Finally got Forbidden Stars to the table and it’d an absolutely terrific space conquest game. It does feel a bit like a streamlined TI3, though it lacks the richness of the space opera that TI3 has. Forbidden Stars is much more fighty, and while that looses some flavor, it makes it much more reasonable to actually play. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the idea of using a military industrial complex to conquer the galaxy. :)
We played a two player game and it worked well. In fact, I think two might be ideal for FS. Combat is interesting, but a bit long if you were just an onlooker I suspect.