OGame Moon Colonies

What is a moon in OGame?

A moon is one of the most valuable objects an OGame player can possess. Unlike a planet, a moon is not created through active colonisation — it appears randomly after a battle in the orbit of a planet. Once created, the moon is a permanent extension of your empire that offers completely different possibilities than a normal planet.

Since OGame was released in 2002, moons have played a central role in advanced strategy. Anyone who owns a moon can spy on opponents, teleport fleets and gain strategic advantages that are simply not possible without a moon. Additionally: A moon can be played in the browser — no download, no installation.

The maximum number of moons corresponds to the number of your planets. As you can colonise up to nine planets with advanced astrophysics research, theoretically up to nine moons are possible — an empire that gives you enormous strategic superiority.

How does a moon form?

The moon chance

A moon forms after a battle in the orbit of a planet when a debris field is created. The moon chance depends on the size of the debris field and is a maximum of 20%. The exact formula:

• The more units destroyed, the larger the debris field.
• From a certain debris field size, the moon chance increases gradually.
• In very large battles (from approximately 100,000 units of ship value), the maximum chance of 20% is reached.
• Multiple Death Stars do not increase the moon chance beyond 20%.

Moon shot — deliberately forcing a moon

Many players deliberately stage so-called moon shots: own ships — usually cheap Light Fighters — are sacrificed in the orbit of the target planet to create a large debris field and thus maximise the moon chance. A moon shot costs resources and requires a willing fellow player (or alliance partner) to carry out the attack.

Moon size

The size of the resulting moon is random and ranges between 3,000 and 8,000 kilometres in diameter. The size determines how many fields the moon has, and thus how many buildings you can construct on it. A large moon is significantly more valuable than a small one, as it offers more expansion possibilities.

Moon buildings overview

On a moon you can only build three specialised buildings. However, these are so valuable that even a small moon fundamentally changes the gaming experience:

Lunar Base

The Lunar Base increases the number of fields on the moon. Each expansion level adds 3 fields, but costs a field itself. Without a Lunar Base, a small moon may not have enough fields for all desired buildings — therefore the Lunar Base should be expanded early if the moon size requires it.

Sensor Phalanx

The Sensor Phalanx is the most powerful reconnaissance tool in OGame. It allows you to observe fleet movements in neighbouring systems — without the observed player noticing. The range of the phalanx depends on the expansion level and can be further increased by the Explorer class. Each phalanx use costs deuterium.

Jump Gate

The Jump Gate enables instant teleportation of a fleet from one own moon to another. This costs no resources, but has a cooldown of one hour per use. The Jump Gate is indispensable for quick attacks, safe fleetsaves and coordination in alliance combat situations.

Strategic use of the moon

Fleetsave via the moon

The moon is the ideal starting point for fleetsave — the most important survival mechanic in OGame. Since fleets on the moon cannot be discovered by espionage probes (only the phalanx can see fleet movements from the moon), the moon is a strategically superior departure point. Anyone who starts their fleetsave from the moon makes it much more difficult for attackers to track down the fleet.

Attack with Jump Gate

Experienced fleeters use the Jump Gate for lightning attacks: The fleet is teleported via Jump Gate to a moon in attack range and attacks from there. Since the Jump Gate costs no flight time, the fleet can be brought much closer to the target — which increases the time advantage and reduces the probability of detection by the opponent's phalanx.

Moon destruction

Opponents can try to destroy your moon with the Death Star. The destruction probability depends on the moon size — larger moons are harder to destroy. A moon with 8,000 km diameter often survives even multiple Death Stars undamaged. Small moons under 5,000 km are significantly more vulnerable. Anyone who owns a valuable moon should know its size and be prepared accordingly.

Moon and classes

Choosing the right class influences how you optimally use your moon:

• Explorer: Increased phalanx range and an additional planet slot (potentially more moons possible). Ideal for information warfare.
• General: Faster fleets particularly benefit from the Jump Gate advantage. Moon attacks become more efficient through increased fleet speed.
• Collector: Uses the moon primarily as a safe starting point for fleetsaving their resource fleet.

Frequently asked questions

How does a moon form in OGame?

A moon forms randomly after an orbital battle when the resulting debris field is large enough. The maximum moon chance is 20% and is reached with very large debris fields. Many players create moons deliberately through so-called moon shots.

What can you build on a moon?

Three buildings can be erected on a moon: Lunar Base (more fields), Sensor Phalanx (reconnaissance) and Jump Gate (teleportation). Resource mines cannot be built on the moon.

Can a moon be destroyed?

Yes, a moon can be destroyed with the Death Star. Smaller moons are more vulnerable, larger moons (close to 8,000 km) are very difficult to destroy. With each destruction attempt, the attacker also risks their Death Star.