Defense Grid: The Board Game
Defense Grid: The Board Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
How to Win
As you play through the game, your goal is to protect the Cores from the Alien invaders who are trying to steal them and run off with them. Protect a Core to win a Mission. The more Cores you protect, the more you will be rewarded.
Based on how many Cores you protect, you will earn either a Gold (All 12 Cores), Silver (6 Cores or more), or Bronze (at least 1 Core) medal. These medals can be spent by the players to upgrade their AIs.
If the players fail to protect all Cores, they will lose the Mission. When this happens, you can simply replay that Mission and try a new strategy to save the Cores or, with your upgraded AIs, go back and re-play an earlier Mission to try and earn a better Medal and more Medal Points you can use to upgrade your AIs.
Picking Player AIs
Before playing, sleeve the 6 AI Cards and the 6 AI Upgrade Cards. This will protect the cards and, in the case of the Upgrade Cards, enable you to mark upgrades without damaging the cards.
Inside the box you will find 6 AI decks that are pre-wrapped and separated with an AI Card included in each. These are the starter decks for Defense Grid: The Board Game. They are prebuilt for the players to be able to play Mission #1.
There are 6 AIs to choose from. Each player should pick 1 AI. Each AI has its own AI Power and unique deck configuration.
Recommended AI Teams
| Players | Recommended AIs |
|---|---|
| 1 Player | Fletcher, Rissler, Zacara |
| 2 Players | Fletcher & Taylor, Rissler & Zacara |
| 3 Players | Cai, Taylor, & Briel, or Fletcher, Rissler, & Zacara |
| 4 Players | Any Combination |
Cai — Cai is your General. Her main job is to ensure that the team is always able to activate Towers. She has more Attack Cards at her disposal than any other AI. Using her AI Power, she can enable Towers to be activated one more time than normally would be posible.
Fletcher — The most iconic character in the Defense Grid universe. Fletcher, when not dreaming of Raspberries, has a deck that leans toward activating Towers but has more flexibility to modify Tower output abilities and benefit the team. Fletcher also controls the Orbital Laser which can be used to annihilate Aliens anywhere on a map.
Rissler — Rissler is the most well-rounded AI available to the team. He has a great balance of all card types. Best of all, Rissler can use his Freeze ability to stop Aliens in their tracks strategically to save cores, spread them out, or group them up as desired.
Zacara — Zacara is a true team player. She specializes in using support ammunition to modify and increase what Towers can do during an attack. When the team is ready for an all-out attack, Zacara can use her power to increase the damage of every single attack.
Taylor — Taylor is the genius of the team. He is skilled at deploying special abilities that can empower AIs or greatly increase the power of Towers. While he is not able to activate many Towers, he is able to play Support Cards for any Tower from the start of the game. His power to teleport Aliens that are about to escape with a Core far away from the Exit can save a Mission at the last second.
Briel — Briel is the team's resource specialist. Using her power and starting cards, Briel can help the team generate additional resources from Aliens the players destroy throughout the game. She may not be able to attack much, but she is your best asset when you need to build and upgrade Towers fast.
Upgrading AIs
Between Missions, players can use Medal Points earned to Upgrade their AI Cards. Players can increase Ranks on Towers that allow them to use stronger abilities on Support Cards and Special Cards. Players can also increase how many of each type of card they are allowed to build into their Decks during Deck Building.
Deck Building
For the first Mission, players should use the default decks provided in the box. After you have completed the first Mission, and before any future Mission, players are encouraged to build their decks as desired to face the next Mission. AI Decks must always have at least 20 Cards.
When building decks, each AI has a limit on the quantity of Attack, Special, and Support cards that can be placed in their individual decks. Players simply select as many cards of each type as their AI is allowed to construct their decks.
AI Deck Card Counts
| AI | Attack | Special | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cai | 14 | 3 | 3 |
| Fletcher | 12 | 3 | 5 |
| Rissler | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Zacara | 10 | 3 | 7 |
| Taylor | 8 | 3 | 9 |
| Briel | 8 | 7 | 5 |
These counts can also be found on each AI's Upgrade Card under "Starting Deck" in red text on the left side.
From the start of the game, all Attack Cards and Support Cards are available for Deck Building. This includes all cards in all AI Decks. After the first Mission, you can strip down all AI Decks and use the cards to construct just the AI Decks you wish to use for your next Mission.
Players do NOT have access to any Locked Special Cards. These are marked with a Lock symbol. Players should keep these cards separate until they are unlocked during the Campaign.
When building your decks, ensure that you only choose Attack Cards for Towers the team can build in your next Mission, and Support Cards for which the AI being played has obtained at least the Novice Rank.
Attack Cards
Attack Cards are required to activate Towers. Towers do not fire on their own. Unless a player plays an Attack Card matching a Tower, it cannot be activated. Each Attack Card played by any AI can be enhanced with a max of 1 Support Card and 1 Special Card by the same player who played the Attack Card or any other player or players.
Special Cards
Special Cards are cards that cause substantial modification to game mechanics. Some Special Cards can be played to enhance Attack Cards while others can be played independently.
Support Cards
Support cards are custom ammunition or other modifications that can be applied to Towers to change how they attack and the type of damage they can deliver. Players can load up to 1 Support Card into each individual Tower Activation performed using an Attack Card.
For the first Mission, players will only have access to the Novice text on their Support Cards and Special Cards.
After the first Mission, when Deck Building, players can only include Support Cards for which they have obtained at least the Novice Rank.
As players upgrade their AIs using Medal Points earned from Missions, players will unlock the ability to use the text next to the Elite and Master Ranks on Support Cards and Special Cards they play from their Decks.
Choose Game Type
Players now need to choose whether they want to play the Campaign or just jump into an Individual Mission.
In the Campaign, players will unlock Missions over time, upgrade AIs based on their previous accomplishments, unlock new cards, and face ever increasing hordes of Aliens trying to steal your cores through 10 Missions. As the players progress and improve their AIs and Decks, they can return to previous Missions and attempt to earn a better Medal which will give them more points to use when upgrading their AIs.
If players choose to start with an Individual Mission, it is still recommended they play the first Mission to learn the core game mechanics. In later Individual Missions, players will start by upgrading their AIs using Individual Mode Points, build their decks, and then take on the Mission.
When playing an Individual Mission, you can choose to play any of the 10 Missions included in the game or tackle one of the bonus Missions released online, posted to both the publisher's website and BoardGameGeek.
Construct the Map
Once you have decided on your game style and picked a Mission, open the Mission Booklet to the appropriate Mission number.
On the left page you will see the Map Layout in addition to the Aliens and Towers that will be used during the Mission.
Over each Map tile is a Tile Number and Tile Side. To construct the Map, pull out all the tiles, flip them to the appropriate side, and place them in your play area as shown.
Large, multi-hex tiles are labeled with sides A and B while 2-hex tiles are labeled with sides C and D.
Next, place one of the 4 available Support Pillars on each Core Housing Tile. In most maps you will only have 1 Core Housing Tile.
Core Housing
If the map has 1 Core Housing Tile, load all 12 Core Tokens on the Support Pillar on that tile.
If the map has 2 Core Housing Tiles, load 6 Core Tokens on each of the 2 Support Pillars.
The additional 2 Support Pillars are used in some Missions to hold Shields that Carrier Aliens drop when they are destroyed.
Alien Waves
On the right page for each Mission you will see between 7 and 10 waves of Aliens that you will face for that Mission.
Start by gathering the Alien Miniatures needed for the Mission from the containers in the box. Find the list and count of each Alien Miniature needed on the Waves page.
Take the Alien Chipboard Cards that match the Alien types for the Mission.
On each Alien Card are the base Hit Points and Shields that the Alien of that type starts with for each player count. As an example, The Bulwark starts with 4 Hit Points for 1 or 2 Player games, 5 Hit Points for 3 Player games, and 6 Hit Points for 4 Player games. It also starts with 1 Shield token for each player in the game.
Add the Hit Points and Shield tokens to each Alien of that type and place them where they belong on the Wave Manager Board.
Starting in Wave 4, some of the Aliens will have extra Hit Points. Add additional Hit Point Tokens to all Aliens as required for Wave 4 through Wave 10.
As an example, in Mission #1, Wave #4, you would add 1 additional Hit Point to each Walker for a 1 or 2 Player games or 2 additional Hit Points to each Walker for a 3 or 4 Player game.
Leave Random Alien Spaces empty until the Wave spawns. Then Shuffle the Alien Cards for each Alien type already destroyed in this Mission and draw a card for each Random Space. Re-shuffle between draws.
Resource Tracking Board
Before playing, players need to place the remaining game components required to play a game.
Place the Resource Tracking Board in view of all players.
Next, place the Raspberry Tracking token on the starting Resources for your player count. You can see where to place the token on the Resource Tracking Board by seeing the player count symbols behind the numbers.
| Players | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Resources | 19 | 14 | 11 | 8 |
Resources
Resources are earned during the game by either discarding cards or destroying Aliens.
Players can find how many resources to earn from a destroyed Alien on each Alien Card.
Players can also earn resources by discarding cards as part of the Player Actions Phase.
Each card discarded by a Player at any time will add 1 Resources to the shared Resource pool.
Alien Color Lines
All Alien Chipboard Tokens can have 1 or more color at the top. The 3 Colors at the top are just to remind players about the Aliens' abilities.
Red Line imforms players that the Alien has a Special Ability. Be sure to reference the Alien Card for more details.
Green Line represents Armor. You can find the Armor value on the bottom half of the Alien Token or on the Alien Card.
Blue Line represents starting Shields. Make sure to check the Alien Card and put Shield tokens on the Alien appropriate for how many players you have on your team.
If there are no colored lines, then none of the above apply to that Alien.
All Aliens of the same type are identical.
Gameplay Rules
A round of Defense Grid: The Board Game is divided into 4 Phases. Gameplay continues repeating rounds until either all the Cores have been stolen by the Aliens and removed from the game board or no Aliens remain on the Game Map Tiles and the Wave Manager page for the Mission being played.
Round Phases
- Refresh
- Player Actions
- Return Cores
- Alien Movement
Refresh Phase
At the start of a Mission and after every Alien Movement Phase, the Refresh Phase occurs.
To start, players draw up to their Max Hand Size. This varies based on how many AIs are participating in the Mission.
| Players | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Hand Size | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
If a player currently has as many or more cards in their hand than their max hand size, they do NOT draw any additional cards or discard any cards.
If a player's draw deck has insufficient cards available for the player to draw up to their max hand size, the player should shuffle their discard pile and use it to create a new draw deck. This is only done when a player attempts to draw a card and there are no cards left to draw. A player should NOT create a new draw deck unless they are trying to draw a card and there are none left to draw.
Next, reload all Towers back up to their "Rate of Fire". This is done by placing Red Tokens on the Tower Pillar equal to each Tower's Rate of Fire listed on the Tower Cards. If a Tower currently has more shot tokens than its Rate of Fire, reduce tokens down to its Rate of Fire.
Player Actions Phase
During this phase, players work to build the Defense Grid and Protect the Cores. Unlike many board games, players are not required to take turns in a clockwise progression, but can instead go in any order they like. Individual players can even take multiple turns back to back until they run out of actions they can take, or opt to take no turns during the entire Player Action Phase. Clever coordination of player actions is key to victory!
When a player declares they are taking a turn, they can do ONE of the following 5 actions:
1) Discard a Card
A player can discard any card from their hand with no effect of the card being activated. For each card discarded this way, the team gains 1 Resource immediately.
2) Build a Tower
All players participating in the Mission should work together to decide what Towers to build and where to build them. Players can build as many Towers as they can afford in a round and can build any number of Towers at any point during the Player Action Phase.
To Build a Tower, players spend Resources they have available to cover the Cost of the Tower they wish to build. If Players do not have sufficient resources to build a Tower, they cannot build the Tower.
After deducting the Resources from their currently available pool, players then place the Tower on any Grey Build Hex on the game board.
Starting in Mission #2, Players can construct Boost Towers. Boost Towers are used to power up a Tower to use some Special Cards that require a Boost Tower. Boost Towers also allow another Tower built on top of the Boost Tower to see over any non-boosted Towers and any Barrier hexes that would normally block Line of Sight.
3) Upgrade a Tower
To upgrade a Tower, players pay the cost from the Resources pool and place the upgrade Hex under the Tower that is being upgraded. If the Tower being upgraded is on a Boost Tower, place the Upgrade Hex under the Boost Tower.
Level 2 costs 5 Resources. Level 3 costs 10 Resources.
A Tower must be upgraded to Level 2 before players can play an additional action to upgrade a Tower to Level 3.
When upgrading a Tower from Level 2 to Level 3, simply flip over the Upgrade Hex and place it back under the same Tower.
Players can only have 10 Towers upgraded at the same time. If the team runs out of Upgrade Hexes, they cannot upgrade additional Towers unless they sell a Tower which is currently upgraded and free up the Upgrade Hex to use on another Tower.
Some Special cards can optionally be played to reduce the cost of a single Upgrade action. Players may only play 1 Special Card per upgrade action.
4) Sell a Tower
Sometimes a Tower outlives its usefulness or players just need urgent resources. When these or other situations occur, players can sell an existing Tower.
The Sell value of a Tower is half of the original Build Cost of the Tower, rounded down. As an example, Players will receive 2 Resources for selling an Inferno Tower that originally cost 5 Resources to Build.
When Selling a Tower, Players only gain resources for the Tower itself. No additional resources are gained for a Boost Tower or Upgrade Hex applied to the Tower.
When a Tower is sold, immediately remove the Tower and any Boost Towers or Upgrade Hexes that were applied to the Tower from the Game Board.
5) Play a Card
A player can either play an Activate Action or an individual Special Card.
All AIs are restricted to using just the "Novice" text on the cards for the first Campaign Mission, but as players upgrade the AIs they will unlock the ability to use Elite and Master Ranks on the cards.
When playing a Support Card or most Special Cards in an Activate Action, the player will use the Rank of the card that their own AI is upgraded to use.
A player always uses their own AI's Rank for cards they play, even if the card they are playing is in support of another player's Activate Action. Discard all played cards in the player's own discard pile.
Play an Attack Card
A player may Play an Attack Card if the player has an Attack Card that matches a Tower with remaining Shot Tokens.
For the purposes of Playing an Attack Card, the Special Card named "Activate Any" should be treated as though it were an "Attack Card" and not a Special Card.
The player starts by declaring they are going to activate a Tower and then they play the card on the table in front of them. Before Playing an Attack Card, players are encouraged to plan with other players and discuss which Towers they each can activate, what order to activate them in, and other strategies.
Once a Tower has started the process of being activated, any player, including the player activating the tower, may now play a Support Card to enhance the Tower's attack. Only 1 Support Card can be played per Attack Card unless specified otherwise on the Support Card or a Special Card used in the attack.
In addition to the Support Card, any player, including the player activating the Tower, may play a Special Card that has the Attack keyword in the middle of the card. Only 1 Special Attack Card can be played per Attack Card.
Non-Attack Special Cards can be played in tandem with Special Attack Cards so long as players abide by the limitation of not playing multiple identical Special Cards.
All played cards should be placed in the play area in front of the player who played the card.
When rolling dice, players can either have the player who activated the Tower roll all the dice, or have each player who played a card in the attack roll the dice associated with their own card.
After all dice are rolled and all damage from the attack is delivered to any Aliens, all players who played a card move their played card into their own discard pile.
If players would like to play with less randomization, see the Variant Easy Mode rules for an optional rule that reduces the amount of dice that players will need to roll.
Tower Range
To calculate Tower Range, simply count through hexes as shown in the Line of Sight example. Each Hex counts as 1 Range.
When shooting between 2 obstructions, count the line between them as 1 hex for purposes of range calculations, such as a Cannon Tower shooting between a barrier and a Laser Tower.
When calculating Range, you may shoot through empty hexes.
Tower Line of Sight
Be advised, Towers cannot see through each other or Barriers. Towers are blocked from seeing through other Towers that are in-line with a flat edge of their hex. Aliens NEVER block Line of Sight. If the players draw a line from the center of the Hex with the Tower attacking to the center of the Hex with the alien on it, that line cannot cross the center of any Hex with another Tower or a Barrier.
In the map example, a Cannon Tower has a range of 3. It is able to see and attack all Swarmers, but it cannot see or attack any Walkers, because one Walker has Line of Sight blocked by the barrier and the 2nd Walker has Line of Sight blocked by the Laser Tower.
Note that Line of Sight rules do NOT apply to Concussion, Meteor, or Missile Towers.
Starting in Mission #2, you will be able to build Boost Towers under other Tower Types to raise their elevation. This will allow the tower on top of the Boost Tower to see over barricades and other towers.
NOTE: Boosted Towers do NOT have Line of Sight through other Boosted Towers.
Armor and Shields
Many Aliens will enter the Game Board with Shields protecting them, layers of Armor, or both!
But don't fret. All of the towers can prove beneficial when attacking all types of Aliens.
Armor
For armored units, simply deduct the Armor value from each individual attack.
As an example, if a Level 1 Cannon attacks a Lurker, the player will deal 2 damage to the Lurker.
Example: The Cannon has 3 base damage at level 1. The Lurker has 1 Armor point. Simply subtract the Armor from the damage dealt before removing HP. 3 Damage − 1 Armor = 2 HP Removed.
Armor is never destroyed. It applies to each individual attack by a Tower or Towers.
Shields
Players must eliminate all the Shields on an Alien before players can damage them. Some Support Cards can ignore this rule.
Armor does NOT apply to attacks versus Shields.
It is NOT the damage that matters when attacking shields. It is just the hit of an attack. Whether a player deals as little as 1 damage or as much as 20 damage, the player will only take out 1 Shield with each normal attack.
Shields never regenerate once destroyed, but some Aliens will add new shields onto the map or other Aliens.
Keep an eye out for some special Towers and Support Cards that can help you destroy multiple Shields with one attack.
Example: The Tesla Tower destroys multiple Shields with each attack by default, while the "Shield Piercing Lens" for the Laser Tower will allow a Laser Tower attack to destroy multiple Shields.
Return Cores Phase
After players have finished all their actions for the round, any loose Cores try to return to the Core Housing. Loose Cores are any Cores that are not currently being carried by an Alien and are not currently in the Core Housing.
Cores always move 3 Spaces toward the Core Housing during the Return Cores Phase. If a Core reaches the Core Housing tile, it takes the same path returning that the Alien who stole it took leaving the Core Housing.
If in the process of moving its 3 Hexes back toward the Core Housing, a Core encounters an Alien that has available Core Capacity, that Alien will immediately pick up the Core. If the Alien is not already pointing toward and moving toward the exit, the Alien will turn to do so. On the next Alien Movement Phase, the Alien will try to escape with the Core even if not at the Alien's max Core Capacity.
If more than 1 Alien is on a Hex that a Core enters, use the following priority list to determine which Alien with available Core Capacity will acquire the Core.
- Alien with the highest base Move value
- Alien with the most Armor
- Alien with the most current Hit Points
- Player Choice
You can find the Core Capacity of an Alien on its Alien Card next to the word "Cores". This is the maximum number of Cores that each Alien of that type can carry.
If there is ever a tie when determining which Alien to give the Core to, the players are empowered to choose which Alien to give the Core.
Alien Movement Phase
Start by rolling the Blue Movement die. The result of this one die roll will be used to determine the Movement bonus for ALL Aliens this round.
- Blank Side = No Movement Bonus
- +1 = +1 to all Alien Movement
- +2 = +2 to all Alien Movement
Now, Move all Aliens that are currently on the Game Board in the following order:
- Move Aliens that are closest to escaping through the Exit Hex(es)
- If 2 or more Aliens share a Hex, move the fastest Aliens first.
- Move Aliens by player choice
Rule #2 is to ensure that the fastest Aliens will pick up any loose Cores. If there is no chance of any Aliens picking up Cores, feel free to move any Aliens sharing the same Hex in any order the players desire.
If an Alien moves onto a Hex with a Core, including at the Core Housing, and the Alien has available Core Capacity, the Alien immediately picks up the Core. Next, the Alien will turn to face the nearest Exit. Turning does not cost any Movement points. If the Alien which acquires a Core has any remaining Movement points, it will immediately spend all remaining Movement points moving toward the exit.
On some maps, Aliens will encounter a T-intersection that splits the path into 2 independent exits. To determine which exit an Alien will run toward, roll a Damage die for each Alien when they attempt to exit the T-intersection.
- Blank = Move the Alien toward Exit A.
- Damage Hit = Move the Alien toward Exit B.
Exits are also marked on the map in the Mission Booklet.
After all Aliens on the Game Board have completed their movement, move the next wave of Aliens from the Mission's Wave Manager onto the Game Board.
If there are any Random Aliens for the Wave, now is when you spawn them.
Look at the pool of all Aliens already destroyed in the Wave. Collect the Alien Chipboard Cards for each Alien Type destroyed.
Shuffle these Cards and draw one for the Random space. Place that Alien Token, with appropriate HP and Shields, on the Random Spawn Space.
If there are more than 1 Random Alien Space on the Wave, re-shuffle the Alien Chipboard Cards for remaining destroyed Aliens and draw another Card for next Random Alien Spawn Space. Repeat until all spaces are filled with Aliens.
If no Aliens were destroyed before the Wave with a Random Alien Spawn Space, or if all Destroyed Aliens have already been placed, then NO Alien will spawn into the Random Alien Spawn Space.
Now move all the Wave's Aliens from Wave Manager onto the Game Board starting with the left-most Alien.
Advance them a number of hexes equal to their base movement plus any bonus from the Blue Movement die that was rolled earlier. Do NOT re-roll the die.
These Aliens will follow all the same movement rules and priorities mentioned above. If a Core is loose in the Hex the new Wave of Aliens is entering through, treat all the Aliens in the new Wave as though they are sharing 1 Hex for the purposes of movement priority.
If there are no additional Waves to move into the Game Board, keep playing until all Cores have been stolen or there are no more Aliens remaining on the Game Board.
There is no limit on quantity of Aliens on a single hex. If you need to place more Aliens than can physically fit on a hex, line them up off to the side of the Hex to keep track.
After the Alien Movement Phase has completed, start a new round with a new Refresh Phase.
Campaign Mode Rules
Completing a Mission
A Mission ends after all the Alien Waves have spawned and no more Aliens remain on the Game Board.
If players saved even 1 Core, they are successful and immediately unlock the next Mission. If players fail to save any Cores, they fail the Mission and will have to try the Mission again until they save at least 1 Core before unlocking the next Mission.
The first time players successfully complete a Mission, they need to shuffle the deck of locked Special Cards, including the "Double Shot" card.
Next, draw 2 random cards from the deck. As a team, review the 2 cards, and choose 1 of the cards to permanently add to their available Special Cards for deck building. Return the other card back to the locked deck and place it back in the box.
If the players choose to replay a Mission that they previously completed successfully, they will NOT draw another Special Card from the locked deck.
Earning Medals
After completing a Mission, all 6 AIs will earn a medal based on how many Cores the players protected.
- 12 Cores = Gold
- 6 to 11 Cores = Silver
- 1 to 5 Cores = Bronze
- 0 Cores = Mission Failed
The Medal players earned will determine how many Medal Points each AI acquires to upgrade themselves.
| Medal | 1 Player | 2, 3, 4 Players |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 7 | 6 |
| Silver | 4 | 3 |
| Bronze | 2 | 1 |
After you determine how many points you have earned, add them to your available points and your total earned points on your Mission Tracker card for each of the 6 AIs.
Replay Missions
Players are allowed to replay any Mission they have unlocked at any time.
If players replay a Mission that they previously acquired a Medal on, the players will only receive additional Medal Points if they achieve a better Medal than they have ever previously acquired from that Mission.
As an example, if the players earned a Bronze Medal for a 4 player game on Mission #2, they would immediately earn 1 points for all 6 AIs.
Later, the players could replay Mission #2 again. If they only earned another Bronze Medal, they would not gain any additional points.
If, on the replay attempt, the players earned a Gold Medal instead, they would earn the difference in points between the Gold Medal and the Bronze Medal. In this example, the players would earn 5 additional points for each AI to spend. (6 Points for the Gold Medal minus the 1 Point they had previously earned for the Bronze Medal.)
Upgrading AIs
You can spend your Medal Points at any time when you are not actively playing a Mission.
To spend Medal Points, find an upgrade you would like, look at the cost in the box, subtract the cost from your available points, and then fill in the box to mark it as purchased.
Remember that you can print additional character sheets from the publisher's website or BoardGameGeek.
There are 2 groups of upgrades that players can spend points on: Max Deck Card Upgrades and Tower Ranks.
Max Deck Card Upgrades
Max Deck Cards increase the maximum amount of cards of the type specified that you can have in your deck.
Spending Medal Points on Max Deck Cards enables the player to either modify their AI's deck composition and/or increase their total Deck size. They can change deck composition before every Mission attempt.
Example: The Briel player starts with a limit of 8 Attack Cards and 20 total cards in their deck. If that player spends 4 Points to add an additional Attack Card into their deck, they can either increase their total deck size to 21 cards and take 9 Attack Cards as part of that increase, or the player can keep their max deck size at 20 cards and choose to replace either 1 Support Card or 1 Special Card in the deck with the Attack Card they just added.
Tower Rank Upgrades
Tower Rank Upgrades unlock the next Rank effect on the Tower's specific cards (Novice, Elite, Master).
Spending Medal Points on Tower Rank Upgrades enables players to use Support Cards for new Towers that they upgrade to "Novice", or to use Elite and Master options for cards they upgrade beyond Novice.
AI Upgrade Re-specs
As players complete Missions in the game, they will earn the ability to completely re-spec their AIs.
After successfully completing Missions #3, #6, and #9, all AIs will each earn a re-spec coupon. They do not have to spend the re-spec coupon immediately. Players can save the re-spec coupons and use them when they want to do so.
When a player wants to re-spec, the player simply erases one of the re-spec coupons previously marked and they erase all other upgrades previously marked on the AI Upgrade Card.
Next, they should flip over the card and erase the AI's "Available Points" and update it to match the "Earned Points" for that AI.
Finally, they can now spend the "Available Points" like the AI normally would be able to do when upgrading.
Improved AIs
After players successfully complete Mission #5, all 6 AIs will improve. Take all the main AI Cards and flip them over. Players are now able to use the ability on the back of the AI Card that states it is only available after completing Mission #5.
The upgraded side of the AI Card has foil inlay to help it look like an upgrade and help players to easily tell if they are looking at the correct side of the card.
Players can use upgraded AI abilities, once unlocked, on all Missions going forward. This includes if the players replay any of the previous Missions, #1 through #5.
Individual Mode Rules
If this is your first time playing, it is highly recommended to play through Mission #1 before trying any additional Missions. This will help you to learn the basic rules, including learning how AI Tower Ranks work before having to learn how to Upgrade your AIs which is needed to play any of the other Missions.
Completing a Mission
A Mission ends after all the Alien Waves have spawned and no more Aliens remain on the game board.
After Completing a Mission, the team will earn a medal based on how many Cores the players protected.
- 12 Cores = Gold
- 6 to 11 Cores = Silver
- 1 to 5 Cores = Bronze
- 0 Cores = Mission Failed
For an additional challenge, players can replay the Missions using the Team Mission rules in the Variant Rules.
Upgrade AIs
If you are playing Mission #1, you can skip this section for now.
When playing Individual Missions, you will receive a fixed amount of Medal Points you can spend on each of the AIs used for the Mission.
These points are listed in the upper-right corner of the Map setup page in your Mission rulebook. Record these Medal Points on each AI Upgrade Card in "Available Points".
NOTE: If you are playing a Single Player game, add the Mission Number to the "Individual Mode Points" before recording the points on your AI Upgrade Card. As an example, for Mission #2, if you are playing a Single Player game, you will receive 8 Points instead of the normal 6 Points.
You must spend your Medal Points before staring an Individual Mode Mission.
To spend Medal Points, find an upgrade you would like, look at the cost in the box, subtract the cost from your Available Points, and then fill in the box to mark it as purchased.
Remember that you can print additional character sheets from the publisher's website or BoardGameGeek.
There are 2 groups of upgrades that players can spend Medal Points on: Max Deck Cards and Tower Ranks.
Max Deck Card Upgrades
Spending Medal Points on Max Deck Cards enables the player to either modify their AI's deck composition and/or increase their total Deck size.
As an example, the Fletcher player starts with a limit of 12 Attack Cards and 20 total cards in their deck. If that player spends 4 Points to add an additional Attack Card into their deck, they can either increase their total deck size to 21 cards and take 13 Attack Cards as part of that increase, or the player can keep their max deck size at 20 cards and choose to replace either 1 Support Card or 1 Special Card in the deck with the Attack Card they just added.
Tower Rank Upgrades
Spending Medal Points on Tower Rank Upgrades enables players to use Support Cards for new Towers that they upgrade to "Novice", or to use Elite and Master options for cards they upgrade beyond Novice.
Variant Modes and Rules
Team Missions
Once a player or team of players have achieved a Gold Medal on a Mission, they may replay the Mission in an attempt to earn Team Points for that Mission. Team Points can be used to acquire additional Special Cards, Tower Build Hex Tiles, and additional Starting Resources.
There are 2 types of Team Missions for each Map. Players can earn Team Points from both types similar to Medal Points earned in the main game.
Team Missions randomize all Aliens entering in Waves in the Missions. Players are also unaware of what Aliens will be entering in a Wave until they enter the map.
Regardless of how many players are playing, the entire team earns the following points based on the Medal received:
- Gold = 3
- Silver = 2
- Bronze = 1
When Team Points are earned and spent, the players record them on the Team Upgrade Card using the same method they used previously for the AI Upgrade Cards.
As with normal Campaign Missions, Team Missions can be replayed to earn better Medals and receive the Team Point difference.
You can download printable Team Mission tracking sheets from the publisher's site and BoardGameGeek.
Team Points Shop
Team Points are spent in the same way you spend AI Available Points. You deduct the Team Points for each item you purchase.
- 10 Points = +3 Starting Resources for all Mission Attempts. Can only be purchased Once.
- 8 Points = Acquire one Double Hex Build tile. This tile can be placed anywhere on any Mission you play as long as it does NOT intersect with any road section or the Core Housing. This includes empty spaces, over Barriers, or spaces outside the map. It allows players to build towers in locations not normally available on the map.
- 6 Points = Pick any 1 Special Card from the locked Special Card deck and add it to your available Special Cards for Deck Building.
- 4 Points = Acquire one Single Hex Build tile. This tile can be placed anywhere on any Mission you play as long as it does NOT intersect with any road section or the Core Housing. This includes empty spaces, over Barriers, or spaces outside the map. It allows players to build towers in locations not normally available on the map.
- 2 Points = Draw 1 random Special Card from the locked Special Card deck and add it to your available Special Cards for Deck Building.
Normal Team Missions
Start by selecting the Mission that players have previously received a Gold Medal on and setup the map for the Mission.
Take the Alien Cards for all Aliens available on this map. Players can find the list on the same page that shows the Wave Manager for the Mission.
Do NOT pre-load or place any Aliens on the Wave Manager. Use the same Towers normally available on the Mission. Play the Mission like normal, except, when a Move Aliens Phase begins, treat ALL Alien spaces on the Wave Manager as though they were "Random" spaces using the Alien Cards normally available for that Mission.
Extreme Team Missions
For the Extreme Team Missions, play identically to Normal Team Missions, with one exception. When drawing random Aliens players will use all Alien Cards in the game.
That's right. Players could end up having to face Juggernauts in Mission #1 with just the Gun, Inferno, Laser, and Cannon Towers available to build.
Easy Mode
Applying these modifications will make the game substantially easier. This is recommended if players would prefer to only play through each Mission one time or they otherwise find the game to be too difficult for their gaming group.
Players can use any combination of these rule modifications. Players are not required to use all of them for Easy Mode.
- Change Medal Requirements to the following: 6+ Cores saved = Gold Medal, 1 to 5 Cores saved = Silver Medal, 0 Cores saved = Failure.
- +6 Starting Resources.
- Keep both Special Cards drawn the first time you complete a Mission.
- Never roll the Movement Die. Always move Aliens their base movement only.
- Ignore Line of Sight Rules. Towers and Barriers never block Line of Sight for other Towers.
- Average Damage Dice Rolls. Instead of rolling all Damage Dice required, for every 2 Dice you are required to roll, ignore the 2 Dice and give the attack +1 Damage. If an odd number of Dice were required, roll the remaining Die as normal.
Hard Mode
Applying these modifications will make the game substantially more difficult. Hard Mode rules are recommended only if players want an extreme challenge for the game. The more modifications applied from the list below, the harder the game will get.
Players can use any combination of these rule modifications. Players are not required to use all of them for Hard Mode.
- Add +1 Movement to all Aliens base movement speed.
- Increase the Cost of all Towers by +1 Resouce.
- Reduce the Medal Points earned for all Missions by 1 Point: Gold = 5, Silver = 2, Bronze = 0.
- Reduce Starting Resources by 4.
- Only draw 1 Special Card the first time you Successfully complete a Mission.
- AIs CANNOT earn re-spec coupons.
- AIs only earn Medal Points if they participated in the Mission. Replay Missions to earn points for other AIs.
Player Additions or Removals
Defense Grid: The Board Game is designed to let your play group keep playing even if a player is not available for a session, leaves the game, or a new player joins the game.
When you have any player count changes, simply adjust the Hand Size as appropriate and be careful to use the appropriate Alien HP for the new player count.
Card Details
Attack Cards
Activate Cannon (13 Cards) — Rate of Fire 1, Range 4. Level 1 Damage 3, Level 2 Damage 3, Level 3 Damage 4. Play this card to Activate a single Cannon Tower.
Activate Concussion (6 Cards) — Rate of Fire 2, Range 2. Level 1 Damage 1, Level 2 Damage 1, Level 3 Damage 2. Play this card to Activate a single Concussion Tower.
Activate Gun (19 Cards) — Rate of Fire 3, Range 2. Level 1 Damage 1, Level 2 Damage 1, Level 3 Damage 2. Play this card to Activate a single Gun Tower.
Activate Inferno (14 Cards) — Rate of Fire 2, Range 1. Level 1 Damage 1, Level 2 Damage 1, Level 3 Damage 2. Play this card to Activate a single Inferno Tower.
Activate Laser (16 Cards) — Rate of Fire 2, Range 3. Level 1 Damage 2, Level 2 Damage 2, Level 3 Damage 3. Play this card to Activate a single Laser Tower.
Activate Meteor (6 Cards) — Rate of Fire 1, Range 6. Level 1 Damage 2, Level 2 Damage 2, Level 3 Damage 3. Play this card to Activate a single Meteor Tower.
Activate Missile (6 Cards) — Rate of Fire 1, Range 5. Level 1 Damage 3, Level 2 Damage 3, Level 3 Damage 4. Play this card to Activate a single Missile Tower. Ignore 1 Armor.
Activate Tesla (6 Cards) — Rate of Fire 2, Range 2. Level 1 Damage 2, Level 2 Damage 2, Level 3 Damage 3. Play this card to Activate a single Tesla Tower.
Support Cards
Airburst Shells (6 Cards) — Support for the Cannon Tower. Novice: Attack 2 Aliens in target hex. Elite: Attack 2 Aliens in target hex, add a damage die. Master: Attack all Aliens in target hex, add 2 damage dice.
Armor Piercing Bullets (6 Cards) — Support for the Gun Tower. Novice: Ignore 1 Armor on 1 Alien. Elite: Ignore 2 Armor on 1 Alien. Master: Ignore 3 Armor on 1 Alien, add a damage die.
Armor Piercing Shells (6 Cards) — Support for the Cannon Tower. Novice: Ignore 1 Armor on 1 Alien. Elite: Ignore 1 Armor on 1 Alien, add a damage die. Master: Ignore 1 Armor on 1 Alien, add 2 damage dice.
Cluster Ball (4 Cards) — Support for the Meteor Tower. When used, it increases the Area of Effect of the Meteor Attack to hit all Aliens in 7 Total Hexes: one Target Hex with an Alien and all Hexes adjacent to it. Novice: Add 1 Hex radius to Area of Effect. Elite: Add 1 Hex radius to Area of Effect, add a damage die. Master: Add 1 Hex radius to Area of Effect, add 2 damage dice.
Defense Buster Bombs (4 Cards) — Support for the Concussion Tower. Novice: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens. Elite: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens, add a damage die. Master: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens, add 2 damage dice.
Defense Cracker Coil (4 Cards) — Support for the Tesla Tower. Novice: Ignore 1 Armor on all targeted Aliens. Elite: Ignore 1 Armor on all targeted Aliens, add a damage die. Master: Ignore 1 Armor on all targeted Aliens, add 2 damage dice.
Depth Charges (4 Cards) — Support for the Concussion Tower. When used, it allows all future attacks this round to target all Stealth Aliens that are in Range of the Tower. Novice: Reveal all stealth Aliens in range. Elite: Reveal all stealth Aliens in range, add a damage die. Master: Reveal all stealth Aliens in range, add 2 damage dice.
Enhanced Coil (4 Cards) — Support for the Tesla Tower. When used, Tesla Attacks can chain across 2 Hexes while ignoring Line of Sight rules. Novice: Increase chain distance to 2 Hexes, no line of sight for chains. Elite: Increase chain distance to 2 Hexes, hit +1 Alien. Master: Increase chain distance to 2 Hexes, hit +1 Alien, add a damage die.
Focused Nozzle (6 Cards) — Support for the Inferno Tower. When used, it changes the area of effect from 3 hexes to just 1 Hex next to the Inferno Tower. At all Ranks, Focused Nozzle also adds additional damage dice to the Attack (Novice: add 1 die; Elite: add 1 die; Master: add 2 dice).
HE Warhead (4 Cards) — Support for the Missile Tower. Novice: Ignore 1 Armor on 1 Alien. Elite: Ignore 1 Armor on 1 Alien, add a damage die. Master: Ignore 1 Armor on 1 Alien, add 2 damage dice.
Heavy Shells (6 Cards) — Support for the Cannon Tower. When used, it allows an attack to knock Aliens back 1 or more Hexes. Novice: Knockback 1 Alien 1 Hex. Elite: Knockback 1 Alien up to 2 Hexes (can knockback less than 2 Hexes). Master: Knockback 1 Alien up to 3 Hexes (can knockback less than 3 Hexes).
Jet Stream Nozzle (6 Cards) — Support for the Inferno Tower. When used, it changes the area of effect from 3 hexes next to the tower to 2 or 3 Hexes in a relatively straight line from the Inferno Tower. Novice: Change Area of Effect to 2 Hexes out from tower. Elite: Change Area of Effect to 3 Hexes out from tower. Master: Change Area of Effect to 3 Hexes out from tower, add a damage die.
Liquid Fuel Tank (6 Cards) — Support for the Inferno Tower. Novice: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens. Elite: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens, add a damage die. Master: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens, add 2 damage dice.
MIRV Warhead (4 Cards) — Support for the Missile Tower. When used, it allows the Missile Tower to attack multiple Aliens in range dealing a fixed damage of 3. Alien Armor still reduces the attack's damage, but the natural 1 Armor penetration of the Missile Tower still applies to the attack. Aliens targeted can be in any hex or hexes in range of the Missile Tower. Novice: Attack 2 Aliens in range, deal 3 Damage to the Aliens. Elite: Attack 3 Aliens in range, deal 3 Damage to the Aliens. Master: Attack 4 Aliens in range, deal 3 Damage to the Aliens.
Plasmaball (4 Cards) — Support for the Meteor Tower. Novice: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens. Elite: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens, add a damage die. Master: Ignore 1 Armor on all Aliens, add 2 damage dice.
Shield Breaker Coil (4 Cards) — Support for the Tesla Tower. When used, it removes additional Shields on Aliens attacked. Novice: Remove 1 extra Shield on Aliens. Elite: Remove 1 extra Shield on Aliens, add a damage die if no Shields. Master: Remove 2 extra Shields on Aliens, add 2 damage dice if no Shields.
Shield Buster Bombs (4 Cards) — Support for the Concussion Tower. When used, it removes 2 additional Shields on Aliens attacked for a total of 3 Shields removed. Novice: Remove 2 extra Shields. Elite: Remove 2 extra Shields, add a damage die if no Shields. Master: Remove 2 extra Shields, add +1 and a damage die if no Shields.
Shield Piercing Lens (6 Cards) — Support for the Laser Tower. When used, Laser attacks deal 1 damage to 1 targeted Alien ignoring all Shields and Armor. Novice: Ignore Shields and deal 1 Damage to 1 Alien ignoring Armor. Elite: Remove 1 Shield and deal 1 Damage to 1 Alien ignoring Armor. Master: Remove 2 Shields and deal 1 Damage to 1 Alien ignoring Armor.
Shrapnel Bullets (6 Cards) — Support for the Gun Tower. When used, the attack hits all Aliens in the target Hex. Novice: Attack all Aliens in target Hex. Elite: Attack all Aliens in 2 adjacent hexes that are connected. Master: Attack all Aliens in 2 Hexes that are connected, add a damage die.
Shrapnel Warhead (4 Cards) — Support for the Missile Tower. When used, the attack hits 2 Aliens in the target Hex. Novice: Attack 2 Aliens in target hex. Elite: Attack all Aliens in target hex. Master: Attack all Aliens in target hex, add a damage die.
Tachyon Beam Lens (6 Cards) — Support for the Laser Tower. When used, reduces 1 Alien's Movement by 1 during the next Alien Movement Phase. Novice: Reduce target's movement by 1 in next Alien Movement phase. Elite: Reduce target's movement by 2 in next Alien Movement phase. Master: Reduce target's next movement by 2, add a damage die.
Tachyon Bullets (6 Cards) — Support for the Gun Tower. When used, reduces 1 Alien's Movement by 1 during the next Alien Movement Phase. Novice: Reduce target's movement by 1 in next Alien Movement phase. Elite: Reduce target's movement by 2 in next Alien Movement phase. Master: Reduce target's movement by 3 in next Alien Movement phase.
Wide Beam Lens (6 Cards) — Support for the Laser Tower. When used, the attack hits 2 Aliens in the target Hex. Novice: Attack 2 Aliens in target hex. Elite: Attack all Aliens in target hex. Master: Attack all Aliens in target hex, add a damage die.
Special Cards
Activate Any Tower (8 Cards) — Can be used in place of any Attack Card to Activate any Tower. When used, treat it in every way as though it was a Red Attack Card for purposes of activation limitations and applying additional Support Cards or Special Cards to the Attack.
Bonus Resources (3 Cards) — Can be used anytime. Based on the AI's Rank who played the card, this card increases the resources gained by all Aliens destroyed by the Tower the card is played on during this round or wave of Aliens. UNIQUE — Limit of 1 Card per AI Deck. It only applies to the 1 individual Tower, not the type of Tower. Novice: Gain +1 resource per alien killed by this Tower during this wave. Elite: Gain +2 resources per alien killed by this Tower during this wave. Master: Gain +3 resources per alien killed by this Tower during this wave.
Card Advance (4 Cards) — Can be used anytime. Do NOT discard until after all card selection has completed. UNIQUE — Limit of 1 Card per AI Deck. Each selected player picks any card from their Draw Deck and immediately adds it to their Hand. If a player has no cards in their Draw Deck, they immediately shuffle their Discard Pile to create a new Draw Deck. Novice: Allow 1 Player, self included, to pick any card from their Draw Deck. Elite: Allow 2 Players, self included, to pick any card from their Draw Deck. Master: Allow all Players to pick any card from their Draw Decks.
Convert Resources (4 Cards) — Can be used anytime. UNIQUE — Limit of 1 Card per AI Deck. After it is played, for the rest of the round or wave, all affected players generate 2 Resources for each Card they discard instead of the normal 1 Resource. Novice: Double Resources for all discarded cards for 1 Player this round. Elite: Double Resources for all discarded cards for 2 Players this round. Master: Double Resources for all discarded cards for all Players this round.
Core Speed (4 Cards) — Can be used anytime. Elite and Master Rank Players can play this card for lower Ranks if desired. Novice: Increase Return Core movement speed by 4 for 1 round (from 3 to 7 total). Elite: Teleport 1 Core, not on an alien, back to the Core Housing. Master: Teleport 2 Cores, not on aliens, back to the Core Housing.
Critical Shot (1 Card) — Can only be played with an Attack Card on a Boosted Tower. For the purpose of Doubling Base Damage, this is the damage on the Tower Card for the appropriate level of the Tower being activated. This does NOT include any bonus dice rolls. Novice: Double base damage on 1 Tower attack. Does not affect Shields. Elite: Double base damage and Tower level dice on 1 Tower Attack — at Elite, players also double the 1 Silver Die as well for Level 2 & Level 3 Towers. As an example, for a Level 2 Laser Tower, damage will be 4 damage and 2 Silver Dice. Master: Double all base, Tower Dice, and Support Card damage on 1 Attack — at Master Level, players will also double any additional Dice and/or damage added by a Support Card to the Attack, not counting Shield Damage enhancements. Example: Adding Shield Buster Bombs to an Attack would add +2 Damage and +2 Silver Dice.
Disruptor (4 Cards) — Can be played at anytime on a Boosted Tower. After the Card is played, all Stealthed Aliens within 2 Hexes are now available to be targeted by any Tower in Range for the remainder of the Round or Wave. This includes all Lurkers and all Aliens covered by Decoys.
Double Shot (1 Card, initially locked) — Can only be played with an Attack Card on a Boosted Tower. Novice: Shoot twice at the same target using just 1 Shot and 1 Attack Card. Each Activation can target different Aliens. Elite: In addition to Novice Rank benefits, players can add up to 2 total Support Cards to the Attack, one per shot. Both of the Support Cards added must be identical if 2 are played. Players can add only 1 Support Card for 1 of the Attacks. Master: In addition to Novice Rank benefits, players can play 1 Support Card on the Attack which will provide all of its benefit to both of the 2 Attacks.
Improved Sale (3 Cards) — Can be played during a Sell Action. Limit of 1 Improved Sale Card per Sell Action. This Card increases the Resources returned to the players for selling a Tower. The Returned Resources cannot exceed the original base Build Cost of the Tower sold. Novice: Gain +2 Resources for 1 Tower Sale. Cannot exceed Buy Cost. Elite: Gain +3 Resources for 1 Tower Sale. Cannot exceed Buy Cost. Master: Gain the full Buy Cost for 1 Tower Sale.
Overcharge Tower (8 Cards) — Can only be played with an Attack Card. For the 1 Attack action that the Card is played on, it adds 1 to 3 additional Silver Dice to the Attack roll based on the AI Rank of the AI controlled by the Player playing the Card. Novice: Add 1 Silver Die to a Tower's Damage for 1 Attack. Elite: Add 2 Silver Dice to a Tower's Damage for 1 Attack. Master: Add 3 Silver Dice to a Tower's Damage for 1 Attack.
Priority Target (4 Cards) — Can be played at any time. After playing the Card, for the rest of the Round or Wave, players can ignore the Swarmers ability that requires Towers to shoot them first and instead attack any Aliens as desired.
Upgrade Tower (8 Cards) — Can be played during an Upgrade Tower action. Limit of 1 Upgrade Tower Card per Upgrade Tower Action. This Card reduces the cost of Upgrading a Tower based on the Rank of the AI playing the card. Novice: Reduce 1 Tower's Upgrade cost by 2 Resources. Elite: Reduce 1 Tower's Upgrade cost by 3 Resources. Master: Reduce 1 Tower's Upgrade cost by 4 Resources.
Quick Reference
Turn Order: Refresh → Player Actions → Return Cores → Move Aliens
Hand Size
| Players | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand Size | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Minimum Deck Size: 20 Cards
Earning Build Resources: +2 per Alien Destroyed, +1 per Armor Point on Alien Destroyed, +1 per Card Discarded.
Scoring
- Bronze — At least 1 Core Saved
- Silver — 5 to 11 Cores Saved
- Gold — All 12 Cores Saved
Resetting the Entire Game
If you wish to reset the entire game, follow the following steps:
- Separate Special Cards by Locked and Unlocked. Place all Locked Special Cards back into the Locked Special Cards box location.
- Separate out Starting Deck AI Cards and build the original Decks. All Starting Deck Cards have the letter of their AI printed on the Middle Left side of the Cards: F = Fletcher, C = Cai, R = Rissler, B = Briel, T = Taylor, Z = Zacara. Each of these starting Decks should have 20 Cards when completed.
- Reset all AI Upgrade and Team Mission Points to 0 and erase all marked upgrades.