Board Game Arena

I have a newly minted federation, 4 research points, and lvl4 in a tech that no other player has researched to lvl5. Yet when I select the research action it does not show that as an option. Why?

Edit: Figured it out; the federation I formed is the 12vp one, which doesn't have a green side to flip, if I see it correctly...

Hi Karman Monkey!

Yes the 12 vp federation token is grey, so you can't flip it to reach a level 5 in a technology branch or to get an advanced technology.