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Game Info
Year
2021
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Description
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.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video 2DZSzszj7fo
Watch It Played Playthrough at 0:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 64471 · mention_pk 157933
Click to watch at 0:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Solid solo-play experience with clear tension from an ever-present alien threat.
- Tools like flashlight and motion detector provide meaningful strategic choices.
- Incinerator mechanic offers satisfying control by forcing the alien back toward its nest from up to three spaces away.
- Self-destruct tracker creates a compelling ticking-clock dynamic that drives planning and urgency.
Cons
- Concealed tokens introduce uncertainty and risk, potentially creating punishing randomness.
- Scrap is a finite resource; careful management is required to avoid dead ends or delays.
- Encounter cards can abruptly shift momentum and morale in a tight solo run.
Thematic elements
- survival and containment of an alien threat on a spaceship
- USCSS Nostromo spaceship
- live commentary while playing with explanations of rules and goals
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action economy — Each turn provides four actions; movement costs one action per room.
- Action points — Each turn provides four actions; movement costs one action per room.
- card crafting — Scrap tokens are collected and spent to craft items (e.g., incinerator, flashlight) in the workshop or elsewhere.
- Concealed tokens — Concealed tokens may be revealed in a room, potentially triggering alien appearances or dangers.
- Encounters — Encounter cards are flipped during the encounter phase and resolved from top to bottom, with effects like alien moves and morale changes.
- flashlight — The flashlight reduces morale loss and has unlimited uses, bringing courage in tense moments.
- Hypersleep and progression — Hypersleep is used to progress toward the endgame; collecting coolant canisters and scrap is necessary to complete the final objective.
- Incinerator item — The incinerator has two uses and can affect the alien’s location, helping to clear a path toward the airlock.
- Motion detector — The motion detector reveals a concealed token within up to two spaces, offering predictive information about danger.
- Movement through rooms — Moving from one room to another consumes a single action.
- Scrap tokens and crafting — Scrap tokens are collected and spent to craft items (e.g., incinerator, flashlight) in the workshop or elsewhere.
- Self-destruct tracker — This tracker places four countdown tokens; if the active crew member starts a turn with four, the Nostromo is defeated.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a table for one; it's a spaceship for one
- the situation is critical
- luckily because we're playing solo i'm the only one who has to get there
- we win
- Jonesy the cat
- the self-destruct tracker
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video YQ8ZWWmgm8E
watch it played Rules Teach at 0:13 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 64472 · mention_pk 157934
Click to watch at 0:13 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- survival against an onboard alien intruder
- on board a spaceship
- cooperative objective-driven survival with narrative events
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- alien encounter and morale effects — Encounter cards move the alien towards the crew, potentially causing morale loss and forcing fleeing.
- ash variant — Optional variant introducing Ash character with additional rules.
- card crafting — Craft items by spending scrap, put items into inventory with limited spaces, and manage coolant canisters.
- Concealed tokens — Tokens are face down; revealing them triggers morale loss or alien encounters and may cause fleeing.
- crafting and inventory — Craft items by spending scrap, put items into inventory with limited spaces, and manage coolant canisters.
- crew action phase — Each turn, players perform a set number of actions based on their character, chosen from a list and can be repeated in any order.
- movement and space travel — Actions spend movement through ship spaces, with ladders/arrows indicating adjacency and costs between rooms.
- objectives and final mission — Face-up objectives must be completed, leading to a final mission card that dictates victory or loss.
- Self-destruct tracker — Some final missions involve a self-destruct tracker that can destroy the ship if tokens run out.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the players will be working together to complete the objectives revealed for their game and once those are done the final objective will be revealed
- but the whole time an alien is on board the ship stalking you like prey
- that's the setup in alien fate of the nostromo
- the ship is destroyed and the players all lose
- you start with some of these face up on the table
- the ash variant which is explained on the back of the rulebook
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 68WRr40qK_M
3 Minute Board Games Review at 0:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 854 · mention_pk 84582
Click to watch at 0:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Thematic alignment with the Alien franchise
- Accessible, simple core rules
- Asymmetric powers add strategic variety
- Concealed tokens create tense alien movement
- Equipment options enable varied strategies
- Multiple final missions improve replayability
- Ash optional difficulty adjustment
Cons
- Feels like a reskin of Horrified with limited monster variety
- Five-player movement pacing can complicate alien progression
- Depends on hidden information and event cards which can introduce randomness
Thematic elements
- Survival horror and cooperative exploration against a hidden alien threat
- Aboard the Nostromo spaceship
- Asymmetric AI-driven threats with hidden information and modular mission objectives
Comparison games
- Horrified
- Another Glorious Day in the Corps
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action points — On a turn, players spend a number of actions printed on their character board.
- asymmetric roles — Each character has unique abilities affecting actions and strategies.
- card crafting — Scraps and coolant are collected to craft items and complete tasks.
- Combat: Damage Based — Equipment like electric prod, flashlight, and incinerator influence morale and alien movement.
- combat/tension modifiers — Equipment like electric prod, flashlight, and incinerator influence morale and alien movement.
- Cooperative Game — Players work together to complete objectives while managing morale and resources.
- cooperative play — Players work together to complete objectives while managing morale and resources.
- exploration markers and tokens — Board includes hidden tokens and exploration markers affecting alien movement and morale.
- hidden/AI-controlled antagonist — Alien is controlled by a card-driven AI, not by players.
- item collection and crafting — Scraps and coolant are collected to craft items and complete tasks.
- modular objectives and final mission — Multiple objective cards and a final mission determine victory.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Alien is one of my all-time favorite movies so with that bias firmly out there this is an excellent alien game
- the best thing about this game is the concealed tokens making the alien move dramatically, revealing one is always tense
- the core rules are super simple and well suited for any type of player who wants a good thematic Cooperative game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3