Escape from Station 52
Escape from Station 52 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Look through the cards for your character's ID Card (Stella Hoshiko in the standard game) and Vitality Tracker. Align the ID Card over the Vitality Tracker so that the character's Vitality begins play at its BASELINE score. Shuffle the remaining cards to create the Deck.
The play area is laid out as follows:
- [1] Deck
- [2] Corridor
- [3] ID Card and Vitality Tracker
- [4] Arsenal
- [5] Inventory
- [6] Discard pile
If you are using Expansion Packs and have multiple CHARACTERS/OBJECTIVES to choose from, set up according to the instructions provided by the Expansion in play.
Objective
In a standard Escape from Station 52 game you must press forward through the Deck in search of the Backpack card, the three Gear cards marked with A, and the Escape Pod card.
- You WIN the game when the Escape Pod OBJECTIVE card is in play and its requirements are met.
- You LOSE the game when:
- Your Vitality reaches zero or lower. Game over, man!
- The Repair Kit and any Gear card marked with a A are both in the Discard pile.
Card Handling
- When you DRAW, you take a card from the top of the Deck.
- When you RETURN a card, place it at the bottom of the Deck. If you must RETURN a set of multiple cards at once (e.g. an entire CORRIDOR), shuffle them among themselves before returning the set to the bottom of the Deck.
- All DISCARDED cards go to the top of the DISCARD pile, face up. You can always examine the cards in the DISCARD pile, but you can't change their order.
- When you SCRAP a card, DISCARD it from either your play area or the CORRIDOR, disregarding its EFFECTS.
- When you USE an EQUIPPED card, follow the instructions on its EFFECTS and DISCARD it after.
- LOCKED cards are set aside in a new pile and considered inaccessible until the card responsible for the LOCK is DISCARDED by a further EFFECT.
- ELIMINATED cards are removed from play until the next game.
Card Structure
- [1] TYPE ICON: Indicates the card's type.
- [2] NAME: Identifies it and can be evoked by certain EFFECTS.
- [3] POWER: Featured by certain card types to indicate the amount of DAMAGE or HEALING they provide. E.g. Use the Basic MedKit Healing card with POWER 5 to restore your VITALITY score by 5 points. Once RETURNED or DISCARDED, a card's POWER resets to its original amount, as printed on the card.
- [4] EFFECT: Details special outcomes for when the card is USED or based on a specific trigger, such as when the card is RESOLVED, during a certain PHASE of the ROUND, once DISCARDED, etc.
Cards with the ONGOING attribute have the described EFFECT applied as long as they remain EQUIPPED.
When two or more copies of a card would trigger the same EFFECT redundantly, apply that EFFECT only once. E.g. Multiple Distortion Threats when Sneaking would require only one shuffling of the Deck.
An EFFECT that forces a rules change takes precedence over that rule. E.g. The Spectral Threat card says it must be DISCARDED to the bottom of the DISCARD pile, as opposed to going to the top.
Gameplay
Play in ROUNDS, each following three phases:
- SCOUT
Draw 4 cards from the top of the Deck and line them up in any order to form a CORRIDOR.
If you end up drawing 2 or more SITUATIONS, choose one to leave in the CORRIDOR, RETURN the remaining and draw an equal number of cards to replace them. Repeat that until you have no more than 1 SITUATION card on the CORRIDOR.
- SNEAK or PUSH THROUGH
Decide if you will SNEAK (if you haven't done so in the previous round) or PUSH THROUGH the current CORRIDOR.
2.1. SNEAK [Redraw the CORRIDOR]
Before you're able to SNEAK, check if any cards in play have EFFECTS that interfere with SNEAKING (e.g. changing its rules or rendering the option invalid).
If valid, proceed by RETURNING the current CORRIDOR cards together with the bottom-most THREAT from the DISCARD PILE (if there is any) to the bottom of the Deck. Then begin a new ROUND.
2.2. PUSH THROUGH [Resolve the CORRIDOR cards]
When you PUSH THROUGH the CORRIDOR you must RESOLVE its cards.
If there is a SITUATION, you must RESOLVE it before you can RESOLVE, USE, or SCRAP any other card either from your play area or from the CORRIDOR itself.
Following that, RESOLVE the remaining cards one by one, in any order.
Between RESOLVING cards from the CORRIDOR, you can USE any number of EQUIPPED cards for their EFFECTS or SCRAP any number of EQUIPPED cards to free up space for new cards to be EQUIPPED.
- MOVE ON
Once you have one LAST card left in the CORRIDOR, you must RETURN it to the Deck. Right after that, a new ROUND begins.
Resolving Cards
RESOLVE cards from the CORRIDOR according to their types:
- RESOLVE a SITUATION by following its EFFECT instructions. DISCARD it after.
Objectives
If the SITUATION has the OBJECTIVE attribute, you must leave the card for LAST. Before RETURNING it, check if its requirements are met. If they are, you immediately WIN. If they aren't, proceed with RETURNING it. An OBJECTIVE is never DISCARDED.
- THREAT cards must be CONFRONTED to be RESOLVED. DISCARD it after.
- WEAPON, HEALING or GEAR cards must be either EQUIPPED or SCRAPPED.
- To EQUIP a card, move it from the CORRIDOR to your ARSENAL (if a WEAPON) or INVENTORY (if HEALING or GEAR). It remains EQUIPPED until it's USED or SCRAPPED. The ARSENAL can hold only 1 card, while INVENTORY can hold up to 2 cards at a time (this can be expanded to 4 when equipped with the Backpack GEAR).
- SCRAP a card that you have no interest in or if you lack space to EQUIP it. THREATS can't be RESOLVED this way.
Confronting Threats and Using Weapons
- RESOLVE a THREAT by CONFRONTING it: you take an amount of DAMAGE equal to the THREAT'S POWER. Subtract the DAMAGE amount from your Vitality score.
- You can USE a WEAPON to reduce a target THREAT'S POWER before CONFRONTING it. By doing so, you cause DAMAGE to that THREAT—subtract the WEAPON'S POWER from the THREAT'S POWER. You must immediately follow up to CONFRONT the targeted THREAT:
- If the DAMAGE dealt by the WEAPON reduces the THREAT'S POWER to zero or less, the THREAT causes no DAMAGE to you during the CONFRONTATION. Any DAMAGE a WEAPON inflicts beyond the THREAT'S POWER value is considered RESIDUAL and is typically lost.
- Otherwise, you take an amount of DAMAGE equal to the THREAT'S remaining POWER value.
- If you are forced to CONFRONT more than one THREAT simultaneously, you can choose in which order to do so unless noted otherwise by an EFFECT in play. E.g. The Flamethrower Weapon card can DAMAGE multiple THREATS with a single USE, triggering immediate CONFRONTATION with any THREATS that PERSIST.
- DISCARD a THREAT after CONFRONTING it.
Healing
USE a HEALING card to restore your VITALITY by the same amount as the card's POWER.
- You may only USE one HEALING card per ROUND.
- Your character's Vitality can't go over the highest value present on their Vitality Tracker—any unused amount is lost.
Scoring
When you escape from Station 52, your SCORE equals:
- Your remaining VITALITY SCORE;
- PLUS the highest POWER value of your EQUIPPED WEAPONS;
- PLUS 1 point for each THREAT card in the DISCARD pile and under Sector Lockdown;
- MINUS the POWER value of the highest THREAT left in the Deck
Less than 10 points: Rookie | 10 to 19 points: Skilled | 20 to 29 points: Veteran | 30+ points: Legend
Achievements
- Reborn in chaos: Escaped with full Vitality.
- Strong survival instincts: Escaped with only 1 Vitality left.
- Running can cause accidents: Escaped without SNEAKING.
- On fire: Resolved more than one THREAT with the Flamethrower.
- Stay away from her: Confronted the Amalgam using the Exoskeleton and survived.
- She is back: Confronted the Amalgam more than once.
- This place is a tomb: Eliminated the Amalgam by using the Sector Lockdown SITUATION card.
Subject-06 (Alternative Character)
Flip both ID and Vitality Tracker cards to their Subject-06 sides if you wish to face a more challenging game. As a result of being put through strange experiments at Station 52, this character has a bonus for using WEAPONS, but penalties for using HEALING cards—depending on their current Vitality score.