Bossin' Space Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Setup
• Key Game Elements
  • Timeline
  • Controlling the Spaceship
  • Overheating
  • Number of Players
  • Hazard Cards
• Course of the Game
  • 1. Hazard Phase
  • 2. Command Phase
  • Example of a Discussion
• Command Cards
  • Upgraded Command Cards
  • Cooling the Ship
• Hazard Cards (Details)
• Enemy Cards
  • Shield
  • Enemy Movement
  • Activation Effects
  • Breaking the Line
• Boss
  • Boss Hazard Cards
• Upgrading the Ship
  • Upgrades
• Crew Cards
  • Round Captain
  • Refreshing the Hand
• End of the Game
• Frequently Asked Questions

Overview

You win when you defeat the Boss, and you lose when you lose all lives (health tokens) in combat or when your ship overheats.

Components named on the overview: command deck, upgraded command cards, hazard cards, Boss hazard cards, Boss figure, Boss card, enemy deck, hazard deck, upgrade board, health tokens, timeline, crew cards, game board, spaceship.

Setup

1. Lay out the game board in the middle of the table.

2. Next to it place the upgrade board with these cubes:

   • 1 blue cube on the [starting] space
   • 1 red cube on the first position of the Overheat track
   • 8 yellow cubes on the XP (experience) track; leave the first position empty (in a 1- or 2-player game, leave 2 positions empty)

3. Place 3 health tokens next to the upgrade board. They represent your health. Return the other 2 tokens to the box for now.

4. Enemy deck. Divide the enemy cards by their XP value and shuffle each group separately. Make 3 decks, from which you then build 1 enemy deck. Use the following numbers of cards from each:

   	1/2 players	3/4/5 players
   3 XP	8	6
   2 XP	10	8
   1 XP	10	10

   Build the enemy deck: put the 3 XP enemies at the bottom, the 2 XP enemies on them, and the 1 XP enemies on top. Take 1 Boss card (randomly or by choice) and place it at the very bottom of the enemy deck.

Key Game Elements

Timeline

The timeline determines the order of actions for the enemies and the players' ship. Each round you will construct a new timeline. It usually consists of 8 cards in 2 rows. Once the Boss enters the game, there can be up to 3 rows. You must keep exactly this order of rows:

a) Boss hazard cards (if the Boss is in play) b) Hazard cards (if enemies are still in play) c) Command cards

Controlling the Spaceship

Players use their command cards to control the spaceship. This game is cooperative and all players control the ship together. Each round, together they must play a total of 4 cards.

Important: Players must not tell the others what cards they hold in hand or which card they have just played on the table.

Each card is played from hand face down so the others cannot tell which card it is. You may turn the cards over only when all four have been played.

Overheating

Some command cards or game effects (Boss hazard cards or enemy cards) heat up your ship. If the red cube moves to the 4th position of the Overheat track, the game immediately ends in a loss. To prevent this, you must use command cards to cool the ship (see page 8).

Number of Players

Regardless of the number of players, 4 command cards must be played each round. Depending on the number of players there are these minor changes:

• 1 player: In a solo game you take new command cards each round and return the unused ones to the bottom of the command deck. Do not use crew cards. Turn: After revealing the hazard cards, draw 3 cards from the command deck and play 2 of them. Return the remaining one to the bottom of the deck. Then draw 4 command cards from the top of the deck and again play 2 of them. Return the remaining 2 to the bottom of the deck. You now have 4 command cards available, which you use on the timeline.
• 2 players: Each player has 5 cards in hand. When laying out cards, each plays exactly 2 cards.
• 3 players: Each player has 5 cards in hand. When laying out cards, the current round captain plays 2 cards, the other players only 1.
• 4 players: Each player has 4 cards in hand. When laying out cards, each plays exactly 1 card.
• 5 players: Play as with 4, with one exception: the round captain does not play a card from hand. Their task, however, is to place the cards on the timeline.

Hazard Cards

Enemies behave according to hazard cards. These cards control their movement on the board, add further enemy cards, and activate their abilities or attack. Add hazard cards to the timeline randomly. Place Boss hazard cards on the timeline according to the number in the upper left corner of the card.

Course of the Game

Each round of the game consists of 2 phases.

1. Hazard Phase

At the start of the round each player refills their command cards in hand up to the limit:

• 5 cards with 2/3 players
• 4 cards with 4/5 players

If the command deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile and form a new draw deck. The round captain may refresh the cards in hand at the start of the round (see page 13).

Reveal 4 new hazard cards. Cover with them the cards from the previous round. If you have emptied the hazard deck, shuffle all hazard cards and form a new deck. If you have defeated all enemies, do not use hazard cards any more.

Each player secretly plays a command card from hand, so that 4 cards lie face down on the table (the number of cards played from hand differs by player count; see the box on the previous page). Once 4 command cards are played, move on to the next phase.

Remember! Do not discuss the command cards!

2. Command Phase

The round captain reveals the 4 played command cards. As a group decide how to use the played command cards in the timeline. The round captain, however, has the last word and may arrange the cards as they see fit.

To resolve the timeline, start with the first command card from the left, carry out its action and continue with the hazard card above it. If both hazard cards and Boss hazard cards are in play, resolve the regular one and then the one controlling the Boss. Then move on to the next command card in the second column and repeat the process until you have resolved all cards on the timeline.

After resolving all cards on the timeline, discard all command cards and go to the Hazard phase. The round captain becomes the next player clockwise (see page 13).

Tip: You can either first arrange all command cards on the timeline and then resolve their actions, or add them one at a time, activate its effect (and the effect of the hazard card above it) and then decide which card to assign next. Remember that resolved effects cannot be undone.

Tip: Mark with a figure where you are on the timeline.

Example of a Discussion

After revealing the 4 new hazard cards for this round, we recommend summarizing what actually awaits you: "4 new enemies will be added, so we have to deal with them somehow. Then there will be a lot of shooting, it would certainly not hurt to avoid it. Further, we have to hope that no unpleasant effects appear when the enemies activate. So let's play the cards."

Players cannot reveal what cards they hold in hand or otherwise hint which action they plan to play. Once the round captain reveals the played cards, they show them to teammates and together devise a strategy: "Should we use the EMP to skip adding enemies, or to skip activating them?" "We have 1 life left, let's take it slow and not add more enemies. Then we won't have to worry about their attack either." "Good idea. We can use the Rocket to remove this enemy, so we won't have to worry about its activation on the last hazard card." "Does everyone agree? Let's go."

Command Cards

You use command cards to control the ship and use its abilities. Let's go through them all so you know what you can play. We recommend studying the example of a round on the separate sheet.

When resolving a command card with the temperature symbol +1, move the red cube 1 position to the right. If it reaches the Overheat track's final space, you lose the game.

• EMP – Skip the next hazard card (and Boss hazard card): ignore its effect and move immediately to the next command card on the timeline. Overheat +1
• Move – Move your ship 1 column (with double move, 2 columns) in the given direction (left or right). Columns 1 and 4 are not adjacent, so you must end the move at each edge. With a double move you must move 2 columns if possible.
• Tractor Beam – Choose any card (even the Boss figure) except your own ship and move it to any adjacent column (right or left).
• Shoot – Deal 1 damage to the nearest enemy in the same column as your ship.
• Heal – Restore 1 damaged health token.
• Rocket – Launch 1 rocket (more after upgrades). Each rocket deals 1 damage in a column of your choice. With more rockets you can hit several enemies in one column (if the nearest enemy is defeated) or several columns. Overheat +1
• Laser – Deal 2 damage (more after upgrades) in the same column as your ship. Apply the damage starting from the nearest enemy. If a card is destroyed, continue with further cards until you have applied all the damage (or there is no one left to damage). Overheat +1

Upgraded Command Cards

When upgrading your ship (see page 12) you may choose to add upgraded command cards to the command deck. Besides further Laser and Rocket cards, the upgraded command cards include these new cards:

• Teleport – Move your ship to any column.
• Carpet Bomb – Destroy all enemy cards in the 3rd row (marked with the letter C on the board). You gain XP for cards destroyed this way. Cannot be used to kill the Boss. Overheat +1
• Double Shot – Deal 2 damage to the nearest enemy in your column. If a card is destroyed by a single hit, deal the remaining damage to the next enemy.
• Free Move – Move your ship 1 column in either direction (right or left).

Cooling the Ship

Moving the red cube onto the final space of the Overheat track makes the ship explode. The game immediately ends in a loss.

Before resolving a command card on the timeline and carrying out its effect, players may decide to turn the card face down (thus ignoring its effect) to cool the ship. Move the red cube on the Overheat track back 1 position (more after upgrades). You may cool several times per round, even if your ship is not overheated at all.

Hazard Cards (Details)

Regular hazard cards are used to resolve enemy activity on the game board. They have no effect on the Boss. After defeating all enemies (on the board and in the deck), do not use hazard cards any more.

We recommend studying the example of a round on the separate sheet.

• New Enemies – Move all enemies 1 position down. Add 4 new enemies from the enemy deck. Place one of them in each column in the first row (marked A). Alternative: If there is not at least 1 card in the enemy deck, move all enemies on the game board 1 position down. Move the Boss figure 1 row down to indicate that the row is no longer accessible to enemies.
• Attack – Enemy cards in the marked columns attack. If your ship is in the same column, it is damaged. Turn as many health tokens to the damaged side as the attack value of the strongest enemy (with the highest attack strength) in your column (even if several enemies attack, only one of them hurts you).
• Move – Move 1 enemy from the marked column to the adjacent column as shown in the illustration on the card. Always move the card nearest to the player ship and place it in the first free position in the target column. Alternative: If there is no card to move in the column, add 1 new one instead and move that one.
• Activate – Activate all enemies on the game board that have the activation icon (in order from left to right, top to bottom) and resolve their effects one by one.
• Help – If your ship is in the marked column, you receive the corresponding bonus (+1 XP, or healing 1 health token). Used only in Easy difficulty.
• Silence – Nothing happens. Enjoy a short moment of rest.

Tip: Pay attention to which hazard cards have already appeared. You can get an idea of which cards might await you in the next round.

Enemy Cards

Each enemy card shows: attack strength, XP value, shield, health.

You defeat an enemy by dealing damage equal to its health. If you do not destroy a card in one turn, use damage tokens to mark the damage dealt. When you defeat an enemy you gain the XP points shown on its card, and discard the card.

Shield

The shield absorbs 1 damage. To defeat an enemy with a shield you must deal at least 2 damage with a single command card. The shield cannot be permanently destroyed and must be overcome with each attack on this enemy.

Tip: The basic attack will not work on this enemy. Use the Laser, an upgraded Rocket, Double Shot or Carpet Bomb.

Enemy Movement

When moving left or right, place the enemy card in the first available position from the bottom in that column. Whenever an empty space appears on the board, move the enemy cards up to fill it.

Activation Effects

When a hazard card tells you to activate all enemy effects, go through all cards on the board from left to right, top to bottom, and resolve their "on activation" effects.

Some cards have 2 effects, separated by an arrow. Resolve the left one first, then the right one.

• Temperature +1 – Move the red cube on the upgrade board 1 position to the right.
• Attack – Deal damage to the player ship if it is in the same column / in the same or adjacent columns as the enemy card, according to its attack strength.
• Damage to the spaceship – Deal 1 damage to the player ship (turn a health token).
• Heal the spaceship – Turn 1 damaged health token back to its undamaged side.
• Summon – Add an enemy card 1 row below this card. If the enemy deck is empty, draw a random discarded card. Do not activate the new card's effect. Move any other cards in this column down to make room.
• Move – Move this card 1 column right/left to the first free position. Move any enemies that were below it up and fill the gap.
• Move away from / toward the spaceship – Move the enemy farther from / closer to the player ship. Fill the empty space.
• +/− XP – Add or remove XP points. When removing, stop at 0 (the start of the track).
• Discard – Discard this card. You gain no XP for it. Move the enemies that were below it to fill the gap.

Breaking the Line

When an enemy card crosses this line and enters the row with the player ship (marked D), regardless of column, discard it without gaining XP and deal damage to your ship equal to the enemy's attack strength.

Boss

When you reveal the Boss card at the very end of the enemy deck, put this Boss's figure into its stand. At the start of the next Hazard phase, place it in the same column as the player ship. On the Boss's health track at the top of the game board, mark with a red cube how many life points it has. As soon as the Boss enters the game, find the four cards of its hazard set (recognizable by the illustration of the given Boss). These cards will control the Boss's behavior.

The Boss moves in its own row above the game board. Enemy cards in the same column prevent you from damaging it. If the Boss has no enemy cards in front of it, you can hurt it. The Boss shoots through enemy cards (ignores them). If you reduce the Boss's health to 0, you win the game.

Boss 1 is recommended for your first game.

Boss Hazard Cards

Place Boss hazard cards above the regular hazard cards. Each Boss has 4 cards with exactly defined positions on the timeline. Most effects are the same as enemy activations or hazard cards. These effects are unique:

• EMP – Skip the next command card (do not resolve its effect).
• Flip – Turn the Boss card to its other side.
• Heal – The Boss heals 1 damage (on the health track). It cannot have more health than its card states.

Upgrading the Ship

When you defeat an enemy you gain XP equal to the value on its card. Move the XP marker on the upgrade board the same number of spaces to the right. If the marker enters a space with a yellow cube, move that cube to a chosen upgrade (the round captain has the deciding word) and return the XP marker to the first position of the track. If you still have unassigned XP from defeating the enemy, move the marker by that many spaces.

Upgrades

You have 3 basic upgrade paths, called Rockets, Laser and Deck, and each has 3 levels. When choosing one of these paths you must always choose the first free space from the left.

• Rockets – Levels 1–3: The Rocket command card launches 2/3/4 rockets.
• Laser – Levels 1–2: The Laser command card deals 3/4 damage. Level 3: When cooling the ship (by turning a command card), move the red marker 2 positions back instead of 1.
• Deck – For each level add 2 upgraded command cards to the command deck. Take the top 2 cards of the command deck and shuffle the 2 upgraded cards into them. Return these 4 cards to the top of the command deck.
• Health upgrade – When you complete all three upgrades of one level, you open the possibility of unlocking an extra life. You can then choose it when upgrading the ship. Levels 1–2: Add 1 health token (undamaged side up).

Tip: Have you already played all Rocket command cards? Perhaps it is worth considering choosing something else as the selected upgrade and returning to rockets later.

Crew Cards

Each player received at the start of the game a crew card with a unique effect. This effect can be activated only when that player is the round captain. Do not use crew cards in the solo game.

• Pilot – Once per round you may change the direction of a Move command card (even a double move).
• Mechanic – Once per round skip 1 Overheat (from a command card, a Boss hazard card, or an enemy activation).
• Gunner – Once per round you may fire with a Shoot command card into an adjacent column. Also works with the upgraded Double Shot card.
• Scientist – Once per round you gain a bonus of +1 XP when defeating an enemy card.
• Hacker – Once per round you may swap 2 enemy cards on the game board.

Round Captain

At the end of the round, move the round captain token clockwise. Only the round captain may use the ability of their crew card. The round captain arranges the cards on the timeline and also has the deciding word in team disagreements.

Refreshing the Hand

At the start of the round, the round captain may discard all command cards from hand and draw new cards up to the limit. Cannot be used in a solo game.

End of the Game

You lose when

• you turn all health tokens to the damaged side, or
• you explode from complete overheating of the ship.

You win when

• you defeat the final Boss (reduce its health to 0).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can we reveal anything about the cards in hand? Players may not reveal which cards they hold in hand or which they played. That means no secret signals or gestures. Have the courage to play on your own best judgment.

May I tell others which cards to play? No. Never instruct others how to play. Instead, talk in general terms. You can suggest what you should do as a team: "We should move, and I suggest neutralizing this enemy before it can activate."

We defeated the Boss, but completely overheated the ship in doing so. Finishing the Boss at the last moment with a Rocket that also overheats your ship may sound epic, but it cannot be considered a win. To win, you must be alive at the moment the Boss is defeated.

Do we have to resolve all command cards? Yes. But we will tell you a trick. You can turn a command card over to cool the ship. You can do this several times per round, even if your ship is not overheated at all.

The "alpha player" ruins the game experience. What to do? This is a cooperative game, try to play it as a team. If that does not work, introduce a rule that only the round captain decides on the placement of command cards on the timeline.

There are multiple options for moving enemy cards on the board. How do we decide? In special cases where the game asks you to move an enemy farther from your ship (which is in the same column) and it could be right or left, the round captain decides the direction. Some Bosses have a preferred direction in case of ambiguity (larger direction icon).

Does the Boss also attack on an Attack hazard card? No. Regular hazard cards affect only enemies on the game board. The Boss shoots only when a Boss hazard card says so.

Can the player ship be fully upgraded? There are not enough cubes for that. Each game you must choose which path is more beneficial. Some upgrades make more sense when fighting a particular Boss.