In Planets you can choose between 11 Races that are inspired by well-known Sci-Fi civilizations. Each race has its unique character and abilities and all need to be played differently on their way to victory. Some of the races in the Planets universe rather enjoy direct confrontation while others prefer subtle or economic warfare, some send their ships out to steal what other races have constructed, some may intrude with cloaked ships and only attack when the right time has come.
THE 11 RACES:
| No.* | Full Name | Short Name | known as | |
| 1 | The Solar Federation | The Federation | Feds | fed |
| 2 | The Lizard Alliance | The Lizards | Lizards | liz |
| 3 | The Empire of the Birds | The Birdmen | Birds | bird |
| 4 | The Fascist Empire | The Fascists | Fascists | fasc |
| 5 | The Privateer Bands | The Privateers | Privs | priv |
| 6 | The Cyborg | The Cyborg | Borg | borg |
| 7 | The Crystal Confederation | The Crystals | Xtals | xtal |
| 8 | The Evil Empire | The Empire | Emp | emp |
| 9 | The Robotic Imperium | The Robots | Bots | bot |
| 10 | The Rebel Confederation | The Rebels | Reb | reb |
| 11 | The Missing Colonies of Man | The Colonies | Colonies | col |
* In classic 11-Player games
WHERE ARE THE DIFFERENCES?
Although it is a strong generalization one can divide the races in Planets in two main groups: The torpedo races and the carrier races. While the carrier races will – similar to Galactica or Star Wars – launch manned fighters into battle, the torpedo races will – similar to Star Trek – prefer Proton Torpedoes to fight their opponents.
THE TORPEDO RACES:
Torpedo races rely on ships equipped with a technology that allows to fire Photon Torpedos at enemy ships, or to convert a number of torpedoes into minefields. Torpedo ships will bring less firepower into direct battles than carriers of the same size would do, a drawback that is compensated by unique race or ships advantages. The majority of the torpedo races can also construct cloaking ships that can be made invisible to others. Cloaking ships are (with exceptions) often medium sized and perfect to gain secret information or for guerilla warfare. Specialists among the torpedo races are the Privateers and the Crystals as those have the ability to steal enemy ships.
| No.* | Full Name | Advantages |
| 1 | The Solar Federation | Several economic and fighting advantages |
| 2 | The Lizard Alliance | Cloaking Race, economic and fighting advantages |
| 3 | The Empire of the Birds | 100% Cloaking Race, intelligence advantage |
| 4 | The Fascist Empire | Cloaking Race, several fighting advantages |
| 5 | The Privateer Bands | Cloaking Race, can steal enemy ships, logistics advantage |
| 7 | The Crystal Confederation | Strong minefield advantages, can steal enemy ships |
THE CARRIER RACES:
Carrier races rely on ships with fighter bays installed, a technology that launches deep space fighters into battle. Carriers can not transform their ammunition into minefields, but tend to bring more combat power to direct battles than torpedo ships of the same size would do. Often the carrier races can build their ammunition in space, an ability that is linked to the specific race and not to the ship itself (like it is with torpedo ships). Carrier races can (with exceptions) be less complex to manage, but may be forced into complex situations by their opponents.
| No.* | Full Name | Advantages |
| 6 | The Cyborg | Strong warships, strong logistics advantage |
| 8 | The Evil Empire | Strong warships, economic and fighting advantages |
| 9 | The Robotic Imperium | Strong warships, minefield advantages |
| 10 | The Rebel Confederation | Strong warships, fighting and logistics advantages |
| 11 | The Colonies of Man | Strong warships, minefield and logistics advantages |
RACE COMBINATIONS:
Generally each race can co-operate with any other race, each player can choose his trade-partners, collaborators, friends and allies (or foes and opponents) however it is preferred or needed. The vast range of opportunities often results in unique game constellations, tricky diplomatic relations and interesting player interactions.
WHAT RACE SHOULD I PLAY?
For further information on the races you can always check out Gnerphk’s article here,
or you can directly try them all out at Planets.Nu
Planets Magazine 