Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game
Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Summary
- Sorting Guide
- Game Setup
- Turn Sequence
- Conspiracy Phase: Add a Conspiracy Card to the Shadows
- Action Phase: Play Cards from Your Hand to Scan, Recruit, and Fight
- Scanning Spaces, Recruiting Characters, and Fighting Enemies
- Turning a Hidden Card Face Up
- Discovering and Collecting Evidence
- How to Fight an Enemy
- Strike Phase: Each Enemy in the Field Strikes
- Cleanup Phase: Discard Your Hand and Draw Six New Cards
- The End Game — Is This the End?
- Strategy Tips
- Card Abilities
- Character Keyword Abilities
- Conspiracy Deck Keyword Abilities
- Additional Game Rule Clarifications
- "Academy Character"
- "Attach"
- "Avoid"
- "Beneath"
- "Cancel"
- "Defeating" Cards
- Evidence
- Fighting a Player
- "Gaining" Cards
- "Hide" and "Hidden"
- Looking Through a Player Deck
- "Next Player"
- "Outside the Game"
- "Reveal" and "Revealed"
- Running Out of Special Agents
- Running Out of Cards in the Academy Deck
- Running Out of Beliefs and Doubts
- Running Out of Strikes
- "Scars"
- "Team"
- "Top" Cards
- "Your Characters" and "Your Cards"
- Specific Card Clarifications
- Playing Solo
- Adjusting Difficulty
- Playing a Series
- Credits
Game Summary
Welcome to Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game. In this fully cooperative game for 1-5 players, you'll play a team of agents — choosing from among Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Doggett, and Reyes — as you investigate The X-Files and work to unravel the greater conspiracy behind them. During the game, your team will play cards from their own decks — recruiting other agents, uncovering evidence, and fighting enemies. If you do well enough, you will face the final challenge — the conspiracy's vicious "End Game"!
How to Play and, Maybe, Win
During each game, you'll play through three "seasons" of The X-Files show (the game covers the first nine seasons).
Each player starts the game with a deck of basic cards. At the start of your turn, you'll add a card from the Conspiracy Deck into the Shadows. It could be an Enemy, an Event, an Informant or even a Lead about the conspiracy. You'll play cards from your hand to generate Attack, Recruit Points, and special abilities. You'll use Attack to defeat Enemies and to reveal hidden cards in the Shadows. You'll use Recruit Points to find and recruit new character cards in the Bureau for your deck. Whenever your deck runs out of cards, you'll shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck, including all of the new characters you've recruited. This allows your deck to get stronger over time. But beware — your adversaries also get tougher as you go.
Players must work together on their turns to find Leads and discover Evidence of the conspiracy's End Game. The more Evidence you Collect, the better your chances will be when you face the End Game. If you somehow overcome the End Game, you win the game.
But the conspiracy isn't a passive participant in this game. Its End Game will have a wicked assortment of abilities and the conspiracy uses all kinds of The X-Files to distract your team and keep the pressure on you.
At the end of each turn, if there are any Enemies remaining in the Field, they will Strike you. If a player takes damage equal to or greater than their health, they're defeated and the team loses the game — they can't bear the practical and emotional loss of their colleague. However, if "The End" has begun (if the End Game card has been revealed), the players will soldier on without their teammate. Once "The End" has begun, either the conspiracy will succeed, or a few brave agents just might save the world.
What's New in This Legendary Encounters Game?
It's possible you've played other Legendary Encounters games. If you haven't, you can skip this section. If you have, this game has a lot of similarities, but also some differences, unique to The X-Files.
The Bureau. The character cards that you will recruit as the game progresses make up a deck called the Academy. Each Encounters game has spaces from which to recruit these cards. That area is called the Bureau in this game. But it is different in three major ways from other Encounters games.
- Powerful — The Bureau has the massive resources of the Federal Government behind it. Each space in the Bureau has a unique power, so each time you gain a card from there, you get to use that power.
- Secretive — The Bureau is a clandestine service, after all. The Academy cards enter the Bureau hidden (face down) and must be scanned before they can be recruited, similar to how Enemy cards need to be scanned (except you use Attack).
- Compromised — The Bureau in The X-Files contains agents with shifting allegiances and agendas. There are a number of Syndicate Enemies within the Academy that, when scanned, will stay in the Bureau, causing you trouble and stopping you from using the power in that space.
Leads, Evidence and the End Game. Previous Encounters games have Objectives that you must complete to win the game. There are no Objectives in this game — simply one long-term goal: defeat the End Game. In order to do this, you will need to find Leads and follow these Leads to Discover and Collect Evidence. The more Evidence you can Discover, the more you will be able to prepare for the End Game's nefarious plans. And if you can Collect some of that Evidence, the weaker the conspiracy's End Game will be.
Sorting Guide
You'll find 500 cards in the box in addition to the playmat. Here are some suggestions on how to initially sort your cards. Most cards have a Deck Label at the bottom.
First sort the following cards. Note: each of the following groups has its own card frame.
- 60 Starting Cards
- 35 Field Agents
- 25 Assault Teams
- 5 Special Agents
- 5 Avatars
- 15 Informants
- 12 Leads
- 27 Evidence
- 9 of each Priority
- 17 Beliefs
- 17 Doubts
- 40 Strikes
- 20 Syndicate Enemies
- 9 End Games
- Including the Clone card
- 21 Cliffhanger Cards
Next, sort the Season cards. Note: each Season is made up of three different card types, each with a different card frame (10 Enemies, 3 Events, 1 Ally), and is marked as either A, B, or C.
- 14 Season 1 (A)
- 14 Season 2 (B)
- 14 Season 3 (C)
- 14 Season 4 (A)
- 14 Season 5 (B)
- 14 Season 6 (C)
- 14 Season 7 (A)
- 14 Season 8 (B)
- 14 Season 9 (C)
Finally, it's time to sort the remaining cards — the Academy characters. Each of these should have the name of one of the nine agents underneath the card's title. Sort by agent as follows:
- 14 Fox Mulder
- 14 Dana Scully
- 14 Walter Skinner
- 14 John Doggett
- 14 Monica Reyes
- 14 Brad Follmer
- 14 Sean Pendrell
- 14 The Lone Gunmen
- 14 Charles Burks
Your First Game
For your first game, follow the setup rules using the specific card stacks listed below. This will allow you to play the first three Seasons of The X-Files.
After your first game, you can either try it again or you can follow the instructions to play through the other six Seasons in the box either as individual games or in a row as a Series. (See "Playing a Series" for more information about Series.)
Your First Game — Use These Cards
- Deck A: Season 1 (A)
- Deck B: Season 2 (B)
- Deck C: Season 3 (C)
- Players: Mulder, Scully, Skinner, Doggett, Reyes (In a four-player game leave out Reyes. In a three-player game leave out Doggett and Reyes, etc.)
- Academy Deck: Burks, Follmer, Pendrell, Lone Gunmen
Game Setup
Player Starting Decks
Give each player their own personal 12-card deck made up of these cards:
- 7 Field Agents
- 5 Assault Teams
Each player then selects one of the five Avatars and puts it in front of them. This is the character you will be playing in the game. (You can choose which ones you like or randomly deal them out.)
The Avatar stays in front of each player during the game. The Avatar card shows:
- Rank — determines who goes first. (And some effects refer to Ranks.)
- Defense — this value is only referenced by certain card effects.
- Health — determines how much damage it takes to defeat you.
- Your Avatar also has a Belief ability and a Doubt ability, which we'll cover later.
Example — Fox Mulder is Avatar Rank 2, with 4 Defense and 12 Health. His Belief, "I Want to Believe," lets each player defeat a Doubt in their hand or discard pile. His Doubt, "Trust No One," means players can't Coordinate or discuss game strategy until the start of your next turn.
Game Stacks
Put the 17 Beliefs and 17 Doubts face up on their spaces on the playmat. Shuffle the 5 Special Agents and put them face down on their space. Shuffle the 40 Strikes and put them face down on their space. Leave all the Cliffhangers cards in the box. They're only used if you're playing a Series (see "Playing a Series").
Evidence
There are 27 Evidence cards of three types (Priority 1, 2, 3 — marked as such on the backs of the cards). There are 9 Priority 1 Evidence, 9 Priority 2 Evidence, and 9 Priority 3 Evidence. Without looking, randomly select one Priority 1 Evidence and put it face down on its space on the playmat. Then do the same with one Priority 2 Evidence and one Priority 3 Evidence. Put the unused Evidence cards back in the box.
The Conspiracy Deck
The Conspiracy Deck is always made up of a varying number of cards from different Seasons (based on the number of players), as well as 3 Informants, 3 Leads, and 1 End Game.
Each of the nine Seasons is made up of 14 cards and is marked as either type A, B, or C (on their Deck label at the bottom of the cards). Each game uses cards from each type. Players will play through the A Season cards first, then the B Season cards, and then the C Season cards, before finally facing the End Game.
Note: every Season has three card types: Enemies, Events, and Allies. These are all mixed together for setup, meaning some games you will have an Ally, some games you will have one to three Events, and some games you'll have neither.
There are three ways to build the Conspiracy Deck (we suggest you stick with Standard Season Mode for your first few games):
- Standard Season Mode: Play three Seasons in a row (Seasons 1-3, 4-6, or 7-9).
- Random Season Mode: Play any A Season, then any B Season, then any C Season, chosen randomly (so you could play Seasons 1, 5, 9, for example).
- Every Season Mode: Shuffle all the A cards together (Seasons 1, 4, 7), all the B cards together (Seasons 2, 5, 8) and all the C cards together (Seasons 3, 6, 9), then build the Conspiracy Deck from those three pools of cards. This Mode will make it very likely that you have cards from each of the 9 Seasons in the game and is a great way to test yourselves once you have played the other modes several times.
To build the Conspiracy Deck do the following:
- Shuffle the eight End Game cards (leaving the "Clone" End Game card in the box for now), and put a random one, without looking at it, hidden (face down) on the Conspiracy Deck space. Put the remaining End Game cards back in the box.
- Choose your building method from the three modes listed above and place the proper A, B, and C cards in three separate piles.
- Using the chart below, determine the number of players. Then shuffle each of the three piles separately and deal out, without looking at them, the correct number of A, B, and C cards into three separate Season piles. Put the remaining A, B, and C cards back in the box.
- Shuffle the 15 Informants and without looking at them, randomly put one into each Season pile. Put the remaining Informants back in the box.
- Shuffle the 12 Leads and without looking at them, randomly put one into each Season pile. Put the remaining Leads back in the box.
- Shuffle the Season C pile (which should consist of Season C cards, 1 Informant and 1 Lead) and put it face down on the End Game card (which is on the Conspiracy Deck space). Then shuffle the Season B pile and put it face down on top of Season C. Finally shuffle the Season A pile and put it face down on top of Season B.
| Number of Players | Number of Conspiracy Cards in Each Pile (A/B/C) | Informants | Leads |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 |
For example: In a three player game, you'll make an A pile, a B pile, and a C pile, each with 9 random cards, then add 1 random Informant and Lead to each pile.
The Academy
There are nine different characters in the game with 14 cards each. To build the Academy, pick four characters (at random or your choice) for a total of 56 cards. Put the rest of the character cards back in the box. And don't forget that the Syndicate has infiltrated the Bureau: shuffle the 20 Syndicate cards and randomly select 6 of them, without looking at them. (Put the remaining 14 back in the box.) Add the 6 Syndicate cards to the 56 character cards and shuffle them all together to make an Academy Deck of 62 total cards. Place the Academy face down on its space on the playmat.
Starting the Game
- Put the top five cards of the Academy face down into the five spaces of the Bureau.
- Each player shuffles their own personal deck of 12 cards and draws a hand of six cards from it.
- The player with the highest Rank goes first. (Example: Skinner is Rank 1 which is the highest.) Then play proceeds clockwise.
Turn Sequence
During your turn, complete the following phases in order:
- Conspiracy Phase: Draw a Conspiracy card (keeping it hidden) and add it to the Shadows.
- Action Phase: Play cards from your hand to scan, recruit, and fight.
- Strike Phase: Each Enemy in the Field Strikes.
- Cleanup Phase: Discard your hand and all cards played. Then draw six new cards.
Conspiracy Phase: Add a Conspiracy Card to the Shadows
At the beginning of your turn, without looking at it, put the top card of the Conspiracy Deck, hidden, into the closest space in the Shadows.
Push Other Cards to the Left If Necessary
Each of the five spaces in the Shadows can only hold one card. Whenever a card enters a space in the Shadows, if there's already another card there, the existing card gets pushed one space to the left to make room for it. So a single card entering the Shadows sometimes causes several cards to get pushed.
- Remember: Only push a card forward if it needs to move to make room for another card entering that space.
- Cards move the same way whether they're hidden or revealed.
- All card types move in the Shadows unless they say otherwise.
- End Games move differently. See "The End Game" for more.
A Card Might Get Pushed to the Field
If a card is on the leftmost space of the Shadows and gets pushed, it then leaves the Shadows and enters the Field. If it's hidden, immediately reveal it. (See "Turning a Hidden Card Face Up" for what happens when a card is revealed.)
The Field can hold any number of cards. Each time a new one is added, slide the existing ones over to the right.
Action Phase: Play Cards from Your Hand to Scan, Recruit, and Fight
Your deck includes lots of character cards. Character cards can be Starting Characters, Special Agents, Allies and Academy characters (the cards that can start the game in the Academy). Here are the different parts of a character card: Card Number, Card Name, Character Name/Subtitle, Class Icon, Master (card type and rarity), Recruit Points, Attack, Special Ability, and Cost (how many Recruit Points it costs to recruit this character).
Example — "Assistant Director" is Walter Skinner's character card. It gives 2 Recruit Points and has the special ability "Activate: Choose any player to draw a card." It costs 3 Recruit Points to recruit.
Some of your cards produce "Recruit Points" that let you scan the Bureau and recruit characters or pay for other effects. Other cards produce "Attack" that lets you scan the Shadows and fight Enemies. Some cards give you special abilities like drawing cards or healing.
- Play cards from your hand in any order, one at a time.
- Most cards say "Activate:" in their text, which means you can wait until a later point in your Action Phase in order to use their special ability. Otherwise, do what the card says right away. More on Activate follows.
- You get any Recruit Points listed in the Recruit Points icon of a card when you play it, but you don't have to use those Recruit Points right away — they last until the end of your turn.
- You get any amount of Attack listed in the Attack icon on a card when you play it, but you don't have to use that Attack right away — it lasts until the end of your turn.
- Some cards say something like "2 +" inside their Recruit or Attack icon. The "2" means you start with 2 from that card. The "+" symbol means you might get more or fewer Recruit Points or Attack based on the card's special ability.
- Keep the cards you play face up in front of you until the end of your turn.
- You don't have to play every card in your hand.
"Activate"
When you play a card, you immediately gain its Recruit Points and Attack and you must follow any instructions in its text. However, if it has an "Activate" ability, you can wait until later in your Action Phase to Activate it. Once you're ready to, simply say you're activating the ability and then follow its instructions. (We like to imagine we're pressing a button on the card.)
You can only Activate an ability once per turn. It can be helpful to turn a card sideways as a reminder that you've Activated its ability already. Note: you don't have to Activate cards you play.
Class Abilities (Combos)
In this game, character cards come with one of five classes. A card's class is shown with the class icon on the upper left and also in the color of the card's border.
- Intellect cards represent an agent's raw intelligence.
- Leadership cards represent an agent's ability to run the team and make decisions.
- Science cards represent an agent's scientific and mathematical aptitude.
- Tech cards represent an agent's skill at creating, using and repairing devices.
- Will cards represent an agent's determination and willpower.
Some cards have an ability with a Class Icon and a colon, like "Activate: You get +2 Attack." Class abilities have some restrictions:
- You can only use (Activate) a Class ability if you've already played another card of that class earlier in your turn.
- You can only use a particular card's Class ability once a turn, even if you played more than one card of the required class earlier in the turn.
Example of a Class Ability: "Head of the Sci-Crime Lab" always gives you 2 Recruit Points. If you've already played another Intellect card earlier in the turn, then you can use the class ability on Head of the Sci-Crime Lab to draw a card. If you play two copies of Head of the Sci-Crime Lab as your first two cards of the turn, then you won't get to use the class ability on the first one, but you will get to use it on the second one.
Beliefs and Doubts
Beliefs and Doubts are special cards that are gained during the game. They represent the agents' constantly changing philosophies and experiences.
You can play a Belief card the same way you play a character card. When you do, you'll draw a card immediately (as it says on the card). Then at some point during your Action Phase you may Activate the Belief card (but you can't Activate more than one Belief card a turn). If you do, resolve the Belief text on your Avatar, then defeat the Belief card (by putting it back in the Belief stack). If you play more than one Belief card in a turn, you'll draw a card for each one. However, you can only resolve your Belief once per turn. (This includes from effects other than Belief cards.)
For example: If you are playing as Mulder and you play a Belief card, you immediately draw a card. Then if you choose to Activate the Belief card later in your Action Phase, the team defeats some Doubt cards (and then the Belief card will go back to the Belief stack). If you choose not to Activate the Belief card, it will go to your discard pile at the end of your turn like your other cards.
Doubts work a little differently. At the start of your Action Phase, if you have a Doubt card in hand or if you draw a Doubt card during your Action Phase, you must resolve the Doubt text on your Avatar and then defeat the Doubt card (by putting it back on the Doubt stack). However, you can only resolve your Doubt once per turn. (This includes from effects other than Doubt cards.) If you ever have a second (or more) Doubt card during your Action Phase, leave the extras in your hand. They will go to your discard pile at the end of your turn like your other cards.
Note: When you resolve a Doubt and defeat it, this doesn't count as "playing" a card.
Scanning Spaces, Recruiting Characters, and Fighting Enemies
In-between playing cards from your hand, or after you've played all of your cards, you can recruit any number of characters, scan any number of spaces, and fight any number of Enemies. You can do any or all of that as many times as you're able and in any order.
How to Scan the Bureau
The Bureau area of the board has five spaces, each of which can contain exactly one card from the Academy. Cards enter the Bureau hidden (face down), and you must scan them to reveal them (turn them face up).
Each space has a Scan Cost. To scan a space that has a hidden card, spend the required amount of Attack as indicated on that space's Scan Cost. Then reveal the hidden card.
When you reveal a character, it can now be recruited (see below). When you reveal a Syndicate Enemy, leave it in its space. More on Syndicate Enemies below.
How to Recruit a Character
Once a character is revealed in the Bureau, any player can recruit it on their turn (it doesn't have to be the same player who scanned it). To recruit a character, spend Recruit Points equal to that character's cost, found on its bottom right corner, and then put it into your discard pile. You have now "gained" this card. When your deck runs out and you shuffle your discard pile to make a new deck, you will soon draw that new character.
Some special abilities instruct you to directly "gain" a character, without paying its cost. Whenever you gain a character, unless the effect says otherwise, put it in your discard pile.
Each Bureau space has a special Bureau power. When you gain a character from the Bureau, you also get to use the Bureau power on that space.
Whenever there is an empty space in the Bureau for any reason, immediately refill it with the top card of the Academy Deck, hidden. For example, you might recruit a character, then scan the new card that replaced it, and then recruit that new character, all on the same turn — if you have enough Recruit Points.
You can also recruit a Special Agent from the Special Agent deck. To do so, spend 3 Recruit Points and put the top card of that deck into your discard pile. They always cost 3 Recruit Points and there is one Special Agent for each of the five classes. (You won't know which one you will get until you recruit it.) Besides being different classes, they are identical.
Syndicate Enemies in the Bureau
The Syndicate has infiltrated the Bureau! Syndicate Enemies work like regular Enemies for the most part, except for where you find them! When you scan a space and find a Syndicate Enemy, leave it in its space. If it has a "Reveal" ability resolve it right away. (A Reveal ability happens once when a card is turned face up. After that you can ignore its text.)
Syndicate Enemies don't Strike players during the Strike Phase like regular Enemies, but they often have harmful text. As long they're in a Bureau space, you won't be able to use that space to recruit characters. A Syndicate Enemy can be fought normally (see "How to Fight an Enemy"). When you defeat one, put that card on the Defeated Conspiracy space (where you put other defeated Enemies), and add the top card of the Academy face down on the Bureau space where the Syndicate Enemy was.
How to Scan the Shadows
During the game there will be hidden (face-down) cards in the Shadows. It's usually a good idea to scan those cards, which reveals them (turns them face up). That way, if you find an Enemy card, you can try to defeat it before it moves into the Field and starts Striking you. Perhaps you'll find something useful like an Ally, Informant, or Lead.
Each space has a Scan Cost. To scan a space that has a hidden card, spend the required amount of Attack as indicated on that space's Scan Cost. Then reveal the hidden card.
If a hidden card moves to the Field, it's automatically revealed. There are also special abilities in the game that let you scan a space. In those cases, you don't have to pay the Scan Cost, just reveal the card right away.
Revealed cards move the same as hidden cards. And depending on what kind of card it is, different things happen when it's revealed. Let's see what happens!
Turning a Hidden Card Face Up
Revealing an Enemy
Enemies make up the majority of the cards in the Conspiracy Deck. They come in five types, and some even have more than one type. These types are referenced by some cards in the game but otherwise have no effect. The five Enemy types are:
- Alien — These are the superstars of the series. Extraterrestrial.
- Construct — These could be anything manmade, from an ancient bowl to a computer program.
- Creature — Animals and beasts, often with a twist.
- Human — Although the most mundane of the types, they can be the most dangerous.
- Spirit — Magical, mystical, demonic. Not much fun.
Here are the different parts of an Enemy card: Card Number, Card Name, Character Name/Subtitle, Master (card type), Special Ability, and Attack — you must have this much Attack in order to defeat this enemy.
Example — "Jersey Devil" is a Season 1 (A) Enemy card. Its Special Ability is Ferocious ("Each time this Enemy Strikes, if the Strike is a Miss, it Strikes again.") and it takes 4 Attack to defeat it.
When an Enemy is revealed, it stays where it is. It will continue to move through the Shadows the same way a hidden card moves. Some Enemies have "Reveal" abilities. When an Enemy is revealed, its Reveal ability triggers once and then can be ignored afterwards. If the ability says "First Reveal:" it only applies the first time you reveal that Enemy.
Revealing an Event
Events are bad things that happen to the team. When an Event card is revealed, follow its instructions and defeat it (put it into the Defeated Conspiracy space on the playmat).
Example — "Failing Mental Health" is a Season 7 (A) Event card: "Choose up to two players to gain two total Doubts."
Revealing an Ally
Allies are people that the team comes across during their investigations who want to help them against the conspiracy. When an Ally is revealed in the Shadows, choose a player to gain it. If it's revealed anywhere else (most likely by entering the Field) defeat it — the conspiracy has gotten to them. You must find your Allies before it's too late!
Example — "Luther Lee Boggs" is a Season 1 (A) Ally card: "Activate: Draw a card or gain a defeated Scully card."
Revealing an Informant
Informants are people with special knowledge or abilities (often within the conspiracy itself) — who offer to help the agents at great danger to themselves. When an Informant is revealed, leave it in its space. It will continue to move through the Shadows the same way a hidden card moves. It will have an ability that helps the players. However, at the end of any turn if an Informant is in the Field, defeat it. Try to keep your Informants in the safety of the Shadows!
Example — "Deep Throat" is an Informant card: "Ongoing: Enemies have -1 Attack and -1 Health. Field: At the end of the turn, defeat this card."
Revealing a Lead
When a Lead is revealed, leave it in its space. It will continue to move through the Shadows the same way a hidden card moves. A Lead gives the players a chance to Discover and then Collect a particular piece of Evidence. (See "Discovering and Collecting Evidence" below.)
However, at the end of any turn if a Lead is in the Field, defeat it. Follow those leads while they're hot!
Example — "Walking Deeper into Darkness" is a Lead card: "Discover Evidence: Defeat an Enemy in the Shadows. Field: At the end of the turn, each player gains a Doubt, then defeat this card. Collect Evidence: Do it again. Field: At the end of the turn, defeat this card."
Discovering and Collecting Evidence
Each Evidence card represents something the conspiracy is working towards and grants a special ability to the End Game itself. By Discovering a piece of Evidence, you'll have more information about what you'll be facing at the end of the game, and you can adjust your strategy accordingly. If you are able to Collect that Evidence, you will deprive the End Game of that ability entirely!
Example — "Prehistoric Meteorite" is an Evidence (A) card: "The End: Starting cards have no Recruit Points or Attack."
Each Lead card is split into the two parts: Discover Evidence and Collect Evidence. Only one of these sections is "turned on" at a time. You must Discover Evidence before Collecting it, but you can do both on the same turn.
- To Discover Evidence, follow the instructions on the Lead. Then reveal the topmost Evidence on the playmat that is Undiscovered (hidden). For example, the first time you Discover Evidence, you'll reveal the 'Priority 1' Evidence. That Lead is now "connected" to that Evidence.
- To Collect Evidence, follow the instructions on the Lead again. Then slide the connected Evidence to the left, off its Evidence space. It will no longer be added to the End Game when the End Game is revealed. Once you Collect Evidence, defeat its connected Lead.
Only the current player can Discover or Collect Evidence. You must complete the action listed on the Lead after you've revealed it. Anything you did earlier on the turn you revealed it doesn't count.
If a Lead is in the Field at the end of any turn, defeat it.
- If you failed to Discover Evidence with that Lead, each player gains a Doubt.
- If you Discovered Evidence with a Lead, but failed to Collect that Evidence, there is no additional penalty.
Once the End Game is revealed, defeat all Leads (including any you reveal after the End Game is revealed). When a Lead gets defeated by an End Game, if you didn't Discover Evidence with it, each player gains a Doubt. Note: Some card effects allow there to be more than one Evidence of a particular type at a time.
How to Fight an Enemy
Once an Enemy has been revealed in the Bureau, Shadows, or Field, you can fight it. You can fight any number of Enemies, one at a time, as long as you have enough Attack on your turn. To fight an Enemy, spend Attack equal to that Enemy's Attack, then defeat it and put it on the Defeated Conspiracy space. If there are already defeated Enemies there, put it on top of the pile. Don't shuffle the Defeated Conspiracy pile — some effects refer to the top defeated Enemy.
You can only fight an Enemy if you have enough Attack to defeat it. If somehow an Enemy has 0 Attack, you defeat it immediately when you fight it. Some Enemies have a "Defeat:" ability. When that Enemy is defeated, follow those instructions. If the ability says "First Defeat:", it only applies the first time you defeat that Enemy.
After you defeat an Enemy, if you have more Attack left over, you can use it to scan spaces and/or fight more Enemies.
- Some cards say something like "2 +" inside their Attack icon. The "+" symbol means that Enemy's Attack could change based on its abilities. Read it carefully.
- Some Enemies require you to spend Recruit Points instead of Attack in order to fight them. In this case, you spend Recruit Points the same way you would spend Attack.
Note: Often fighting and defeating an Enemy represents shooting or punching it, but sometimes it represents outsmarting, outrunning, or outmaneuvering the Enemy.
Strike Phase: Each Enemy in the Field Strikes
From right to left, each Enemy in the Field Strikes one at a time (so the Enemy who has been in the Field the longest Strikes first). When an Enemy Strikes you, you must draw a card from the Strike Deck. Most Strikes have a damage number. Put those Strikes next to your Avatar. Keep these Strikes in the order you receive them; there are some effects that care about your oldest or most recent Strike.
If your Avatar ever has damage greater than or equal to its Health, you're defeated and the team loses the game. However, if "The End" has begun (if the End Game has been revealed), the players will soldier on without their teammate. Once "The End" has begun, it's all or nothing — either your entire team or the End Game must be defeated. (When a player is defeated once the End Game has begun, they defeat all their cards everywhere and put them in the appropriate piles. Defeated Avatars are removed from the game.)
Some more details about Strikes:
- Some Strikes have additional effects and some are Misses (which don't hurt at all — just discard them). Fortunately, some effects in the game allow you to heal Strikes. When a Strike is healed, put it into the Discarded Strikes space.
- Some effects will give you a Scar or turn one of your Strikes into a Scar. A Scar is a face-down Strike on your Avatar that represents a permanent debilitating physical or emotional injury. It counts as 1 damage (regardless of the damage on the card) and works just like a normal Strike except it can't be healed normally.
- Some Enemies have a "Strike:" ability. When it Strikes, after you draw a Strike card, follow the instructions of that ability (in addition to drawing the Strike). Some "Strike:" abilities will say "Instead of Striking normally…". When resolving these abilities, you don't draw a Strike.
Example — "Flesh Wound" is a Strike card worth 1 damage.
Avoiding and Canceling Strikes
Some effects let you "avoid" a Strike. In this case, don't draw the Strike card at all. If you avoid an Enemy's Strike, it doesn't get its "Strike:" ability.
Other effects let you "cancel" a Strike. In this case, after drawing the Strike you discard it without taking its damage or effect.
Cleanup Phase: Discard Your Hand and Draw Six New Cards
- At the end of your turn, discard all the cards you played this turn. Also discard any cards in your hand that you didn't play this turn. (You can look through your discard pile at any time to see what's in there.)
- Then draw six new cards from your deck.
- If you don't have enough cards left in your deck and you still need to draw more, then shuffle your discard pile to form a new deck. Then draw the rest of the cards you need.
- Don't shuffle your discard pile into a new deck until your deck has completely run out AND you still need to draw or reveal more cards from your deck. (This means sometimes your deck will be completely empty.)
Some cards have a "Cleanup:" ability. Most of these cards will say when in the Cleanup Phase they trigger. If they don't, it doesn't matter when in the Cleanup Phase they resolve, just make sure to do it at some point!
The End Game — Is This the End?
The last card of the Conspiracy Deck is always the End Game. The End Game is how the conspiracy has been planning to devastate human society since the beginning. It's an idea, a plan, a method; it also represents the vast resources of the conspiracy and its operatives. The End Game must be overcome to win the game! You can easily recognize the End Game by its different card back.
Here are the different parts of an End Game card: Card Number, Card Title, Master (card type), Ability, Defense, and Health.
Example — "Extinction" is an End Game card: "Ongoing: If a player would discard one of their cards, defeat it instead. Ongoing: When a player has no cards in their deck, discard pile and hand, they are defeated." It has 5 Defense and 9 Health.
The End Game in the Shadows
The End Game enters the Shadows like any Conspiracy card during the Conspiracy Phase. It can be scanned normally and will be revealed automatically if it enters the Field. However it works a little differently:
- Cards can't be in the Shadow spaces to the right of the End Game unless the End Game says otherwise.
- During the Conspiracy Phase, the End Game will move one space automatically, even if there's no card to push it.
- The End Game doesn't count as an Enemy. It is much too far-reaching to be considered a single adversary.
The End Game Is Revealed
Once the End Game is revealed, "The End" has begun. Do the following, in order:
- Defeat all Leads. If a Lead gets revealed while an End Game is revealed, defeat it.
- When a Lead gets defeated by an End Game, if you didn't discover Evidence with it, each player gains a Doubt.
- Reveal each Undiscovered Evidence.
- Put each Evidence that wasn't Collected (Discovered or not) above the Shadows (off the playmat) to signify that the End Game has these abilities.
- Each revealed Syndicate Enemy triggers his "The End:" ability. (If a Syndicate Enemy with a "The End:" ability is revealed after "The End" has begun, its ability still happens.)
- All "The End:" abilities on Evidence are now in effect.
The End Game in the Field
Once an End Game is in the Field, it will start Striking the players the same way an Enemy would (although it still doesn't count as an Enemy).
Fighting the End Game and… Defeating It?
Fighting an End Game is a bit different than fighting a Monster of the Week or a single Syndicate Enemy. After all, this represents the conspiracy's nefarious plan for all of humanity. You fight an End Game by spending Attack equal to its Defense. But when you fight it, draw the top card of the Strike Deck and put it next to the End Game. Ignore any game text on the Strike and just apply the damage to the End Game's Health. The End Game will probably require much more attention than regular Enemies. If it ever has damage greater than or equal to its Health, you have saved humanity from a terrible fate, and you win the game!
Strategy Tips
Legendary Encounters: The X-Files Deck Building Game is a cooperative game. Players need to make the best decisions for the team, even if that means sometimes it's not the best decision for you personally. To this end:
- Communicate. There is no time limit. Discuss your possibilities. Discuss which revealed cards are best for who. Talk about each other's hands (unless Mulder's Doubt is active!).
- Recruit Special Agents. Do this early and often. They allow you to help your teammates by drawing more cards as well as pumping up the Attack per turn. This is pretty useful, especially when the Bureau cards start hidden.
- Use the Bureau. Speaking of the Bureau, use those powers as much and as efficiently as possible. It's OK, even often correct, to scan a space for another player so they can use the power in that space on their turn.
- Keep the Team Alive, But Be Prepared to Make a Sacrifice. Don't forget, if one teammate dies, you lose the game. So a severely wounded teammate equals a severely wounded team. But once "The End" has begun, you may have to make a tough decision about letting yourself, or even a teammate, die in order to stop the conspiracy.
- Maximize Each Turn. It's sometimes worth it to defeat an Enemy in the Shadows with more Attack than one in the Field who is about to Strike you. Yes, you'll take a Strike, but a tougher adversary has been eliminated. The goal is to defeat the End Game, not to avoid Strikes at all costs. Similarly, when spending Recruit Points, try to use it all if you can. This might mean passing on a more expensive card to scan an important Bureau space for the next player (or yourself).
- Law and Order. Be cautious and keep the order in which you do things on your turn in mind. There's sometimes no way to know the perfect order but some turns you will definitely want to fight and recruit before you scan anything and vice versa. Don't forget that there are some positive cards in the Conspiracy Deck (Informants, Leads, Allies) that scanning can find, and that there are some negative cards in the Academy (Syndicate Enemies) that you don't want to find, especially at the end of your turn.
- Evidence Is Everything. Most of the time, you're going to want to prioritize Discovering and Collecting Evidence over everything else. Not only does it give you information, but you can weaken the End Game and avoid gaining a ton of Doubts into your decks. Even if you can't Discover or Collect on your turn, try your hardest to keep that Lead from coming to the Field, where it will disappear at the end of the turn.
Card Abilities
Most cards in this game have abilities (text). In the following sections, we expand on exactly how these abilities work.
Ability Timing
Most abilities tell you when they happen:
- "Reveal:" This ability happens each time the card is revealed.
- "First Reveal:" This ability only happens the first time the card is revealed this game.
- "Reveal-Shadows:" This means you only use this ability if the card was revealed in the Shadows.
- "Ongoing:" This ability is always active while the card is revealed.
- "Shadows:" or "Field:" These abilities are only active while the card is in that part of the playmat.
- "Cleanup:" These abilities take effect during the Cleanup Phase.
- "Draw:" This ability takes effect when you draw the card. It doesn't happen when the card is looked at or revealed (unless it is then drawn).
- "Defeat:" This ability happens when the card is defeated.
- "First Defeat:" This ability only happens the first time the card is defeated this game.
If multiple abilities in the Shadows and/or Field and/or Bureau would resolve at the same time, resolve them in this order: Go from left to right in the Bureau. Then go from right to left in the Field. Then go from left to right in the Shadows. (It makes an 'S'!) All the abilities still happen (even if a card with a later ability is defeated by an earlier ability), they just happen in this particular order.
If a card tells multiple players to do something at the same time, the current player does it first. Then other players do it in clockwise order.
If multiple cards are pushed to the Field at the same time, reveal the first one first and resolve any "Reveal:" abilities it has. Then reveal the next card, and so on.
If multiple effects happen at the same time, and it's not clear what order to resolve them in, the current player chooses the order.
Character Keyword Abilities
Many Characters have keyword abilities:
Coordinate
Coordinating allows you to let another player "share" one of your cards. It is a critical way to help your teammates defeat tough Enemies. Several cards in the Academy and all Special Agents have Coordinate.
During another player's turn, you can Coordinate with them like this:
- Set aside a Coordinate card in your hand face up (this doesn't count as playing it), and then immediately draw a new card to replace it. While it is set aside, it's considered "out of play."
- The current player can now play a virtual copy of the card you coordinated with them. (A virtual copy counts as playing the exact same card including its text, stats, and class symbol.)
- At the end of that player's turn, put the card you coordinated into YOUR discard pile.
You can only Coordinate one card to each player on their turn. However, multiple players can each Coordinate one card to the current player in order to give that player a huge advantage.
When you Coordinate a card to a player, they can choose not to play a virtual copy of it. Either way, you still immediately draw a replacement card.
Example — "NYPD Detective" is a John Doggett character card with Coordinate: "Activate: Look at the top card of the Conspiracy, Strike, or Academy deck." "Senior Field Agent" is a Special Agent card with Coordinate.
Sacrifice
If a card has a Sacrifice: ability, you can defeat (not just discard) that card to get its Sacrifice text.
Vigilant
When you play a card with Vigilant it will stay in play at the end of your turn instead of getting discarded. A Vigilant card will have instructions on how it works while in play, usually by being discarded. You can play a card with Vigilant and use its discard ability on the same turn.
Conspiracy Deck Keyword Abilities
Most Conspiracy cards have keywords as well.
Ambush
When a card with Ambush is revealed, move it to the Field.
Apprehend
When you fight a card with Apprehend, you must use Recruit Points instead of Attack. Everything else about fighting that card remains the same.
Double Strike and Triple Strike
A card with Double Strike will Strike twice during the Strike Phase. Each Strike is treated separately so if an effect lets you avoid one Strike, you'll still receive the other one from a Double Striker. Triple Strike works the same way except the card Strikes three times instead of twice.
Elude
At the end of a turn, if a card with Elude is in the Field, it immediately leaves the game. Put it into the Defeated Conspiracy space. Also, if it has text after Elude follow those instructions when it escapes.
Ferocious
When a card with Ferocious Strikes, if the Strike is a miss, it Strikes again. This applies to each Strike, so if the second Strike is a Miss, it Strikes again, and so on.
Frightening
To fight a card with Frightening, you must first discard a card of your choice from your hand. If you have no cards in hand, you can't fight it.
Immunity
If a card has Immunity to a class, you can't use any Recruit Points or Attack from that class to fight it. For example, if it has Tech Immunity, you can't use any points from Tech cards to fight it. Note: Cards with Immunity that require Attack or Recruit Points to fight mention that type of point in their reminder text. If the type you need to fight them changes, their Immunity still applies.
Lethal
When a card with Lethal Strikes, if it deals damage to you, you are defeated. Treat with caution.
Maul
When a card with Maul Strikes you, instead of drawing a Strike, gain the top card of the Strike Deck as a Scar without looking at it.
Range
The Range ability lets a card Strike even if it's still in the Shadows (and hasn't entered the Field yet). During the Strike Phase, each Enemy and End Game in the Field Strikes. After that, going from left to right, each revealed Enemy or End Game in the Shadows with Range Strikes. (Range does nothing in the Field.)
Ravage
When a card with Ravage enters the Field it immediately Strikes the current player (even if it was hidden when it entered the Field). It still Strikes as normal in the Strike Phase if it's in the Field.
Runner
At the end of the Conspiracy Phase, a card with Runner in the Shadows moves another space.
Stationary
A card with Stationary doesn't move normally in the Shadows. Instead of being pushed, the Stationary card stays in its current slot and the other card moves to the next space. Stationary cards can still be moved by other effects, and an End Game card will still push a Stationary card normally.
Stealth
A card with Stealth can't be fought in the Shadows.
Swift
When you fight a card with Swift, it Strikes you first. And if that Strike defeats you, then you didn't actually fight it successfully: if it's an Enemy, leave it in play, and if it's an End Game, you don't get to draw a Strike for it.
Vulnerability
If a card has Vulnerability to a class, it gets -2 Attack (or Defense) for each card of that class you played this turn. For example, if it has Tech Vulnerability, it gets -2 Attack (or Defense) for each Tech card you played that turn.
Additional Game Rule Clarifications
Some cards have Asterisks on their Attack and/or Recruit Points values. This is just a play aid that notes that something in their abilities could change these values.
"Academy Character"
An Academy Character is a card that belongs to one of the nine characters you can use to set up the Academy. Starting cards, Allies, and Special Agents are NOT Academy Characters.
"Attach"
Some cards tell you to "Attach" to a space. Put the card in that space, but slide it up a bit. This way other cards can still go into that space on top of the attached card, but the attached card's title is still visible. Attached cards don't move from their attached space unless a game effect tells them to.
"Avoid"
Some effects allow you to "Avoid" Strikes. In this case, you can skip drawing a Strike once during that turn. It could be from an Enemy Striking during the Strike Phase or from another effect like an Event. If you choose to avoid a Strike from an Enemy with a "Strike:" ability, then that ability won't occur. You don't have to avoid the next Strike you would draw. (So, you could wait to avoid a Strike from an Enemy with a Strike ability.) If an Enemy has Double or Triple Strike, and you avoid a Strike, you still take the additional Strikes.
"Beneath"
Some cards tell you to put a card(s) beneath another card. Unless the card says otherwise, cards don't have any text while they're beneath another card, and if the card on top leaves play or gets hidden, all the beneath cards are defeated. (An exception is Jeffrey Spender whose card specifically has rules for when he's beneath other cards.)
"Cancel"
Some effects allow you to "Cancel" a Strike. In this case, you still draw and see the Strike card, and if you want to cancel it, you immediately discard the Strike without applying its damage or following its instructions.
"Defeating" Cards
In addition to spending Attack to defeat Enemies, there are many effects that instruct you to "defeat" certain cards. Depending on their type, they go to different spaces on the playmat, always face up.
- Defeated characters (Starting cards, Special Agents, Academy characters and Allies) go to the Defeated Characters space.
- Defeated Beliefs and Doubts go back to their respective stacks.
- Defeated Conspiracy cards (Enemies, Syndicate and otherwise, Informants, Leads and Events) go to the Defeated Conspiracy space. The order matters for defeated Enemies in this space:
- If you ever aren't sure if you have the order of this pile correct, shuffle it.
- If you ever need to choose randomly from this pile, shuffle it afterwards.
- If multiple cards would enter this space at the same time, the current player chooses their order.
- Cliffhanger cards never go to a defeated space. When they are defeated, put them back in the box.
- Evidence cards never go to a defeated space. When Evidence is Collected, slide it to the left of its Evidence space on the playmat. When Evidence is replaced, put it back in the box.
If an effect says to defeat "one of your cards", you can choose one in your hand or one you've played this turn (that's still in front of you). If you choose one you've already played this turn, you still get to use the Recruit Points, Attack, and abilities the character has already produced. (If it has an Activate ability and you haven't Activated it when you need to defeat it, then you don't get to use that Activate ability.) You also still get to count it for the purposes of triggering another card's Class ability. (You can't defeat a virtual copy of a card another player Coordinated to you.)
Note: Defeating your Starting cards can actually be good for you because it means you will draw your more powerful cards more often, instead of those weaker ones.
Evidence
Evidence can be Undiscovered, Discovered or Collected.
- A piece of Evidence is Undiscovered if it is hidden in an Evidence space.
- A piece of Evidence is Discovered if it has been revealed due to a Lead being successfully followed, but it is still on an Evidence space.
- A piece of Evidence is Collected if it has been removed from an Evidence space due to a Lead being successfully followed again after that piece of Evidence was Discovered.
- Evidence is "locked in" as abilities for the End Game once the End Game is revealed.
Fighting a Player
Some effects require you to fight another player, or even yourself. To do so, pay Attack equal to that player's Defense, then they draw a Strike.
"Gaining" Cards
Whenever you gain a card, put it into your discard pile. After you shuffle your deck, you'll be able to draw the new card.
"Hide" and "Hidden"
Face-down cards in the Shadows and Bureau are considered hidden. If an effect tells you to add a card, hidden, do it without looking at it. If an effect tells you to "hide" a card, turn it face down. Cards that enter the Field hidden are automatically revealed.
Looking Through a Player Deck
If a player ever needs to look through their deck (for example Samantha Mulder gets rid of Doubts in players' decks), that player shuffles that deck afterward.
"Next Player"
Some effects refer to the next player. Usually this means the player who is next to act. However, if there's only one player left in the game (because you're playing solo or because everyone else is currently defeated), then "next player" refers to you.
"Outside the Game"
Some cards refer to other cards "outside the game". This refers to each card that is not currently in the game you are playing.
"Reveal" and "Revealed"
Face-up cards in the Shadows, Field and Bureau are considered revealed. If an effect tells you to add a card, revealed, place it face up. If an effect tells you to 'reveal' a card, turn it face up. Hidden cards are automatically revealed when they enter the Field.
Running Out of Special Agents
Once there are no more Special Agents left, you will no longer be able to recruit them.
Running Out of Cards in the Academy Deck
If the Academy Deck runs out, keep playing normally, except you won't be able to add cards to the Bureau. Once there are no longer cards in the Bureau, you will no longer be able to recruit characters (other than Special Agents).
Running Out of Beliefs and Doubts
If there are no Beliefs or Doubts left, ignore any effects that would cause you to gain them.
Running Out of Strikes
When the Strike Deck runs out, immediately shuffle all of the discarded Strikes to make a new deck. If there are ever no Strikes in the deck AND discard pile, the players lose. (This can happen if players have too many Scars.)
"Scars"
A Scar is a face-down Strike on your Avatar that counts as 1 damage and can't be healed normally. If an effect tells you to gain a Scar, put the top card of the Strike Deck face down on your Avatar without looking at it. Some effects also turn Strikes into Scars; just turn the Strike card face down. Scars don't count when determining oldest or most recent Strikes.
"Team"
Some cards refer to the team doing something. The team should always discuss these effects, but the current player has the final say on what happens.
"Top" Cards
Top can refer to the top card(s) of any deck, or defeated pile (in the Defeated Conspiracy or Defeated Character space). If an effect says to do something to the top character(s) of the Academy, look at cards from the top of that deck, one by one, until you find the right character(s). Then shuffle the rest of the revealed cards into that deck. Do the same for any other deck or pile.
"Your Characters" and "Your Cards"
Character cards include Starting cards, Special Agents, any Allies you've gained, and any Academy Characters. Beliefs and Doubts are not characters.
If an effect refers to "your characters", this includes any characters in your hand, any you played this turn, and any of your Vigilant characters in play. If an effect refers to "your cards" it counts all those characters plus your Beliefs and Doubts.
Similarly, if an effect refers to "their" cards it means any in their hand, any they played that turn, or their Vigilant characters in play, plus their Beliefs and Doubts.
Specific Card Clarifications
Body Swap (Event) — You also take each Avatar's Strikes and any other cards attached to the Avatars. If one of the switched Avatars is defeated, you can no longer switch back. If the next player is defeated, switch with the next undefeated player after them.
Cassandra Spender (Informant) — If you need to resolve a Doubt in your hand while she is revealed, it fails to resolve, then defeat it. If you have more than one Doubt, the other ones remain in your hand.
Extinction (End Game) — This End Game will also defeat Vigilant cards that you discard to use. If you have no cards in your hand, deck and discard pile, but do have a Vigilant card, you are still defeated.
Infection (End Game) — To track how many Symptoms you have, use unused cards from the box, some coins, or pencil and paper.
Susanne Modeski (Informant) — When you recruit a Lone Gunmen card from outside the game, choose any Lone Gunmen card you'd like to recruit and pay its cost. You won't get to use a Bureau power.
X (Informant) — This Informant can add a fourth Lead to the game. If you have Discovered each piece of Evidence this game, and your fourth Lead is therefore of no use and gets defeated, the team doesn't gain any Doubts.
Jenn (Enemy) — You don't really have to choose wisely.
Mulder (Avatar) — Doubt: Trust No One — Game strategy includes verbal and non-verbal communication, showing cards from your hand, or otherwise trying to help each other make strategic decisions. You are still allowed to perform game actions. For example, if a player draws the "Fear" strike, another player can still reveal a Belief card to cancel it. If you're not sure if something would count as discussing game strategy, err on the side of not being able to do it. If the team needs to make a decision that involves showing their hands, they can show them, but can't discuss anything, and the current player will make the decision.
Reincarnation (Cliffhanger) — When you resolve a Belief you can resolve either your Avatar's regular Belief or "Lessons from the Past". Once you've resolved Lessons from the Past, defeat this Cliffhanger card. You can resolve "Lessons from the Past" and your regular Belief in the same turn.
Replication and Clone (End Game) — This End Game is really two cards in one. When Replication is revealed, put the Clone End Game card face down one space to the right of the Replication card. If Replication is in the Field, put the Clone card in the leftmost space in the Shadows. If it's in the rightmost space in the Shadows, put the Clone card on the Conspiracy Deck space. Then, above the playmat, put a random hidden Evidence from outside the game of each type that the Replication End Game has (Priority 1, 2, and/or 3). Reveal the Clone's Evidence when the Clone is revealed.
Fear (Strike) — You may cancel this Strike if you played a Belief this turn.
Fox Mulder (Avatar) — Resolving his Doubt means you can't play Coordinate cards instead.
Paranoid Delusions (Event) — You must fight yourself instead.
Professional Colleagues (Pendrell Academy Card) — You are allowed to play this on your turn.
Protector (Reyes Academy Card) — You can cancel a Strike that you drew.
Playing Solo
When you're playing solo or all of your teammates have been defeated, some cards work differently. Some cards in certain situations, especially some events, will end up doing nothing when there is only one player in the game. This is normal and not to be feared.
Next Player
Some effects refer to the "next player." Usually this means the player to the left. However, if there's only one player in the game, then "next player" refers to you.
Coordinating as the Only Player
Once per turn you may discard a card from your hand with Coordinate to draw a new card. (Think of it like you're coordinating to a teammate, but they're too beaten up to use the card.)
Specific Card Changes Playing Solo
Body Swap (Event) — Switch your Avatar with a random one from outside the game instead. If you were a team of five but the other four players are defeated, don't swap at all.
Adjusting Difficulty
The game can be very hard, especially for newer players. Some combinations of Avatars and Academies are harder than others. In addition to trying out different combinations, here are some ways to make the game easier if you are struggling. Also, we strongly suggest you review and take to heart the Strategy Tips.
To make the game easier, do one or more of these:
- During setup, add an extra Informant to each Season.
- During setup, add in fewer Syndicate Enemies.
- During setup, give each player a Belief in their starting deck.
- During setup, before adding Syndicate cards to the Academy, put five random Academy cards from the Academy Deck in the Bureau and reveal them. Then shuffle the Syndicate cards into the Academy.
- When a player is defeated due to damage, you don't lose the game. Instead, end your turn, turn all your Strikes into Scars, lose your next turn, and rejoin the game after that.
- You can still be defeated by effects that defeat you without dealing fatal damage.
- During "The End", using this rule, death is still final.
Playing a Series
In addition to playing single games, you can play through three games in a row — the entire "Series."
- In the first game you should play Seasons 1, 2, and 3. In the second game, play with Seasons 4, 5, and 6. And in the final game, play with Seasons 7, 8, and 9.
- Keep the same Avatars and Academy characters in all three games, but players can switch seats between games.
- Players reset their starting decks to just the normal 12 starting cards between games.
- Avatars heal all Scars and Strikes between games.
- For a more difficult and interesting game, don't heal Scars between games.
When playing a Series, you'll use the Unexpected Help and Got Too Close Cliffhanger cards for each Avatar in the game. After the first and second games, but before you clean up any cards:
If the team won — The conspiracy isn't comfortable with your progress. Shuffle the two Got Too Close cards for each player's Avatar into a pile. (If this is the second game and you won the first game too, don't include the Got Too Close card that was drawn after the first game.) Draw one randomly and give it to the player with that card's Avatar. Put the rest of the cards in the box.
If the team lost — Someone out there wants you to keep going. Shuffle the two Unexpected Help cards for each player's Avatar into a pile. (If this is the second game and you lost the first game too, don't include the Unexpected Help card that was drawn after the first game.) Draw one randomly and give it to the player with that card's Avatar. Put the rest of the cards in the box.
Cliffhanger Cards
When you get a Cliffhanger card, read what it says. Some Cliffhanger cards do something immediately for the next game and some stay in front of the player until they are used during the next game. While in front of a player, its ability is "on" and you can use it during the game. Players and the game can't interact with them normally — they're not "your" cards, they're not in play, etc.
Once you have a Cliffhanger card of either type from a previous game, it's only for that game. At the end of the game, defeat the Cliffhanger card you earned. When a Cliffhanger card is defeated, put it back in the box.
This Time They May Have Won
This card is optional when playing a Series. If you'd like to make the Series even more difficult, shuffle this card with the Unexpected Help cards after you lose a game. If this card is drawn, The X-Files are destroyed, and you lose. The Series has ended.
Winning a Series
If you win the third game, you win the Series! It doesn't matter if you lost previous games. However, the more Evidence you Discover and Collect and the more End Games you defeat, the better your result:
Points Chart
| Points Type | Game 1 Points | Game 2 Points | Game 3 Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Each Evidence Discovered | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Each Evidence Collected* | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| End Game Defeated | 7 | 14 | 25 |
*These points are in addition to the points for Discovering that Evidence.
Series Score Chart
| Score | Rating |
|---|---|
| 100 Points | Trust No One...To Play This Well |
| 75-99 Points | The Truth is Nearby |
| 50-74 Points | I Want To Believe...You Can Do Better |
| 0-49 Points | Skinner Wants to See You |
Credits
Game Design and Card Set Design: Ben Cichoski and Danny Mandel (Super Awesome Games). Brand Manager: Travis Rhea. Director of Game Development: Bubby Johanson. Games Coordinator: Rob Ford. Graphic Design: Krista Timberlake. Project Managers: Erica Sinatra, Tonya Lashley. Director of Creative Services: Mike Eggleston. V.P. of Operations: Suzanne Lombardi. President, Upper Deck Company: Jason Masherah. Playtesters: Rob Ford, Bubby Johanson, Samantha Padilla, Mark Shaunessy, Jennifer Wu. Original Legendary Game Engine Design: Devin Low.