version,it loses most of its appeal.

Also if you want to play a real tough Version, play with universal warehouse off AND food supply on.This means that all the planets you colonize are on thier own as far as resources go,unless you make a huge transport fleet and move resources every single turn.
Add to this that some planets just are not good to grow food on and the populations said planets can support is quite restricted.Over populate,over expand, and the food riots and plagues will come a calling.
Also since food plants can be both captured and destroyed,you now have to devote alot of your armies to guard them.

I could go on about EFS for just about forever,I really do love it.
Theres just something about reducing your enemies tech back to the 20th century(while yours is like the 40th),then unleashing a plague on them again and again(that they have no cure for).