Space Alert Gameplay Overview

Actions

Phase 1: Action Planning (Real-Time)

Start the soundtrack. Players have approximately 10 minutes to plan all their actions for the mission by placing action cards on their personal action boards.

1. The soundtrack announces events in real-time. Listen carefully for incoming threats and other alerts.
2. When a threat is announced, draw the appropriate threat card (external or internal, common or serious) and place it on the trajectory board at its starting position.
3. Discuss plans with your teammates. Coordinate who will handle which threats, who will charge energy, and who will fire weapons.
4. Place action cards face-down on your personal action board in slots 1 through 12 to program your actions for each turn of the resolution phase.
5. During Communications Disruption phases announced by the soundtrack, players may NOT communicate with each other.
6. When 'Data Transfer' is announced, pick up your delayed action cards and add them to your hand.
7. When the soundtrack ends, all planning stops immediately. Any unplanned turns will be wasted.

• Players must remember where they will be at each point in the mission. Moving left from White goes to Red; moving right goes to White from Red, etc.
• Plan carefully: if two players both try to fire the same weapon on the same turn, only the first one to arrive succeeds.

Phase 2: Resolution

Reveal all action cards and resolve the mission turn by turn (turns 1-12). Threats advance, players execute their programmed actions, and the ship takes damage.

1. For each turn (1 through 12), resolve in order: Player actions, then Threat actions.
2. Player actions are resolved simultaneously. Flip each player's card for the current turn and execute the action.
3. After all player actions, advance threats on the trajectory board and resolve any threat actions that trigger this turn.
4. Track damage, energy expenditure, and shield status on the ship board.
5. After all 12 turns are resolved, check if the ship has survived.

Action: A Button (Main System)

Activate the main system of your current station. The effect depends on which station you occupy.

1. Upper Red: Fire the Heavy Laser Cannon. Costs 1 energy from the Red zone. Deals 3 damage to the closest external threat in the Red zone.
2. Upper White: Fire the Pulse Cannon. Costs 1 energy from the White zone. Deals 2 damage to the closest external threat in the White zone, plus 1 damage to all other external threats in the White zone.
3. Upper Blue: Fire the Heavy Laser Cannon. Costs 1 energy from the Blue zone. Deals 3 damage to the closest external threat in the Blue zone.
4. Lower Red: Activate the Shield Generator. Costs 1 energy from the Red zone. Raises the Red zone shield for this turn and the next.
5. Lower White: Charge the Central Reactor. Adds 1 energy to each zone's reactor (Red, White, and Blue) from the central fuel supply.
6. Lower Blue: Activate the Shield Generator. Costs 1 energy from the Blue zone. Raises the Blue zone shield for this turn and the next.

• If there is not enough energy in the zone, the action fails silently.

Action: B Button (Secondary System)

Activate the secondary system of your current station.

1. Upper Red or Upper Blue: Launch a Rocket. Does not cost energy. Deals 3 damage to a threat, but rockets are limited (3 total for the entire mission).
2. Upper White: Use Visual Confirmation. Does not cost energy. Confirms the location of all external threats in the White zone (required for certain game mechanics).
3. Lower Red: Fire Interceptors. Costs 1 energy. Deals 1 damage to each external threat in the Red zone.
4. Lower White: Deploy Battle Bots. Moves the battle bot token to your station. Battle bots help fight internal threats.
5. Lower Blue: Fire Interceptors. Costs 1 energy. Deals 1 damage to each external threat in the Blue zone.

• Rockets are a shared resource. Once all 3 are launched, no more rockets can be fired for the rest of the mission.

Action: Movement

Move your crew member to an adjacent station.

1. Move Left: Move one zone to the left (Blue to White, White to Red). Stay on the same deck (upper or lower).
2. Move Right: Move one zone to the right (Red to White, White to Blue). Stay on the same deck (upper or lower).
3. Gravolift: Move between upper and lower decks within the same zone. Requires playing a movement card that matches your current zone.

• You cannot move beyond the edges of the ship. Moving left from Red or right from Blue has no effect.

Threat Resolution

External threats advance along their trajectory and attack the ship. Internal threats cause havoc inside the ship.

1. External threats move one space along their trajectory track each turn they are active.
2. When an external threat reaches a marked action space on its trajectory, it performs its listed attack (dealing damage, draining energy, etc.).
3. When an external threat reaches the ship (end of trajectory), it deals its full damage to the corresponding zone and is removed.
4. Internal threats activate on specific turns and affect ship systems, crew movement, or energy.
5. To defeat an internal threat, crew members must be present in the same station and use appropriate actions (often B button or battle bots).

Key Concepts

• Ship Layout: The ship has 6 stations arranged in a 3×2 grid. Three zones (Red/Left, White/Center, Blue/Right) each have an Upper and Lower deck. Upper decks house weapons; Lower decks house shields and the reactor.
• Energy Management: Each zone has its own energy supply. Side zones (Red, Blue) start with 2 energy; the central zone (White) starts with 3. Energy is spent to fire weapons and raise shields. The Lower White reactor can recharge all zones.
• Shields: Shields absorb damage before it hits the ship's hull. Each zone can have its shield raised independently by activating the Lower Red or Lower Blue station. Shields last for the current turn and the next turn, then must be re-raised.
• Threat Difficulty Levels: Common (white) threats are standard difficulty. Serious (yellow) threats are more dangerous with higher health and more devastating attacks. Missions mix both types based on difficulty level.
• Communications Disruption: During certain phases announced by the soundtrack, players cannot communicate. You must rely on previously agreed plans and trust that teammates will follow through.
• Heroic Actions: Hero cards are wild action cards that can be used as any action (A, B, or movement). They are powerful but limited. Use them for critical moments when flexibility is essential.
• Visual Confirmation: Some threats require visual confirmation before they can be targeted. The Upper White B button action provides visual confirmation for threats in the White zone.
• Battle Bots: The battle bot is deployed from the Lower White station and moves to that location. It assists crew members fighting internal threats by adding extra combat strength.