Space Dynasty was written by Hollie Satterfield for the PC. According to the game's documentation, it was based on two BBS doors written for the Atari ST: Space Empire Elite by Jon Radoff and Galactic Empire by Andromeda Software. Space Dynasty is written in Turbo Pascal.
Players gain planets in two ways: by buying planets, or by attacking other players and taking their planets. The game continues until the sysop decides to reset the game. The Radoffian Dynasty is the computer player; it has the ability to seize players' planets without attacking them and to hijack their fuel freighters. Mismanagement can result in civil war, resulting in the loss of half of one's planets. Such disastrous events could be remedied by dropping carrier, allowing the player to start over as if they hadn't played that day.
Play starts with a diplomatic phase, in which players can form alliances or make peace treaties with other empires. Players receive four turns a day, making it a game with a relatively small time investment required, relative to Tradewars and others that could consume an hour or more. On any given turn, the player receives a status report and is asked how much to pay for maintaining planets, crime prevention, etc. Then there is an opportunity to buy and sell food; conduct covert actions; buy military units and other supplies; attack other empires; and send subspace messages. New players are protected from attack for 20 turns.
