First Contact

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Your Rating

Description

An exceptional party game where imaginary ancient Egyptians are trying to overcome the language barrier with… Aliens.

In each turn Aliens would draw weird symbols, trying to explain which earthly items they’d like to collect. Puzzled Egyptians are to figure out what this could mean. On top of that, Aliens compete for being the first to grab the souvenirs and fly back home, while each human wants to be the best at learning the Alien language!

«First Contact» is perfect for associative-deductive games lovers. The unique theme adds even more fun to the game process, and every setup gives players new puzzles to solve. Incredibly good time guaranteed!

Year Published

2018

1ers Contacts Review: Alien Templates

Dice Tower Jan 20, 2026

Transcript Analysis

Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.

Total mentions: 2

This page: 2

Sentiment: pos 2 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0

Showing 1–2 of 2

Video uquHbX5rUSw The Dice Tower game_review at 0:15 sentiment: positive

video_pk 11277 · mention_pk 104709

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Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Distinct agent templates and unique abilities create varied play experiences in each game
Thematic feel is strong and cohesive with the hide-and-seek/pursuit mechanic
Scenarios offer good replayability and variety (including larger or smaller maps for different player counts)
Flexible play modes (alien or agents) add to the party/game-night appeal
Visual components (templates and meeples) are appealing and thematic
The game can be light or deeper depending on equipment and scenario selection

Cons

Envelope-based scenario setup can feel clunky and slow compared to a concise scenario book
Some starting pieces and setup steps feel extraneous or overly fiddly
Balance can skew toward the agents in some setups, reducing tension for the alien side
Group pacing can suffer if players overthink locations; a time limit can help keep things moving
Plastic templates upgrade is nice but not essential; cardboard templates are adequate

Thematic elements

alien pursuit and human investigation with asymmetric roles
Earth, where an alien has landed and humans (agents) are tasked with locating and capturing it.
scenario-driven hide-and-seek with envelopes that define goals and win conditions

Comparison games

Scotland Yard

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

asymmetric roles — Players take on distinct roles with unique abilities (alien vs. agents), creating different win conditions and strategies for each side.
capture mechanics — Any agent can capture the alien by landing on its tile; various agents have unique tools that improve detection or capture range.
detection grids and scanning — Agents can use grids or special abilities to detect the alien; success or failure informs where the alien might be and what tiles are ruled out.
Equipment and upgrade cards — Agents and the alien can acquire equipment or abilities that modify movement, detection, or combat, adding strategic depth and variability.
Hidden movement — The alien moves secretly on a map, using a personal track and marker to determine its path, keeping its location concealed from the agents.
Movement points — Alien movement costs are variable by terrain (1 to planes, 2 to forests, 3 to cities); some areas are restricted (water, mountains). Agents have different mobility profiles and can be blocked by terrain.
Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game — The game uses envelopes containing scenarios with setup and victory conditions; players can open them to reveal mission objectives and rules.
scenario-based play via envelopes — The game uses envelopes containing scenarios with setup and victory conditions; players can open them to reveal mission objectives and rules.
terrain-based movement costs — Alien movement costs are variable by terrain (1 to planes, 2 to forests, 3 to cities); some areas are restricted (water, mountains). Agents have different mobility profiles and can be blocked by terrain.
turns and day-tracking — Play progresses in days on a track; if the alien remains uncaptured after a set number of days, different cards or events trigger, shaping the late game and potential catch-up mechanics.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This game works really well.
To be fair, I do like hidden movement games.
I would have preferred they had dropped those envelopes.
This game is everyone's hunting down the aliens a little bit like, you know, Scotland Yard and games of that ilk.
I think this is almost a family-weight game.
Definitely this is one to check out First Contacts.
I like the fact that there's a smaller board for fewer players.
It's fun to be both the alien and the agents.
The game definitely does favor either the alien or the men in black.
And I think that's where the fun is in the scenarios.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Qw3uT_WthFk No Rolls Bard top_10_list at 8:07 sentiment: positive

video_pk 7872 · mention_pk 23216

Click to watch at 8:07 · YouTube ↗