Escape From Atalix Rulebook

Introduction

After colliding with an asteroid in space, you and your crew of astronauts have been forced to make an emergency landing on an unknown planet. Alive but shaken, you send a distress signal to mission control aboard the nearest space station. Mission control tells you that you’ve landed on the inhospitable planet, Atalix, in an old asteroid crater. The terrain and weather in the crater are too rough to safely land a rescue shuttle. Mission control warns you that a seasonal toxic storm is gathering, and a journey out of the crater, to a safer landing spot, will not be possible on foot until it passes. They assess the situation and offer you several options. You and your team must create a plan and work together to execute it before time runs out. Upgrade your gear using resources from the planet, survive the harsh conditions, and Escape from Atalix!

Scenarios

The first thing to do before beginning your mission is to pick one of the three scenarios, or potential solutions offered by mission control. The scenarios will be briefly described in this section. For the best immersion, it is highly recommended that you do not read the full scenarios in the back of this booklet until you are ready to attempt each one.

Scenario 1: Cave Fever - (Easy Difficulty) Mission control recommends scavenging and repairing portions from your ship and cargo to make a nearby cave habitable. Once completed you can wait out the harsh storms in the safety of the cave.

Scenario 2: Rover, Rover - (Medium Difficulty) Among the cargo of the ship was an all-terrain capable human transport rover. The rover could protect your crew as you traverse safely out of the area. However the cargo hold was severely damaged, vital pieces of the rover were broken apart and strewn about the landscape. Mission control believes if you could find the parts, the high tech tools on the ship would allow you to repair the rover.

Scenario 3: Mine for the Taking - (Hard Difficulty) Mission control has contacted a nearby space mining company. With their advanced tech and abundant resources they could extract you from the planet regardless of the conditions, if you can make it profitable for them. Collect resources for the mining company and prepare a signal beacon for their arrival, while surviving the planet.

Your crew escapes (wins) by finishing your chosen scenario before time runs out.

Threats

There are several threats to look out for that may cause you to fail your mission.

Time - Depending on your selected difficulty level, you will only have a certain number of rounds to complete the game before supplies and energy run out. Rounds are tracked on the blue track near the bottom of the board. You lose when the tracker reaches the space with your player count.

Storm Reaches Critical Mass - The acidic storms that seasonally plague this part of the planet are gathering quickly. If the storm on the board grows too large then it will overwhelm you and make the surface of the planet unnavigable. If you run out of storm tokens you lose.

Alien Destroys Your Ship - A large and aggressive alien creature also lives in the crater. If the alien reaches the fragile remains of your ship, it will destroy it. Leaving you with no place to take respite.

SETUP

Step by step guide to set you up for success on your mission.

Separate Cards - Begin by separating all card types into separate piles. The card types are as follows: Starting Cards have a blue back with a picture of an astronaut helmet and say STARTING below the picture on the front. Upgrade Cards look identical to Starting Cards but do not say STARTING, instead they list resources underneath the picture. Project Cards have a gray back with a picture of a rover. Additionally, separate the upgrade cards called Scanner and Terraform Tool (there should be 4 of each) and keep them with the Project Cards. Encounter cards have a red back with a picture of a planet. Find and separate the resource storage cards. There are three of them and they contain a large picture of the resource icons on both sides.

Player Setup

Starting Deck - Next prepare each player's starting deck from the Starting Cards. Each player should receive:

2 Action cards

1 Oxygen card

1 Research card

1 Upgrade card

1 Gain Resource card, selected at random

Then players should take turns selecting 2 additional cards from the remaining starting cards.

Active Card - Players may pick any non-gray card to be their Active Card. This card will be resolved every turn regardless of other cards played. It is recommended for beginning players to use the Oxygen card as their active card at the beginning of the game.

Players should then shuffle their remaining deck and place it, face down, on the table in front of them on the left-hand side of their play area. This is your draw deck. Place your chosen active card, face up, above it (see below).

Each player should then select a player pawn.

First Player - Each player should roll the dice, the player with the lowest roll is the first player. Give this player the die. The first player will rotate each round.

Select Difficulty

As a team choose which difficulty you would like to play on. The difficulty affects how many rounds you will have to complete the game. The difficulty levels are 1 star, 2 stars, and 3 stars, with 3 stars being the hardest.

Board Setup

Place the board in the center of the table, within reach of all players. Each player should place their player pawn on the center space (A), marked by a light hexagon.

Board Space Anatomy:

A. Terrain Type: Dictates what resources may be found there.

B. Shape: Stars indicate that players may scavenge on this space. Circle indicates that resources are available there

C. Number: Resources will be added to this space when this number is rolled.

D. Elevation: The number of bars indicates the elevation of this space.

Resources - Place the orange, black, and white cubes in three separate piles to the left of the board (B). These represent the three resources in the game: orange is scrap, black is carbon, and white is minerals. Scrap is debris from your ship and is found on orange board spaces. Carbon is harvested from plants and comes from the green board spaces. Minerals are harvested from rocks and come from the gray board spaces.

Place the resource storage cards next to their respective piles. Add one scrap per player, and two each of carbon and minerals to their respective cards.(C) This is your team’s current resources. Anytime you gain resources they are added to these cards.

Then place resource cubes directly onto each number on the board, according to the associated resource type. (i.e. place an orange cube on the number two directly above the center board space.) Place the cubes so that they cover the numbers. On board spaces with two numbers, place only one cube. (D)

Trackers - Find the tracker tokens (white wooden disks) and place them on the trackers according to your player count and chosen difficulty: Place one token on the I roman numeral on the research track (E1). Place a token on your chosen difficulty setting on the round tracker (E2). Lastly place a token on the bottom zero on the left side of the card cost tracker (E3) and on the space that depicts the correct player count on the right side of the card cost tracker (shown for 3 players here - E4). I.e. if you are playing with three players, place the token on the square that contains three astronaut silhouettes.

The Alien and the Storm - The three darkened board spaces at the top right of the crater are the cave. Place the alien in the cave, adjacent to the space numbered 3 (F). Find the storm tokens (green disks) and place a single one in the starred space 3 tiles to the right of the center (G).

Put remaining components in a pile at the bottom right of the board (H). Keep the storm tokens organized so your team can see how many are left.

Card Setup

Upgrade Cards - Thoroughly shuffle the Upgrade cards, then place them, face down, in a single pile on the right side of the board (I1). This is the Upgrade deck. Draw the top 5 cards and place them, face up, surrounding the Upgrade deck as shown (I2).

Project Cards - Find the Project cards for your scenario, indicated by matching numbers in the top corners. Place these, face up, on the bottom of the board. Place the other project cards (any without numbers), face up, next to them. (J1) Put the cards labeled Terraform Tool underneath the Terraforming project card. If you are doing scenario 2, put the Scanner cards, face up, underneath the Scanner Array project (J2).

Encounter Cards - If you are doing scenario 2 or 3, shuffle the encounter cards and place them in a single pile on the bottom right of the board (K).

NOTE: You are 90% of the way there, but your specific scenario will contain small additional set up steps.

Turns and Rounds

The game is divided into turns and rounds. A turn is each player's individual actions from a single hand of cards. A round ends when all players have run out of cards and can no longer take turns.

Planning Phase

At the beginning of every set of turns, players will simultaneously prepare their turn by playing cards from their hand and deck onto their play area.

Every player should start this phase by drawing 4 cards. In addition to any specific card abilities, there are two factors by which players should plan their turn: plays and actions. Plays represent how many cards a player can play during the Planning phase. Actions grant players the ability to take basic actions on the board during the next phase, the Action Phase.

By default, players can play a single card on their turn, or in other words they have 1 play. Many cards, including the Oxygen card (your recommended active card) grant additional plays.

During the planning phase players simultaneously play cards based on their available plays into their play area in the order they wish to execute them. Cards contain two different types of abilities. Bolded abilities such as Draw 1 Card or +1 Play are only relevant to the Planning phase and should be carried out immediately after playing the card during this phase. Non-bolded, italicized abilities such as +1 Action or Collect a resource cube are relevant to the Action Phase and are not resolved until later. All card abilities listed are available to players, unless there is an OR written between abilities. (NOTE: An OR only applies to the abilities directly above and below it, other listed abilities may still be resolved) Card abilities are optional, but if a player chooses to carry out an ability it must be carried out in full.

You will notice some abilities are preceded by a roman numeral. These roman numerals match those found on the research track on the left side of the board. In order for a player to resolve these card abilities the team must reach that level or higher on the research track. (i.e. The third ability on your oxygen card “III - Draw 1 card” cannot be resolved until you have reached the III spot on the research track.)

Any cards remaining in a player’s hand are discarded into a discard pile on the the right side of the player’s play area. Players may look through their discard pile during the planning phase.

Card Anatomy

Action Phase

During the Action Phase players take turns, starting with the first player. A turn involves completing all desired actions and card abilities on the cards played during the Planning phase. Players may use any of their italicized action abilities as well as utilize any basic actions gained during the planning phase. An action gives the player the option to:

• Move: Move their player pawn up to 2 board spaces with flat terrain

• Climb: Move 1 board space, while increasing their elevation by 1 (elevation is discussed in greater detail later)

• Collect Resources: Pick up a resource cube on their current board space

• Scavenge: Scavenge for crashed equipment on a starred board space.

  • To scavenge, players draw the top card of the upgrade deck, they can choose to repair it (pay its cost and add it to their discard), salvage it (execute it immediately for free), or scrap it (add 1 of the listed resources to the teams resource pile.)

• Actions are sometimes used to complete scenario specific tasks

Players can resolve card abilities and use their actions in any order they please. Don't forget any Action phase abilities on your Active card.

The Planning and Action phases are repeated until all players run out of cards in their draw deck. In addition to providing abilities and other benefits, your deck of cards represents the energy your space suit has available. If a player runs out of cards before other players, they are unable to continue taking actions and must remain on the board space where they ended their last turn.

Movement Restrictions

The terrain on Atalix is exceedingly rough. You are surrounded by sharp increases and decreases in elevation. The elevation of each board space is indicated by the white bars at the bottom of the space, the more bars the higher the elevation. A player pawn cannot move from a lower space to a higher space without using a climb action or abilities from other cards such as the Jet Pack or Exosuit.

Taking Damage

There are various ways your astronaut can take damage. Any time you enter a board space containing a green storm token, you take one damage per token present on that space. If a player enters the board space with the alien or the alien enters the board space of a player, that player receives two damage. Specific encounters will also cause damage to players. For each damage you sustain, you must discard a card from your draw deck. If you take damage and have no cards in your deck, you must discard played cards containing unused Action Phase abilities. If you have no viable cards left to discard, then you must return your player pawn to the center board space.

Card Elaborations

Terraform Tool Card - The Terraform Tool card is given to players after they complete the Terraforming project. The Terraform Tool card can be used for one of four abilities. These abilities may be applied to a player's current board space or an adjacent board space.

1. Clear a storm token: Remove a green storm token from a current or adjacent space

2. Spend 1 Scrap to build a path: Spend 1 scrap and place a white stick across the line between your current board spaces and an adjacent board space up to 2 elevation apart. This creates a path which allows players to move freely between those board spaces as if they were at the same level.

3. Lure alien 1 space toward you: Move the alien one board space on the shortest path toward your player pawn. If multiple equal paths exist, the acting player may choose which one the alien takes.

4. Place a carbon resource on a green numbered space: Place a Carbon (black cube) from the supply pile on an adjacent numbered space.

Scanner Card - The scanner card gives players the option between two abilities.

• The first is to scan for parts. To scan for parts, roll the die and place a black disk at board space furthest in that direction (based on the compass in the bottom left of the board) from the center. Roll the die once more and move the disk one space in the indicated direction if possible, if this movement is not possible (due to the edge of the map) then leave it where it is.

• The second ability gives players the ability to look at the top 5 cards of the Upgrade deck and pick one to add to the selection of available cards. This new card does not replace any of those already available. When purchased this card does not get replaced by one from the deck. Additionally, players may put up to 2 cards out of the 5 at the bottom of the deck.

Weapons Card (Rules for attacking the alien) - Weapons cards are useful for defending yourself against the alien and for completing encounters. To attack the alien you must be in an adjacent square and be resolving a played Weapons card. If you attack the alien once, turn it on its side in its current board space. If you attack it a second time, stand it back up and move it one space directly away from your player pawn. If you damage the alien more than twice in one round, track the damage with white resource cubes, placing them in a small stack next to the alien.

End of Round

The round ends when each player has run out of cards and has completed their last turn of actions. Players then complete a series of events to prepare for the next round as indicated on the bottom left of the board.

Return Pawns To Base

All players move their player pawn back to the center board space.

Roll and Resolve Event Dice

The first player rolls the die to determine which events will be resolved. The list of events can be found at the bottom of the board. These events will be elaborated on in the next section. The team resolves all events numbered equal or less than the number rolled on the die. Players should start with the highest and work their way down (i.e. if the player rolls a 4 they should start with event “4 - Storm expands in d6 direction” and work their way down to 1.) If desired, place the event tracker (orange stick) next to the number rolled, and move it down to each event as you resolve it.

Advance Round Tracker

Move the round tracker token (blue track on bottom of the board) one space to the right. If you move the tracker into the space with a green circle, add an additional storm token to the starred space on the right side of the board. After entering the light turquoise portion of the round tracker, add a storm token to that space each round.

Build Projects

As a team decide whether you would like to spend your resources to complete any of the projects at the bottom of the board. Spent resources are returned to their respective piles on the left side of the board. This is the only time when projects may be completed. Upon completing a project, immediately resolve the card's benefits. If the card has long term benefits such as the Atomic Recycler, place it face up on the left side of the board next to your team’s resources to remind all players of its effects. Otherwise, flip the project card over to indicate completion.

The price of projects is not affected by the Card Cost Meter. Instead projects have a fixed cost, and the resource cost of each project is indicated by the numbers before each resource symbol.

Shuffle Deck

Each player should thoroughly shuffle their discard pile and place it back on their left as a new draw deck. Do not remove or shuffle your Active Card(s).

Pass Die To Next Player

The first player should pass the die to the player on their left. This serves as the first player marker, the player with the die will complete their turn first during the Action Phase.

Events

Explanation of each of the six events that may occur between rounds.

1 - Disperse resources according to d6

If you have already distributed resources this round, roll the die again. If not, maintain the previous roll. If the roll is the same as the previous resource roll, reroll until you get a different result. Place resource cubes from the resource piles on each board space with a number that matches the dice roll, that does not currently have a resource on it. Make sure to place the resource that matches the terrain type (see Resources section of the Setup instructions).

2 - Alien moves toward ship

Reset any damage to the Alien. The first player moves the alien one board space closer along the shortest path to the center board space. If multiple paths of equal length exist, players may choose which path the alien takes.

3 - Storm moves in d6 direction

If the die has already been rolled for a previous event, maintain the same number. If not, roll the die. Move all storm tokens one space in the direction indicated by the compass on the bottom left of the map, according to the die roll. (i.e. if a 1 is rolled, move all storm tokens one space up towards the top of the board.) NOTE: A storm token cannot enter the center board space. If a storm token is at the edge of the map or directly against the center space in the direction indicated, it does not move and remains in place. Storm tokens can move into a space that already contains a storm token, if that existing token cannot move.

4 - Storm expands in d6 direction

If the die has already been rolled for a previous event, maintain the same number. If not, roll the die. Look at the compass to find the direction indicated by the die. Add a storm token to the board space adjacent to an existing storm token that is the furthest in the indicated compass direction (see image). If there is no board space there or it is the center space, add the token to the furthest space in the compass direction that currently contains a storm token. If the storm is completely eliminated, add one storm token to the original storm space.

5 - Disperse resources according to d6

Roll the die. Follow the steps listed above in event 1.

6 - Storm token placed on origin space

Place a storm token on the starred space on the right side of the board. (The same space where you placed the first storm token during setup.)

NOTE: When moving the alien or expanding or moving storm tokens, be careful to not cover the numbers on the tiles.

Game Processes

Research Track

Each time a player plays a Research card and pays the associated cost, they may advance research by moving the tracker token up one space. This represents improving your team’s understanding of the planet and its ecosystem, geology, etc. The research track is divided into sections or levels by roman numerals. Achieving these levels unlocks new card abilities as described in the Action Phase section. Additionally each level provides a benefit to players, indicated by the symbols next to each roman numeral research level.

The dice symbol allows players to roll the die to distribute resources. Resolve this effect as soon as the research level is achieved. The Active Card Symbol indicates that players may choose an additional active card to resolve each turn. Players can take advantage of this benefit on any Planning Phase after this research level is reached by choosing a non-gray card from their hand to be a new active card, and placing it next to their original active card. This does not count as a Play or Action.

Purchasing Cards and the Card Cost Meter

Card Costs will escalate as the game progresses and players obtain more cards. Each time a player purchases a card, they must move the token on the right side of the Card Cost Meter one space up. If the token reaches the top of the track and must move again, it is reset to the bottom of the track and the token on the left side of the Meter is moved up one space.

Players may purchase cards from the 5 face up upgrades by the Upgrade deck. If there are duplicates, players may choose to remove and replace one of the duplicates before purchasing a card. Place this removed card at a random place in the Upgrade deck. A card’s cost is indicated by the resources listed in the middle of the card, below the image. Each resource symbol present indicates a player must pay as many of that resource as is indicated by the number underneath the token on the left side of the Card Cost Meter. If there is a +1 next to the resource symbol they must add one to the cost of that resource. For example if a player wanted to purchase a Swap Gear card and the card cost meter was at 1, they would have to pay 1 scrap and 2 carbon, one for the card cost meter and one due to the +1 symbol.

When you purchase a card, immediately replace it with a card from the deck.

SCENARIO

BOOK

Beyond this page you will find the three scenarios available in this game. It is recommended that you read only the scenario you intend to attempt. You also have a choice to make. For your first playthrough, storytelling is best served through reading the chapters one by one. However, this may make your playthrough more challenging, as you will not know what to prepare for. The scenario presents Mission Control’s recommended actions and also presents alternative plans that you and your crew could decide to pursue.

WARNING: The alternative path is for players looking to choose their own adventure. It does not follow Mission Control’s recommendations and therefore the difficulty promised by each scenario is not guaranteed if you choose these options. In some cases the plausibility of success is reduced due to randomness factors associated with your decisions.

SCENARIO 1: CAVE FEVER

Easy Difficulty

SETUP: Place all Project Cards with a 1 in the corners at the bottom of the board. Place the four black discs on the Project Card called Solar Array. Rather than placing the ship model in the center of the board, place it on the Ship Phaser Project Card. Place the black Roof token on the Hab System Project Card.

STORY: Mission control’s primary recommendation is that your crew takes up refuge in a nearby cave. If you can make the cave habitable and find an energy source to carry you through, the cave will provide excellent protection from the gathering acid storms and allow you to survive until help can arrive. While this is the safest option, the downside is that your crew will have to spend several weeks in a cave on an alien planet. Make your decision now. (NOTE: This is a story decision only, players will not have to wait in order to complete this scenario)

CONTINUE?

YES: Read next Chapter 1

NO: Choose a different scenario.

Chapter 1: Power Source

STORY: The cave, which you’ve taken to calling Captain’s Quarters Cavern, while impermeable to bad weather, is unfortunately fraught with more immediate danger. A large, carnivorous alien with metal dissolving acid saliva and bone crunching, muscular tentacles is the cave’s sole permanent occupant. The low grade hand weapons you’ve recovered from the wreckage will do little more than anger it, but they may be a good place to start. However, Mission Control has something a bit stronger in mind. But first your ship is running on emergency power, you will have to find an alternate power source.

MISSION CONTROL’S PLAN: Complete the Solar Array project, and place one of the black discs on any space adjacent to the center board space. (NOTE: Upon completing the solar array project, do not flip the card as usual. This is the only project that may be completed more than once.)

ALTERNATIVE: Begin collecting weapons from the Upgrade deck to prepare to fight the alien.

Chapter 2: Blast Away

STORY: Now that power flows through your base like honey, you should have the power you need to defeat the alien. Diagnostics from your ship indicate that the on board laser cannons are damaged but not beyond repair. If you can find the materials to repair your ship’s cannons and line up a good shot, you should be able to get rid of the alien once and for all.

MISSION CONTROL’S PLAN: Complete the Ship Phaser project. Place the ship token in the middle of the map. To defeat the alien, simply end a round of turns with the following conditions met:

1 - A solar array is adjacent to the Ship token.

2 - The alien is in a board space adjacent to the Ship.

3 - The board space with the solar array is clear of storm tokens.

ALTERNATIVE: Use Weapons Cards to attack the alien a total of 4 times for 1-2 players and 6 times for 3-4 players within a single round of turns. This will defeat the alien. Use white cubes to track the damage caused.

Chapter 3: Hab It Your Way

STORY: With the alien gone it is time to figure out how to make the cave habitable in the long term. For redundancy your ship contains a back-up life support system that keeps the interior pressurized with breathable air and maintains drinkable water. The ship is already running on the secondary system, as the primary system has been compromised. If it can be repaired, the life support unit could be installed in the cave and maintain a breathable atmosphere within. However in order for the system to keep up with the large cave interior in the long term, it will require an additional power source.

MISSION CONTROL’S PLAN: Complete the Hab System project and place the black roof token on the center board space. If you are playing with three or more players, complete at least one additional Solar Array project.

ALTERNATIVE: With a functioning Hab System already running in the ship, your crew decides it is unnecessary to repair the other system. Transport the existing Hab System to the cave (see transport rules in the next section). Use the ship token to represent this Hab System. If you are playing with three or more players, complete at least one additional Solar Array project.

WARNING: At this point, the alternative path diverges from the main course and there is no turning back. If you fail to reach the cave with the Hab System you will be left without a habitable base and will fail the mission. If you succeed in bringing the Hab System to the cave, but still have additional steps to complete, the cave will become your new base where you will return at the end of each round.

Chapter 4: Take A Hike

STORY: With everything prepared the last step is to transport all the necessary equipment to the cave. The terrain is steep and rocky and will be difficult to navigate while carrying the equipment. However, once everything is in place you will be safe and ready to wait out the storms and meet up with the shuttle. You have escaped Atalix!

MISSION CONTROL’S PLAN: Transport the Hab System, represented by the black roof token, and all solar arrays to the cave. All players make it inside the cave. The Hab System must be within the cave itself (The cave begins on the dark gray board space with the number 3 and 4 bars of elevation). The solar arrays must be outside the cave, but adjacent to the board space with Hab System token. Two solar arrays can occupy the same space on the board.

To transport a piece of equipment a player’s pawn must be on the same board space as that equipment. Picking up equipment does not count as an action. The player who is transporting it, must place the equipment on one of their active cards. While that equipment is on their card, they cannot use any of the abilities on that card. The equipment may be dropped at any point on their turn with no action cost. Dropped equipment stays on the board space where the player was when they dropped it. Likewise, equipment may be transferred to another player who is on the same board space without costing any actions. If a player is forced to return to base by a round ending or by damage, they can choose to leave the equipment where it was.

ALTERNATIVE: Transport the requisite number of solar arrays to a space adjacent to the space with the ship token. All players return to the cave at the end of the round.