ISS Vanguard
91 questions players ask about ISS Vanguard. Pick one for the answer. See also the full rulebook.
Updated 2026-11-05.
Setup, Crew and Team Size
- In what order are Situation cards S01-S10 drawn in the first Ship Phase?
- Is the Homesick situation always drawn first, and is it shuffled back afterwards?
- After resolving Situation S06 Unfinished Business, is it removed or shuffled back into Possible Situations?
- How many crewmembers can go on an away team in a solo game, and may it change between planets?
- How many crewmembers does each player bring in a 2-player game?
- How many Sections does each player control with 3 players, and can this change between sessions?
- Do I need an available crewmember from every Section at all times?
- How many recruits do I draw when starting the campaign after a solo tutorial?
- Do crewmembers sent to Resting Crew keep their rank sleeves?
Dice Checks
- Does an Accident icon on a die make a dice check fail or stop it from counting as its colour?
- Do I still roll dice for a dice check that only lists colours?
- Does rolling an accident end the dice check immediately?
- Must I mark an outcome I could complete, and can one check mark two green outcomes?
- If a red outcome has no requirement, is it marked when nothing else is?
- Do I need to roll every die when a dice check has an arrow from the top outcome to a lower one?
- Does meeting a yellow outcome also satisfy the green outcome it arrows to?
- Can a Convert ability be used to satisfy a Dice Combination?
- Can a Convert ability make a symbol count when the icon is not printed on the die?
- Can the active crewmember use Convert abilities on dice rolled by an assisting crewmember?
Section Dice, Rest and Exertion
- How many dice do I refresh with the Rest action?
- What happens if I must sacrifice a die but have only three Section dice?
- Can I Exert to refresh dice with only 3 Section dice and 3 injuries?
- Can I Exert before paying a sacrifice cost?
- What if an injury says to spend a die but all my dice are spent?
- Do Sections keep their starting dice after the tutorial or quickstart?
- How do I buy or sell Section dice, and what does a new die cost?
- What do I do with Success tokens when all Section dice are bought?
Travel, Equipment and Lander
- Does the Zipline's free travel ignore path icons, including the Travel icon?
- Can the Jetpack or Scout Craft ignore a path's arrowheads?
- Is a sector still Connected when a No Movement icon stops travel along its path?
- Can a P.E.T. get stuck in a sector with no outbound path?
- How does a P.E.T. equipment die work?
- Can an Anytime skill be used during a landing?
- Can Alertness ignore a danger die rolled on the landing table?
- Can an equipment's 'any section die' icon count as the colour a global condition requires?
- Can the icons from an equipment card's Add to Roll Pool be split between uses?
- Can I use just one of the two icons from an item's compass + DNA option?
Discoveries, Leads and Research
- Does a Discovery gained during Ship Management trigger its unload effect?
- Where does a discovery go when its When Unloaded effect says to discard it?
- Can one lead token draw give more than one discovery?
- On the Hurricane global condition, must every crewmember roll the danger die to save a lead token?
- How many research projects can I complete in one Ship Management phase with the Research Lab?
- Does Boost Research need one crewmember with both symbols, or two crewmembers?
- Can a production project continue if the tech level drops below its requirement?
- Does research card R14 grant a Research Project?
- How do I obtain Bridge Upgrade B02?
- How do I research a card in the Research Lab, and where do new research cards wait?
Injuries and Success Tokens
- What happens when a crewmember would gain a fourth injury?
- Is there a maximum number of Success tokens?
- Do I spend Success tokens to rank up a crewmember?
- Can a crewmember who just ranked up be assigned as an instructor in debriefing?
- Does the Soldier ability stop a Threat's time track completely?
- When does a Threat advance its time track?
- Does the extra crewmember for a Situation's When Solved bonus need matching icons?
- How do I remove the Outbreak situation after it returns to the Awaiting envelope?
Ship Phase and Campaign Flow
- Can I leave a planet before finishing its mission and retry without penalty?
- If I fail a planet mission, do I have to replay it?
- Do I replay the same mission card when returning to a completed planet?
- When I revisit a planet, does the Landing card start from the beginning?
- Do I need to fill in a Planet Record sheet before going to another planet?
- When do crewmembers in Resting Crew return to my hand?
Tutorial and Logs Errata
ISS Vanguard: The Lost FleetExpansion
- At the end of Log G06, does the condition send you to Log 1336 or 1366?
- What does the first box check in Log 1253 refer to?
- Where does a revisit (Log 1240 evacuation) get its marker count?
- Is Bridge Upgrade B02 needed to continue past Log 1330?
- Do crew ranks and veteran status from the base campaign carry over?
- In a logbook action involving several sections, does everyone roll?
- Can Lost Fleet content be used in the base campaign?
- Do I reset the game before starting The Lost Fleet?
- Do Alien dice count as any-colour dice in The Lost Fleet?
- Can a Vanguard symbol count as an Alien icon?