
- BGG rank
- BGG #9,776
- BGG rating
- 7.3
Attack Vector: Tactical
- 2–8 players
- 240 min
- Complexity 4.1/5
- 2004

Rules assistance for Starfire: ISW4 – Arachnids
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Starfire: ISW4 – Arachnids is an expansion for Starfire (3rd Edition) released in 2017 for 2 players and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Ken Burnside, David M. Weber, Marvin Lamb, Todd Dillen, David M. Everett, and Jeff Jones and its main mechanics are Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game.
The Fourth Interstellar War (ISW4) is a scenario supplement for Third Edition Starfire, based upon the novels "In Death Ground" and "The Shiva Option" written by David Weber and Steve White. The Fourth Interstellar War started when a Terran Federation Navy survey flotilla conducting the routine survey of a new star system in 2360 and stumbled upon a home system of the Arachnid Omnivoracity, which immediately launched a genocidal attack upon all of the known races of the Grand Alliance. And worse, the Omnivoracity had the fleet and resources to succeed. The war lasted 10 years and could only end with the destruction of the Grand Alliance or the Omnivoracity; nothing less was permissible. This supplement includes new rules for gunboats and new technologies for HT6 through HT13. The Fourth Interstellar War requires the 3rd Edition Tactical Rulebook to play out the scenarios that are included as part of the story line. —description from the publisher
Starfire: ISW4 – Arachnids supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The catalogue lists Starfire: ISW4 – Arachnids for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Starfire: ISW4 – Arachnids belongs to these categories: Wargame, Science Fiction, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Starfire: ISW4 – Arachnids are: Ken Burnside, David M. Weber, Marvin Lamb, Todd Dillen, David M. Everett, and Jeff Jones. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Starfire: ISW4 – Arachnids as an expansion for Starfire (3rd Edition). Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Starfire (3rd Edition) to use it. Check that your edition of Starfire (3rd Edition) is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.