Great score, and congrats to the devs. I almost think it should have be a 9.2 or so... but that's just me. It's great to see a developer like Stardock get rewarded for such a fine effort.
If I was you I'd build up a solid base first. I colonized a lot of planets in my second game, and built up several trade routes. I then tried to get in good with my neighbors, I then built up a decent size purse, while upgrading my best planets. Try to ally yourself with a powerful military civ, this ought to keep other civs off your back. All the while research econ and diplomatic techs. When you're in a good position, find a weak neighbor
I started a giant galaxy game, with a few other civs. I'm a few days into it, and I was setting up an invasion. As I moved my ships into place, the race I was gunning for sent me a message telling me they were on to me... I found this pretty impressive, as most games take no action when you amass an army around them. Needless to say, my war didn't go as well I as I thought it would. I took some planets, but was slowed rather quickly. <b
