Dark Moon Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• How to Win
  • Uninfected Victory
  • Infected Victory
• Components
  • Uninfected Player Screens (7)
  • Infected Player Screens (3)
  • Character Cards (7)
  • Commander Card (1)
  • Status Cards (8)
  • Task Cards (42)
  • Event Cards (16)
  • Final Event Cards (6)
  • Strong Dice (14) / Weak Dice (14) / Commander Die (1)
  • Participation Tokens (7) / Quarantine Tokens (7) / Die Tokens (14) / Sabotage Token (1)
  • Shield Tokens (6) / Fatigue Tokens (6) / Outpost Tokens (6)
• Setup
  • Status Card Count by Player Count
• Playing the Game
  • Turn Order
    • 1. Retrieve Dice
    • 2. Perform an Action
      • Repair
      • Call a Vote
      • Lone Wolf
      • Issue Order
      • Reveal as Infected
    • 3. Choose a Task Card
    • 4. Resolve Task
      • Malfunction Tasks
      • Complication Tasks
    • 5. Add an Event Cube (Conditional)
    • 6. Complete the Event (Conditional)
    • 7. Select a New Event (Conditional)
    • 8. Advance Suspicion Cube (Conditional)
    • 9. Hold a Vote (Conditional)
• Events & Final Events
• Final Event
• Quarantine
• Fatigue
• Sabotage
• Revealing as Infected
  • Infection Actions
• Rolling & Submitting Dice
• Additional Rules of Note
  • Die Limits
  • Changing Commanders
  • If All Infected Players Reveal
  • Testing the Shield
  • Honesty
• Strategy Notes
  • Uninfected Players
  • Infected Players
• Variant Rules
  • Easier for the Infected Team
  • Easier for the Uninfected Team
• Card Notes
  • Final Event Cards
  • Event Cards
  • Task Cards
  • Character Cards
• Credits

How to Win

Uninfected Victory

The Uninfected team wins if they survive until the end of the game. In order to survive, they must successfully complete three Events and the Final Event.

Infected Victory

The Infected team wins if they wipe out the Uninfected team before they can complete the Final Event, either by 1) breaching the shields, thereby destroying the outpost, 2) damaging the outpost beyond any hope of repair, or 3) totally compromising the life support systems so that the entire crew succumbs to fatigue. The Infected team wins the instant any one of these three conditions is met.

Components

• This rulebook
• 1 game board representing the Outpost's master control panel
• 10 player screens:
  • 7 Uninfected player screens
  • 3 Infected player screens
• 79 cards:
  • 7 Character cards
  • 1 Commander card
  • 7 Status cards (4 Uninfected, 3 Infected)
  • 42 Task cards:
    • 21 Silver-backed Task cards for 3/5/7 player games
    • 21 Black-backed Task cards for 4/6 player games
  • 16 Event cards
  • 6 Final Event cards
• 29 dice:
  • 14 black Strong dice
  • 14 red Weak dice
  • 1 blue Commander die
• 7 Participation tokens
• 7 Quarantine tokens
• 14 Die tokens
• 1 Sabotage token
• 18 Damage tokens:
  • 6 Shield tokens
  • 6 Fatigue tokens
  • 6 Outpost tokens
• 18 cubes:
  • 13 blue Event cubes
  • 1 blue Difficulty cube
  • 1 red Suspicion cube
  • 1 black Success cube

Uninfected Player Screens (7)

Given to all players at the start of the game. Each matches a character.

Infected Player Screens (3)

Replaces the Uninfected screen for players who reveal themselves.

Character Cards (7)

Each character has a unique special ability.

Commander Card (1)

Given to the current Commander.

Status Cards (8)

Determines which team each player is on.

Task Cards (42)

There are 2 different Task decks that are used depending on the number of players. Each deck has 2 kinds of Tasks: Malfunctions and Complications.

Event Cards (16)

Uninfected team must complete 3 before reaching the Final Event. The Commander chooses which occur.

Final Event Cards (6)

Randomly chosen at the start of the game. The Uninfected team wins if completed.

Strong Dice (14) / Weak Dice (14) / Commander Die (1)

Each Strong and Weak die has its own facings. The Commander die is given to the Commander.

Participation Tokens (7) / Quarantine Tokens (7) / Die Tokens (14) / Sabotage Token (1)

Participation tokens are used during Malfunctions to indicate whether a player is participating or not. Quarantine tokens are given to players who are Quarantined and decrease their die limit by 2. Die tokens increase or decrease a player's die limit. The Sabotage token is placed by an Infected player to make repairs more difficult.

Shield Tokens (6) / Fatigue Tokens (6) / Outpost Tokens (6)

Shield tokens are placed when the Shield is damaged; the Infected team wins if all 6 are placed. Fatigue tokens are placed when Life Support is damaged and each affects a character; the Infected team wins if all 6 are placed. Outpost tokens are placed when the Outpost is damaged and each blocks an action; the Infected team wins if all 6 are placed.

Setup

1. Place two Shield tokens on the first two spots of the Shield Track and place the remaining four in a pile next to the board.
2. Randomly draw and place two Outpost tokens on the appropriate spots on the Outpost Status panel and place the rest in a facedown pile next to the board (the consequences displayed on the drawn Outpost tokens take effect immediately).
3. Place the Fatigue tokens in a pile next to the board.
4. Place the Sabotage, Die, and Quarantine tokens next to the board.
5. Place the red Suspicion cube at the beginning of the VOTE track, a single blue and black cube above the Difficulty track, and the remaining blue cubes (the Event cubes) in a pile next to the board.
6. Shuffle the Character cards and deal one Character card faceup to each player.
7. Give each player the Uninfected Player Screen that matches their Character card.
8. Give each player two black Strong dice and two red Weak dice.
9. Give each player a Participation token.
10. Randomly draw Fatigue tokens until you've found one that matches a Character in play. That Character is the starting Commander and receives the Commander card and the blue Commander die (this means that any player who receives the DANIEL Character card will never start the game as the Commander).
11. Randomly draw a Final Event card and place it faceup on the board on the Camera 4 space (alternately, players can agree on which Final Event to use). Place the remaining Final Event cards back in the box; they will not be used this game.
12. Depending on how many players you have, consult the chart on the bottom of the page to determine how many Uninfected and Infected Status cards you'll need in the game, as well as which deck of Task cards to use.

Shuffle the four Infected Status cards together, randomly selecting the number needed for the game and placing them facedown. Place any unused Infected Status cards back in the box without looking at them. Form the Status deck by shuffling the selected Infected Status cards with the correct number of Uninfected Status cards. Deal one Status card to each player, facedown. 13. Choose one player to give a loud, steady count to 10. During the count, every player looks at their Status card at the same time and reads the text silently. Players must not put their cards down until the count is completed, as this gives the Infected team a chance to read their cards without revealing they're Infected. 14. Shuffle the appropriate Task deck (silver for 3, 5, or 7 player games; black for 4 or 6 player games) and place it next to the board. 15. Shuffle the Event deck and place it next to the board. 16. The Commander draws two Event cards, placing one faceup on the board on the Camera 1 spot and placing the other at the bottom of the Event deck (see Events & Final Events below for an explanation of the Event cards). No other player should see the Event card that was discarded. The player to the left of the Commander will be the start player. Proceed clockwise around the table.

Status Card Count by Player Count

Players	Infected Status Cards	Uninfected Status Cards	Task Deck
3	1	2	Silver Task deck (remove the Voluntary Blood Testing card)
4	1	3	Black Task deck
5	2	3	Silver Task deck (remove the Voluntary Blood Testing card)
6	2	4	Black Task deck
7	3	4	Silver Task deck

Playing the Game

Players complete actions, hold votes, complete Tasks, and finish Events during the game by rolling dice and submitting them. Unless otherwise stated, dice rolls are always private, and a player may never reveal what they rolled to another player. The only dice that are seen publicly are the ones that a player chooses to submit.

NOTE: Whenever the term "players" is used, either in this rulebook or on any card, it refers to either Uninfected players or Infected players who have not yet revealed themselves. Whenever the term "Infected players" is used it refers to players who have revealed their Status cards and are openly playing for the Infected team.

Turn Order

1. Retrieve Dice
2. Perform an Action
3. Choose a Task Card
4. Resolve the Task Card
5. Add an Event Cube (Conditional)
6. Complete the Event (Conditional)
7. Select a New Event (Conditional)
8. Advance the Suspicion Cube (Conditional)
9. Hold a Vote (Conditional)

1. Retrieve Dice

The active player retrieves as many dice from the available dice pool as needed to match their die limit (at the start of the game this step is skipped since everyone will have their maximum number of dice). For example, if a player has two dice at the beginning of their turn and their die limit is five, they must retrieve three dice from the Available Resources pool. They may choose any combination of Weak or Strong dice. Only the Commander may retrieve the Commander die.

2. Perform an Action

The active player may perform one of the following actions, assuming that the appropriate Outpost station needed to perform that action hasn't been damaged.

See the Revealing as Infected section below for a list of Infected player actions.

Repair

There are three kinds of repair actions. When attempting a repair, the player rolls up to three of their dice and submits one (they may roll fewer than three dice, although this will reduce their chances of success greatly). If they have more than three dice, they may still roll no more than three. If the die they submit is positive, the action is successful. If the die they submit is negative, the action fails.

REPAIR SHIELD

If the shield has begun to fail (indicated by Shield tokens on the board), a repair of Shield Control may be attempted. If successful, remove the Shield token that is farthest on the Shield dial.

REPAIR LIFE SUPPORT

If life support functions have dropped to dangerous levels (i.e., players have become fatigued), an attempt may be made to restore them. If successful, any one Fatigue token may be removed from the board and shuffled back into the pile of Fatigue tokens.

Players do not have to declare which Fatigue token they intend to remove before making the attempt.

REPAIR OUTPOST

If an action spot has been blocked because an Outpost station has been damaged, an attempt to repair the station may be made. If successful, any one Outpost token may be removed from the board and shuffled back into the pile of Outpost tokens. That action is now available for players to use.

Players do not have to declare which Outpost token they intend to remove before making the attempt.

NOTE: REPAIR OUTPOST is the only action that is always available to players, no matter which stations have been damaged.

Repair Example: There are three Shield tokens on the board, so Jon Reed decides to attempt to repair the shield. Since he is only allowed to roll up to three dice for a repair, he sets one of his Weak dice outside of his player shield and rolls the remaining three privately. If Jon was an Uninfected player, he would submit his +2 strong die and the repair would be successful. However, Jon is actually Infected, so he submits the -1 weak die to the board and claims that it was "the best he could do." The repair fails and no Shield tokens are removed.

Call a Vote

A player may call a vote to either 1) quarantine a player or 2) release a player from quarantine (a player may call a vote on themselves). All players then hold out a closed fist and simultaneously reveal what they've concealed inside.

• A black Strong die is a vote that the player is UNINFECTED and should not be in quarantine.
• A red Weak die is a vote that the player is INFECTED and should be in quarantine.
• An empty hand means the player has abstained from the vote.

NOTE: The Commander die may NOT be used to cast a vote.

A player may be forced to abstain if they have no active dice or if they do not have the color of die they want to vote with. They may also willingly abstain, even if they have active dice they could vote with.

If the majority of players vote that the player is Uninfected, that player is either released from quarantine or they remain free from quarantine. If the majority of players vote that the player is Infected, that player is either placed in quarantine or they remain in quarantine.

If there is a tie, the Commander breaks the tie however they wish.

Voting Example: Jon Reed, the current Commander, calls a vote on Luba Zheleznyak. Each player holds out a closed fist. Then, all players reveal at the same time. Jon has revealed a red Weak die, thereby voting that Luba should be placed in quarantine. Luba has obviously chosen a black Strong die, as she does not want to be placed in quarantine. Chaya's hand is empty, so she has abstained from the vote. The total is one vote for quarantine and one vote against: a tie. Jon, however, is the Commander, and breaks ties. He chooses to place Luba in quarantine. Both Jon & Luba return their dice behind their screens.

After the vote, players place any dice used in the vote behind their player screen with their other active dice.

See the Quarantine section below for an explanation of the consequences of being quarantined.

Lone Wolf

The active player may become a "lone wolf" and go it on their own, attempting to add an Event cube to the current Event all by themselves. That player rolls up to three dice and submits two. If both submitted dice are positive, the action succeeds and an Event cube is added to the current Event or Final Event card. This may complete the Event, in which case the Commander immediately draws two new Event cards and chooses one before the active player's turn continues. If successfully performing this action causes the Final Event to be completed, the Uninfected team immediately wins the game.

Issue Order

The active player may choose another player to issue an order to. This costs the active player no dice, but the player receiving the order is under no obligation to follow the instructions given them. The ordered player may either 1) retrieve two spent dice (observing their die limit) or 2) perform any two actions they would normally be able to perform.

NOTE: If a player is issued an order and chooses to perform two actions, neither of those actions may be ISSUE ORDER.

If upon receiving an order, a player's first action is REVEAL AS INFECTED, they may immediately perform an Infected action. Therefore, give orders carefully.

NOTE: If a player is given an order, they may NOT use their Character ability while performing actions, as they are not currently the active player.

Reveal as Infected

If a player holds an Infected Status card, they may reveal it and publicly switch to the Infected team.

See the Revealing as Infected section below for an explanation of revealing as an Infected player.

3. Choose a Task Card

After performing an action, the player draws two Task cards from the Task deck and chooses one, playing it faceup on the Current Task space for all players to see. The other card is discarded facedown to the Discard space. If there are no cards to draw, take all discarded cards, shuffle them, and form a new Task deck.

NOTE: When forming a new Task deck, be careful not to reveal the Task cards in the face-down discard pile, as this could unfairly reveal how players have acted when choosing Tasks.

There are two types of Tasks: Malfunctions and Complications.

Malfunction Task cards show:

1. Type of Malfunction.
2. Matching Malfunction icon.
3. How difficult the Task will be.
4. The consequence if the Task fails.
5. Additional bonus if the Task succeeds.
6. Suspicious activity detected; move the Suspicion cube one space forward.

Complication Task cards show:

1. Type of complication.
2. Specific instructions for overcoming the Task as well as the consequence if the Task fails.
3. Suspicious activity detected; move the Suspicion cube one space forward.

Malfunctions come in four different types and will require players to collectively roll their dice in an attempt to fix the malfunction (or, in the case of the Infected players, possibly cause everyone to fail). Complications feature an illustration and require the player or players to make a choice of some kind.

4. Resolve Task

Malfunction Tasks

If the Task chosen is a Malfunction, place the blue Difficulty cube on the appropriate number on the Difficulty track, and place the black Success cube on 0 on the Difficulty track.

Beginning with the current player (the one who chose the Task card) and proceeding clockwise, each player and Infected player chooses whether they're IN or OUT. In clockwise order, they flip their participation token to the appropriate side for everyone to see.

If a player or Infected player is OUT, they immediately take up to two dice from the Available Resources spot as long as they don't exceed their die limit. Although players begin with two Weak and two Strong dice, there is nothing to prevent them from having all Weak or all Strong dice later in the game (it is usually advisable, however, to have a mix of dice in order to keep your options open during any votes that may occur).

Each player or Infected player who is IN, starting with the active player and proceeding clockwise, rolls and submits dice. No one is allowed to roll their dice ahead of time and see the results until it is their turn to submit dice. All players and Infected players who are participating in the Malfunction must roll and submit at least one die.

When completing Malfunctions, players and Infected players may reroll their dice as many times as they choose. However, every time they roll their dice they must submit at least one of those dice, although they may submit more than one. This holds even if the outcome of the Malfunction appears inevitable; if dice were rolled, at least one must be submitted.

NOTE: The fewer dice a player has, the greater their chances of rolling all negative numbers. Uninfected players must carefully weigh the risk of continuing to roll, as they may do more harm than good. Hidden Infected players can take advantage of this, as it is less suspicious to submit negative numbers when you roll fewer dice.

Every time a die is submitted, move the black Success cube up or down on the Difficulty track the appropriate number. Each positive die submitted counts toward success; each negative die submitted counts toward failure.

Submitted dice are placed on the Spent Resources space on the board. After the Task has been resolved (but before consequences occur or Event cubes are added) move all dice from the Spent Resources pool to the Available Resources pool.

Once all players and Infected players who chose to participate have rolled and submitted at least one die each, check the total. If the final result is equal to or higher than the difficulty number, the Task is successful. If the result is lower than the difficulty number, the Task fails and the consequence listed on the Malfunction card occurs.

Malfunction Task Example: Jon Reed has chosen an Outpost Malfunction Task with a difficulty of 4 and a consequence of 3. The blue Difficulty cube is placed on the 4 space on the Difficulty track and the black Success cube is placed on the 0. As the active player, Jon Reed must choose first whether he is IN or OUT. He chooses to be IN and flips his participation token appropriately. Luba Zheleznyak also chooses to be IN. Michihiro Tomoko, however, has only a single active die and chooses to be OUT. He retrieves two Strong dice from the Available Resources space on the board.

Jon will go first. He rolls his four active dice, coming up with (-1)(+1)(+4)(-2). He submits the (+4) and the (+1) to the board and moves the Success cube forward five spaces, enough to ensure the Task is successful!

Jon, however, doesn't fully trust Luba, so he decides to roll again, hoping to push the Success cube even further down the track. This time he rolls (-2)(-2). Because he rolled again, he has to submit at least one die, even though he doesn't want to. He submits the (-2) and moves the Success cube backwards two spaces to 3, one spot shy of success. Jon only has one die remaining so he chooses to stop.

It is now Luba's turn to roll (Jon was right to distrust her, as she actually is Infected). She rolls her three dice, coming up with (-1)(+3)(+2). She chooses to submit the (-1) and moves the Success cube backwards another space.

She rolls a second time, as choosing to stop at this point would immediately prove she was Infected. She rolls (+3)(+4). This was not what she was hoping for, as she wanted the Task to fail. However, she decides to make the best of it; Luba makes a big show of submitting the (+4) to the board, thereby ensuring the Task succeeds.

OUTPOST MALFUNCTION

If the Malfunction happened in the outpost, the consequence is that one or more outpost stations become damaged. Randomly draw and place a number of Outpost tokens on the Outpost Status section of the board equal to the consequence number shown on the card. If the sixth and final Outpost token is placed, the outpost's critical systems enter permanent failure, resulting in everyone's death. The Infected team immediately wins.

Each Outpost token has a specific consequence when drawn, preventing the players from taking certain actions. These consequences remain in effect until that station is repaired.

• Shield Control - players may not use the action REPAIR SHIELD
• Life Support - players may not use the action REPAIR LIFE SUPPORT
• Research Lab - players may not use the action CALL VOTE (this does not apply to forced votes that occur when the Suspicion cube reaches the end of the Suspicion track)
• Communications - players may not use the action ISSUE ORDER
• Hangar Bay - players may not use the action LONE WOLF
• Command - players retrieve one fewer die when passing on a Malfunction Task (this does not affect the number of dice players retrieve at the beginning of their turn, nor does it affect a player who is issued an order and chooses to retrieve dice)

LIFE SUPPORT MALFUNCTION

If the Malfunction happened in life support, the consequence is that environmental conditions have deteriorated, resulting in one or more crew members becoming fatigued. Draw a number of Fatigue tokens equal to the consequence number on the card and place them on the Life Support section of the board. If the Fatigue token drawn is the sixth and final one, the crew has become catatonic and the Infected team wins.

If the Character on the token is not in play, the Fatigue token still counts toward the Infected team's win condition but does not penalize a player.

If the Character on the token is in play, they have become fatigued.

See the Fatigue section below for an explanation of becoming Fatigued.

SHIELD MALFUNCTION

If the Malfunction happened to the shield, place a number of Shield tokens equal to the consequence number on the card on the next available spots on the Shield track. If the sixth and final Shield token is placed, the shield fails completely, exposing the outpost to the destructive conditions on the moon. The Infected team wins immediately.

TESTING THE SHIELD

1. There is a single Shield token on the Shield track.
2. The players fail a Malfunction Task where the consequence is to draw two Shield tokens. These are placed on the next two spots on the Shield track.
3. The active player now tests the shield and rolls any die, coming up with a +2. Because the Failure Condition is any positive number, the active player must choose to draw either a Fatigue token or an Outpost token to place on the board.

After placing the tokens the shield must be tested. Check the current Failure Condition (-1, "ANY +", -2, and "ANY -" respectively). Roll any die available (if there are no dice on the board, a player may roll one of their own, but it is not submitted. The color of the die does not matter). If the result matches the Failure Condition, the shield test has failed and the active player must choose to either 1) draw a Fatigue token or 2) draw an Outpost token.

?????????? MALFUNCTION

These Malfunction Task cards allow the active player to choose which Malfunction occurs: an Outpost, Life Support, or Shield Malfunction. This choice must be made BEFORE players and Infected players choose to participate and roll dice.

Complication Tasks

If the Task chosen is a Complication, the player (or players) will be required to make a choice, at which point they will succeed or fail based on the instructions listed on the card. If they succeed, the Task is successful. If they fail, the consequence listed on the card occurs.

5. Add an Event Cube (Conditional)

If the Task was successful, add an Event cube on the next available empty spot, either on the current Event or Final Event card.

6. Complete the Event (Conditional)

If the last Event cube was added to an Event card, that Event is completed and the Uninfected team is one step closer to victory. Execute the Event Text on the card if applicable. If the completed Event was the Final Event, the Uninfected team wins the game.

NOTE: If the Event card, when completed, calls for Damage tokens to be added, add them until doing so would cause the game to end in an Infected victory. For example, if the Event card calls for two Fatigue tokens to be added and there are already four on the board, add the first but do not add the second as it would end the game. This does NOT apply to Final Events. If a Final Event card calls for adding Damage tokens and doing so would cause the game to end in an Infected victory, then the Infected team wins.

7. Select a New Event (Conditional)

If an Event was successfully completed, the Commander draws two more Event cards, placing one faceup on the board in the next spot and discarding the second facedown. However, if it was the 3rd completed Event, players immediately proceed to the Final Event and the Commander does not draw any cards.

8. Advance Suspicion Cube (Conditional)

If the Task card said "SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY!!!", move the Suspicion cube forward on the Suspicion track. The cube is moved forward regardless of whether the Task succeeded or failed.

9. Hold a Vote (Conditional)

If the Suspicion cube has reached the final space on the Suspicion track, a vote MUST now be called. The active player must choose a player to vote on (they may choose themselves or a player already quarantined). After the vote, reset the Suspicion cube on the track. Play then proceeds clockwise to the next player.

NOTE: Even if the Research Lab Outpost token is on the board, it does not prevent this mandatory vote from occurring.

Events & Final Events

Event cards show:

1. The name of the Event (Events have blue names, Final Events have yellow names).
2. The number of Event cubes that must be added (by successfully completing Tasks) in order to complete the Event.
3. The Event Text.
4. The point when the Event text goes into effect:
   • At Start: A one time effect, as soon as the Event is played.
   • During: A persistent effect, as long as this Event is the current Event.
   • Upon Completion: A one time effect, as soon as the Event is completed.
5. Reminder to form a new Task deck that only contains Malfunction Task cards (only found on Final Event cards).

Final Event

When the Final Event begins, take all remaining and discarded Task cards, remove all Complication Tasks, and place them back in the box; they will no longer be used. Shuffle and form a new Malfunction-only Task deck with the remaining cards.

NOTE: When forming a new Task deck, be careful not to reveal the Task cards in the facedown discard pile, as this could unfairly reveal how players have acted when choosing Tasks.

Quarantine

When a player is placed in quarantine, place a Quarantine token in front of their player screen, covering up two of their die icons. Their die limit is now reduced by two dice. If that player has more active dice behind their screen than their current die limit allows, they must discard the extra dice to the Available Resources pool.

On a quarantined player's turn:

• They retrieve dice up to their die limit as usual.
• They may only use the actions CALL VOTE, ISSUE ORDER, and REVEAL AS INFECTED. If CALL VOTE and ISSUE ORDER have been blocked by Outpost tokens and the player is not Infected, then they have no available actions.
• They do NOT draw Task cards at the end of their turn. After performing an action, play passes to the next player.

Quarantined players may still participate in votes and Tasks normally.

If a player who was quarantined is released, they discard their Quarantine token and their die limit is increased by two dice (they do not automatically retrieve those dice, however).

NOTE: Players always have access to at least one die, even if being quarantined would reduce their die limit to zero or fewer dice.

If the Commander is successfully quarantined, that player loses the Commander card to the player who called the vote. If the player who called the vote is in quarantine themselves (or if the Commander called the vote on themselves), then the Commander card passes to the first player to the left who is NOT in quarantine.

NOTE: In rare cases, all players who are not revealed as Infected may end up in quarantine. If this happens, the last player to be quarantined retains the Commander card. The first player to be released from quarantine immediately assumes the Commander role.

Becoming Quarantined Example: Jon Reed has been placed in quarantine. Earlier in the game he received an extra Die token due to an ACT OF TRUST Task card, expanding his die limit from four to five. He now places the Quarantine token on top of his player screen, thereby reducing his die limit by two. Jon's new die limit is three dice. If he is released from quarantine, his die limit will return to five.

Fatigue

When a Fatigue token is drawn, if it matches a Character in play, that player must flip their Character card over. As long as that player is fatigued, they can't use their Character's special ability. Additionally, they may only submit a single die during a Malfunction (severely limiting their effectiveness).

If the Fatigue token is removed due to a successful REPAIR LIFE SUPPORT action, the player flips their Character card back over, has access to their Character ability again, and can roll and submit dice normally.

Sabotage

Place the Sabotage token on top of the Shield Control, Outpost Status, or Life Support label on the board. Any player attempting to repair that area rolls and submits a die normally. Afterward, whether they succeeded in repairing or not, they must discard two dice to the board, thereby removing the Sabotage token. If they do not have two dice, they discard as many as they can.

A player attempting to repair a sabotaged area will spend up to three dice: one for the repair attempt and two because of the Sabotage token.

An Infected player may execute this action to move the Sabotage token from one area of the board to another, but there may only ever be one area that is sabotaged at any given time.

Sabotage Example: Outpost Control has been sabotaged by an Infected player. The players really need to be able to repair life support, however, so Michihiro chooses REPAIR OUTPOST as his action, even though Outpost Control is sabotaged.

Since it is a REPAIR action, he may only roll three of his active dice. He sets one die outside of his player screen and rolls his remaining dice, coming up with (+1)(-1)(-2). He submits the (+1), thereby successfully repairing the outpost. He removes the Life Support token, ensuring that life support may be repaired on future turns.

Even though the repair was successful, Outpost Status was still sabotaged. Michihiro must now discard two of his active dice to the board. After doing so, he removes the Sabotage token. Future outpost repair attempts will not be penalized (unless an Infected player places the Sabotage token there again).

Revealing as Infected

When a player reveals as Infected, a number of things happen:

• If not quarantined, they execute the Infection Power on their Status card immediately.
• They roll any available die; if the result is a positive number, they may execute their Infection Power a second time.
• They discard their Character card, their Quarantine token (if they were quarantined), any Die tokens, and their Uninfected player screen. If the Infected player who revealed was the Commander, the Commander card now passes to the first player to the left and the Commander die is placed in the Available Resources pool.
• They take an Infected player screen as a replacement. Observing their new die limit, they discard down to two dice, returning any extra dice to the Available Resources pool.
• Their turn is immediately over (unless they revealed as a result of the ISSUE ORDER action and revealing was their first action. In this case, they may immediately perform an Infected action).

Players who have openly declared for the Infected team:

• Choose whether they are IN or OUT during Malfunction Tasks and submit dice as normal. Passing during a Malfunction Task still lets the Infected player take up to two dice from the Available Dice pool.
• No longer draw Task cards at the end of their turn.
• Are no longer allowed to participate in votes.
• Cannot be voted on, be quarantined, or become fatigued.
• Are not affected by the Command Outpost token (when passing, they always retrieve two dice).
• No longer have access to the normal actions. Instead, they gain access to the following five new actions.

Infection Actions

INTERFERENCE

Draw three Task cards. Discard as many as you want and return the remaining cards to the top of the Task deck in any order you choose.

ENERGY SPIKE

If there are 0-1 Shield tokens on the board, add one Shield token and, if applicable, test the shields.

If there are two or more Shield tokens on the board, roll any die to test the shields. Check the result against the current Failure Condition. If it matches, draw either a Fatigue or Outpost token and place it on the board.

SABOTAGE

See the Sabotage section above.

TEST COMMANDER

The Commander must roll all of their active dice and submit one. If positive, the Commander is successful and nothing happens. If negative, the Commander fails and the Infected player may draw a Damage token of their choice. If the Commander has no active dice, it is an automatic failure.

DEMORALIZE

All players, beginning with the first to the Infected player's left, must replace all of their active black Strong dice with red Weak dice until there are no more Weak dice in the Available Resources pool.

Rolling & Submitting Dice

Unless otherwise stated, these rules apply to all dice rolls.

• Dice rolls are always private, and a player may never reveal what they rolled to another player. The only dice that are seen publicly are the ones that a player chooses to submit. This applies to Infected players as well.
• The number of active dice a player has behind their screen as well as what kinds of dice (either Strong or Weak) is also private. Players may share this information with others, but they may also lie about what they have.
• If a player chooses to roll their dice, they must roll all the active dice available to them (unless the action calls for a specific number of dice, i.e. "Roll up to three dice and submit one"). This applies to Infected players as well.
• After an action or Task has been resolved, any dice that were submitted are moved from the Spent Resources pool to the Available Resources pool.

Additional Rules of Note

Die Limits

If, for whatever reason, a player's die limit is reduced and they have more active dice behind their screen than their new die limit allows, they must immediately discard any excess dice to the Available Resources pool (their choice). If the Commander role changes to another player, the previous Commander immediately places the Commander die on the Available Resources pool.

When a player's die limit is increased, however, they do NOT immediately retrieve their new dice (including the Commander die if a player has just received the Commander card). A player may only retrieve dice at the beginning of their turn, when passing during a Malfunction Task, when issued an order by another player, or when a completed Event card allows them to.

A player is always considered to have a die limit of at least 1. In the rare occurrence that a player's die limit is reduced to 0 or less, that player may still retrieve and hold at least one die behind their screen.

Changing Commanders

If the Commander is ever quarantined, the Commander card passes to the player who initiated the vote. However, if the player who initiated the vote is in quarantine themselves (or if the Commander initiated the vote), the role passes to the first Uninfected player to the Commander's left. If the Commander reveals as Infected, the role passes to the first Uninfected player to the Commander's left.

If All Infected Players Reveal

If at any point in the game all Infected players have revealed themselves, remove the Suspicion cube from the game and ignore "SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY!!!" on Task cards. Some Event cards and Complication Task cards will feel strange, anti-climactic, or heavily weighted in the Uninfected team's favor if all Infected have revealed. This usually hurts the Infected team and is a consequence for being discovered too early or revealing too soon.

Testing the Shield

Any time Shield tokens are drawn, the active player always rolls a die to test the shield. This could happen if a Task is failed; if an Event is completed and the Event text on the card says to draw Shield tokens; if an Infected player reveals and their Infection Power is to draw a Shield token; or if a revealed Infected player succeeds at the ENERGY SPIKE action. In each instance, place all Shield tokens on the board in the next available spots on the Shield track before rolling the die. If the roll matches the current Failure Condition on the Shield track, the active player chooses whether to draw an Outpost token or a Fatigue token.

Honesty

Let's be frank: there are many opportunities to cheat in Dark Moon. Players can easily change the face of a die when submitting it, roll more dice than they should for certain actions, or even have more dice than their die limit allows. Unfortunately, due to the secretive nature of the game, there is really no way to verify that a player rolled what they said they rolled. The only solution we have for this problem is: don't play with cheaters. They're not much fun anyways.

Strategy Notes

Uninfected Players

Find the Infected players as fast as possible and quarantine them. A quarantined Infected (or even a revealed Infected) is much less of a threat than a hidden one. If you're going into the Final Event and you haven't neutralized the Infected players yet, you're in trouble.

Dice management is an integral part of the Uninfected team's success. When the dice pool is whittled down, Tasks will end in failure more frequently and things will begin to spiral out of control much faster. Rely on character abilities that allow you to repair without submitting dice, and lean on the ISSUE ORDER action to replenish your teammates' dice. Know when to fail a Malfunction Task on purpose in order to conserve your dice.

Infected Players

For a number of reasons, remaining hidden as long as possible is almost always the best play, even if the game seems to be going in the Uninfected team's favor. Don't reveal yourself unless you can end the game using your Infection Power. A hidden Infected player creates doubt, paranoia, and distrust amongst the Uninfected team, which will result in them wasting precious actions. If all the Infected players are revealed, the Uninfected team will become much more efficient, as they no longer have to expend energy doubting one another; they can focus solely on successfully completing Tasks and winning the game.

One of the most powerful weapons in the Infected player's arsenal is the ability to choose a Task card at the end of their turn. If the right card comes up, an Infected player can handily deal the deathblow. A revealed Infected, however, no longer chooses Task cards in this manner. If you can, wait for the right moment to publicly fail a Task. Pay special attention to the Tasks chosen by the player to your left, as you will be the last one to contribute dice (and therefore have the most control over the outcome). Performing a "soft" reveal like this, especially when victory is close, can put the Uninfected team on the ropes. They must now expend precious actions to quarantine you, actions they might not be able to waste.

Variant Rules

If your group feels the game is unfairly balanced toward one side or the other, please add these rules to taste. You may combine them in any way you want, although the rules are listed from most effective to least effective.

Easier for the Infected Team

EXPENSIVE VOTING

All dice used in voting are submitted to the Available Resources pool after the vote. This makes voting much more expensive and managing the dice pool much more difficult for the Uninfected team.

FIRST IS LAST

During Malfunction Tasks, the player to the left of the active player is the first to choose whether they are IN or OUT, as well as the first to roll and submit dice. The active player (the one who chose the Task card) rolls and submits last. This gives Infected players an incredible advantage, as they can not only choose a dangerous Task, but then easily tank it as they will be rolling and submitting last.

FLIMSY QUARANTINE

Quarantined players may draw and choose Task cards as normal at the end of their turn. Therefore, even if quarantined, an Infected player can still greatly influence the game by sitting in quarantine, drawing Task cards, and hopefully playing nasty ones.

TELEPATHIC INFECTED (5-7 PLAYERS ONLY)

After the Status cards have been passed out, but before the Commander has chosen the first Event card, have all players close their eyes for 10 seconds. Designate one player to perform a slow count to 10. During this time, all Infected players may open their eyes and look at one another, identifying who their teammates are.

DEADLY EVENTS

When a completed Event card calls for tokens to be drawn, those tokens CAN end the game. This may create some un-thematic situations, where players are actively trying to fail Tasks because succeeding would mean the end of the game, but it will make it more difficult for the Uninfected team.

NO MORE COMPLICATIONS

If all Infected players have revealed themselves, gather all of the Task cards together and remove all of the Complication Tasks. Shuffle and form a new Task deck that only contains Malfunction Task cards.

Easier for the Uninfected Team

NERFED REVEAL - EXTREME

When an Infected player reveals, they are not allowed to trigger their Infection Power at all.

NERFED REVEAL - NORMAL

When an Infected player reveals, they may trigger their Infection Power as normal, but they are NOT allowed to roll a die to see if they may trigger their Infection Power a second time.

SAFE ORDERS

If a player is issued an order, they may not choose REVEAL AS INFECTED as one of their actions.

FATIGUED INFECTED

Revealed Infected players may only submit a single die during Malfunction Tasks.

COSTLY ACTIONS

When performing any of the five Infection actions, the Infected player must first submit any die to the Available Resources pool. This is the 'cost' of performing an action.

Card Notes

Final Event Cards

LAST STAND

At the start, each player (Uninfected and Infected who have not yet revealed) places a -1 Die token (the side with the slash through it) on their player shield, reducing their die limit by one. This does not affect revealed Infected players.

PROTECT SELF-DESTRUCT CODES

If the Final Event is successfully completed, the Uninfected team does not automatically win. The Commander must reveal their Status card; if they were secretly Infected, the Infected team wins. Likewise, the Infected team wins if the Commander is Fatigued when the Final Event is completed.

NOTE: This Final Event can provide some incredibly tense moments as players jockey for control of the Commander card. However, if all Infected are revealed before the Final Event occurs, this card will result in a very anti-climactic game.

Event Cards

BLOOD TESTING

No vote is held. The Commander simply chooses to release someone from quarantine or to place someone in quarantine. If all Infected players have revealed and no one is currently in quarantine, the Commander must still place a player in quarantine.

FOOD RATIONING

In a five player game, for example, if there are five or fewer Strong dice on the Available Resources spot, they cannot be retrieved by the players. This may mean that some players will not be able to retrieve dice at all at the beginning of their turn or when passing. This does NOT affect revealed Infected players. They may retrieve Strong dice as usual.

REPAIR TOOLS

If a player attempts a REPAIR action, they may only roll red Weak dice. If a player does not have any active Weak dice, trying to perform a repair is pointless.

RESTORE COMM

Revealed Infected players do not get to retrieve dice when this Event is completed.

If the Outpost token for Command is on the board when this Event is completed, it does NOT affect the number of dice players are allowed to retrieve. They may still retrieve dice up to their full die limit.

RESUPPLY

Per the wording on the card, the Commander MAY remove all of one kind of Damage token from the board. The Commander is not obligated to remove any Damage tokens, however.

SALVAGE PARTS

Upon completion, note the number of Outpost and Fatigue tokens on the board. Then, shuffle all Outpost and Fatigue tokens together facedown and draw new ones (making sure you have the same number that you began with). New actions may be blocked, players who were Fatigued may no longer be so, and players who were not previously Fatigued may find themselves suddenly Fatigued.

SYSTEM CRASH

Place all possible Damage tokens on the board BEFORE testing the shields (if any of the three Damage tokens would end the game, do NOT place them). If, when testing the shield, the Failure Condition is met, requiring either a Fatigue or Outpost token to be drawn, the game can end because of this additional Damage token.

SYSTEM REBOOT

The Commander cannot cause the game to end (this may mean that fewer than five Damage tokens are drawn).

Task Cards

ACCEPTABLE LOSS

If this card is played, drawing a Damage token is not optional. Therefore, this card will always result in a successful Task.

ACT OF TRUST

If the chosen player agrees, they place a -1 Die token (the side with the slash through it) on their player shield, reducing their die limit by one. The player who played the card places a +1 Die token (the side with the + on it) next to their player shield, increasing their die limit by one.

Act of Trust Example: Steve has just played an Act of Trust card, and he has chosen Enver (who is currently in quarantine) to give him a die. If Enver refuses, an Outpost token will be drawn and the Task will fail. Enver decides to give Steve one of his dice. He places a -1 Die token on his player shield, permanently reducing his die limit by one (because he's quarantined, his current die limit is only one). Steve takes a +1 Die token and places it next to his player shield, permanently increasing his die limit by one. The Task then succeeds.

FAILURE TO LEAD

The active player may choose themselves to receive the Commander card.

The Commander may play this card themselves and choose another player to give the Commander card to.

MANDATORY QUARANTINE

The active player may choose themselves to be voted on.

STRATEGIC COMPROMISE

If this card is played, drawing Damage tokens is not optional. Therefore, this card will always result in a successful Task. The two Damage tokens that are drawn may be different kinds.

Character Cards

JON REED

Whenever retrieving dice, Jon must observe his die limit.

Normally, Jon will retrieve up to three dice when passing. If the Command Outpost token is on the board, he will retrieve two dice, one fewer than he normally retrieves.

Jon does not retrieve an extra die under any other circumstance (for example, from an ISSUE ORDER action that has been given to him).

Jon is one of the only characters whose ability is always in effect, not just when he is the active player.

LUBA ZHELEZNYAK

When she is the active player, Luba may reroll all of her dice once, rather than submit one. This could be when attempting a REPAIR action or during a Malfunction Task.

For example, during a Malfunction Task Luba rolls a -2, -2, and -1. Normally, she would need to submit at least one of those dice. Instead, she chooses to use her once-per-turn special ability and reroll all of her dice rather than submit a negative die to the board. Since she can only use her ability once, she will have to submit at least one die regardless of what comes up on her reroll.

Luba cannot choose to simply stop rolling. If she doesn't like a given roll she has the option to reroll, but once she's rolled her dice she will ultimately need to submit at least one.

Credits

Game Design: Evan Derrick Original Art: William Bricker Graphic Design: Evan Derrick Copy Editing: David Bohlander Project Management: Stephen Buonocore

Playtesting Support: John Akin, Eric Alexopoulos, Josh Anderson, Ernie Barrett, John Beggs, Julius Besser, Yitzchak Besser, David Bohlander, Dino Boni, Lloyd Clay Bowen, Jeff Briggs, E. R. Burgess, John Calo, Alex Carlson, Marco Chiappa, Jacob Coon, Jae Cordes, Ted Cox, Daniel San Miguel Cuadrado, George Cummings, Jacob Davenport, Collin Derrick, Jillian Derrick, Kristena Derrick, Ruth Derrick, Eileen Duffy, Joshua Eastman, Brandon Farrow, Spencer Forsell, Brad Fuller, Geof Gambill, Jessica Geis, Stephen Glenn, Jim Goff, Bill Grant, Michael R. Greenhoe, Matthew Haase, Shawn Hanson, Phil Heimel, Paul M. Incao, Jesse Johnson, Jim Jones, Elhannan Lloyd Keller, Niko Kretchmar, Will Lentlie, Simon Li, James Liang, Daniel Loke, Brian Ludwick, Phil Majewski, Derek McCabe, Edward C. McKell, Brad Metz, David Murray, Dave Nicklaw, Markus Olfson, Gustavo Pereira, Jon Reed, Michael Reitz, Paulo Renato, Rob Rodger, Christopher Roos, Chris Schumann, Michael Krzysztof Szczerbak, Douwe Terluin, Dexter Thompson, Steven Townsend, Chris Tweedy, United Geeks of Gaming, Chris Weeks, Jason Wenderoth

© 2015 by Stronghold Games, All Rights Reserved