"Once" Upon a Time
09/00 - Kathy McCracken
Sometimes Star Trek CCG game terms can be confusing because
they don't mean quite what you would expect them to mean
in everyday usage. Among these terms are the "once" phrases
-- "once per turn" (with its variants "once each turn" and
"once every turn") and "once per game." If one of these
phrases is used on a card that you may play in multiples,
it's natural to think that it applies to each copy of the
card. But in general, that's not the case.
Each vs. Every
Before examining the meaning of "once," let's look at two
other important words in these game terms. "Each turn" means
each of your turns (or each of your opponent's turns,
if he is the subject of the card). So when a card says you
may do something "once each turn," you may do it only during
your own turns. "Every turn," on the other hand, means "every
turn of both players." If you can perform an action "once
every turn," you can perform it during your opponent's turn
or during your own. And "once per turn" means the same as
"once every turn."
"Once each turn"
The basic rule on actions that can happen "once each turn"
is that it means, literally, once. Even if you have ten
copies of the card in play, you can still perform that action
just once during each of your turns. (If it says "once every
turn" or "once per turn", the same applies during every
turn of both players.)
There is an exception, though; if the card with this phrase
on it has a universal symbol 
in its card title, you can perform the action once for each
copy of the card you have in play. It's not enough that
the card may be played in multiple (that is, the card is
not unique), such as 1 Tribble; the universal symbol must
be part of the card title, as with universal personnel,
ships, and sites.
Some practical (and often-questioned) examples:
• 1 Tribble: "Once every turn, may 'stop' one personnel
present (random selection)." You might have two 1 Tribble
cards on your opponent's Starship Enterprise, three more
on Deep Space Station K-7, and one on Sherman's Peak. Every
turn, you may select one of these tribble groups where there
are personnel present, and randomly select one personnel
to be "stopped." You may not "stop" a personnel in each
place.
• Plans of the Tal Shiar: "Also, once each turn, you
may discard one of your Romulan espionage cards from hand
or table, then draw one card." While you may have several
copies of this objective face up on the table, you may discard
only one espionage card to draw a card each turn.
• Breen CRM114: "Once each turn, this Away Team may
attack a landed ship or facility on same planet..." While
the reference to "this Away Team" might seem to imply that
each Away Team with its own Breen CRM114 could attack a
landed ship, the same rule applies. Only one attack each
turn, no matter how many Away Teams, Breen CRM114s, or potential
targets you have.
• Gold-Pressed Latinum: "Once each turn, on a Trading
Post, homeworld or Quark's Bar, you may discard two Latinum...
to download a non-Latinum Equipment card there." No matter
how many bars of latinum you have stockpiled at multiple
Trading Posts, you get only one download each turn.
• Orb of Time: "Once each turn, your ship or Away Team
(if this Orb and your [Orb] personnel present) may time
travel..." This Orb is duplicable, so you can have one on
each of your ships, but only one ship may use its Orb to
time travel each turn.
•
Chief O'Brien: "Once each turn, may download Brainwash
here." Because the Chief is a universal personnel, you may
use his skill once each turn for each copy you have in play
(assuming that each one has a target captive to Brainwash).
"Once per game"
The rule for this phrase is similar, but even more
restrictive. You may use this game text only once during
a game, no matter how many copies of the card you have in
play during that game. That even goes for cards with the
universal symbol. "Once per game" is absolute. (Using special
download icons is also "once per game" by rule, and it means
exactly the same thing -- once.)
A few cards qualify this phrase a bit, such as "once per
game per persona" or "once per game per card title." That
means you can use another copy of the card with the "once
per game" text, but the cards it works with may only be
used for that purpose once per game each.
Examples:
• Samuel Clemens: "Once per game, may leave play when
Devidian Door is "shown" and score points." You can play
another copy of Sam Clemens after the first has left play,
but about all he'll be good for is his Diplomacy. You can't
score points from another copy during the same game.
• Grebnedlog: "Once per game, may capture one ENGINEER
here." Even if our Pakled captain dies after he takes a
captive, and you Res-Q and play him again, he can't capture
anyone else this game.
•
Suna: Once per game, may download Reflection Therapy." Even
though Suna is universal, and you could have six copies
of him in play at the same time, only one of them may use
his skill at some time during a single game.
• We Look for Things: "May discard incident to 'acquire'
one artifact, event, or equipment enhancing attribute(s)
of an opposing ship present (once per game per card title)."
You can discard two copies to "acquire" your opponent's
Metaphasic Shields and Plasmadyne Relay, but not for two
copies of Bynars Weapons Enhancement.
Once you know...
...these two rules, that's all you need to know about "once."
Jolan tru,
Kathy McCracken
(Major Rakal)
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