Obcy Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Box Contents
• 1. Sequence of Play
• 2. Character Cards
  • 2.1 Strength
  • 2.2 Pockets
  • 2.3 Characteristics
• 3. Action Points
• 4. Moving Around the Base
  • 4.1 On Foot
  • 4.2 Transporter
  • 4.3 Airlocks
• 5. Items
• 6. Combat
• 7. Carrying Out Missions
• 8. The ALIEN QUEEN
• 9. The ALIENS
  • 9.1 Hatching
  • 9.2 Movement of the ALIENS
  • 9.3 Metamorphosis
• 10. Attack by the ALIENS
• 11. Victory of the ALIENS
• 12. Setting Up the Game

Box Contents

• A board showing the plan of the base, on which the fight between the ALIENS and the expedition takes place. The symbols printed on it are explained in the Legend included with the instructions.
• 6 character cards
• 7 cardboard pawns with stands. The tokens representing the characters and the transporter are to be cut out, folded in half, and placed in the plastic stands.
• 72 ALIEN tokens
• 74 item tokens
• 16 black tokens
• 20 mission cards. After cutting them out, shuffle them and set them aside; they form the mission card deck.
• The "COMBAT RESULT" table and the "LEGEND"
• A six-sided die
• The instructions

1. Sequence of Play

The two opposing sides take their turns alternately, in two phases, for the whole duration of the game. Within each phase, specific actions are performed in a fixed order. The players are obliged to observe this order.

Phase 1 "EXPEDITION"

• movement of the transporter
• movement and performance of other actions by the characters, within their action points
• calculating the results of the expedition's attacks, and introducing them into the game immediately

Phase 2 "ALIENS"

• hatching
• movement of the ALIENS
• metamorphosis
• calculating the results of an attack by the ALIENS, and introducing them into the game immediately

2. Character Cards

The expedition consists of six characters (five people and one android). Each has its own character card with individual traits. If one person controls the expedition, that person receives the character cards of all the characters and steers the whole expedition alone. When more players take part, they may divide the characters among themselves in any way. In that case, each player controls his own character or characters.

2.1 Strength

Each of the six characters taking part in the expedition has a strength value given on its character card. This trait reflects both endurance and combat skill.

• If a character's strength is reduced, this is shown by covering the lost strength points on its character card with black tokens.
• Strength can be recovered by using medical packs.
• A character's strength cannot be higher than its starting value.
• If a character's strength falls to zero (all strength points are covered), that character is dead. Its pawn is removed from the board, and all items it possessed are lost.

2.2 Pockets

Each member of the expedition has three pockets, in each of which it can carry one item. This means a character can hold at most three items at a time. The tokens representing items are placed in the spaces called pockets, which are on the character cards. If one of the members of the expedition already has three items and wants to pick up another, it must first drop one of them to empty a pocket. Then it may pick up the chosen item and place it in the freed pocket.

2.3 Characteristics

All characters have a short description of their characteristics on their card. It shows the rank, the function the character performs in the expedition, any restrictions on the use of weapons, and the items with which the game begins.

[Figure: a sample character card. Labels: "character characteristics", "strength points", "pockets".]

3. Action Points

At the start of its movement phase, every character has 6 action points, which it uses to move, shoot and perform other actions. Under no circumstances may a character exceed 6 action points in one movement phase. Each of the actions listed below costs 1 action point:

• moving a character one space, whether the space is a room, a corridor, or a ventilation duct
• picking up one item and placing it in a pocket
• dropping one item from a pocket
• firing one shot
• reading a mission from a disk in the computer
• using an explosive charge

After a character has fired a shot or shots, it may no longer move or perform another action in that phase. A character may use any number of its 6 action points, up to that limit. Action points not used in one movement phase cannot be carried over to the next phases.

Example VASQUEZ moves three spaces (3 action points), standing on the space marked as the explosives store, from which she takes an explosive charge (1 action point), placing its token in a pocket. She then moves one space further (1 action point) and fires one shot at an ALIEN (1 action point). In this way VASQUEZ has used her 6 action points.

4. Moving Around the Base

4.1 On Foot

The members of the expedition move around the base on foot, everywhere. During its movement phase a character may move a maximum of six spaces, provided it uses all its action points solely for movement. While moving, a character may change its direction freely. It may not stop on a space occupied by another character, nor pass through that space. If, while moving, a member of the expedition finds itself on a space adjacent to a space occupied by an ALIEN, it must stop.

The members of the expedition begin the expedition from the space where their ship landed, i.e. the landing pad (lower left corner of the board). During the rest of the game, the characters may not enter the landing pad. The only exception is starting the transporter (see 4.2). Only after the ALIEN QUEEN has been killed may the members of the expedition enter the landing pad, which means returning to the ship (see 8).

4.2 Transporter

A transporter is also used to move around the base. Starting it requires fuel, which is taken from the fuel store. A fuel can must be delivered to the transporter. One fuel can is enough to drive the transporter for three phases, ten spaces in each. After that, the token representing the fuel is set aside. To enter the vehicle, a character must stand on the space where the vehicle is.

Once fuel has been delivered, the transporter allows:

• movement along corridors and rooms
• driving over spaces occupied by ALIENS (ALIENS cannot attack the transporter or stop it)
• carrying any number of characters

The transporter cannot:

• move through ventilation ducts
• enter a space marked as an airlock
• enter a space marked as a storeroom
• attack ALIENS
• move when there is no fuel in it

After the transporter has finished its movement in a given phase, the characters riding in it may leave it and use their action points (treating the place where the vehicle stopped as the starting space of the characters' movement). However, they may not leave the transporter and climb back into it in the same phase; they may do so only in the next phase. If the fuel runs out, all characters must leave the transporter. Until a fuel can has been delivered, no character may stay in it. Characters and ALIENS may move freely across a space occupied by the transporter. On the board, the token representing the transporter is moved, and all characters riding in it (represented by their tokens) are placed on the drawing of the vehicle on the board. At the start of the game the transporter stands on the landing pad in front of the entrance to the base. It contains no fuel.

4.3 Airlocks

Members of the expedition may also move outside the base, leaving through airlocks. There are five of them, each marked with a different number. To leave the base, a character must have a space suit taken from the suit store. When a character stands on a space marked as an airlock, it is moved onto the "passage track" (located on the right side of the board), onto the space marked as the entrance ("in"). During the following phases the character moves one space forward each phase. After reaching the end of the "passage track" ("out"), the character may enter the base through any airlock it chooses.

5. Items

During the expedition, characters use auxiliary items to accomplish their missions. Each of these items has a different purpose. To take an item, a character must stand on a space marked as the store for that kind of item. Then, at the cost of one action point, it may pick the item up, i.e. place the token representing that item in an empty pocket. An item placed in a character's pocket may be used only by that character. Members of the expedition may pass items to one another by standing on adjacent spaces. If a character wants to get rid of an item it carries (for example, to empty a pocket in order to pick up another item), it drops the item at the cost of one action point, i.e. places the item's token on the space where the character is standing. A token left this way lies on that space until a member of the expedition stands on it and picks the item up.

SPACE SUIT — obtained at the suit store. Used to go outside the base (see 4.3). The number of suits is limited to four. A character may use its suit any number of times, as it is not used up.

FUEL CAN — obtained at the fuel store. Essential for starting the transporter (see 4.2). The number of fuel cans is limited to six. Once a can has been used, its token is set aside and takes no further part in the game.

FLOPPY DISK — obtained at the component store. Used to read the content of a mission from the computer (see 7). After the reading has been made, the disk is returned to the component stores for reuse. The number of disks is limited to four, which means no more than four disks can be in the game at any one time.

SPARE COMPONENT — obtained at the component store. Used to repair various devices while carrying out missions. A repair consists of any character bringing a spare component, taken from the spare component store, onto the space where the damaged device is located. In this way the device is repaired. The number of spare components is unlimited, which means a used token returns to the store.

EXPLOSIVE CHARGE — obtained at the explosives store. Using it, a character may blow up any chosen corridor (it cannot be used in ventilation ducts or rooms). A token of a collapsed corridor is placed on the space adjacent to the space occupied by the character using the charge. No character or ALIEN may pass through a space marked this way until the end of the game. After use, the explosive charge's token is set aside. The number of charges is limited to four.

MEDICAL PACK — obtained at the medical store. Used to treat the wounds of members of the expedition. Using one pack heals one wound, i.e. raises the strength of the treated character by one point. A character's strength after treatment cannot become higher than its starting value. Only BISHOP may use medical packs. The treated character must stand on a space adjacent to the space occupied by BISHOP. The number of medical packs is limited to six. The token of a used pack is set aside.

WEAPONS — obtained at the armoury. The tokens depicting each type of weapon show two traits: range (the number in the lower left corner) and firepower (the number in the lower right corner).

• PISTOL: range 3, firepower +2
• CARBINE: range 4, firepower +3
• FLAMETHROWER: range 3, firepower +4

A pistol with a range of three can hit a target at most three spaces away from the shooter. If the distance is greater than the range of the weapon, a shot cannot be fired. A shot also cannot be fired if the line drawn between the centre of the space where the shooter stands and the centre of the space where the target stands passes through:

• a wall
• a space occupied by another character
• a space occupied by another ALIEN, other than the target of the shot

The second parameter, firepower, is used to calculate the effectiveness of a shot (see 6).

AMMO CLIP — a weapon is useless unless its holder also has an ammo clip. Ammo clips are obtained at the ammunition stores or at the armoury stores, always full. A full clip means it contains four explosive charges (that is the maximum that fits in it), which allow the same number of shots, one charge per shot. When a character fires during the game, this must be recorded by replacing the ammo clip's token with the same token showing a smaller number of charges. (The number on the token shows the number of unused charges.) Once all charges have been fired, the character can no longer shoot until it obtains a full clip. Regardless of the number of charges it contains, one ammo clip always occupies one pocket. The number of ammo clips in the stores is unlimited.

GRENADE — obtained at the armoury. It is the only weapon that hits three spaces at once. It may be thrown a distance of two spaces. When a grenade is used in a corridor or a ventilation duct, it hits the space on which it was thrown and the two spaces adjacent to it. If it is used in a room, it acts on three freely chosen adjacent spaces, at least one of which lies no further than two spaces from the character throwing the grenade. All ALIENS within the grenade's area of effect die, and so does every character within that area. The number of grenades is limited to four. It is a single-use weapon: after use, its token is set aside.

6. Combat

A member of the expedition that possesses a weapon and ammunition, and that is at an appropriate distance, may shoot at ALIENS. In one phase it may shoot at one ALIEN or at several ALIENS, if its ammunition allows. It also decides how many shots it fires (that is, how many charges it uses) at each of them. Firing a larger number of times at one target increases the effectiveness of the shot.

To determine the result of a character's attack, first calculate the effectiveness of the shot:

current strength of the character + (firepower of the weapon × number of shots)

From this effectiveness, subtract the strength of the attacked ALIEN. This gives the appropriate parameter, the attack strength of the shooting character. The player controlling the attacking character then rolls the die once. The result of the combat is found in the table "COMBAT RESULT" at the intersection of the column "attack strength" and the row "die roll". In this way the result of combat is determined separately for each attacked ALIEN. The combat result found is introduced into the game immediately.

If the shooting character does not stand on a space directly adjacent to the space of the attacked ALIEN, the combat result that would be unfavourable for that character is not introduced into the game.

If, as a result of combat, an ALIEN must retreat a certain number of spaces, it must do so in such a way that it does not enter a space adjacent to a space occupied by a character, nor a space occupied by another ALIEN. If it cannot retreat while observing these conditions, it dies.

Example: Hicks shoots at an ALIEN with strength 4 standing in a ventilation duct. Hicks' strength is 5, and he fires two shots from a carbine, which has firepower +3.

5 + (3 × 2) = 11

From the calculated effectiveness of 11 we subtract the strength of the ALIEN, which is 8 (the strength of the ALIEN standing in the ventilation duct is doubled, so 4 × 2 = 8). The attack strength of Hicks is therefore +3. The player controlling Hicks rolled 5. The result found in the table at the intersection of the column +3 and the row 5 says that the ALIEN loses 1 strength point and must retreat one space.

7. Carrying Out Missions

To achieve the goal of its mission, the expedition must carry out specific tasks, for which it receives points that make it possible to kill the ALIEN QUEEN. To read the content of a task, a disk must be taken from any component store and carried to one of the three computers. The player whose character holds the disk and stands on the space marked as a computer draws one mission card, and the disk is then returned to the component store. To reveal each subsequent task, the same actions are repeated as for the first task.

Only the players controlling the expedition read the mission card. For the player controlling the ALIENS, the content of the task is a secret. After the task has been completed (in accordance with the instruction on the drawn card), the player controlling the ALIENS reads its content and checks whether the task was carried out correctly, after which the card is set aside.

For completing a task, the expedition receives one point, which is shown by moving the blue token along the points track. The track indicates the number of completed tasks. The expedition may carry out at most three tasks at the same time, meaning that no more than three cards with uncompleted tasks may be drawn.

8. The ALIEN QUEEN

The goal of the expedition, and at the same time the condition of its victory, is to kill the ALIEN QUEEN and then return to the ship standing at the entrance to the base. Only close cooperation between the players controlling the members of the expedition can ensure the full success of the mission. If the expedition achieves the goal of its mission, all players controlling characters are regarded as winners, regardless of whether the characters they control survived the expedition. This should be remembered especially when a character has to sacrifice its life to save other members of the expedition.

Two variants concerning the killing of the ALIEN QUEEN are given below. The players decide before the game begins which variant they choose.

Variant 1

After completing any task, the players controlling the characters declare that they are fighting the ALIEN QUEEN. The player controlling the ALIENS rolls the die once, thereby establishing the strength of the ALIEN QUEEN. The strength is then compared with the number of points the expedition has gained for completed tasks. If the strength of the ALIEN QUEEN is:

• lower: the ALIEN QUEEN dies and the ALIENS no longer hatch
• equal: the ALIEN QUEEN dies, but the ALIENS continue to hatch
• higher: the expedition loses all the points it has gained, and to attack again it must gain new points

Variant 2

Before the game begins, the players agree how many completed tasks will be needed to kill the ALIEN QUEEN (for example, 3 tasks). After the last of the agreed number of tasks has been completed, the ALIEN QUEEN dies and the ALIENS no longer hatch.

In both variants, after the ALIEN QUEEN has been killed, the members of the expedition must still reach the ship standing on the landing pad in front of the entrance to the base. If at least one character reaches it, the game ends in victory for the expedition. If, however, all members of the expedition are killed while withdrawing after the ALIEN QUEEN has been killed, the game ends in a draw.

9. The ALIENS

The ALIENS are controlled by only one player. After the phase of movement of the members of the expedition comes the phase of movement of the ALIENS. The strength of each ALIEN is shown on its token. If during the game the strength of a given ALIEN changes, its token is replaced with another token of the appropriate strength. An ALIEN dies when its strength falls to zero, and its token is then removed from the board.

9.1 Hatching

The player controlling the ALIENS rolls the die once, to determine the total strength points of new ALIENS that may be introduced into the game. The strength of a single ALIEN can never be higher than four. The number of ALIENS introduced is arbitrary, as long as the sum of their strengths does not exceed the number rolled.

Example: Rolling a 6, the player chooses one of the following options: One ALIEN of strength 4 and another of strength 2 One ALIEN of strength 4, another of strength 1 and a third of strength 1 One ALIEN of strength 3, another of strength 2 and a third of strength 1 ...and so on. In every case the sum of the ALIENS' strengths equals the number rolled, i.e. 6.

The tokens of new ALIENS of the chosen strength are placed on the spaces marked as hatching spaces. There are five of them on the board, placed in various places in the base. The player freely chooses the hatching space from which each ALIEN starts the game. This means that all the ALIENS may be placed together, or each of them may be placed separately on a different hatching space.

The hatching process takes place in every phase of the ALIENS' movement.

9.2 Movement of the ALIENS

After the hatching action, the ALIENS move. Each new ALIEN starts its journey from the hatching space on which it was placed earlier. ALIENS may move along corridors, ventilation ducts and rooms, moving a maximum of four spaces. They may also choose not to change their space, or to move by three, two or only one space. ALIENS may not enter a space marked as an airlock and go outside the base. If an ALIEN enters a space adjacent to a space occupied by a character, it must stop and attack that character (see 10). An ALIEN may not enter a space occupied by another ALIEN (except during metamorphosis), nor pass through that space. ALIENS also may not enter a space marked as the landing pad. The strength of an ALIEN standing in a ventilation duct counts double.

9.3 Metamorphosis

In ventilation ducts, ALIENS may undergo metamorphosis. When two ALIENS stand on the same space in a ventilation duct, they undergo a mutation. As a result, only one ALIEN is created, with a strength equal to the sum of the strengths of the ALIENS taking part in the metamorphosis. Remember that the strength of the ALIEN created in this way cannot exceed four. Any strength points left unused after the metamorphosis are lost. Metamorphosis cannot be carried out on a space adjacent to a space occupied by a member of the expedition.

Example: As a result of the metamorphosis of an ALIEN of strength 3 and an ALIEN of strength 2, one ALIEN of strength 4 is created. The one remaining unused strength point is lost.

10. Attack by the ALIENS

During combat, ALIENS do not use any weapons. To attack a character, an ALIEN must stand on a space adjacent to the space on which the character stands. One character may be attacked by several ALIENS at the same time. The attack strength is calculated by subtracting the current strength of the attacked character from the strength of the attacking ALIEN, or from the sum of the strengths of the attacking ALIENS. Only the character's strength as shown on its card is taken into account; no other parameters are added to it.

The player controlling the ALIENS then rolls the die once, and in the table "COMBAT RESULT", at the intersection of the column "attack strength" (calculated as above) and the row "die roll" (the number of pips rolled), finds the result of the attack. The result of combat is introduced into the game immediately. One ALIEN may attack only once in the same phase. ALIENS cannot attack the transporter.

Each ALIEN must attack when it stands on a space adjacent to the space occupied by a character. If several ALIENS attack one character, the result unfavourable to them applies to all the ALIENS attacking that character. When, as a result of combat, a character must retreat, and cannot do so in accordance with the rule that it may not stand on a space adjacent to an ALIEN's space or on a space occupied by another character, it loses as many strength points as the number of spaces by which it cannot retreat.

Example 1: One ALIEN of strength 3 attacks HICKS, whose strength is 5 because he has suffered no wounds. i.e. 3 − 5 = −2 The attack strength is −2. The die shows 5, so as a result of combat the ALIEN loses 2 strength points and retreats two spaces.

Example 2: Three ALIENS, one of strength 4, one of strength 2 and one of strength 3, attack HUDSON, who earlier lost 1 strength point, so his current strength is 4. i.e. (4 + 2 + 3) − 4 = +5 The attack strength is +5. The die shows 4, so HUDSON loses 2 strength points (2 points remain) and retreats two spaces.

11. Victory of the ALIENS

The player controlling the ALIENS wins if he succeeds in killing all the members of the expedition. The ALIENS move and attack even after the expedition has killed the ALIEN QUEEN (although they may no longer hatch), until at least one member of the expedition reaches the ship, which is recognised as the victory of the expedition. After the death of their Queen, the ALIENS may still bring the game to a draw if they succeed in killing all the members of the expedition on the way back to the ship.

The rules of the game are arranged so that the ALIENS and the expedition have equal chances of winning. Everything depends on the tactics adopted by the players on the opposing sides.

12. Setting Up the Game

If more than two people take part in the game, the players who are to direct the members of the expedition divide all the characters among themselves. On the character cards of the individual characters, they place in the pockets the items with which each character begins the game. For example, at the start of the expedition, GORMAN has a pistol in one pocket, a full ammo clip in a second pocket, and his third pocket remains empty.

All the remaining item tokens and the so-called black tokens are set aside, near the players directing the expedition. The mission cards, after shuffling, are placed beside the board. The ALIEN tokens are placed next to the player who controls the ALIEN QUEEN.

All the characters begin the game from the same place, i.e. from the landing pad in front of the entrance to the base (lower left corner of the board), and the pawns representing the individual members of the expedition are placed there. The transporter is also placed on the landing pad; it contains no fuel. At the start of the game there are no ALIENS on the base's territory. They appear only during the first "Phase 2", at hatching.

Before the game begins, it is decided which variant of killing the ALIEN QUEEN will apply in this game. After these preparations, the game may begin, to find out who wins.