This Game Is Killer: Alien on Board Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Contents
• Setup
• Crew Cards
• Playing the Game
• Last on Board
• Not Enough Crew Cards
• Ongoing Actions
• FAQ
• Credits

Overview

This Game Is KILLER is a hilariously deadly party game about being hunted by an alien lifeform aboard a cramped cargo vessel in deep space.

The Object is simple: Try to survive at any cost – and remove the alien threat before it kills you all. Each round you will play just two cards, both a Position on the ship and an Action you will take, before the alien's Location is revealed and players die. If you're lucky, the alien is killed and the surviving crew wins. Death comes quickly in this game – and ten minutes later, you are all jumping back in to play again.

Contents

• Ship HUD board
• 24 Crew cards
• 8 Location cards
• 10 Crew Status cards

The Ship HUD shows eight compartments of the NSS Ganymede: Bridge, Galley, Med Lab, Airlock, Access Corridor, Engine Room, Cargo Hold, and Shuttle Bay. It is used to see which Locations on the ship are still "in play." Any Location with its name visible is "in play" and accessible.

Setup

• Place the Ship HUD board in the center of the table. It is used to see which Locations on the ship are still "in play." Any Location with its name visible is "in play" and accessible.
• Place a Crew Status card, blue side up, in front of each player. This signifies they are still alive.
• Adjust Decks for Number of Players:
  • 3 – 5 Players: Remove 2 Locations from the Location card deck at random. Find the Crew cards with Position names matching these Locations (3 per each) and place them back in the box. They will not be used this game. Place the removed Location cards face down on the Ship HUD board in their matching places. These areas of the ship have been previously destroyed and are not in play this game.
  • 6 – 10 Players: Use all Locations and all Crew Cards.
• Shuffle the Location cards and place them face down in a row on the table, below the Ship HUD board. This is called the Hunting Row.
• Shuffle the Crew cards to form the Crew deck.
• The player who most recently saw a film about aliens becomes the First Crew Member.

Crew Cards

Each Crew card can be oriented in one of two ways.

Position: These all have names matching the Locations on the ship. If played so you can read the Position, it indicates where you are currently on the ship. It also provides your Priority number (1 – 3). A higher number means that you are more exposed and more likely to be the alien's target should you encounter it.

Action: If played so you can read the text, it describes the Action you will take this round. Black text has an immediate effect and red text reminds you to complete an action later in the round. Each action is unique. Certain Actions may bend the general rules.

With only two cards played per turn, one will always be played as your Position and the other as your Action. You may play an Action first or a Position first. But you must play one of each.

Playing the Game

1. Deal: Deal 2 Crew cards face down to each Crew member (player). Crew members may not show their cards to other Crew members.
2. Play Your First Card: Play begins with the first Crew member and moves clockwise around the table. Each person plays one of their cards, reading it aloud and placing it face up on the table. They may choose to play either a Position, announcing "where they are", or their Action, describing "what they do".
3. Play Your Second Card: Once all players have played their first card, the order of play reverses. So, the last Crew member immediately plays their second card and play resumes counter-clockwise back around the table, with each Crew member playing their final card. Remember, when you play your second card, you must orient it the opposite way of first card. You can't take two Actions and you can't be in two Positions at once.
4. Reveal The Alien's Location: After all Crew have played both of their cards, the first Crew member chooses any Location card from the Hunting Row and reveals it. This is the alien's Location.
5. "End of Round" Actions: Check the red text of your played cards and resolve all unresolved Actions simultaneously. All Actions WILL resolve, even if the player playing them dies. The warning symbol indicates an effect that could impact the game's end.

   • If a card instructs you to DESTROY a Location, all Crew in matching Positions are dead. Dead players flip their status cards over to red and are eliminated from the game. (Note: other Actions resulting in Crew deaths also occur now.)

   • If the alien is at that Location, it dies. The game is over and all Surviving Crew WIN.

   • If the alien has survived, check to see if any Crew are in Positions matching the alien Location. The alien will kill a single Crew member with the highest Priority number at that Position. They flip their status card to red and are eliminated. Other crew sharing that Position live.

   • If all Crew have been killed, the game ends in tragic defeat.

   • If not, find and remove all DESTROYED Location cards from the Hunted Row (and/or Previously Hunted Area) and place them face down onto the matching spaces of the Ship HUD board.

     Then, collect all the Crew cards and remove from the game all cards with Positions matching the Destroyed cards.

     Reshuffle the remaining Crew cards.

6. Clean Up:
   • Place the alien's newly revealed Location card into the Previously Hunted Area. Keep it face up. The alien will not hunt at a face up location. It has moved on.
   • Shuffle all Locations that have not been Destroyed or Previously Hunted by the alien and reform the face down Hunting Row.

Last on Board

If you are careful, you may find yourself as the last living Crew member on board the ship. You will continue playing, but you have only until the end of the next round to pull off a Win or join the fate of the rest of the Crew.

To help you, many cards have the keywords, "LAST ON BOARD." This text can be ignored for most of the game, BUT if you are indeed the last left alive on the ship, and can manage to play it as your Action, you win the game regardless of where the alien is Located (even if it's with you). (Note: A Crew still in Cold Storage does not count as "On Board". You will win and they will freeze to death.)

Not Enough Crew Cards

It is possible to Destroy so many Locations that there are not enough Crew cards for each Crew member to be dealt 2 cards. If so, deal just 1 card to each Crew member this round. Reveal them simultaneously. This is your Position this round. There are no Actions. Then reveal the Location of the alien and continue as normal. (You are all too panicked to act.)

Ongoing Actions

An "ONGOING ACTION" is an Action card that you will keep it in front of you, one or more rounds, until its effect ends. You will still receive 2 cards every round (unless the card states otherwise). Choose one of them to play as your Position and discard the other. Your ONGOING ACTION is always considered your first card played in a round, so your Position is played as your second card.

FAQ

My Action says "Play as your 1st card" or "Play as your 2nd card"… do I HAVE to play this Action? // No. But if you do play one, it must be played at the specified time.

Does the player in COLD STORAGE get dealt cards after playing it? // No. They are out of the game temporarily. A correct guess will put them back into play. Also – strategy tip: It is unwise to play this in Round one. You may not get out.

Is there a benefit to eliminating players? // While it can be fun to do so, not really. UNLESS you are trying to be LAST ON BOARD, a condition that has pretty high odds of winning the game - if you can survive that long. (But it IS funny - and the next game will start soon enough)

The Coward: What happens if a Crew plays my same Position but then ends up in a different Position later? // Sharing your Position "at any time" will get you caught and killed.

Credits

Game Designed by: Ivan Turner

Development: Neil Hoffman, Peter Spano, Curt Covert, Gaeton Dragone

Illustration: Grafit Studios

Editing: Linda Baldwin