<span class="bbc_u"><strong>Blockades:</strong></span><br/><br/>If a fleet enters a system that contains an enemy planet, they can elect to put that planet under Blockade. Defending forces have the option of fighting to prevent this, fleeing the system, or sheltering around the planet, and becoming blockaded themselves.<br/><br/>A Blockade prevents any trade or the tracing of supply to or from other systems until the Blockade is lifted. Once a Blockade is established, fleets under the Blockade may attempt to break out, by running a battle as normal.<br/><br/>Blockades can be lifted voluntarily, when enough opposing fleets arrive to make the disadvantage of holding a Blockade too great to justify. Lifting the Blockade can occur at any time during encounter resolution, but doing so restores supply to all units under the Blockade<br/>immediately.<br/><br/>If a player isn’t reasonable enough to abandon his or her Blockade once he or she is outgunned, if all units establishing the Blockade are destroyed or crippled the Blockade is automatically lifted and supply is restored immediately.<br/><br/>Planets under blockades are effectively separated from the rest of the empire’s economy. To reflect this, that planet may only spend points that are created from that planet at that location. Economic points may not get in or out of the blockade, so a planet under blockade may only spend points from the economy of that planet.<br/>