Galaxy Defenders Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Components
Game Overview
Info & Setup
Terrain Structure
Game Sequence
The Agents
The Aliens

Game Components

Inside your Galaxy Defenders box you will find an extensive set of components:

This Rulebook, 1 Storybook, 28 Plastic figures, 6 Double-sided map tiles, 5 Attack/Defense BLUE dice, 5 Improved Attack RED dice, 5 Agent Profile Sheets, 5 Quick Reference Guides, 22 Event cards, 32 Close-Encounter cards, 22 Alien cards.

Tokens and markers: 10 Improved Weapons, 10 Alien Weapons, 1 Alpha Agent, 10 Basic Tactics, 10 Improved Tactics, 23 Devices, 15 Skills, 40 Wounds, 32 Ammo, 20 Shields, 4 Alien Tech Fragments, 6 Human Signals, 9 Alien Signals, 2 Guard, 5 Paralyzed/Immobilized, 4 Land Mines/Flames, 4 Waypoints, 10 Locked/Blocked, 12 Jam, 1 Improved/Alien Armory, 4 Teleport Points, 1 Alien NPC, 3 Door Teleport Hexes Overlays, 2 Area Map Overlays, 20 2xHexes Map Overlays, 1 2xHexes Sally/Sunny, 3 Galaxy Balls.

Game Overview

Galaxy Defenders is a cooperative, tactical battle game in which 1 to 5 players fight together against an oncoming alien menace.

Each player takes control of one agent with unique powers to defend the planet from the alien invasion. The battle for the Earth will be carried out in a completely story-driven campaign against an alien race controlled by the game system itself.

Each mission may have multiple endings and the outcome of a mission will change the flow of the Story. Agents gain experience during missions. Experience can be used to transform a good soldier into a perfect Galaxy Defenders agent with multiple skills, basic and improved tactics, and the ability to use new devices such as advanced human weapons and alien technology.

Info & Setup

The game includes two manuals:

Rulebook: Provides information and the rules of the game.
Storybook: Contains the rules and the description of the Missions.

This Rulebook is divided into 3 sections:

General [green background]
Agents [blue background]
Aliens [red background]

Each section provides information about the mission rules.

The board game setup depends entirely upon the campaign and mission you want to play. All setup instructions are covered in the Storybook manual, but for a quick setup we suggest organizing the game components this way:

Each player chooses or randomly selects an Agent Profile Sheet and takes the relevant figure. Depending on the campaign/mission rules, each player takes the chosen tactics, devices, and skills. The number of available powers and items depends on each mission and is limited by the availability of the tokens in the Warehouse (that is, the game box). Each agent starts the mission in full health state and full ammo.

If a player wants to play with more than one agent, each agent must act independently, as if it is controlled by a different player. For instance, a person who controls 3 agents on the map counts as 3 Operative players.

Note: A player is considered Operative as long as his agent is alive.

The Storybook will provide instructions to:

Arrange the map tiles.
Prepare and shuffle the Events deck.
Prepare and shuffle the Close Encounter deck.
Prepare and shuffle the Alien deck.
Place figures, Signals and tokens on the battlefield.

In general, please remember, all rules detailed on cards or items take priority over this rulebook and may change or replace what is written here.

To optimize space and improve the game experience, we suggest using the layout in these pages:

Agent Profile Sheet
Alien cards and discard pile
Close Encounter cards and discard pile
Event cards, Weather Event in play and discard pile
Signal Reserve and discard pile
Device
Skill
Basic and Improved Tactics
Improved Weapon
Alien Weapon
Agent figure
Alien figure
Teleport Points
Wounds and Ammo markers
Other tokens and markers

Terrain Structure

The battle for Earth rages across cities, deserts, and other grounds, possibly up to the alien ship itself, so agents must be prepared for any environment!

Each map tile is made up of two elements:

Hex: is the small hexagon on the map. It is used mainly for agents' movement and melee combat.
Area: is formed by 7 Hexes and can be recognized by two main components: the center Hex of each Area has a sight symbol printed on it, and it has thick white borders.

The Area has several uses in the game: determining distance (adjacent, or up to 1 Area...), moving aliens and Signals, for ranged combat, and so on.

Each map tile may include different buildings, ground objects, and items.

Note: the edge of the map contains partial hexagons (called Edge Hex). These hexagons are not used in the game.

Hex: Hexes are used to regulate movement and combat. Each Hex may only contain one figure or one Signal.
Area: An Area is a group of 7 Hexes and is used to calculate distances and for alien movement.
Room: A Room is an Area (or a part of it) enclosed with Doors and/or Windows.

Types of Terrain

A map tile may contain several different types of terrain:

Standard: a Standard Hex may be crossed normally by agents and aliens.
Blocked Hex Side: a thick colored/black line may not be crossed and blocks Line of Sight (L.O.S., see Line of Sight). Hexes which are separated by a blocked Hex side are not considered to be adjacent. Note: The color of the line (yellow in the example) may vary, based on the map background.
Door: may be crossed normally. Blocks L.O.S., unless the attacker is in the Hex adjacent to the door symbol (or in the Hex with the door symbol, if the door is not on a Hex side).
Locked Door: when locked, a door is equivalent to a blocked Hex side (see above). The lock can be removed with the special action "Bash Locked Door." Once the lock is removed, it becomes a normal door.
Blocked Door/Window: a mission may indicate that a door or window is blocked. Place a token on the board to indicate this status. A blocked door/window is equivalent to a blocked Hex side (see above). A blocked token cannot be removed by agents, except as indicated by the mission special actions.
Window: may be crossed with the special action "Leap Through Window." A window does not block L.O.S.
Edge Hex: a half Hex at the edge of the board may not be crossed and blocks L.O.S.

Walking across any non-Blocked Hex or Hex side represents a legal walking path. Attempting to move across a blocked Hex side or edge Hex represents an illegal walking path and is not allowed to agents, aliens, or Signals.

Line of Sight (L.O.S.)

The term Line of Sight (L.O.S.) refers to visibility of a target or other element on the battlefield.

If you can trace a straight line between the center of the source Hex and the center of the destination Hex, without crossing a Blocked Hex or a Door (unless the attacker is in the Hex adjacent to the Door symbol, or in a Door Hex), then you have a legal L.O.S.

Attacks, combat items, and powers may only be performed/used against a target within L.O.S. except where indicated differently.

Human View [Optional Rule, Default=ON]

This optional rule may be introduced to restrict the agents field of view to the front 180°, instead of 360°. The front of a figure is indicated by a notch on the figure's base.

In addition to all normal L.O.S. rules, when tracing L.O.S. from a human agent, only the 3 front Hexes of the figure may be used.

This rule does not change the rules on revealing Signals (see Reveal Signals); when revealing a Signal, normal L.O.S. rules are used.

Note: The battle drones GD-209 and Sentry-Gun always have a 360° view of the battlefield.

Setting Up the Battlefield

The "Mission Setup" section of each mission in the Storybook contains all instructions to build-up the battlefield, with the designated map tiles and tokens.

Map tiles are printed on two sides and may be combined in many different ways. If a scenario shows a map tile as separate from the others, it represents an area which can only be accessed using the scenario's special Events.

Game Sequence

Galaxy Defenders is played over a variable number of rounds, defined in each mission. Each round is subdivided into the following phases:

Refresh — Powers & Items refresh
Strategy — Alpha Agent promotion, Getting GD-Wings, Reinforcements, Mission Status check
Battle (For each Operative Player) — Agent Turn (Action, Movement, Combat: Hit roll, Defend roll), Aliens Turn (Draw Close Encounter card, Aliens activation: Movement & Combat, or Teleport)
Event — Draw Event card, Resolve Event card effects

The game continues, round after round, until the mission ending conditions are met:

Mission Accomplished
Mission Partially Accomplished
Mission Failed

Note: A player is considered Operative as long as his agent is alive. If an agent dies, his player becomes Inoperative.

Refresh Phase

In this phase, there is only one main step:

Powers & Items refresh: Most powers and items (see Powers and Items) may be used only once per round, and they cannot be used again until they are refreshed during this phase.

All powers and items are refreshed simultaneously. The most common effects in this phase are:

Skills refresh (flip up used skills)
Energy Shielded Armor refresh (regain used Energy Shield token)
"Guard" refresh (place a Guard token near the figure)

Strategy Phase

In this phase, players must cooperate to plan a sound strategy to face the round.

This phase includes 4 steps:

Alpha Agent promotion
Getting GD-Wings
Reinforcements
Mission Status check

Alpha Agent Promotion

The players must choose their leader for the round. Beginning immediately, the Operative agent is called Alpha Agent. The player controlling this agent gains the Alpha Agent token until the next Strategy phase. Inoperative players (i.e. dead agents) cannot be chosen for the role of the Alpha Agent.

The Alpha Agent has additional duties! He will:

Establish the playing order: The Alpha Agent acts as the first player. He is the first to play his Agent and Aliens turns. Other players take their turns in clockwise order, following the Alpha Agent.
In the Event phase: Draw the Event card and apply its effects.
Be the leader: Sometimes he must make decisions for the entire team, for instance, during any disagreement between teammates.

The team must have an Alpha Agent. If the Alpha Agent dies on the battlefield during the round, the next agent in clockwise order becomes the Alpha Agent and his player obtains the Alpha Agent token until the next Strategy phase.

If players cannot agree who will become the Alpha Agent, follow this ranking order:

Marine
Biotech
Infiltrator
Sniper
Hulk

Getting GD-Wings

In this step, Operative agents may roll to obtain a new GD-Wings rank, which means a bigger salary and, oh yeah, a new power!

If the agents killed at least one alien in the previous round, then, starting with the Alpha Agent, in clockwise order, they may attempt the GD-Wings roll (see GD-Wings).

Note: Dead agents cannot roll to obtain a new GD-Wings rank.

Reinforcements

Rock 'n' Roll!!! Sometimes, during a mission, the Agency will help the agents by sending them new "toys." To represent this, the Alpha Agent can send 4 fragments of Alien Tech (see Alien Tech) gathered during the mission back to base (that is, discard) to receive either:

One selected Generic Device
One random Improved Weapon

If a device is chosen, the agent can pick any one device from those available in the Warehouse (the game box). If a weapon is chosen, place all the suitable Improved Weapon tokens (that is, the Generic ones and the weapons specific to the class of the agents in play) in a cup and randomly draw one. The new weapon is provided with full ammo.

Note: Use the same random procedure when a new Alien Weapon is delivered.

The device or the weapon obtained may be directly transferred to any one agent on the map, with the agreement of the Alpha Agent.

Mission Status Check

Finally, players must check if the mission ends with a victory or defeat. Check the conditions in the "Objectives" section of the mission, starting at the top of the table. The first matching condition indicates if the mission is successful or not. Ignore the conditions after the first one that matches.

Battle Phase

During the Battle phase, each Operative player sequentially plays (as active player) his Agent turn and then one Aliens turn. After that, the play passes to the next player.

Starting with the Alpha Agent, players carry out their turns (agent and aliens) in clockwise order until the last player finishes his Aliens turn.

Note: Inoperative players do not affect the battle phase. They must skip both Agent and Aliens turns.

Agent Turn

During his turn, the agent may perform three different activities:

Movement
Combat
Action

These activities may be performed in any order, and each activity may only be performed once per turn. It is not possible to interrupt, and later resume, Movement to perform Combat; or to interrupt, and later resume, Combat to perform Movement. However, it is sometimes possible to perform an Action during Movement or Combat (for example, to use a power or item to improve a Hit or Defend roll).

Some special actions (see Action) may require the use of both Action and Combat or both Action and Movement.

The Agent turn ends when either all the three activities have been performed, or when the agent cannot (or will not) perform any other activity.

Aliens Turn

The active player must draw a Close Encounter card (see Alien Activation) from the Close Encounter deck to determine what happens in the Aliens turn. Usually, a Close Encounter card activates one or more aliens on the battlefield based on their type or color rank. Once the Close Encounter card is resolved and all the involved aliens have been activated, or when there are no aliens to activate, the Aliens turn ends and the next Agent turn begins.

When the last player has completed his Aliens turn, the Event phase begins.

The normal sequence of an Aliens turn is:

The active player draws a Close Encounter card.
Aliens are activated according to the drawn card.
Activated aliens perform their Movement & Combat (based on their Alien cards) or Teleport.
The Close Encounter card is discarded to the relative discard pile.

Event Phase & Event Card

During this phase, several things may happen: the weather may change, some Signals may move, and new Signals may be detected by the Galaxy Defenders sensor array.

The normal sequence of an Event phase is:

The Alpha Agent draws the first Event card from the Event deck.
All the effects on the Event card are resolved in the exact order in which they appear and Signals in L.O.S. with agents are revealed.

There are 3 types of Event card:

Standard Event: the effects are resolved as described on the card. When all the effects have been resolved, the card is discarded.
Special Event: represents a key point in the mission. The Storybook describes what happens when the event is resolved for the mission.
Weather Event: is resolved like a Standard Event, but the Weather Effect remains in play until another Weather Event is drawn. The new Weather Event replaces the current one, which is discarded.

Most Event cards include the teleport of new Signals to the battlefield. To maintain game balance, the number of Signals teleported may depend on the number of Agents in play, per the Signal Teleport Table (number of Signals to teleport vs. number of agents in play).

Or it may depend on a comparison between the number of Aliens and Agents in play: in this example, if the number of aliens in play is lower than the number of agents, then new Signals are teleported based on the Signal Teleport Table, otherwise nothing happens.

Sometimes Signals are teleported (or moved) into the line of sight of an agent: in this case, they are immediately identified and revealed (see Reveal Signals), before any other effect is resolved. The movement of a revealed Signal ends immediately.

Each Event card carries: an Event ID (identifies the Event card), Event Name (card name), Effects (event effects), an Aliens Balance Formula (used to balance the game), and a Signal Teleport Table (new Signals to be teleported on the map, based on the number of agents in play).

The Agents

This section details the agents and their actions on the battlefield.

Each agent has his own Agent Profile Sheet, with the following information: ID (name, class, and status), Tactics slot (slot for basic and improved tactics), Ability (agent's innate ability), Armor (agent's defense power), Primary Weapon (high-power weapon), Secondary Weapon (low-power weapon), Health Points (agent's full health status), Movement (maximum movement in Hexes per turn), Energy Shield (rechargeable Energy Shielded Armor, available only on Elite Agents).

The back of the sheet is used when the agent reaches Palladium rank (see GD-Wings), gaining Elite status, thereby gaining improved statistics and Energy Shielded Armor... Yes soldier, this should be your goal!

Classes

Marine [Agent Chromium]

Coming from U.S. Special Forces, the Marine is an excellent soldier who can manage different combat situations, especially multiple enemies. He has average movement ability and firepower.

Biotech [Agent Thorium]

The Biotech is the most technologically adept agent in service. He can use Nano-Technology to heal wounds or control war drones. He also likes a bit of old-fashioned style… in fact, he always has his trusty shotgun for dangerous close encounters!

Infiltrator [Agent Mercury]

A deadly and stealthy agent. This lethal specialist prefers hiding in the shadows. She has fast movement and good short-range combat ability.

Sniper [Agent Iridium]

A silent sharpshooter and expert in camouflage and ranged combat. The sniper has average movement and excellent long-range firepower.

Hulk [Agent Titanium]

The Hulk was a successful mercenary and now is one of the best agents; although slow, he enjoys an extraordinary resistance to damage and has high firepower.

Movement

During his turn, each agent may move up to his movement value through any non-Blocked Hex or Hex side on the map, spending one movement point for each Hex.

During movement, each agent must follow these rules:

Move no more than one Hex for each movement point.
May not cross a Blocked Hex or Hex side, or an Edge Hex.
May not cross a Hex occupied by an alien figure.
May cross a Hex occupied by other agents (or friendly drones), but cannot end his movement in such a Hex.
An Edge Hex cannot be used for any reason.

An agent is not permitted to interrupt movement to perform an attack and then resume movement.

Agent's conditions (see Agent's Conditions), Events, powers and items can modify or prevent the movement of an agent.

Note: If the "Human View" rule is enabled, the player may freely rotate the agent figure to look in any direction at the end of his movement.

Combat

This is the most exciting part of the game! Many factors can influence combat: weapons, powers, items, and, last but not least, luck, because even the most expert soldier needs a bit of luck during the battle...

Combat is divided into two different rolls:

Hit: Represents the attempt to hit the target. BLUE or (Improved Attack) RED dice are used in the roll, as shown on the weapon used. The attacker selects his target and weapon, and then rolls the number of dice indicated by the weapon. A Hit result indicates a successful hit. The more Hits, the better! If any die shows a Bolt result, also apply the weapon's or power's effect. If any die shows a Jam result, a ranged weapon is jammed and cannot be used again until it is unjammed (see Unjam a Ranged Weapon). Place a Jam token on the weapon as a reminder.
Defend: Represents the attempt to avoid a successful hit. The skin, armor, and skills of the defender enter play to try to avoid or parry the damage! The defender rolls 1 BLUE die for each successful Hit result rolled by the attacker in the Hit roll, and cancels one Hit for each successful Shield result rolled. If any die shows a Bolt result, also apply the armor's Bolt effect (if any). For each remaining Hit result, deal one wound to the defender's Health Points. If the defender has Energy Shielded Armor, he must first cancel Hits by removing one point of Energy Shield for each Hit, before rolling the defense dice. Any remaining Hit results are defended as normal by rolling the BLUE dice.

A Bolt effect is only applied once, no matter how many Bolts are rolled, unless explicitly noted. For example, the armor Bolt effect of Agent Titanium's armor counts each Bolt rolled as a Hit.

An attack may never target an empty Hex or Area. For example, you are not allowed to target an empty Hex/Area to hit an enemy out of L.O.S. with Area Damage.

The game does not account for friendly fire, so it is never possible for an agent to target (except with healing weapons) and/or harm another agent, even with Area Damage, unless the "Friendly Fire" optional rule (see Friendly Fire) is enabled.

Important Note: Some weapons, powers and items directly influence combat, by modifying the number of attacker and/or defender dice rolled or by allowing a dice re-roll. In these cases, a die cannot be re-rolled more than once, even if multiple powers and items might be used to affect the roll.

Do you want to make the combat quicker and more spectacular? Try the new optional rule called Rank based Defense to limit the Defend roll. See the Storybook.

Here is a summary of the meaning of the symbols appearing on the dice (and how often they appear per die):

Symbol	Description	BLUE die	RED die
Hit	Indicates a successful hit. No effect on defense.	x5	x7
Shield	Indicates a successful defense. No effect on attack.	x4	-
Bolt	Activate the Bolt effect of the used weapon or power (by the attacker) or armor (by the defender).	x2	x3
GD	No effect on attack or defense. Used by agents to get the GD-Wings Rank-Up (see GD-Wings).	-	x2
Ammo	The agent must discard one Ammo token (max one Ammo token per Hit roll). Ignore this result when using a melee weapon, or if the weapon automatically discards an Ammo token (as with Agent Titanium's ranged weapon). No effect on defense.	x1	x1
Jam	This symbol indicates the ranged weapon used in the attack is jammed. After this attack, the weapon may not be used again until unjammed. Agents must perform an Unjam action to use the weapon again. No effect on defense.	x1	x1
Alien (fail)	This symbol indicates a fail result for that die during any roll. This die result cannot be re-rolled by agents using powers, except when explicitly indicated by the power. An Alien can re-roll this symbol if it has a re-roll power.	x1	x1

Combat example 1: Marine vs. BLUE Aracnos

The Marine attacks the BLUE Aracnos with his Rifle and rolls 3 RED Hit dice. 4 Hits are rolled. One Ammo must be discarded and the Bolt effect is activated, reducing the Def dice of the Aracnos. Now, the Aracnos rolls 3 BLUE Def dice instead of 4. One Shield is rolled, and another one is added by the Bolt effect of the alien's armor (the Bolt effect is applied once, even if two Bolts are rolled). Two Hits are canceled, and 2 Wounds are inflicted to the alien.

Combat example 2: Hulk vs. BLUE Xeno-Beta

Agent Titanium attacks the BLUE Xeno-Beta with his Improved Vulcan and rolls 4 RED dice. Three Hits are rolled and, due to the Jam result, Titanium's weapon jams. Due to the weapon effect, the Ammo result is ignored, and the agent decides to discard 3 Ammo tokens to add 3 additional Hits, for a total of 6. The Xeno-Beta armor Shield token removes the first Hit. Only 1 more Shield is rolled, so two Hits are canceled and 4 wounds are inflicted to the alien. The Xeno-Beta dies (as the Regenerate Bolt effect must be applied before the wounds are inflicted).

Friendly Fire [Optional Rule, Default=OFF]

By default, the game does not account for friendly fire. To keep the pace of the game fast, we suggest keeping this rule off, unless you want to make a mission more challenging.

If this rule is enabled, any agent may be targeted (and wounded) by other agents with any weapon, power, or item.

An agent is immune to his own weapons, but not from his own devices. For example, a Weapon dealing Area Damage does not harm the firer, but a Grenade or a Satellite Strike may injure the owner, if he is in the targeted Area.

Friendly fire affects all kinds of agent weapon, power, and item, so you need to be careful when you fire a weapon with Area Damage.

Friendly Fire example: The Marine performs an attack with his Rifle, deciding to discard one Ammo to deal Area Damage. Each figure in the Area must defend against this attack, including the Biotech Agent, when the Friendly Fire rule is enabled.

Close Fight [Optional Rule, Default=OFF]

By default, any agent may attack any alien within range, even when the agent is Engaged in melee combat. If you wish, you can increase the challenge of a mission by enabling this rule. If enabled, an agent Engaged in melee combat may only attack aliens with which he is Engaged.

This rule adds a significant realism to the game experience!

Action

With this activity the agents may use their powers or items. An agent may do only one Action in a turn. While movement and combat can never be intermingled, Action can be used either as a separate activity, or combined together with a Movement and Combat activity.

Combining an Action with Movement or Combat may be necessary to perform special actions, or to activate a power or item to enhance the movement or attack capabilities of the agent.

Use Powers and Items [Action]

Using his Action, an agent can activate one Standard power or item:

An Ability
A Skill
A Basic or Improved Tactic
A Device

Standard powers and items are covered later in the rules (see Power and Items). An activated ability or skill cannot normally be used again until the next Refresh phase. Tactics and devices are normally used once per game.

Leap Through Window [Action]

With this special action, the agent may leap through a window to reach the other side (for instance, entering or exiting a building). Leaping through windows requires only the use of the agent's Action and is normally done after or before Movement.

The agent must be adjacent to a Window Hex and use his Action to leap through the window and move the agent to the other side of the Window Hex.

Example: Agent Mercury uses her Movement to move 1 Hex, adjacent to the Window Hex. Then, she uses her Action to Leap Through Window: She enters the building, and is moved to the Hex on the other side of the Window. Since her Movement was taken first, she cannot move further.

Search [Action]

With this action, the agent spends time searching for objects or mission items. Searching requires only the use of the agent's Action. The agent must be inside a Search Area (as described in the mission's "Briefing"), and may not be Engaged in combat.

The Agent then rolls 1 die. If he rolls a Shield or Bolt result, he finds something useful!

With a Shield result, he can choose he is finding either a:

First Aid Kit — instantly heal the agent for one Health Point (if possible). The kit cannot be used later: For this reason, there is no token to represent it.
Ammunition — instantly give to the agent one Ammo token (if possible).

With a Bolt result, he can choose one of these two items:

1 Random Generic Device.
1 Fragment of Alien Tech (maximum once per round, see Alien Tech).

Any other die result means no item has been found. The Search action can be repeated by any agent, regardless of any previous search attempts or results. When picking up a random device, put all of the Generic Device tokens available from the Warehouse into a cup or bag and randomly take one.

Example: Agent Mercury uses her Movement to move 2 Hexes. Then, she uses her Action to Search inside the room. She rolls a Shield result, and decides she is finding a First Aid Kit. She immediately heals one Health Point. Since her Movement was taken first, she cannot move further.

Bash a Locked Door [Action + Combat]

With this action, the agent can bash a Locked Door, to enter or exit a building.

Bashing a locked door requires the use of both the agent's Action and Combat. For this reason, when bashing a locked door, the agent may not use his Combat to do anything else.

The agent must be in the Hex adjacent to the Locked Door (or in the Locked Door Hex) to break the Lock. Remove the Lock token and treat the door as a normal one.

Evade [Action + Combat]

An Evade special action may be attempted to Disengage from close combat with an alien.

Evading requires the use of both the agent's Action and Combat. For this reason, when attempting to evade, the agent may not use Combat to do anything else.

Under normal circumstances it is really hard to flee when your enemy is right in front of you! To represent this, the agent must roll 1 die and obtain a Shield result. If he succeeds, he may move away using his Movement. Otherwise, he remains Engaged with the alien.

Tactical Redeployment [Action + Combat]

There are times when running is better than shooting!

An agent can choose this special action to move further than his maximum movement allows. Tactical redeployment requires the use of both the agent's Action and Combat. For this reason, the agent may not use Combat to do anything else.

Reposition the agent in any empty Hex inside his current Area.

Example: Agent Chromium uses his Movement to move 4 Hexes. Then, he uses his Action combined with Combat to perform a Tactical Redeployment inside his current Area. Due to the Tactical Redeployment, he cannot attack this turn.

Unjam a Ranged Weapon [Action + Movement or Combat]

Sometimes, during a fight, a ranged weapon can become jammed. In this case, the agent can use either his complete Movement or Combat, as well as use his Action, to unjam one of his weapons and make it ready for use again. The Jam token on the weapon is discarded.

The agent may not use the activity (Movement or Combat) he forfeited to do anything else in this turn.

Mission Special Actions

Some missions indicate that an Action activity must be used to perform special actions directly related to the mission's accomplishment: For instance, destroy a teleport point or rescue a civilian.

Agent's Conditions

In battle, the physical and mental conditions of a soldier change often, mostly as a result of combat.

Health Points

Each agent begins the mission in a Full Health state. During the battle, alien attacks may inflict Wounds, decreasing the Health Status of an agent, who becomes Wounded. To keep track of current health, when an agent is wounded, place an appropriate number of Wounds (using the numbered Wound tokens) on the Agent Profile Sheet.

If an agent suffers an attack that brings his total Health Points (HPs) to 0 or below, his condition changes to Bleeding. The number of HPs can never exceed the number printed on the Agent Profile Sheet.

Bleeding

A Bleeding agent has a limited operational capability. While in this state, he must follow these rules:

He must forfeit his Combat.
His movement is reduced to one Hex.
He can use his Action only to activate one power or item.

A Bleeding agent can be represented on the battlefield by laying the relevant figure on its side. A Bleeding agent may return to healthy state if at least one wound is healed (any wounds not healed remain on the agent). As a reminder, raise up the agent figure.

The Bleeding agent is still considered a menace by the aliens. He can still be attacked (defending normally).

If a Bleeding agent suffers any further wound, he dies.

Death

When the agent dies, his player becomes temporarily Inoperative and no longer interacts with other agents or aliens. He skips his Agent and Aliens turns for the current game round, and until he returns Operative. During this time period, his figure is removed from the map and the agent immediately loses 1 GD-Wings rank (if possible). During subsequent Strategy phases, at the beginning of the Reinforcements step, the Inoperative player can become Operative by spending (i.e., discarding) 1 Alien Tech Fragment (see Alien Tech) and then, placing the agent figure back on the map over any GD Start Hex of the battlefield.

Note: This means that an Inoperative player cannot be selected as the Alpha Agent and cannot enhance GD-Wings ranks while in this state.

An Inoperative player must skip his Aliens turn, even if there are aliens in play, but he is still part of the normal alien assignment rules (see Alien Assignment). He must play his assigned aliens, however, if activated during other Aliens turns.

Important Note: Do not count Inoperative players in the Signal Teleport Table of Event cards.

If all the players become Inoperative, the mission fails and the game ends immediately.

Permanent Death [Optional Rule, Default=OFF]

Players who really want to taste the true challenge can enable this rule and make the death permanent for the entire mission. A dead agent may return to the campaign, but without any previous ranks obtained; thus, starting his next mission at Copper rank. Any researched/owned weapon is retained and can be used again by this agent.

Engaged in Combat

An agent becomes Engaged in combat if he starts his turn or ends his movement adjacent to an alien (that is, at distance 0). He is also considered Engaged in combat if he comes in contact with an alien in any moment outside the Agent turn.

An agent Engaged in combat cannot move or leave the combat until:

The alien is killed.
A successful Evade special action is performed.

Note: Some skills can also be used to leave the combat, such as Agent Titanium's "Charge" skill. Note: If the "Human View" rule is enabled, the player may freely rotate the agent figure to look in any direction at the end of his movement, even when Engaged in combat.

Immobilized [Body Condition]

An Immobilized agent forfeits Movement until the next Refresh phase. This means the agent cannot move, and he may not use any action that requires Movement.

Paralyzed [Body Condition]

A Paralyzed agent must skip his entire turn until the next Refresh phase. Paralyzed also counts as Immobilized.

Weapons

Every war has its weapons and this one is for the salvation of the human race, so you know they're epic! Each agent starts his career with two Standard Weapons (printed on the Agent Profile Sheet) at full ammo capacity. A typical weapon token carries: an ID (name, rank, and class restriction), Attack Values (weapon type, dice color and number to use in the Hit roll), Range (maximum allowed range), Ammo (maximum number of ammo tokens), Bolt Effect (power activated by any Bolt result during the Hit roll), and Additional Powers (special powers of the weapon).

There are three types of weapons:

Melee weapons, used in close combat.
Ranged weapons, used mainly in ranged combat.
Healing weapons, used to heal other agents.

Many weapons grant one or more powers during the combat, either as Bolt effects or additional powers. The most common effects are:

+X Hit Dice: increase the number of dice in the Hit roll.
+X Hit: adds X Hits results to the Hit roll.
-X Def Dice: reduce the number of dice used by the defender in the Defend roll.
Area Damage: the attack affects all targets in the Area; each target must defend separately against the rolled Hits.

The weapon's efficiency is classified in three color-coded ranks:

GREEN: Standard Weapon with basic powers.
BLUE: Improved Weapon; enhanced version of a normal weapon.
RED: Alien Weapon technology; extremely powerful, but difficult to manage without appropriate training!

During missions the agents may obtain new weapons, including Improved Weapons and Alien Weapons. These weapons replace the Standard ones. Each agent must choose which of his two current weapons will be replaced by the new acquisition.

An agent is not required to use a new weapon he finds. (For instance: an agent may choose not to receive a new Alien Weapon, because he does not have the "Alien Knowledge" skill.) In this case, the weapon will be transferred to GD Headquarter and will be available for the next missions of the campaign. In a standalone mission, simply return the refused weapon back to the game box.

Additional details on weapons and their use will be found in the next sections.

Melee Weapons

Melee weapons are identified by the melee symbol and can be used to perform melee attacks, which deal melee damage. A melee weapon token carries: an ID (name, rank, and class restriction), Attack values (weapon type, dice color and number to use in the Hit roll), Range (maximum allowed range, normally 0), Ammo (maximum number of Ammo tokens), and Bolt effect (power activated by any Bolt result during the Hit roll).

Melee weapons do not use ammo and never jam, so ignore any Ammo or Jam result during the Hit roll.

Ranged Weapons

Ranged weapons are identified by the ranged symbol and can be used to perform ranged attacks, which deal ranged damage. A ranged weapon token carries: an ID (name, rank, and class restriction), Attack values (weapon type, dice color and number to use in the Hit roll), Range (maximum allowed range), Ammo (maximum number of ammo tokens), and Bolt effect (power activated by any Bolt result during the Hit roll).

An attack performed with a ranged weapon against an adjacent target (distance 0) is still considered a ranged attack.

Healing Weapons

All healing weapons are identified by the healing symbol and are used by agents to heal Wounds instead of dealing damage. Healing weapons are the only weapons that allow agents to target other agents and themselves. These weapons typically heal one Wound for each Hit rolled. Keep track of the number of Wounds remaining using the numbered Wound tokens.

Improved Weapons

The Agency works hard to improve its equipment. In fact, during Reinforcements, agents can request improvements for their weapons by spending gathered Alien Tech (see Alien Tech). The new weapon received will replace one of the two weapons currently in use by one of the agents.

Many Improved Weapons are limited to specific roles, as each class has its own specific weapons.

Alien Weapons

To face the alien invasion, GD scientists are learning how to interface alien technology with human weapons. This means agents may be equipped with Alien Weapons, but there is always a downside. These new weapons are difficult to use without specific training.

To represent this limitation, if an agent uses an Alien Weapon without the "Alien Knowledge" skill, then any Jam or Alien (fail) results in the Hit roll indicate a totally failed attack (any success results rolled on the other dice are ignored).

If an agent has a re-roll power applying to Alien results, a re-roll can still be used to avoid failure. An expert agent with the "Alien Knowledge" skill follows the normal combat rules.

Ranged Alien Weapons do not need ammo (they use self-recharging plasma energy Bolts) and cannot Jam.

Note: The "Lasergun" Alien weapon is a Generic Weapon. For this reason, it can be used by any agent as a replacement for one of his current weapons, but it still requires the "Alien Knowledge" skill to use normally without the limitations indicated above.

Ammo

Each human ranged weapon uses ammunition. To represent this, place the indicated number of Ammo tokens on the weapon card (a "2" token is equivalent to two "1" tokens).

Ammunition is discarded when an Ammo result is rolled (maximum one token per Hit roll) or when a power indicates to do so.

Some ranged weapons have a limited supply of ammunition. To shoot with these weapons, you need at least 1 Ammo token available on the weapon.

Energy Shielded Armor

Advanced armor may have an Energy Shield for additional protection against combat damage. The Energy Shield symbol identifies the presence of such a Shield.

During the Refresh phase, each Energy Shielded Armor regenerates its Shield token. Place the appropriate token on the Armor symbol. A "2" token is equivalent to two "1" tokens.

Note: As described in the Combat section (see Combat), Shield tokens must be removed to cancel one successful Hit each, before rolling the defense dice. A "2" token is reduced to "1" when cancelling the first Hit, and removed when cancelling the second Hit.

Power and Items

Powers and items are divided into 3 color-coded categories:

Standard: the power or item can be used once during the Agent turn using his Action.
Passive: the power or item is always active and does not require an Action.
Reaction: the power can be activated outside of the agent's turn; it does not need an Action.

All abilities, devices, tactics, and skills are considered Standard except where specified. To keep track of the use of a Standard or Reaction power or item, it may be either flipped (skills and tactics), discarded (device), or a token can be used to indicate the relevant power or item (for example, the "Guard" ability).

Powers and items can be Generic (usable by any agent, without class restrictions), or strictly linked to a specific class.

Damage and Special Effects

Some powers and items can perform attacks and/or deal damage. The attack/damage dealt to the target is considered Basic damage except where indicated.

Basic attacks and damage are NOT identified by Bolt, Hit or any specific symbol. They are defended as usual, but they do not trigger items or powers granting benefits against a particular type of attack or damage. For instance, the "Acid Poison" power of the Spine Critter alien does not trigger Agent Mercury's armor Bolt effect (granting her protection against melee attacks), even when the Spine Critter dies adjacent to her. In this case, Agent Mercury rolls the defense dice, but she counts only the Shield results, ignoring the Bolt results.

When the term "On Hit Effects" appears on a power or item, it means the effect described must be applied when the owner rolls a Hit symbol, even if the Hits are canceled by the Defend roll or in any other way.
When the term "Suffer(s) X Wounds" appears on a power or item, it means the damage cannot be avoided in any way (i.e. no Defend roll).

Devices

A secret agent without devices is like the Earth without the Sun… It cannot survive!

An agent can use his Action to activate one of his devices. Normally, each device can be used once per mission. After it is used, discard the device token to the Warehouse. The device can be re-used only if the Agency sends it to the field again, later in the game, during Reinforcements. A device token carries an ID (name and class restriction), an Effect (power description), Range (maximum allowed range), and Attack values (weapon type, dice color and number to use in the Hit roll).

Grenades

Grenades are devices used to inflict damage and, most importantly, for their special effects.

The grenade is a device, not a weapon, so the agent must spend his Action (and not his Combat) to perform the attack.

When an agent attacks with a grenade, he rolls the specified dice. All aliens in the Area must defend against any Hit rolled as normal.

Note: If at least one Hit is rolled, the grenade's "On Hit Effects" is applied regardless of the alien defense results.

An agent with the "Grenadier" skill has two main benefits when using grenades:

He may re-roll any die result in his Hit roll with a grenade.
When the skill comes into play, it grants the agent 3 grenade devices (if they are available).

Sentry-Gun

A Sentry-Gun token carries: ID, name, and class restriction; Attack values (weapon type, dice color and number to use in the Hit roll); Range (maximum allowed range); Ammo (maximum number of ammo tokens); Health Points (represents the Sentry-Gun full Health status); Movement (maximum movement in Hexes each turn); and Guard ("Guard" Reaction ability).

A Biotech agent can use a special battle drone turret, called a Sentry-Gun, if he receives the "Sentry-Gun" device. The Biotech can use his Action to deploy the drone on the battlefield. Place the Sentry-Gun figure on any empty Hex adjacent to the Biotech. Starting on his next turn, the Biotech may spend his Action to perform an attack with the Sentry-Gun. The Sentry-Gun data is printed on its device tile; there is no separate sheet for it.

The Sentry-Gun counts as a normal agent for most purposes (for example, it occupies a Hex, and can be targeted by aliens). However, it does not have its own Agent turn, it cannot move, cannot regain ammo, cannot be healed, always has a 360° view of the battlefield (even when using the "Human View" optional rule), and its weapon will never Jam. Also, the Sentry-Gun never takes an Aliens turn and does not count as an agent for the purpose of Event cards.

When the Sentry-Gun reaches 0 HPs, it is destroyed. It must be discarded and cannot be used further, unless the Agency sends it to the field again, later in the game, during Reinforcements.

The Sentry-Gun has the "Guard" Reaction ability. This ability can be used once per game round to perform an attack against a just-moved or revealed alien. (This attack is additional to the attack that the Biotech may perform with the Sentry-Gun using his Action.)

Tactics

A tactic token carries a Type (identifies a Standard, Passive or Reaction skill) and an Effect (power description).

By acquiring experience during the game, agents will gain basic and improved tactics. These tactics represent additional powers usable during a mission.

An agent can use his Action to perform a specific tactic, once per mission. When finished, flip the used tactic face down. It will remain face down until the end of the mission, or until an Event card with the "Act of Valor" effect is drawn.

Abilities & Skills

An ability or skill token carries: an ID (name, type, and class restriction), a Type (identifies a Standard, Passive or Reaction skill), an Effect (power description), and Usage (usage limitations).

Each agent begins his career with one personal ability (printed on the Agent Profile Sheet). During missions, he will gain one or more skills, represented by tokens, increasing his proficiency in battle.

An agent can use his Action to activate one of his Standard abilities or skills.

When a skill is used, flip its token face down. The skill is considered deactivated until the next Refresh phase. During the next Refresh phase, flip up all used skills.

GD-209

A GD-209 token carries: an ID (name and class restriction), Attack values (weapon type, dice color and number to use in the Hit roll), Range (maximum allowed range), Ammo (maximum number of ammo tokens), Health Points (represents the full health status), Movement (the maximum movement in Hexes per turn), and Energy Shield (rechargeable Energy Shielded Armor).

A Biotech agent can use a special battle drone, the GD-209, if he acquires the "GD-209" skill. Once in a mission, a Biotech with this skill can use his Action to deploy the drone on the battlefield. Place the GD-209 figure on any empty Hex adjacent to the Biotech.

Starting on his next turn, the Biotech may spend his Action to activate the GD-209; if so, the GD-209 immediately moves and fights. The GD-209 relevant data is printed on its skill tile, as there is no separate sheet for it.

The GD-209 counts as a normal agent for most purposes (for example, it occupies a Hex, and can be targeted by aliens). However, it does not have its own Agent turn, it cannot regain ammo, cannot be healed, always has a 360° view of the battlefield (even when using the "Human View" optional rule), and its weapon will never Jam. Also, the GD-209 never takes an Aliens turn and does not count as an agent for the purpose of Event cards.

When the GD-209 reaches 0 HPs, it is destroyed. It must be discarded and cannot be used further in this mission. If playing a campaign, the GD-209 can be used again in the next mission.

Guard

An agent (or drone) with the "Guard" Reaction ability can use it to attack a just-moved or revealed alien. The attack may be performed using any available weapon, following the usual attack rules. For instance, Agent Chromium may decide to use his Rifle (if equipped) and discard one Ammo to deal Area Damage.

The ability may only be used once per game round. To keep track of it, the player must put the Guard token on the map near the agent (or drone) figure, to indicate he is ready to fire. After the attack is finished, the token must be removed.

The Guard token is returned in the next Refresh phase.

Note: "Guard" is the default Reaction ability of Agent Chromium and of the Biotech's Sentry-Gun device.

GD-Wings

"That which does not kill us makes us stronger." GD Agents must become stronger than steel to beat the Alien challenge!

Experience may improve the abilities of an agent. In game terms, during the Strategy phase, after the Alpha Agent promotion, if at least one alien was killed in the previous round, each agent may try to improve his rank by one level. Roll 3 dice to obtain GD results.

The number of GD results required to reach the next rank on the battlefield is indicated by the following table:

GD-Wings Rank	Enhancement
Copper	Character Ability (printed on sheet) — Starting Training
Bronze	Basic Tactic
Silver	1st Skill
Gold	Improved Tactic
Palladium	Elite Agent (flip the Agent Profile Sheet)
Platinum	2nd Skill

With a successful GD-Wings roll, an agent immediately obtains the enhancement listed in the table for his or her next level. The player can freely choose a skill or tactic among the ones suitable for the class of the agent.

During a campaign, each agent may gain a maximum of one GD-Wings rank per mission. The new rank is carried on to the next mission. When playing a single, standalone mission, there is no limit to rank improvement. Each agent starts the mission at the listed rank and may reach Platinum GD-Wings.

Note: A campaign may indicate several other ways to improve the agent's rank, for example completing training missions and/or achieving specific goals in a mission.

Alien Tech

The Agency collects and analyzes fragments of alien technology items and weapons. The research lab works hard to transform this knowledge into improvements for agents' gear.

There are two ways to obtain fragments of Alien Tech:

Killing Aliens — When the first alien is killed during a Battle phase, the Alpha Agent takes one fragment of the Alien Tech token.
Searching — A mission may indicate that an Area (normally a room) may be searched. If a Bolt result is rolled while performing a Search action inside such an Area, the Alpha Agent takes one fragment of the Alien Tech token.

Only one fragment of Alien Tech may be gathered in each game round by killing aliens, and one fragment by searching. This limit may be overridden as indicated by the mission.

When all 4 Alien Tech tokens are gathered, the Alpha Agent contacts the Agency during Reinforcements to obtain a new weapon or device directly on the battlefield. To do so, you must spend (i.e., discard) the four Alien Tech fragments (see Reinforcements).

Note: Alien Tech Fragments can also be spent during the Reinforcements step of each Strategy Phase to revive dead agents (see Death).

The Aliens

In Galaxy Defenders, the aliens are controlled by the game itself through an artificial intelligence (A.I.) system based on 2 components:

Alien cards: These cards represent the A.I. of the alien. They indicate their movement, powers, Health Points, and weapons. Each alien on the map is tied to a specific card to keep track of its powers and HPs.
Close Encounter cards: These cards are drawn by the active player at the beginning of each Aliens turn to determine which aliens must be activated.

This system gives a different behavior to each alien species, and also represents the chaos of the battle, as the agents will not know which aliens will be activated during the next Aliens turn.

Alien Species

The Agency has discovered and classified several alien species.

These alien species have been classified in three color-coded power ranks.

GREEN: represents the normal form of an alien species.
BLUE: represents a more powerful form of the alien.
RED: represents the elite of an alien species... Extremely dangerous!

Alien I - Classified: Xeno-Beta

Scout trooper, normal body mass, limited fire power. Agency studies report a moderately aggressive combat style. They favor ranged combat. Their armor seems to allow a limited type of regenerative power, under some circumstances.

Alien II - Classified: Spine Critter

Quadruped alien. Their enhanced senses allow accurate human tracking. Evidence suggests that even when dead, they may inflict damage due to their toxic blood.

Alien III - Classified: Xeno-Alpha

Elite trooper, enhanced body mass, Shielded armor, good fire and melee power. Agency studies report an aggressive combat style. It seems to have some type of command role among the aliens on the battlefield.

Alien IV - Classified: Aracnos

Very fast, spider-shaped alien, equipped with a strong natural armor. It can be very dangerous in close combat.

Alien V - Classified: Xeno-Grey

Leader of the alien army, its lack of skill with weapons is balanced by its incredible mental powers and its force field ability.

Alien VI - Classified: Nexus

Biomechanical form built of an unknown, ultra-resistant metal, armed with deadly weapons. It must be considered extremely dangerous.

Alien VII - Classified: Xeno-Beast

The Agency has no significant information about this life form. Agents who contact this Alien must exercise extreme caution.

Biological Alien Structure [Alien Cards]

The aliens are controlled by the game itself. Each alien is represented by a specific Alien card, to create a different behavior for each species and rank.

Each Alien card has several major sections, detailing the alien's movement, powers, and combat weapons.

An Alien card carries: Color Rank (GREEN / BLUE / RED rank), ID (name and picture of the alien), Powers (innate alien abilities), A.I. (A.I. rules and powers affecting the alien's behavior), Ranged Weapon (name and powers), Melee Weapon (name and powers), Armor (normal and Bolt effect of the armor, if any), Health Points (indicates the alien full Health status), and Energy Shield (rechargeable Energy Shielded Armor).

Name, Image & Color Rank: identifies the alien species and rank (GREEN, BLUE or RED background).
A.I. Section: details the movement and fight rules of the alien. It may also contain innate abilities influencing the A.I.
Skills & Powers Section: details the skills and powers of the alien. Read this section carefully, because it contains important information about the alien's strategy. Colors indicate the nature of each power: BLACK - Standard power, PURPLE - Passive power, RED - Weapon, BLUE - Reaction power.

Additional symbols may be included to quickly understand the nature of a power. For example, a symbol indicating the power affects the alien's movement, and a symbol indicating the power activates upon the alien's death.

Weapons Section: Lists the ranged and melee weapons used by the alien. Each weapon is identified by the weapon type and the dice color and number to use during the Hit roll. It may also contain the Bolt effect or an additional power (detailed in the Skills & Powers section of the card).
Defense Section: May contain up to three important details: Health Points, armor special power, and rechargeable Energy Shielded Armor. Note: the Energy Shield of some powerful aliens can cancel up to two Hits each round (as indicated by the presence of an Energy Shielded Armor symbol).

During the game, Alien cards are drawn by a player when a Signal is revealed or when required by the mission. Each Alien card drawn is assigned to a player (see Alien Assignment).

Players who are assigned an Alien card must read the entire card, to play the alien at its best. When the game requires alien activation, the controlling player must read the A.I. Section and apply the first relevant behavior rule, starting with the closest range (adjacent).

Typically, the behavior rules are based on the distance (measured in Areas) between the alien and agents. Each behavior rule requires L.O.S. and a legal movement path.

If there is no appropriate behavior rule, the player must apply the last behavior rule on the card: the behavior rule indicated by a special symbol still requires a legal movement path, but may ignore the L.O.S. requirement. The alien, therefore, may move toward an agent, even if it is not able to see him.

Movement and Combat are covered later in the rules (see Alien Movement and Alien Combat).

Movement examples: The blue Xeno-Beta moves toward the Biotech agent behind the dune, even if it cannot see him. It moves from center to center, then it advances forward one Hex to be adjacent to the agent. The GREEN Aracnos is also directed to move toward the Biotech agent behind the dune, even if it cannot see him. There are no wounded agents, so the Biotech is chosen as target even if he is not wounded. The Aracnos moves from center to center, advancing 2 Areas, then stops, as it reaches the agent.

Note: Only one behavior rule is played in each turn, even if multiple rules apply.

The artificial intelligence is designed to cover every situation on the battlefield, but, in some instances, two or more options will be available to an alien. For instance, an alien selecting its target for shooting or moving toward two equidistant agents. In such cases, the game asks players to act with the mind of an alien coming to Earth with only one goal... Invasion! The alien should behave in the most favorable way for its side and the most detrimental toward the agents.

When the Alien deck runs out of cards, reshuffle the discard pile to recreate the deck.

Alien Activation [Close Encounter Cards]

A battle is a fast sequence of chaotic actions where nothing can be easily predicted! To recreate this atmosphere, aliens move and fight according to the drawn Close Encounter card.

A Close Encounter card carries: an ID (identifies the Close Encounter card), Effects (activation effects), and Danger (the card may teleport new aliens onto the map).

In the first step of the alien turn, the active player draws the top card from the Close Encounter deck. This card may refer to:

One alien species, and/or
One alien rank color, and/or
Aliens in specific conditions (for example, wounded)

All matching aliens on the map must be activated, starting with the ones controlled by the Alpha Agent and following in clockwise order. If any player controls more than one alien, the player may choose the activation order of his aliens.

Activating an alien means reading the relevant Alien card and applying the proper A.I. rule, as described in the previous section.

If there are no matching aliens on the battlefield, the alien turn typically ends immediately. However, some cards are marked with the Danger symbol. In this case, if there are no matching aliens on the map (as indicated by the Effects section of the card), new aliens are teleported onto the map. Search for them in the Alien deck, reshuffling it with the discard pile, if needed.

When the Close Encounter deck runs out of cards, reshuffle the discard pile to recreate the deck.

Swarm Units

Some aliens (not included in this set) may have the "Swarm" Passive power. This means a single Alien card represents a group of two or more figures, counting as a single alien on the battlefield.

The main aspect of a swarm unit is the initial number of figures is always equal to its total Health Points. For instance, a 3 HPs swarm unit is represented by 3 figures on the map.

The activation and A.I. behavior of a swarm unit, in regard to agents, always uses the closest figure of the unit to the agent.

A swarm unit must follow the same movement and combat rules of a normal alien, with the following exceptions:

The swarm unit includes one figure for each of its starting HPs. When attacked, each figure of the swarm defends as a stand-alone alien with one HP.
When all figures of the unit die, the swarm is destroyed and its Alien card is discarded as usual.
When the swarm unit attacks, it has a clear L.O.S. to a given target, if at least one figure of the unit has a L.O.S. with the target.
When the swarm unit moves, the nearest figure to an agent moves first and then the other figures move adjacent to it.
An agent can target only one figure of the swarm for each attack, except when Area Damage is dealt. In this case, all the figures in the targeted Area are attacked.

Signal

The Agency's technology is able to detect alien movement on the battlefield. Motion detection accurately pinpoints ground position, but is not able to provide additional information regarding the nature of any given alien. Each agent is equipped with the technology to detect these signals. In the game, those signals are represented by Signal tokens.

Typically, during the Event phase, Signals appear and/or move on the map, following the movement rules described in the next section.

A Signal must be immediately revealed when it enters the L.O.S. of an agent. Signal revelation always has the highest priority in ANY phase and must be done as soon as possible.

When revealed, the Signal token is flipped, according to the "Reveal Signal" rules (see Reveal Signals). Once revealed, a Signal must be discarded to the Signal discard pile, except when stated differently by the mission rules.

During the setup of each mission, a Signal Reserve is created by shuffling the indicated number of Alien and Human Signals (faced down), as specified by the mission briefing. This will generate the pool of Signals usable for the mission and represents the maximum number of Signals available on the map at the same time.

Note: When the Signal Reserve is empty and a Signal needs to be teleported onto the map, replenish the Reserve by shuffling all the Signals in the discard pile and placing them back in the Reserve.

Signal Movement

Signals follow most normal movement rules. They require a legal path to move, so they cannot move across a Blocked Hex or Hex side (including Locked Doors, or Blocked Doors and Windows). Signal movement must follow these rules:

There can be only one Signal or alien in each Hex.
Signals move from center Hex to center Hex of an Area. When this is not possible, Signals move to another Hex in the Area.
A Signal must be immediately revealed when it enters the L.O.S. of an agent. Movement of the revealed Signal ends immediately.
If there is a choice between two different movements for a Signal — one that causes the Signal to be revealed and the other that doesn't — the Signal must move where it is revealed.
The Signal revelation must be checked after every single movement (that is, Area by Area).
Signals consider an Unlocked Door or Window as a Standard Hex or Hex side.
Other Signals/aliens are not considered obstacles for a legal movement path. Signals can move through them, but may not end their movement on an occupied Hex.
When the game dictates movement toward the closest Teleport Point, and the Signal is already there, it will remain in its current position.
When the game dictates to "move back or move away," it means to move in the direction where the Signal came from; or, when not possible, away from the closest agent.
If there is no legal walking path available, Signals do not move.

Teleport System

Aliens are transported on the battlefield thanks to advanced teleport systems. This technology relies on the presence of Teleport Points (T.P.) on the map.

The Agency can detect teleported aliens as unknown Signals.

In game terms, when teleporting a Signal onto the map:

The Alpha Agent rolls 1 BLUE die to determine the Teleport Point used.
Draw a Signal from the Signal Reserve.
Place the Signal on the Teleport Point or on the closest Hex to it (the Alpha Agent may decide which one, if there is more than one suitable Hex), if the T.P. is already occupied.

If there is more than one T.P. on the map, the Alpha Agent must roll 1 BLUE die and place the new Signal on the T.P. with the symbol matching the die roll. If the symbol rolled is not present on the map, roll the die until it matches one existing T.P.

Note: The Hit symbol takes precedence on the Shield symbol of the same face.

Teleporting Aliens

In some circumstances, the game may teleport aliens instead of Signals. In these cases, the Alpha Agent follows the normal teleport rules with the following exception: instead of taking a Signal from the Signal Reserve, take the matching Alien card (Species and Color Rank) from the Alien deck (reshuffling it with the discard pile, if needed) and place the appropriate figure on the rolled Teleport Point, or on the closest Hex to it if the T.P. is already occupied.

Reveal Signals

When an agent has visual contact with a Signal, the Signal must be revealed. To represent this, when there is a L.O.S. between an agent and a Signal, the Alpha Agent or the active player must flip up the Signal token to determine if it is Alien or Human.

In some cases, the GD satellite computer detects false positives, tagging a human being as an alien presence. If the revealed Signal token shows a Human shape, remove it from the map, or follow the relative special mission rules.

If the token shows an Alien, it must be replaced with a new alien: take the top card of the Alien deck along with the appropriate figure (see Alien Assignment). In either case, once revealed, the Signal is discarded to the Signal discard pile.

Revealing a Signal in L.O.S. is always the highest priority in ANY phase and must be done as soon as possible. When it occurs, the active player must pause his current activity. For instance, when the agent moves, the L.O.S. check must be done after every single movement, Hex by Hex. If the agent has visual contact with a Signal, it is revealed immediately and then the agent resumes his movement.

Example: Agent Mercury moves 2 Hexes. She interrupts her movement when she has L.O.S. with the Signal. After revealing it, she can resume movement.

Note: The normal L.O.S. rule applies for revealing Signals, regardless of the "Human View" rule: A Signal in L.O.S. must be revealed, even if the agent is looking in another direction.

Alien Assignment

Each time a new alien is teleported onto the map, the Alpha Agent must draw the top card from the Alien deck (reshuffling the discard pile when the deck runs out of cards) along with the relevant rank figure (GREEN, BLUE or RED). Typically, this happens when an Alien Signal is revealed or when a special Event or Close Encounter card is drawn.

The new Alien card must be assigned to a player. That player becomes the alien controller for the particular alien.

To maintain game balance, the Alpha Agent assigns Alien cards following these rules:

The card is normally assigned to the first player, in clockwise order, who does not have Alien cards, or has less Alien cards assigned than other players. In case of tie, the Alien card is assigned to the Alpha Agent.
Exception: When a second copy of an Alien card is drawn (same Species and Rank), assign it to the same player who controls the first one. For instance, a player who controls a BLUE Xeno-Beta is assigned the second BLUE Xeno-Beta when its card is drawn.

If all Alien cards in the deck are assigned (i.e. all aliens figures are in play at the same time), no more aliens can be teleported on the battlefield, until at least one alien dies.

Revealing a Signal in these conditions has no effect except to discard the token.

Alien Movement

Alien movement is completely controlled by the Alien cards. Each card details relevant instructions on how and when to move an activated alien.

Aliens move according to their specific behavior rules, which change from alien to alien. For instance, an aggressive species will attempt to close in quickly to enter contact with agents, while scout troops will try to avoid melee combat.

Normal movement rules apply to aliens. For instance, they need a legal path to move, so they cannot walk across a Blocked Hex or Hex side. There are some differences between the movement of aliens and agents, indicated below.

While moving aliens, keep in mind these guidelines:

There can be only one alien or Signal in each Hex.
To apply a behavior rule, there must be a L.O.S. and a legal movement path. Only one special rule can be applied without L.O.S.
Aliens normally move from center Hex to center Hex of an Area. When this is not possible or when needed, aliens move to another Hex of the Area.
At the end of its movement, an alien may redeploy to any hex in the destination Area, to end its movement adjacent to agents — trying to engage the original target and as many other agents as possible.
Aliens may Disengage from melee without an "Evade" test. They can always Disengage if they are required to do so by their A.I.
Aliens consider an Unlocked Door or Window as a Standard Hex or Hex side.
Other aliens and agents are not considered obstacles for a legal movement path. Aliens can walk through them, but they cannot end their movement on an occupied Hex.
When the A.I. directs an alien to move toward the closest Teleport Point, and the alien is already there, it will remain in its current position.
When the A.I. says to "move back or move away," it means to move in the direction where the alien came from; or, when not possible, away from the closest agent.
A behavior rule indicating "Move Adjacent to..." means that the alien must try to enter the target's Area, in a Hex adjacent to the target. If this is not possible, the alien must move to an adjacent Area, ending its movement in a Hex adjacent to the target.
If, for any reason, the appropriate behavior rule cannot be applied, apply the next one. If no rule can be applied, the alien remains in its current position.

Movement examples: The BLUE Xeno-Beta is at a distance of 1 Area from the Infiltrator. It shoots her with its Blaster, then moves away. The GREEN Aracnos does not see any agent. There is a wounded Biotech out of its L.O.S., and there is a legal walking path through the unlocked door. The Aracnos advances toward the agent. After moving 2 Areas, it stops adjacent to the Biotech.

Alien Combat

Each Alien card also dictates the combat behavior for the relevant alien. When an A.I. rule says to attack an agent, the player controlling the Alien card takes the dice and starts combat using the alien's weapons and powers.

If more than one agent is eligible for attack, the alien attacks the most wounded agent. If several agents have the same number of Wounds, it attacks the agent with the fewest remaining HPs.

The combat system used for alien attacks follows the same rules explained before (see Combat), with the following exceptions:

Aliens always ignore Ammo and Jam results, as Alien Weapons never Jam and do not use Ammo.
The Alien (fail) result still represents a die with no Hits, but it can be re-rolled normally by an alien with a re-roll power.
There is no alien "friendly fire." No alien ever inflicts damage on another alien, even with Area Damage weapons.

The choice of ranged or melee weapons is based on the A.I. section of the card. Remember, an attack performed with a ranged weapon is still considered a ranged attack even when executed against an adjacent target.

To keep track of the Wounds inflicted to each alien, Wound tokens can be placed on its Alien card or near its figure on the map.

Alien Death

"If it bleeds...we can kill it!"

Aliens can be hard to kill, but that's your goal! When an alien's Wounds equal its total Health Points, it dies. If it is the first alien killed during the round, the Alpha Agent takes 1 fragment of Alien Tech (see Alien Tech). The figure is removed from the map and its card is placed in the Alien discard pile.

You are now ready to play!

The invasion begins, and GD agents must get ready for their first close encounter... it's time to start reading the Storybook and playing your first mission.

This Rulebook is version 1.5. Published and distributed worldwide by Ares Games Srl. A Game Created By Gremlin Project. Design & Development: Gremlin Project, a board game design studio by Simone Romano and Nunzio Surace. Art: Fernando Peniche.