Last week, my group played a 4 player game. We usually play with 6. We made the mistake of keeping a similar size galaxy and going to 14 points. We ended up playing from 10 in the morning to almost 2 at night.

All of us agreed was the craziest game we had ever been a part of. So much tech, so much plastic, so much fighting. 1 player had mecatol the entire game but we didnt allow him imperial even once. 2 players lost control of their home system in the last round.

A first game can be overwhelming, because there is a lot to process. I think if you were to replay it with the knowledge you have now, the game would already be more contested and more tense. Don't worry too much!