Nemesis reference sheet

Overview

• Semi-cooperative survival horror: 1–5 players on an alien-infested ship [p.4 — Game Overview]
• Each player has secret Objectives; multiple players can win independently [p.11 — Player Goals]
• Win by completing your Objective AND surviving (hibernate or escape pod) [p.11 — Player Goals]
• Core loop: explore rooms, fight/avoid Intruders, manage wounds & contamination [p.5 — Game Introduction]
• Game ends when Time Track fills, ship explodes, or last active character leaves [p.11 — End of the Game]

Setup

1. Place board (basic side, red arrow corner) [p.6 — Setup Step 1]
2. Randomly place Room "2" tiles face-down on "2" slots; return extras unseen [p.6 — Step 2]
3. Place all Room "1" tiles face-down on "1" slots [p.6 — Step 3]
4. Shuffle Exploration tokens face-down; place 1 per Room tile; return extras [p.6 — Step 4]
5. Place 1 random Coordinates card face-down on Cockpit space [p.6 — Step 5]
6. Place Destination marker on "B" of Destination Track [p.6 — Step 6]
7. Place Escape Pod tokens (1–2p: 2 pods; 3–4p: 3 pods; 5p: 4 pods), Locked side up [p.6 — Step 7]
8. Shuffle each Engine token pair face-down; stack on Engine slots (top = true status) [p.6 — Step 8]
9. Intruder board: 5 Eggs, 3 random Weakness cards face-down [p.6 — Step 9]
10. Intruder bag: 1 Blank, 4 Larvae, 1 Creeper, 1 Queen, 3 Adults + 1 Adult per player [p.6 — Step 10]
11. Shuffle separately: 3 Item decks, Event, Intruder Attack, Contamination, Serious Wound decks [p.6 — Step 11]
12. Place Time marker on green space of Time Track [p.6 — Step 13]
13. Deal each player 1 Help card, 1 Inventory holder, 1 Corporate + 1 Personal Objective (secret) [p.8 — Steps 14–16]
14. Draft Characters (Player 1 draws 2, picks 1, shuffles other back; repeat in order) [p.8 — Step 17]
15. Each player takes Character board, miniature (in ring) in Hibernatorium, Action deck, Starting Weapon with Ammo, 2 Quest Items [p.8 — Step 18]
16. Player 1 takes First Player token; place blue Corpse token in Hibernatorium [p.8 — Steps 19–20]

Turn structure

I. PLAYER PHASE

1. All players draw Action cards up to hand size of 5
2. Pass First Player token left (skip on round 1)
3. In clockwise order each player takes 2 Actions (or 1 + pass, or just pass)
4. Repeat step 3 until all players have passed

II. EVENT PHASE

5. Advance Time marker (and Self-Destruct marker if active)
6. Each Intruder in a room with a Character attacks
7. Each Intruder in a room with a Fire marker suffers 1 Injury
8. Draw and resolve 1 Event card (Intruder Movement + Event Effect)
9. Draw 1 token from Intruder bag and resolve its effect [p.10 — Round Order]

Actions

[p.12–13 — Actions]

Combat

Shoot (Cost: 1 card + 1 Ammo)

1. Choose Weapon and target Intruder
2. Discard 1 Ammo from Weapon
3. Roll Combat die → on hit, place Injury marker(s); draw Intruder Attack card to check Injury Effect [p.18 — Combat]

Melee Attack (Cost: 1 card)

1. Draw 1 Contamination card to discard pile
2. Choose target; roll Combat die (2 Hits counts as 1 Hit)
3. Hit → 1 Injury; Miss → Character suffers 1 Serious Wound [p.19 — Melee Attack]

Escape (Cost: 1 card)

1. Declare destination room
2. Each Intruder in room resolves 1 Intruder Attack against you
3. Survive → move; die → Corpse token stays [p.19 — Character Escape]

Intruder Attack target: Character with fewest cards in hand; tie → First Player token order [p.20 — Intruder Attack]

Intruder death: Larva/Egg = 1 Injury kills; Creeper/Adult = draw 1 Attack card, compare blood symbol to Injury count; Breeder/Queen = draw 2, sum blood symbols [p.20 — Intruder Injuries and Death]

End of game

Game ends when:

• Time marker hits final red space → hyperjump; non-hibernating Characters die [p.11]
• Self-Destruct marker hits skull space, OR 9th Fire/Malfunction marker placed → ship explodes, all die [p.11]
• Last active Character dies/hibernates/escapes [p.11]

Victory Check order:

1. Engines: if 2–3 top tokens are Damaged → ship explodes, hibernating Characters die [p.11]
2. Coordinates: if not headed to Earth → hibernating Characters die (except Quarantine Objective) [p.11]
3. Contamination: scan all Contamination cards; any Infected card or Larva on board = Character dies [p.11]
4. Objective: each surviving Character reveals and checks their Objective card [p.11]

Survive by: hibernating (Hibernatorium opens when Time Track hits blue space) OR launching Escape Pod [p.11 — Player Goals]

Glossary

• Encounter: Intruder token drawn from bag and placed in a room with a Character [p.18 — Encounter]
• Surprise Attack: Intruder Attack during Encounter when player's hand size < number on drawn token [p.18 — Surprise Attack]
• Combat: state when a Character and Intruder share a room; Eggs don't count [p.18 — Combat]
• Contamination card: drawn to discard pile (e.g. after Melee); cannot pay Action costs; may be Infected [p.20 — Contamination Cards]
• Infected: hidden status on Contamination card; revealed by Scanner; causes Larva on Character board [p.20 — Contamination Cards]
• Larva (on Character board): second Infected scan = Character dies + 1 Creeper placed [p.21 — Scanning]
• Light Wound: tracked on board; 3rd Light Wound converts to 1 Serious Wound [p.21 — Light Wounds]
• Serious Wound: draw a Serious Wound card; 3 Serious Wounds + any Wound = death [p.21 — Serious Wound]
• Dress: flip Serious Wound card face-down; effect ignored but still counts toward limit [p.21 — Dressing and Healing]
• Malfunction marker: disables Room Action (not Search); 9th marker = ship destroyed [p.17 — Malfunction Marker]
• Noise roll: roll Noise die after entering empty room; place marker or trigger Encounter/Danger [p.15 — Noise Roll]
• Exploration token: revealed when entering face-down room; sets Item Counter and triggers special effect [p.14 — Exploration Tokens]
• Heavy Item/Object: occupies a Hand slot; max 2 carried; cannot be hidden in Inventory [p.22 — Hand Symbol]

FAQ

• Q: Does a Malfunction marker damage an Engine? — A: No. Engine status (Working/Damaged) is never affected by Malfunction markers in Engine Rooms [p.17 — Malfunction Marker]
• Q: Do Intruders trigger a Noise roll when entering a room? — A: No. Noise rolls are only for Characters entering empty rooms [p.14 — Movement Action]
• Q: Can you perform a Room Action in Combat? — A: No. Room Actions cannot be performed in Combat or in rooms with a Malfunction marker [p.24 — Room Sheet]
• Q: Does a Noise marker only affect one side of a Closed Door? — A: No. A Noise marker affects the whole Corridor regardless of a Door [p.15 — Noise Clarifications]
• Q: Can Contamination cards be discarded to pay Action costs? — A: No. They are kept in hand but cannot pay any Action cost; they may only be discarded when Passing [p.12 — Action Cost]
• Q: If an Intruder moves into a Technical Corridor Entrance, what happens? — A: It disappears: discard all its Injury markers, return its token to the bag, remove its miniature [p.16 — Technical Corridors]
• Q: Can you start Self-Destruct or change Destination while Characters are hibernating? — A: No. Both actions are forbidden once any Character is hibernating [p.24 — Generator; p.26 — Cockpit]