"They're Coming to Get You, _______!" - Night of the Living Dead: A Zombicide Game

The original Zombicide, which I reviewed here, sadly had some truly baffling design decisions that were impossible for me to reconcile. Namely:

1. It made zero sense that you were forced to damage your allies first whenever you fired a ranged weapon into a melee.
2. Not only do zombies automatically hit characters, they always steal an item away from them.
3. You have to add extra zombies to the board whenever you can't split packs of them  up evenly.  
4. If you run out of minis for a certain zombie type, you have to activate the matching zombies a second time! 
5. The "Manhole Cover" cards are fiddly, they slow the game down and they add a completely unnecessary extra level of difficulty to the game.
6. The sliding clips used for tracking Experience points damage the Survivor cards. 

More the pity, since there were a lot of things to like about the game. The components were amazing, the weapons and equipment options were myriad, turn-by-turn decisions were tense, co-operation was essential and the level-up process was fun. 

In fact, the game lingered with me long after I sold it, to the point where a trailer for the Second Edition really made me sit up and take notice:

Entranced by the dulcet tones of Machete himself, I immediately placed a pre-order for it. And then I waited. And I waited. And then I waited some more.

Thank the gaming gods for this self-inflicted patience, since it prevented me from making another "buyers remorse" misstep. My extended wait gave me the time to realize that something else about Zombicide really bugged me. Something more superficial, namely:

• The generic characters. As it turns out, I didn't want to Hobocop, some anime chick, a chainsaw-wielding (?) waitress on roller skates (!) or, um, Michael Douglas in Falling Down. Dafuq?
• The stylized, Kabuki-style art, which does nothing to set a spooky, atmospheric mood.
• The ridiculous, over-the-top carnage, which feels felt more like an action movie and less like a horror film.

What I really wanted was something darker and grittier, something more grounded and thematic. And, as it turned out, the solution to this was putrefying right under my nose the entire time.

Now, I'd seen Night of the Living Dead: A Zombicide Game lurking on store shelves plenty of times before but, for no logical reason whatsoever, I always wrote it off as some sort of dumbed-down knockoff of the original game. After seeing it on store shelves again recently, I finally took a closer look and, to my delight, it appeared to be the zombie game of my nightmares. 

First off, it's Night of the Living Dead; the first legit horror movie that scared the crap outta me as a kid and made me a life-long fan of Romero's zombie flicks. I'd much rather be Ben or Barbra than "Rick-Grimes-with-the-serial-number-filed-off." Plus, there are no "runners" or "abominations", just olde-skool, single-space-shufflin' zombies. And for all you slow-movin' zombie haterz out there: woe to you who underestimate them...they're still crazy-deadly when they attack in packs!

The NOTLD art style (by Karl Kopinski) is also ten times more appealing to me as well. It's the difference between this:

And this:

Yes, the original game's art is stylized, colorful and undeniably "bad-ass", but that painting of L'il Ghoul Karen is downright haunting to me. 

Side note: out of the following five options, what's your favorite description of Wanda, shown here on the cover of Zombicide?  

• She's got a face like a catcher's mitt. 
• She's got face like a half-chewed caramel. 
• She's got a face like a beat-up water bucket.
• They had to tie a pork chop around her neck to get the zombies to play with her.

Sorry, I digress.

So, aside from superficial aesthetics, what else is it about this itiration that inspired the cancellation of my eternal pre-order? Well, as it turns out, there's a pretty slick little promotional vid for this version as well. Here, have a look, if you dare...

Anyhoo, the bottom line is that I picked this one up and immediately got down to running the first scenario, appropriately titled "What's Happening?"

ROUND ONE

PLAYERS' PHASE

Ben uses his first Action to move into the house, his second to pick up the Barricade Token in the same room and his final Action to spend the Token to board up the southwest window. As per the scenario details, this immediately earns him five Experience Points.

Barbra moves into the same room, locking the door behind her for her second Action. She then picks up the Barricade Token in the northeast corner of the room.

Harry uses his first Action to open the basement door, then hustles through the living room and then into the kitchen.

Helen uses all of her Actions to move onto the Stairs Zone on tile 3R. Her shocking discovery of the "corpse lady" at the top of the landing would normally see all of the Survivors switching back to their default "Romero" Mode but, since no-one has progressed to "Zombicide" Mode yet, this effect is ignored.  

Tom uses two of his Actions to get into the stairwell hallway and then his final Action to pick up the Barricade Token located there.

Judy uses all three of her Action points to move into the living room.

GHOULS' PHASE

Step One - Activation: Attack or Move

Since there are no Ghoulies on the board yet, we immediately move to...

Step Two: Spawn

A single Breaker appears at the first Spawn point. An "Open Doors and Barricades" Card is drawn for the second Spawn point but, since everyone is still in the Blue level of Experience, nothing happens. Unfortunately, three Walkers spawn at the third entry point. Ruh-roh!

ROUND TWO

PLAYERS' PHASE

Barbra uses her first Action to build a Barricade across the window in the south west corner of the dining room, earning five Experience Points. She then Searches the room, coming up with a Flashlight. She opts not to take her final Action.

Harry uses his first Action to pick up the Barricade material in the north east corner of the kitchen. He then uses his second Action to Barricade the window next to the same spot, earning five Experience Points in the process. Finally, he Searches the kitchen, coming up with a "Plenty of Bullets" card.

Showing considerable fortitude, not to mention a strong stomach, Helen spends two of her Actions to dispose of the body on the upstairs landing. With this accomplished, the Zone beyond this point can now be searched by anyone in "Zombicide Mode"! She then uses her last Action to pick up the debris piled up in the east side of the stairway hall.

Tom moves one space into the northwest room of the house, presumably the rec room. He then spends an Action to Barricade the window to the north, earning five Experience Points. His final Action is spent Searching. Unfortunately, in a nasty twist, instead of finding a helpful item, a zombified Karen pops up from out of nowhere!

Hearing Tom scream like a little girl, Judy picks up the Winchester 94 for one Action and then immediately fires a shot into the rec room. She needs a 3+ and rolls a "3", which obliterates Karen and earns her an Experience Point! Spying an approaching pack of Ghouls through the window, she immediately pivots and fires towards them, rolling a "5" for another hit! This expert marksmanship earns her a second Experience Point!

Ben searches the dining room and finds a Mason Jar. With precious little time right now to indulge his beloved hobby of making preserves, he moves into the kitchen and opens the door to the attached pantry / shed.

GHOULS' PHASE

Step One - Activation: Attack or Move

The Breaker spends its entire turn ripping off the Barricade on the window and tearing open the adjacent door. The two Walkers on the east side of the house pile in through the window to menace Judy in the living room!

Step Two: Spawn

New Ghouls appear… including a Fatty at the first spawn point, one Walker at the north Spawn point and a Relative card is drawn for the third point. Since no one has progressed beyond the first level of Experience, this card is ignored.

ROUND THREE

PLAYERS' PHASE

Harry moves into the living room for one Action, gives Judy the "Plenty of Bullets" Card and then moves back into the kitchen. Damned sporting of him, don't ya think?

Helen spends two Actions to move into the dining room with Barbra, then uses an Action to Barricade the window, getting five Experience Points for her efforts.

Tom searches the room and finds some Boards, which he immediately discards for a Barricade Token. He then uses said Barricade Action to seal up the western window in the same room, gaining five Experience Points in the process. This moves him into the Yellow Experience level and unlocks the "Shove" special ability! He then moves into the dining room to help defend Helen and Barbra.

Judy attempts to club one of the Ghouls in her space with a table leg! She needs a 4+ in order to be successful and rolls a "5" - which is a hit, giving her a third Experience Point. She then moves into the kitchen and spends her final Action aiming at the Breaker who's now on the threshold of entering the house! She needs a 3+ to hit and rolls exactly "3"… success! This gains her her a fourth Experience Points for yet another zombie kill!

Ben decides to use his first Action to rush in and help Judy, taking a swing at one of the Ghouls with his Tire Iron. He needs a 4+ in order to hit and gets a “2”, a miss! His second swing, however, is a "5" which is a solid hit, giving him an Experience Point!

Frantically looking around for any useful items, Barbra uses her Flashlight to Search the room. She finds two sets of Boards, I.E. plenty of material to shore up the defense of the room! She immediately discards both of these cards, gains two Barricade Tokens and then invests both of them to block both off the southern windows in the dining room. This earns her a whopping ten experience points! Now in the Yellow Experience level, she unlocks the "Slippery" trait!

GHOULS' PHASE

Step One - Activation: Attack or Move

The Fatty lopes through the open door into the dining room, threatening Tom, Helen and Barbara! The Walkers to the north start scrambling around the house, looking for an open window or door. 

Step Two: Spawn

Since we're now in the Yellow Experience level, five (!) Walkers appear at the southwestern Spawn point! Five also appear in the northern entry area. Finally, a Relative, specifically Johnny (I guess?), appears in the easterly Spawn zone.

ROUND FOUR

PLAYERS' PHASE

Knowing that she has no weapon effective enough to take out the looming Fatty, Helen moves into the kitchen, spending an extra Action Point to do this. She then searches the kitchen and finds more Boards, which she immediately converts into a Barricade Token. 

Tom uses his freshly-unlocked (and free to use!) "Shove" ability to push the Fatty back outside! He then uses his first Action to shut and lock the door, his second to do a room Search (finding "Plenty of Shells") and then he exhausts his third Action to join the others in the kitchen.

Judy uses her first action to move into the living room and then she takes a pot-shot at Johnny, getting a “5”, which vaporizes his undead melon! She now has five Experience Points! Finally, in a moment of trust, she gives the Winchester 94 and bullets to Ben, which lets her transform into "Zombicide Mode"!

Ben uses his first Action to Search the room. Unfortunately, instead of finding anything practical, Karen pops up again! Ben then proceeds to use his two remaining Actions to try and cave the indomitable l'il scamp's skull in with a tire iron. He rolls a "1" on his first swing but "5" on the second, taking her out and gaining another Experience Point, which brings him up to six!

Barbra uses her Flashlight to Search the room and finds gas! She immediately moves two spaces to meet up with Ben, intending to give him this new-found fuel!

Harry uses his first Action to Search, finding Boards, which he immediately converts into a Barricade Token. He then spends an Action (and the Token) to seal up one of the windows in the kitchen. This gives him five more Experience Points, bringing him up to ten and unlocking the "Taunt" Skill. He then uses his final Action to move into the living room.

GHOULS' PHASE

Step One - Activation: Attack or Move

The lead Walker at the north side of the house shuffles a single space towards the open window, leading a pack of five more Ghouls shambling right behind him. Deterred by all of the restored Barricades in the south west corner of the house, the single Fatty and his entourage of five Walkers amble one space south, looking for a new way in.

Step Two: Spawn

Another "Relative" appears in the first Spawn space, yet another one appears in the north Spawn zone and one Breaker appears in the east.

ROUND FIVE

PLAYERS' PHASE

Tom spends his first Action searching the kitchen. He scrounges up some Boards, which he immediately converts into a Barricade Token. He then moves into the living room and uses his final Action to hastily Barricade the window that the Ghoul horde is approaching. This gives him five more experience points, putting him at 15!

Judy searches the living room and finds a rifle Scope, which she immediately hands off to Ben. She then chooses to ignore her final available Action.

On Ben’s turn, he uses a Re-organize / Trade Action to give Barbra the Mason Jar, forcing her to huck the "Plenty of Bullets" card to make room for this. Ben follows suit, discarding the Scope and the Winchester 94 to gain the Scoped Winchester. He then takes a shot at the Breaker who just appeared in the easterly Spawn point. Unfortunately, he rolls a "2" which is a miss but, thanks to "Plenty of Bullets", he re-rolls, this time getting a "4." It’s a hit, killing the Breaker, giving him his seventh Experience Point, putting him into the Yellow zone and unlocking his "Hawk-eye" Skill. For his third Action he Searches the room, getting another "Plenty of Bullets" card.

Barbra begins her turn by discarding the Mason Jar and Flammable Fluid to make a Molotov. She then discards the Molotov to do a one-space Ranged attack Action at the eastern Spawn point, which moves it over to the northern Spawn point. Now the Ghouls won’t be able to approach from the east! Barbra then uses her second Action to search with  her Flashlight, finding another Scope and more Flammable Fluid. She passes the latter off to Tom, giving him the ability to make a Torch out of his Table Leg if need be.

Harry Searches the living room and finds "Plenty of Shells." At a loss for what else to do, he exhausts the rest of his Actions.

Helen spends her first Action searching and finds a Flashlight. For her second Action, she places the Barricade Token that's in her supply on the remaining window in the kitchen. Beyond this, there’s little else she can do, so she exhausts her other two Actions.

GHOULS' PHASE

Step One - Activation: Attack or Move

The Walkers continue their inexorable march around the outside of the cabin. (NOTE: I think I'm doing their movement properly. The rules state that the Ghouls choose a Destination Zone based on two factors: the most visible group of Survivors in a single Zone or the Zone with the most unseen Survivors. They then "move 1 Zone towards their Destination Zone by taking the shortest available path." I can only assume that open doors and windows are an indispensable part of that "path.")

Step Two: Spawn

In an alarming twist, a new Breaker appears at the first Spawn point to the southwest. One of the northern Spawn points reveals another "Relatives" Card but, since both are already in play, there's no effect. The other northern Spawn point receives three Fatties. Yikes!

ROUND SIX

PLAYERS' PHASE

Judy does a search Action, picking up another Mason Jar, which she immediately passes over to Tom for an Action. She ops not to use her third Action for the round.

Paranoid that the Breaker may tear through the barriers at the southwestern corner of the house, Ben dashes off to the dining room. Thanks to his Hawk-eye ability, he can perform a Ranged attack Actions through Barricades, so he uses his last Action to fire his Scoped Winchester at the Breaker. He hits with a "6", giving him one more Experience Point and bringing him up to eight.

Barbra keeps scanning the house with her Flashlight, drawing two House Equipment Cards and revealing "Plenty of Shells" and friggin' Karen again, who pops up like an undead Mormon! Barbra uses her second Action to try and make the poor, innocent girl look like a rabbit, intent on driving her Claw Hammer up through the roof of her mouth. With a roll of "5" she succeeds, and Barb's Experience-O-Meter goes up to 16.

Harry Searches as well, drawing yet another "Karen, Poor Baby!" card, which translates to a "Johnny-on-the-spot." Harry instinctively swings his crowbar at Johnny's noggin', nicely ventilating it with a roll of "5" and getting him up to eleven Experience Points. He then ignores his final action.

On Helen‘s turn she uses her Flashlight to draw two Cards, gaining a Scope and Boards, the latter of which she immediately converts into a Barricade Token. She then moves one space into the living room and then uses her final Action to Barricade the remaining window in that room.

With all the windows blocked with Barricades and no Ghouls in the house, the Survivors win the Scene! 

***

REVIEW

PROS

• See previous comments RE: how amazing this thing looks and how it finally feels like a horror game to me.
• It's hard to believe, but the first Zombicide was released almost a decade ago and, since then, the designers have made a lot of evolutionary developments to the concept, the high water mark arguably being 2015's Black Plague. As a newer version of the game, released just last year, Night of the Living Dead incorporates many of these welcome improvements. Chief among these spruce-ups has to be the friggin' amazing Survivor Dashboard, which use tracked sliders to record Experience and pegs to keep a tally on damage and unlocked skills. Pure genius!
• The game does a great job simulating the action of the film. You actually feel a palpable sense of desperation  as you're running around the house, trying to bolster your defenses before endless waves of marauding undead start pounding on the doors and tearing at the shutters!
• As such, I think this version is even more reliant on co-operation. Sure, I kinda cruised through this scenario, but my dice luck was decent, I was playing all of the characters and I was optimizing their Actions. I can see this being a completely different experience with six players all controlling their own Survivors.
• Some of the dumber rules have been eliminated or refined. For example: if you shoot into a melee now, you only hit allies if you miss! Thanks, designers...gold stars all around! In other rule improvements: zombies don't steal shit from people, there are no stupid manhole covers and packs of Ghouls don't split up. Also the clever, but not-so-practical, concept of in-game "Noise" has been replaced by a much easier and intuitive A.I. system for the zombies.
• Combining items into Scoped Rifles and Molotov cocktails is just plain fun. Props for the nice variety of items and weapons!
• The Skills are well in-step with the film characters, I.E. Ben and Judy become better shots, Barbra turns into an escape artist, Tom transforms into a rugby player, Helen gets resourceful and Harry get, um...bossy. I also like that players evolve into their adrenaline-fueled "Zombicide" Mode when they work together and share key items. Mercifully, the Survivors feel unrealistic, even while sporting this upgrade.   
• The rule book alone is a work of art, with lots of amazing illustrations, examples, a glossary and * swoon * a phreakin' index!  

CONS

• I approve of the inclusion of Relatives, but the execution seems a bit off. In the movie, Barbra and Helen pretty much freeze up like headlight-stricken deer when cannibalistic Karen or undead Johnny show up. The game's rules simulate this by having a "Relative" pop up during a room Search or Spawn, which forces Survivors to drop from dynamic "Zombicide" Mode down to frightened rabbit "Romero" Mode. That's both shocking and on-point...the first two times it happens. Between Searches and Spawns, Relatives appear so frequently that unlocking "Zombicide" Mode is kind of a pain in the ass, since you're constantly flipping your Survivor Card over. Maybe there are four "Karen? Poor Baby" Cards in the House Equipment Deck to encourage folks to search in the other two decks, who knows? Whatever the reason, I can't square these corners off thematically. I mean, are Karen and Johnny just popping up over and over again or is Night of the Living Dead really the story of how a massive, organized, group Thanksgiving dinner at a quaint, isolated farmhouse went horribly awry? My solution: Karen and Johnny can only pop up once per Scene, permanently reducing folks to "Romero" Mode until (A) they're eliminated and (B) the Survivors perform the same the scenario-specific instruction to power back up again. 
• The rule book is great, but there are still a few times where the designers muddy the waters for no good reason. For example, Page 11 reads: "In exterior Zones, movement from one Zone to another has no restrictions. However, Actors must go through an open door (or opening) to move from an interior Zone to an exterior one and vice-versa. In interior Zones, Actors may move from one Zone to another as long as their Zones are linked by an opening (such as an open door or open window)." Why use  "opening" as your chosen verbiage? Why not just say "open door or window?" Oi.
• Although I really dig the idea of the game rewarding co-operation with the "Zombicide Mode", I really hafta ask: what's in it for the rat bastard around the table? In other words: the game gives you every reason in the world to co-operate, but zero incentive to look out for number one! My suggestion: regardless of a win or loss, give out an individual winner award to the player with the most Experience Points. If there's a tie, the person with the Rifle wins! With this house rule, you can use an Action to take the rifle away from someone by force. Roll a d6 and add +1 for every difference in Experience Level between the two. The high-roller takes the rifle and also has the option of inflicting a point of damage on the loser! If there's a tie, it turns into a good, old-fashioned tug-of-war! You can also flat-out attack another Survivor bare-handed, using the rules above (and inflicting a mandatory point of damage) or you can just snap and use a melee weapon! This might help replicate the open conflict between Ben and Harry at the end of the film!

***

All told, Night of the Living Dead: A Zombicide Game is a vast improvement over the original and avoids the stylistic personal objections I'd presumably have over the Second Edition. Even though there are still a few rules vagaries, and the execution of some of the new, thematically-relevant conditions left me scratching my head, the game itself does a fantastic job re-creating the tension, synergy and camaraderie of a real survival horror experience.

Night of the Living Dead: A Zombicide Game scores five pips out of six with a slight tilt down towards that deathtrap of a basement!

Unmatched: "Buffy vs. Dracula"

In much the same way that Queens Gambit was one of the better things to come out of the otherwise-dreadful Phantom Men-Ass, StarWars: Epic Duels was a rare silver lining when Attack of the Clowns was released in 2002.  

Epic Duels sees twelve different iconic Star Wars characters battle against each other on four possible battlefields, including Bespin, Kamino, Geonosis or the Emperor’s Throne Room. Every character (and their allies) are brought to life by a unique deck of cards which are used for attack and defense. 

They also showcase special powers that really make the characters distinct from one another. For example, Boba Fett actually plays surprisingly different form his pappy, Jango. Add in different match types, like one-on-one death matches, team battles or even a six-player free-for-all, and you had a quick-n'-easy Star Wars game that was actually surprisingly good. 

Sadly, with so many fans already dust-binning their prequel merch to a landfill, the game quickly went out of print. But, in the intervening years, game geeks in the know referenced Epic Duels with the same sort of hushed reverence that Indiana Jones used when talking about the Lost Ark.

After a very long wait, Restoration Games got the rights to republish the game. around 2018. Unfortunately, it would be devoid of that sweet-ass (not to mention expensive!) Star Wars license. Hoping that gamers would still gravitate to the fast n’ furious, card-driven miniatures combat, Restoration decided to task Mondo Games with building new sets around open source IP’s, starting with King Arthur, Alice in Wonderland, Medusa and Sinbad.

I won’t lie to you, when that first set released, I was super curious. But, since I already owned Epic Duels, I couldn’t justify buying it, even when Restoration piled on new characters like Bruce Lee, Robin Hood, Bigfoot, Little Red Riding Hood and Beowulf. Regardless of this growing awesomeness, I still managed to resist.

But then, they went and announced a Buffy the Vampire Slayer set and I crumbled like a bloodsucker perforated by Mr. Pointy. I’d been a die-hard fan of the show ever since Charisma Carpenter’s Cordelia told Alyson Hannigan’s Willow:  “Willow...nice dress! Good to know you've seen the softer side of Sears.”

Yeah, did I mention that I actually worked for Sears at that time?       

Not that I needed any more incentive, but here’s the games sales pitch, presumably right from the Watcher's Council (I.E. Mondo Games) itself:

Unmatched: Buffy the Vampire Slayer features four heroes. Buffy will hit you with Mr. Pointy or summon her Slayer's strength for a cartwheel kick. When it's time for backup, she'll take her pick between insightful Giles or reliable Xander. Spike, a relentless hunter, seeks the shadows and calls on Drusilla's Sight to let him know just where and when to strike. Willow, a peerless witch, dabbles in black magic and risks her darker self, potent but dangerous. At times, only Tara can bring her back from the brink of the abyss. Angel, once the Scourge of Europe, is cursed with a soul, conflicted by his victories and taking solace in his losses. Faith is there to make sure things stay "Five by Five".

Unmatched is a highly asymmetrical miniature fighting game for two or four players. Each hero is represented by a unique deck designed to evoke their style and legend. Tactical movement and no-luck combat resolution create a unique play experience that rewards expertise, but just when you've mastered one set, new heroes arrive to provide all new match-ups.

Looking for more eldritch lore on the subject? Then crack open the Slayer’s Handbook (you know, that big, leather-bound tome with “VAMPYR” embossed on the front) to learn all the deets right here.  

So, needless to say, I snapped this one up just as soon as I could get my claws into it. Fast forward to now and I really wanted to do a review for this one during the Halloween season, but who would I pit the titular hero against? I'll always see Angel as more of a brooding detective than the murderous Angelus, so that was out. Willow and Buffy are best buds, so I couldn’t bring myself to see those two tangle, even if it was Dark Willow. And then there’s poor Spike, who I just see as the undead version of a punching bag. 

So, I did the only logical thing I could do: I picked up the Cobble & Fog set just to make this clash thematically perfect!

So, for completion’s sake, here’s the penny dreadful on this one:

Unmatched: Cobble & Fog features four new heroes for the Unmatched system. Invisible Man uses fog to dart around the board and strike without warning. Sherlock, with the trusty Watson by his side, schemes and calculates to ensure victory. Dracula and the sisters slowly drain you of your power. Jekyll & Hyde uses the former's cunning and the latter's brute strength to win the day.

And here’s the full Victorian novel (I.E. the rulebook), guv’nah!  

***

And, so, without further ado, I present to you:

BUFFY VS. DRACULA

Drac takes the Maneuver Action, first drawing a card and then moving one of his Sisters two spaces towards the secret passage. He then turfs a “Feint” card for a two-point movement boost, so now she’s standing adjacent to Giles! Another Sister uses the secret passage to follow right behind and then Drac and his final companion form up close by.

For their second Action, the Sister closest to Giles Attacks by playing a face-down Action Card. The Watcher quickly replies with a card of his own. They’re revealed to be “Ambush” and “Feint”, the latter of which cancels out the Sister’s “During Combat” text. Since it’s a tie, the exchange is a push.

Buffy starts her turn with a Maneuver Action and draws a new card. She then jogs three spaces and gets within staking distance of the Sister that’s threatening Giles.

She Attacks for her second Action, tabling an Action combat card and the Sister plays a card too. They're then flipped simultaneously, revealing a three-point “Swift Strike” versus the Sister’s four-point “Exploit.” The Attack is defended, and Buffy decides to use her After Combat ability to move four spaces into the mansion and get all up in Drac’s grill. The Sister’s After Combat ability also kicks in, and she draws a new card.

Dracula signals his intent to Attack Buffy* by placing an Action Card down on the table and she counters with one of her own. Dracula’s card is revealed as a three-point “Dash” and Buffy flips a three-point “Rapid Recovery.” Once again, this tie results in a wash, but then the After Combat abilities kick in. Buffy would normally recover one Health, but she’s already at her maximum. Dracula opts to back off, imposing one of his Sisters in the way!

For his second Action, Dracula Schemes with the “Ravening Seduction” card. After one of the Sisters moves two spaces south, Giles loses one Health because she's adjacent to him.

Buffy responds with a Maneuver Action, drawing a new card and then rushing two spaces outdoors to aid Giles. 

For her second Action, she Attacks the Sister that’s trying to pounce on Giles, who, upon closer inspection, looks like he's kind of enjoying being "attacked." She plays an Action Card, and the Sister has no response. Buffy’s card is revealed as a “Rapid Recovery”, which does three points of damage and dusts her quarry! Giles reacts to this by shedding a lone tear. 

Dracula decides to be conservative, declaring a Maneuver as his first Action. After he draws a new card, the Sister that was trying to flank Giles retreats two spaces back inside the mansion. The second Sister takes point at the top of the staircase while the Count himself lurks at the bottom. 

They perform the Maneuver Action again, drawing another new card, but this time the trio hold in place, clearly in a defensive posture.  

Sensing an opportunity, Buffy decides to advance. First, she performs a Maneuver Action and draws a new card. She then charges two spaces into the mansion, intent on tackling   the closest Sister, while Giles sneaks in the back entrance.

Buffy then drops an Action Card, but the Sister can’t defend herself! The Slayer’s card is revealed to be a two-point “Feint”, which stakes the second Sister. Another one bites the dust!

Snarling with rage, Dracula starts off with a Maneuver Action and draws a new card. Both ghouls pivot two spaces to confront Giles.

Their second Action is an Attack. Dracula tables an Action Card but Giles responds with his own. They’re revealed to be a “Regroup” from Giles and a “Feeding Frenzy” from Dracula. The During Combat ability of Dracula‘s card kicks in, giving it a +1 bump for each Sister in the same zone as Giles. This results in a three point Attack versus “Regroup's” defense of one. As a result, Giles loses two Health points! Post combat, the “Regroup” special ability kicks in and Giles draws a new card for his team!

Acting selflessly, Giles bolsters his Slayer with a powerful “Training” card, letting Buffy  draw three (!) cards to add to her roster. He decides to Scheme again, this time playing “Insight.” Giles looks at Dracula’s hand and forces him to throw out a “Do My Bidding” card.

For Dracula‘s first Action, he decides to play a “Ravening Seduction” card. Giles takes one point of damage from the Sister standing adjacent to him. For his second Action, Drac performs a Maneuver and draws one Action Card, but neither he nor his Sister decide to move.

Buffy performs her own Maneuver, first drawing a new card and then moving three spaces adjacent to both Dracula and the lone remaining Sister. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, Giles flees three spaces. 

For her second Action, she signals an Attack by playing an Action Card face down and Dracula decides to defend himself by following suit. Buffy flashes “Mr. Pointy” and Dracula counters with “Do My Bidding." The Immediate nature of Dracula's card kicks in, so he peeks at Buffy’s hand, looking to swap out this powerful Attack card for something lame. Unfortunately, the vampire lord quickly realizes that all of Buffy's cards are pretty durned good, so he keeps things as-are and takes two points of damage.

On Dracula‘s turn, he decides to play a “Prey Upon” Scheme card. This deals one damage to Buffy and Dracula heals a point*. 

For his second Action, he Maneuvers, draws a new card and then moves two spaces towards Giles, with his Sister trailing along.

Buffy uses a Maneuver Action to draws a new card and then jog two spaces, catching up to the lone Sister. Meanwhile, Giles moves two spaces back into the mansion via the secret tunnel. 

For her next Action, Buffy Attacks the remaining Sister by placing a face-down Action Card on the table, but she responds with a defensive card. They're flipped to reveal a four-point “Daring Strike” versus a three-point “Dash.” Since the difference is still one in Buffy’s favor, she stakes the final Sister into a cloud of dust! As if that wasn’t good enough, Buffy’s After Combat ability kicks in and she draws two new cards!

Sensing that he’s legitimately in trouble, Dracula performs a Maneuver Action, picks up a brand new card and then rushes at Buffy! 

He Attacks her with his second action, playing a face-down Action Card, and Buffy responds with one of her own. Dracula reveals a nasty, six-point “Beast Form” card and decides to huck out “Look Into My Eyes” to bolster the Attack up to seven. Buffy reveals a “Cartwheel Kick” for two defense. After taking a net five points of damage, she opts not to trigger her own card’s “After Combat” ability, since she has no other target. In retrospect, I suppose she could have looped back to Drac and hit him with a Chun Li-style spinning side kick. Oh, well, she's doin' more than okay without it! 

After noticing that Dracula is completely out of cards, Buffy Attacks. Dracula has no reprieve, so Buffy just reveals her “Mr. Pointy” Action Card and clobbers him for five points of unopposed damage to. Sensing the kill, Buffy performs a display of “Slayer Strength”, which inflicts four more damage. This launches the vampire into the adjacent space, causing an additional point of damage! Dracula’s down to only two points of Health now...yikes!

Dracula takes a Maneuver Action, draws a card and then retreats two spaces towards the secret passage. 

He does this one more time, drawing a second card and leaping out to block Giles as the Watcher stealthily creeps down the hallway of the mansion.

Spooked by Dracula’s sudden appearance, Giles Schemes up an “Insight.” He looks at Dracula’s hand and forces him to throw out his only Defense card: “Exploit.” 

He then Attacks Dracula, playing a face down Action Card. Now defenseless, Dracula can only except the damage, which turns out to be a four-point “Daring Strike"...more than enough to polish off the vampire lord!

FINAL TALLY

Buffy’s Remaining Health: 8

Giles’s Remaining Health: 2

***

POST MATCH COMMENTARY

I can just picture the veteran Unmatched players out there practically tearing their own hair out seeing how poorly I played Dracula. There were at least two occasions (marked above with an *) where good ol' Vlad started his turn next to an adversary but didn’t use his Special Ability, which would have seen him gain back a Health point and draw an Action Card. Je suis le dumbass. 

Having said that, Buffy and Giles are a pretty amazing duo and I’m skeptical that Drac n’ company would have survived much longer against their onslaught. With Giles’s ability to keep Buffy well-stocked with an insanely-powerful spectrum of attack and defense cards, not to mention their overall maneuverability, I’m at a loss as to how the vampire lord could have countered this.

Granted, he did kind of charge at Buffy right out of the gate. In retrospect, he’s probably better suited to a more defensive posture, with the Sisters providing an anti-Buffy buffer and swarming in when they see a weakness. Next time I’ll hold off and try to keep them in a tight-knit Drac pack.

REVIEW

PROS

• Generally speaking, the rules are pretty clear and the game is easy to get into. 
• I love how each deck is radically different and each one does a great job thematically simulating the powers and abilities of the characters. Buffy is a whirlwind of kicks, blows and stakes, Giles keeps the Slayer whip-smart with options and can analyze threats, Drac is super-sneaky and can enthrall targets and the Sisters are dangerous in a pack. 
• The combat cards make you actually feel like you’re in a scrap. There are punches, feints, ducks and kicks. Running out of cards also nicely simulates being winded during the battle.
• The game board is very well-designed and the colored spaces ensure that you never have to worry about determining line of sight ever again! 
• The art design is sort of sketchy, but it’s also strangely atmospheric. The miniatures are also wonderful! 

CONS

• One you start getting slapped around, it might be tough to stop the bleeding and rally for a comeback.
• It’s a damned shame that the Sidekicks are just lame flat plastic chips. 
• I'm thinking that there's a pretty big power disparity between some of these characters. That's not the worst thing in the world, since more experienced players can pick more challenging characters.
• I think it's kinda stupid that Sidekicks have the same movement value as the Heroes. 

Unmatched scores five pips out of six with a big ol' tilt up towards that bat-filled belfry!

   

"This Is Really Gross!" - Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein succeeds where Alien: Fate of the Nostromo fails. If you’ve ever wanted to be Peter Cushing in an olde skool Hammer Frankenstein flick, this is the game for you!

Unlike Alien, which shies away from its dark subject matter, Abomination really leans into it. We played an epic four-player game last Thursday and the general consensus was that the game was gloriously and apologetically “gross." 

And that's the way it should be! Designer Dan Blanchett serves up a playable, macabre, step-by-step, “how to” manual on assembling and animating a dead body! That means you’ll find yourself robbing graves, visiting execution sites, harvesting flesh, blood, bones and organs, cheekily subbing in animal parts (!) and even murdering people for their tender bits! If you have an issue with pickling organs for sale or putting body parts on ice to prevent decomposition, then you may want to give this one a wide berth. 

The game is insanely ambitious. You have to balance your scientist’s Humanity, Expertise and Reputation in order to harvest your optimal...um...materials, get your lab ship-shape and then try to animate every individual body parts with electricity. As if that wasn’t enough detail, Event Cards drawn at the start of every new round will constantly tweak the game play and some will even add in cool thematic story elements to shake things up.

If anything, the game is a bit too ambitious and could use some streamlining and focus. From a design standpoint, I’d just have players assemble the body pasts in a single stage and activate it in one fell swoop, awarding bonus victory points for speed and quality. Not only would this be a slicker gaming experience, its actually more in step with the  theme. 

Sadly, as it is out of the box, Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein is unnecessarily lumbering and takes waaaay too long to play. Our four player game went from 7 pm to 11:30. The game also commits the cardinal sin of including a “take that” elements, which usually boils down to forcing people to discard precious “building materials” just as they're on the cusp of creation. 

As if that wasn’t frustrating enough, rolling dice to activate your individual body parts is incredibly annoying. With his uncanny ability to just dial up exactly what he needed at clutch times, Andrew eclipsed me by rolling well. Despite a deliberate effort to boost up my scientist’s Expertise and collect Research Cards designed to mitigate bad luck, I still ended up getting hosed by the fickle dice on several occasions.

By including numerous setback opportunities, luck-based mechanics which can stymie and infuriate and a rule set that makes the game feel like a bloated cadaver fished out from the Seine, Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein is its own worst enemy at times. 

But between its amazing production values and full commitment to such grim subject matter, I'm still sorely temped to buy it! Just like the titular obsessed mad scientist, horror phreaks like myself will be hard pressed to resist the opportunity to play God, albeit in a very "gross" way. 

Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein scores four pips outta six, with a massive tilt up towards the top of that castle's craggy tower, which, curiously, always seems to be getting struck with lightning! 

In Space No One Can Hear You Scream (at a rulebook) - "Alien: Fate of the Nostromo"

So, as soon as ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo was announced, I immediately ordered it. As a fan of the olde skool Universal monsters, I was quite impressed with Ravensburger's lite-n'-spoopy co-op Horrified. I also dug Jaws for similar reasons, even though the poor, sad, under-powered shark generates more pathos than fear in the game.   

Anyhoo, here's the mission briefing on this new release, presumably from Weyland-Yu...er, Ravensburger itself:

In ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo, players take the role of Nostromo crew members Ripley, Lambert, Parker, Brett, or Dallas. Over the course of the game, they collect scrap, craft items, and fulfill different objectives. The crew will lose and gain morale as they encounter the Alien and other situations. If crew morale reaches zero, players lose the game.

Each turn has two phases. In the Crew Action phase, players creep through the Nostromo's halls, gathering scrap, crafting items, trading scrap and items with other players, and using items and their special abilities. Brett, for example, can craft items with one fewer scrap than other players. If the Alien is within three spaces of the player with the incinerator, that player can use the incinerator to send the Alien back to its nest.

In the Encounter phase, players draw and resolve an Encounter card. The Alien could be lurking behind any corner...

Once the players fulfill their initial objectives, they face one of five final missions, each with a unique set of requirements. Players must fulfill the final mission's requirements simultaneously to win the game. Players can also introduce Science Officer Ash for a more challenging game. Ash moves through the ship, removing scrap and forcing the crew to lose morale.

Looking for the full transmission? Then just slip into MU-TH-UR 6000's interface room and get all the Special Order deets right hur. 

***

SAMPLE PLAY-THROUGH

Lambert uses her Special Ability to take a peek at the top card of the Encounter Deck. It’s “Order 937 -  Collating Data.” Since this card isn't particularly scary right now, she decides to put it back on top of the Deck. She then uses her three remaining Actions to move into Equipment Storage.  

“Order 937” is revealed. Since nobody has any Scrap, that part of the card is ignored. Instead of moving, Ash just discards the two Scrap in the Medbay. (RULES QUESTION: Does Ash only turf Scrap when he moves into, or “Encounters”, a space? In other words, would he first have to move out of the Medbay and then move back in if he wanted to discard the Scrap?) 

Brett decides to move three spaces towards the Hypersleep chamber. 

He then draws an Encounter card: “Order 937 - Meet Me In The Infirmary.” This immediately moves Brett to the Medbay. Since Brett is now keeping Ash "under observation”, he doesn’t move.

Dallas moves four spaces into the MU-TH-UR space.

He then pulls a “Quiet” Encounter card. After the Alien moves one space out of the Nest, two Scrap is added to the Docking Bay along with a Concealed token.

Lambert spends an Action to peek at the top Encounter Card. Since it’s a powerful Alien “Stalk” card, she decides to bury it at the bottom of the deck. She then uses her second Action to pick up a Coolant Canister, the third to move into Suit Storage and her final Action to drop the Canister.

Her Encounter card is another “Quiet.” After the Alien moves one space, a Scrap and a Concealed Token are both placed on the Bridge.

Even though there’s a Concealed token in the Docking Bay, Brett decides to risk it and move three spaces to get there. Unfortunately, the token reveals an Alien attack! (STRATEGY TIP: build a Motion Detector ASAP to mitigate going into rooms blind like this!) The Crew Morale takes one damage and Brett is forced to flee three spaces. (RULES QUESTION: between the vague rule book and the forums on BGG, it looks like you have to "flee" exactly three spaces if you can. But I still don't have a conclusive answer as to whether or not you can voluntarily choose a shorter route or into a room with a Concealed Token, which halts movement. Honestly, I have no idea!) He decides to gamble again, moving down into Maintenance, and flipping another Concealed token, which is marked  “Safe” this time. Since this happened on Brett’s turn, his Encounter step is skipped.

Dallas uses an Action to pick up a Coolant Canister. (ERROR: looks like I might have also snapped up the two Scrap in this room, but that would have required its own separate Action) He then uses two Actions to move onto the Bridge, forcing him to reveal the Concealed token there. Jones the cat immediately leaps out at Dallas, causing a one-point Crew Morale loss before the token goes back into supply. Dallas then decides to take a Craft Action, spending two Scrap to make a Flashlight and then uses his final Action to pick up the single Scrap on the Bridge. 

Dallas draws an Encounter card, which turns out to be an Alien “Stalk.” Brett is the closest target, so the Alien moves into Maintenance with him. This result in a three-point Crew Morale loss and Brett is forced to flee three spaces, so he decides to run into the Garage. Since there’s a Concealed token in there, it’s revealed...but it’s declared “Safe.”

(RULES CLARIFICATION: only drawing a "Surprise Attack" Concealed Token prematurely ends a player's turn)

Lambert starts her turn by revealing the top Encounter Card, which turns out to be another “Quiet.” She then spends the rest of her three Actions moving towards the Docking Bay.

The Encounter Card is then resolved, and the Alien moves one space into the corridor. (ERROR: it should have moved into the Docking Bay since it would be within one space of Lambert versus two spaces away from Brett.) Also Equipment Storage receives two Scrap and a Concealed Token.

Brett spends his first Action to pick up the two Scrap in the Garage, then use a free Action to construct a Grapple Gun (which only costs him two Scrap) and then fire his new toy,  pushing the Alien all the way back to the Workshop. He then uses his final Action to pick up a Coolant Canister.

He draws another “Quiet” card. After the Alien moves one space back into the corridor, away from the Workshop, two Scrap and a Concealed Token is then placed in Suit Storage.

Dallas spends four of his Actions getting to the Suit Storage area. Since there’s a Concealed Token in there, he’s forced to turn it over, revealing that he’s “Safe.” He then uses his final Action to drop the second required Coolant Canister, completing the “Prep Suits” Objective Card.

He then turns over an Encounter Card, which is another “Quiet.” After the Alien moves one space back into Maintenance, one Scrap and one Concealed Token is placed in the Airlock.

Lambert uses her first Action to look at the next Encounter Card, revealed to be another “Quiet.” She puts it back on top of the deck and then spends an Action to move one space into the Docking Bay. She uses her third Action to pick up the two Scrap and then her final Action to Craft a Motion Detector.

She then reveals and resolves the “Quiet” card. This reveals a serious miscalculation, since Maintenance and the Docking Bay, where Lambert is standing, are adjacent. So, the team suffers a two point Crew Morale drop and Lambert is forced to flee three spaces towards the Suit Storage area. (ERROR: I'm not sure if I placed the new Scrap and Conceal token from this card! D'oh!)

Brett decides to move three spaces towards Equipment Storage.

His Encounter card is another “Quiet”, so the Alien moves just one space. Since there’s an equal distance between Lambert and Brett, they decide to move the xenomorph into Maintenance. Two Scrap and one Concealed token also appears in the Hypersleep chamber.

Dallas uses his Actions to pick up a Coolant Canister, gather up two Scrap and move from Suit Storage into Equipment Storage, where he’s forced to reveal a Concealed token. It’s Jones again, but since Dallas has a Flashlight, the Morale loss is reduced to zero. After Dallas picks up two more Scrap in the Equipment Storage room, he then uses his final Action to craft an Incinerator.

His Encounter card is “Order 937 - Crew Expendable,” forcing Dallas to lose his single Scrap token. (NOTE: This is likely karma kicking in, since I illegally picked two up earlier.) Then all of the “Order 937” cards are shuffled back into the deck. Finally, Ash leaves the Medbay and slinks two spaces towards Lambert.

On Lambert's turn, she decides to spend all four of her Action points to get from the corridor just north of Suit Storage to the corridor just off the the Hypersleep chamber.

She didn’t bury an Encounter Card this turn and, unfortunately, it turns out to be an Alien “Hunt” card, which moves the creature two spaces. It spooks Brett (again), resulting in a massive four-point Crew Morale loss. He then runs three spaces away, ending up in the corridor between Maintenance and the Workshop.

Brett then moves two spaces into the Docking Bay and spends his last Action to drop a Coolant Canister there.

The Encounter Card he draws is another Alien “Stalk.” The creature springs at Dallas and the team loses two more Morale points, a point of which is mitigated by the Captain’s Flashlight. The heroes are just two Morale points shy of losing the game! Dallas then flees three spaces into the Maintenance room.

Dallas spends Action points to pick up Scrap in Maintenance, move into the Docking Bay and then drop a Coolant Canister there. This completes the “We’ll Take Our Chances in the Shuttle” Objective. He then spends his fourth Action to pass one Scrap to Brett, and then uses his final Action to move one space down the corridor towards the Airlock.

His Encounter card is “Order 937 - Meet Me In The Infirmary”, which forces Dallas to move to the Medbay. This also moves Ash two spaces into the same room, forcing Dallas to discard one of his Scrap back to the pile. (RULES QUESTION: Can you voluntarily lose Morale instead? Not really an option for me, since I'm perilously close to losing!)

Lambert scans the Hypersleep chamber with her Motion Tracker, detects Jonesy, and  shuffles the token back into the pool. For her second Action, she moves into the Hypersleep chamber, fulfilling the “Check the Hypersleep Chamber” Objective. For her third Action, she picks up the two Scrap lying there, and then spends her final action to look at the top Encounter card. It’s “Order 937 -  Collating Data”, which would force each crew to lose one Scrap! She decides to gamble and bury it at the bottom of the deck.

She then draws in a Encounter card and gets a “Quiet.” The Alien moves via the ladder from the Equipment Storage room to Suit Storage. Three Scrap and one Conceal token is then placed in the Garage.

Brett moves two Spaces, enters the Galley and then uses the Grapple Gun to force the Alien back three spaces. The creature ends up in the central Sub Deck corridor, two spaces away from its Nest. With this second use, the Grapple Gun is now exhausted and the token goes back into supply.

He then draws an Encounter Card which is another “Quiet” result. The Alien moves one space into Maintenance, while two Scrap appears in MU-TH-UR as well as one Concealed token.

Dallas moves three spaces into the Docking Bay and then uses an Action to activate the Incinerator, driving the Alien back to its Nest. He then moves one space down the corridor towards the Galley.

Since the Incinerator was just used, Dallas avoids drawing an Encounter Card.

Lambert uses all four her Actions to move into the Galley, joining Brett.

She then draws an Encounter Card, getting “Order 937 - Crew Expendable.” Sadly, this forces her to lose all of her Scrap Tokens. (WORTH NOTING FOR NEW PLAYERS: Scrap is never completely discarded from the game...it just gets “tied up” in Inventories or on the board) After all of the “Order 937” cards get reshuffled back into the deck, Ash moves two spaces down the hall towards the Docking Bay.

With plans to complete the “Crew Meeting” Objective now completely dashed, Brett decides to venture two spaces to the Suit Storage room to pick up a Coolant Canister.

In the equivalent of getting a nice, big paper cut and pouring lemon juice all over it, the Encounter Card that Brent draws is “Order 937 - Collating Data”,  which forces every crew member to throw out a Scrap! Ash then moves two spaces and freaks out Dallas. The Captain doesn’t have any Scrap, which would normally result in a loss of Crew Morale, but he still has his Flashlight which (I assume) mitigates that loss. Again, I can only assume that the Flashlight prevents Morale regardless of the source. 

Now completely devoid of any Scrap, Dallas is forced to backtrack three spaces to the Airlock and flip the Concealed Token there. This reveals an Alien Encounter, causing a loss of three more Crew Morale, which ends the game!

***

REVIEW

PROS

• It's pretty! Again, Ravensburger completely knocks it out of the park regarding the game's production. The board, minis, tokens and cards are all top-notch. The art alone on the Player Reference Cards is downright suitable for framing!
• It's tense! Flipping over those Concealed Tokens can be super-stressful. It's a solid mechanic that elegantly replicates the cinematic device of some threat just kinda poppin' out at ya. Side note: this would also be well at home for, say, a Friday the 13'th board game. * hint, hint *  
• It's easy! At it's core, the game is pretty simple: spend your Action Points on Moving, Crafting, Trading, Picking up stuff or using your Special Ability. Then draw an Encounter Card and follow the directions. Super simple!
• It's crafty! I like how crafting weapons and equipment can mitigate the effects of the Alien. Going straight for the Objectives may be tempting, but spending some of those early Scrap gains on helpful tools might be a smart future investment.    
• It's sneaky! You always have to be paying attention to where you are in relation to the Alien. A whopping sixteen Encounter Cards move the creature, with eleven  moving it a single space, two moving it two spaces and three moving it three spaces. This makes it really challenging to keep your distance from the xenomorph.  
• Ir's on point! The Character special abilities are straightforward and make thematic sense. Warrant Officer Ripley is good at giving orders, Dallas is a generalist, Chief Engineer Parker can generate Scrap and Engineering Tech Brett can make gadgets from that Scrap. Only Navigator Lambert's ability to peek at the top card in the Encounter Deck seems like a bit of a stretch.
• It's reasonably varied! There are ten Objective Cards and five Final Missions, which will give you a unique combination of challenges with every game!   
• It's genuinely co-operative! The odds are definitely stacked against you, so you really hafta work together if you have any hope for survival.

CONS

• It's lame. Sorry, I know that player elimination is an unfathomable concept in games nowadays, but if any title needed it, it was ALIEN. I'm going to see if I can house rule a nominal combat system that pays a modicum of respect to the film's nihilistic theme. 
• It's a bit too simple. I can't shake the feeling that the producers of this game wanted it to be a lighter, even family-style game in the style of Horrified. God, I hope I'm wrong. Alien was, and still is, one of the most terrifying movies ever made, and the content is definitely not for kids. Besides, the only people who actually care about this IP are crusty old fucks like myself, ergo, this game should be geared towards adult fans and should have been more substantial. Sure, the designer has an informal "Director's Cut" list of  rules suggestions, but this (and much more) should have been included of the core rules. Speaking of that particular rag...  
• It's confusing. To prep for this solo session, I watched a how-to-play vid, a YouTube play-through, I ran a two-player game with Chad last Thursday night and then I re-read the rule book from front to back. And I still have plenty of questions about rules vagaries and how to adjudicate certain things. Seriously, game publishers, get to know me. I'm a veteran gamer, writer and editor, who also happens to be a stickler for a clear and comprehensive rule set. I'll play test the crap outta your design and make sure that the rule book that ships with the game has all of its bases covered and won't immediately inspire a massive rules thread on BBG.      
• It's scaled all wrong. One day, I'm going to try and play this thing with a full compliment of five-players, and I fully expect it to be a complete shit show. Given the size of the map, I have no idea how the Alien can't bump into players on every friggin' turn.

***

IMPORTANT RULES TO REMEMBER

• There's no limit to the Scrap you can carry. It's placed to the side of your player mat and doesn't occupy an item slot.
• Concealed Tokens randomly placed in rooms with Crew Members are only revealed when until someone enters that room. 
• If there’s a tie for closest Crew Members, the players decide where the Alien (or Ash!) moves.
• If forced to flee into a room with a Concealed Tokens, reveal and resolve it as normal. If it's a Surprise Attack, take the new Morale hit and run another three spaces. If it's empty, they must travel any remaining spaces caused by the initial flee requirement.
• When a Crew Member flees it must do what it can to run all three spaces.  
• If forced to encounter the Alien during  the Crew Action Phase (perhaps because its blocking a path), Morale drops by two and the Crew Member flees three spaces. Their turn is over.
• Resolve Completed Objectives before Concealed Tokens are resolved. 
• The Crew Action Phase immediately ends after a Surprise Attack is resolved. No Encounter Card is revealed.
• Coolant Counters can be discarded for two Scrap at the Workshop as an Action. 
• Remember to gain an Action when you reveal the Alien with the Motion Tracker. 
• Remember: don't draw an Encounter Card when you use the Incinerator to send the Alien back to the Nest. 
• If Ash moves into a space with Scrap he stops and sends it all back to the reserve.
• If Ash movers into a space with one or more Crew Member he stops and anyone in that space must lose a Scrap. Lose one Morale for any who can't. 
• If one or more Crew Members are in Ash’s space when he’s prompted to move he is considered to be “under observation.” He doesn’t move and no loss of Morale or Scrap will occur.

***

I'm happy that the game looks great and has a semblance of the movie's original feel, but I'm also sorely disappointed that it's missing some substantial chrome, pulls its punches and the anemic, eight-page rule book would inspire even the most casual rules lawyer to stick their head in an airlock. 

Sadly, of all the games I've played lately, this one virtually screams out for house rules, like a space jockey cornered by a biomechanical nightmare creature.

The ALIEN: Fate of the Nostromo scores 3 pips out of 6 with an M-class starfreighter-sized   tilt up.