Nemesis: Lockdown FAQ
223 questions players ask · Updated Nov 7, 2026 · Full rulebook
Setup
- Which room is the Exit Room, given the rulebook lists two different room numbers?
- Can Nemesis: Lockdown be played with six players?
- Can the Elevator or any Section start the game powered?
- Which rooms get an Exploration token at setup, and what happens to the unused Room tiles?
- How do you track a character's Knowledge score?
- Do original Nemesis characters start with their weapons and items in Lockdown?
- Which Event and Attack decks do I use, and is the Intruder Attack deck the same as the Night Stalker Attack deck?
- When playing Lockdown with the original Intruders, can I keep using the Night Stalker tokens?
- What happens if the Lockdown Computer card is revealed during setup?
- Do I need the Pilot Compatibility and Nemesis Compatibility cards to play Lockdown on its own?
Turn Structure and Actions
- Do players get more than one turn per round?
- When can I discard unwanted cards from my hand?
- When do I take Fire damage in a burning Room, each turn or once per round?
- When do I draw Action cards back up to 5?
- Who receives the First Player token at the end of the round?
- Are CSS Pods launched before or after the Time token moves?
- Can players interrupt things or use no-cost items like Glowstick or Flashlight in the Event Phase?
- If I draw an Event card and no Intruders are on the board, do I spawn one?
- What happens when an Adult or Breeder token is drawn during Intruder Bag Development?
- If the Queen token is drawn and she appears, does her token go back into the bag?
- Can the Intruder bag run out of tokens, and what do killed Intruders do to it?
- When do I choose which Objective to keep, and does everyone discard at once?
- Does an Intruder placed by a card effect, rather than an Encounter, still make everyone discard an Objective?
- Can Computer Actions be used in Combat?
- Is the Lockdown Computer card shuffled back into the Computer deck when I resolve it?
- How do Computer Actions work, what do they cost, and how often can I use them?
- How do the Hacker's Bypass and Neuralink cards handle Computer Action costs?
- Can I take an action that does nothing, such as Trade alone or Rest with no Contamination, to avoid passing?
- Do Action cards that cost nothing, and passing, still count as one of my two Actions?
- When can the Interruption card be played?
- Can I use Action card abilities in a Room with a Malfunction marker, and does "It Should Work" make Room Actions free?
- Can the Defense Control Room target a Room that cannot take a Malfunction, like the Nest or an Elevator Room?
- When do I reshuffle my Action deck?
- Does picking up a Corpse, Carcass or Egg take an Action, and does it apply to Heavy Item cards?
- Do I roll for Noise after each attempt to destroy an Egg, and can I do it in Combat?
- What does "explored" mean for the Survivor's Vents card?
- Does the Learn and Run objective need one more Weakness beyond the starting one?
Movement, Exploration, and Noise
- When do I make a Noise roll?
- Do I roll for Noise when I Escape into a Room, including when an Intruder follows me with Blood Chase?
- What happens when a Noise marker must go in a Corridor that already has one?
- Which Corridor gets the Noise marker when I roll a number?
- Can a Danger result spawn an Intruder or cause an Encounter by itself?
- How does Careful Movement work, and can it be used from a noisy Room or in Darkness?
- If Careful Movement reveals a Danger Exploration token, is the Careful Movement Noise placed first?
- Which Noise markers are removed in the Event Phase?
- Are Technical Corridors part of a Section, and can Wail or Sensitive Hearing affect them?
- Do two Rooms connected by Technical Corridors count as neighbouring for card effects?
- Can I use Vents or the Cave Entrance while in Combat or into unexplored Rooms, and do I roll Noise afterwards?
- Do I roll for Noise after moving through a Technical Corridor with an item or card?
- How does the Elevator work: where do I end up, can others come, and can I use it in Combat?
- Can the Hacker's Bypass flip the Elevator's separate Power token?
- How does the Sentry's Facility Tour work with Exploration tokens, closed Doors and the pulled Character?
- Can the Janitor's Emergency Key call and use the Elevator, even with a Malfunction marker in the Room?
- What happens when Intruders try to move through a Corridor with a closed Door?
- Do Doors start open, and can they be opened or closed with a normal action?
- How do Intruders move when an Event card shows two Corridor numbers?
Markers and Tokens
- Does an Enviro-Suit stop Slime markers or remove an existing one?
- What does a Malfunction marker disable, including Computers and the Elevator?
- Can Fire and Malfunction markers be placed in Emergency Staircases?
- Do characters take Fire damage in the Event Phase, and can Fire be put out?
- How are Doors opened or closed?
- What happens to the Intruder token after an Encounter or after the Intruder is killed?
- What if a miniature, such as a Creeper, is needed and none are left?
- Can the Queen be drawn from the bag when she is already on the board?
Encounters and Combat
- What counts as an Encounter, and does an Intruder placed by an Event or Attack card count?
- Do Contamination cards in hand count when checking for a Surprise Attack?
- Is there a Surprise Attack when an Encounter comes from Bag Development or a Noise roll?
- What can I do while an Intruder is in my Room?
- What does a Melee Attack cost, and does it differ for an item like the Wrench or Crowbar?
- When do I roll the Advantage die, and how do its special faces count?
- Can the Sentry's SMG discard more than 1 or 2 Ammo in one Shoot Action?
- Can I attack with two weapons at once, and can the Janitor's nail gun shoot Intruders?
- Can I attack an Egg in the Nest while an Intruder is in the Room?
- How does the Xenobiologist's Pheromones card work with a Carcass on the Probe Arm, and when do I play it?
- If an Intruder Attack card's first effect puts me in Darkness, do I resolve its Darkness part?
Intruders: Injuries, Death, and Attacks
- In what order do Intruders attack in the Event Phase, and how many Attack cards are drawn?
- Does an Intruder moved into my Room by an Event card attack right away?
- Can an Intruder take two Fire Injuries if it retreats from one burning Room into another?
- How does an Intruder's death check work, and why does its health seem to change?
- Does a Queen or Breeder retreat if either of its two death-check cards shows a Retreat arrow, even if the damage would have killed it?
- How is the direction of a Retreat chosen, and what happens to an Intruder that retreats into a Technical Corridor?
- What happens to an Intruder's token when it is killed, and does a killed Queen come back?
- What happens when a Larva attacks, and what if I already have a Larva on my board?
- If Blood Chase's Light Wound becomes a Serious Wound during an Escape, does the Intruder still follow me?
- When is Darkness checked during an Intruder Attack with several effects?
- Does venting a Room kill every Character and Intruder in it, including the Queen and suited Characters?
- Does the fire-vulnerability Weakness apply to Room Fire markers?
- Which weapons count as classic, energy or melee for a Weakness like Fragile Endoskeleton?
Contamination, Wounds, and Death
- Are multiple Wounds from one effect dealt one at a time, so a character with 3 Serious Wounds dies?
- Do I die if I have 2 Serious Wounds and an attack gives me another Serious Wound?
- Do Contamination cards count as Action cards in my hand?
- Where does a removed Contamination card go?
- If one Scan finds several Infected cards, how many Larvae do I get, and do I die?
- What do Surgery and the Decon Room do with Contamination cards?
- When a character with a Larva dies, what happens to the Larva?
- How does the Leaving the Shell event work?
- Does the Battle Suit or a Glowstick cancel the EYES Serious Wound's "always in Darkness" effect?
- How do the Knee and Hand Serious Wounds change Action costs?
- Do I need an active Knowledge token to use Weaknesses or meet Knowledge requirements?
- Can the Android heal Serious Wounds?
- Can I use the first revealed Weakness right away?
Power and Darkness
- What does a Section having Power actually do, and what changes in Darkness?
- How does the Backup Power Supply's Restore Power action work?
- What can the Power Generator's Power a Section action do?
- Which Power token flips when a Power Threshold on the Time track is passed?
- Can the Time token go back to its inactive side once Power has been restored?
- How do the Elevator and the Elevator Rooms work for Power and Darkness?
- How do I resolve an Event card with an upper effect and a Darkness effect?
- How do the Hatching and Egg Protection Event Darkness parts work?
Objects and Items
- What happens to Items and Heavy Objects when I drop them?
- What takes up my two Hand slots?
- What can Duct Tape combine, and can the Items be separated?
- How does the Xenobiologist's Probe Arm store Carcasses, and what can they be used for?
- What can I analyze in the Laboratory or with the Analyze Toolset, and does it use up the object?
- How many objects do I need to discover all the Weaknesses, and does a Weakness need a specific object?
- Can a Thermite Charge be thrown at an empty Room, and does it destroy Eggs?
- Do the Wrench and Crowbar use the Advantage die or cause Contamination or Serious Wounds?
- How does the Hacker's Smart Gun work with the Advantage die?
- Can Weapon Battery, Recharge or similar cards load a weapon beyond its maximum Ammo, and what are Ammo values on the Prototype Shotgun?
- How do the Janitor's Nailgun's shooting, reloading and repairs work in Combat?
- Can the Sentry's Battle Suit or an Enviro-Suit be used to reach the Bunker, and what does the Battle Suit ignore?
- When can the Glowstick be used and how long does it last?
- Where do discarded Crafted Items go?
- Can I use a Quest Item before it is activated or in Combat?
- Can Field Experience or similar actions be used in a Room whose Item Counter is 0?
- Which Item deck do I draw from when Searching, and can special Rooms be Searched?
- Can an Item action be combined with an Action card action, such as Cheat Codes with Neuralink or Cave Plans with Careful Movement?
Leaving the Facility
- Do I keep a Contingency token I peek at with the Archive or Alert Room?
- How does the Main Gate open, and can it be closed again?
- What are the ways to survive and leave the Facility?
- What do I need to Escape the Facility to the Bunker, and is it blocked by a Malfunction or Intruder?
- Must the Rover be inside the Exit Room to use it, and can I retrieve it from the Bunker?
- When can I enter a CSS Pod, and what happens if the Pod does not launch?
- Can revealed CSS tokens be swapped, moved or removed?
- Which Contingencies can still kill a character who escaped in a CSS Pod?
- Does an objective like "finish the game in a CSS Pod" need the Pod to launch?
- How does locking myself in the Isolation Room work, and can several players do it?
- What does the Alert Procedure do, and can it be delayed?
- Is the Bunker part of the Facility for destruction effects?
Autodestruction
End of the Game and Victory
- What ends the game, and what happens when the Time token reaches the final slot?
- How does the Victory Check work and do I need to pass every step?
- Does ending the game with the Alert Procedure differ from reaching the final slot, and what if Autodestruction is active?
- What does each Contingency code do at the end of the game?
- How is the Active Contingency chosen, and do I check more than one?
- Must I survive the final checks for an objective that says "Finish the game with..."?
- Do Wake-Up Call and Waiting for Rescue need the Alert Procedure to end the game?
- When is the Nest or the Queen considered destroyed or killed for Objectives?
- What do I do if my Objective targets a Character who is not in the game?
Rooms
- What can the Archive and Alert Room actions peek at, and do I keep the token?
- Can Eggs still be added after the Nest is destroyed, and do Nest effects still happen?
- How do Eggs in the Nest get destroyed, and who gains Knowledge for discovering it?
- How does Vent Control work and when does the venting token get removed?
- How many cards do I draw at the start of the round while in the Isolation Room?
- What is the Room Number used by effects like the Blue Screen Event?
Game Modes and Mars Surface
- How many Contingency tokens does a solo game use?
- How are characters chosen in solo and co-op games, and how many can one player control?
- Are there separate solo missions in Lockdown?
- In fully cooperative mode, how many objectives are there and how are Contingencies revealed?
- When a character dies in fully cooperative mode, do they lose their Items?
- Which Mars Surface setup pieces get Exploration tokens, and where do the Power tokens and Rover go?
- What happens to an Intruder that moves into a Mars Surface Area or off a Crossroads?
- On the Mars Surface, are Crossroads always in Darkness, and can I use Careful Movement or place Doors?
- Do I draw Mars Surface cards inside a building or with an Enviro-Suit, and how does Micro Meteorites work?
- Which Noise die do I roll when moving between underground and surface Rooms on the Mars Surface?
- On the Mars Surface, can I use Careful Movement to reach a Crossroads or move along Paths, and can I Search a Crossroads?
- Where does an Intruder appear for an Encounter on the Mars Surface, and how do building noise rolls work?
- Do Mars Surface Crossroads and buildings use Power and Darkness?
- In fully cooperative mode, who must survive and may any player fulfil a shared Objective?
- Can the Solo/Coop objectives be used with the basic board side?
General and Compatibility
- Which original Nemesis and Aftermath characters can I use in Lockdown?
- Can I use the original Intruders, Carnomorphs or Void Seeders in Lockdown?
- Can the Lockdown Night Stalkers or Chytrids be used in the original Nemesis?
- Do characters use Trait cards in Lockdown?
- What is the Crawl deck and can it be used in Lockdown?
- Do Nemesis achievement promo cards work in Lockdown?
- In what order should the Untold Stories books be played?
- Is there a traitor in Nemesis: Lockdown?
- Can I show or tell others my Contingency token?
- What does a player do after their character is eliminated?
- Do the original Nemesis rulings apply unchanged to Lockdown?
- What if a marker or token runs out, such as Noise, Carcass or Injury markers?
Nemesis: CarnomorphsExpansion
- Which tokens go in the Intruder bag when playing Carnomorphs with Lockdown, and do surprise attacks use Light and Darkness numbers?
- How does "discover an Intruder Weakness" work with Carnomorphs, and can I analyze before an Adaptation is revealed?
- How do Metagorgers appear and attack when a red Metagorger token is drawn?
- Which Carnomorph attacks give a Mutation, and how do Mutation markers work?
- Can the Android gain Carnomorph Mutations, and does an infected card still wound her?
- How do Carnomorph tokens get back into the Intruder bag, and does a Butcher ever go there?
- How do Carnomorphs feed and evolve, and what if no miniature is left to evolve into?
- What happens to a Fleshbeast or Butcher killed by venting or an airlock?
- Does the Growl event place Noise in Corridors that already have Noise, and does it include Technical Corridors?
- How do the Carnomorph Help cards fit the setup, and can Carnomorphs be played co-op?
Nemesis: AftermathExpansion
- What from Nemesis: Aftermath works in Lockdown?
- Which Aftermath and core characters cannot be in the same game?
- Where does the Convict, or any Aftermath character, start a Lockdown game?
- When does the Android scan a Contamination card, and what happens to it?
- How do Laika's movement, Noise rolls, return and attack work?
- When do Turrets fire and does the Turret Room work without turrets?
- How do the Psychologist's drone, Shrink, Mechanic's Ingenuity and Convict's Opportunist cards work?
- How do Aftermath's Research and Epilogue modes handle setup, co-op and characters?
Nemesis: Void SeedersExpansion
- What are the Lair Exploration tokens and how are they set up, including on the Mars Surface side?
- Are Lairs Void Seeders, and what happens when they are destroyed?
- How do Insanity tokens and the Void Seeders Contamination check work in Lockdown?
- What does a Void Seeder Surprise Attack give, and can Panic stop a pod or hibernation?
- If a Character's elevator move reveals a Danger Exploration token with Void Seeders, does the Danger effect apply?
Nemesis: Lockdown – Stretch GoalsExpansion
- How does the Bounty Hunter start in Lockdown, and how do Laika and his objectives work?
- Can the Medic be used in Lockdown and what does she use?
- How does the Android play in Lockdown?
- Can the Android and Bounty Hunter be played with only the Stretch Goals box?
- Does the Pilot's Quest Item work outside escaping with the Rover?
- Can Chytrids be played on the alternate Mars Surface side of the board?
- Which Chytrid pieces count as Intruders (first-appearance Objective discard, Noise rolls, Combat)?
- Where can the Deathcap and Chytrid Queen be placed or move to when there is no Germinator or Mycelium?
- What happens to the Chytrid Queen after she is killed, and when do set-aside Chytrid tokens return?
- How do Spores spread, and can Germinators share a Room?
- How does a Chytrid encounter token resolve a Surprise Attack, and what about non-combat Stinkhorns?
- What happens when only the Blank token is left in the Intruder bag?
- Where does the Egg from Puffball Explosion come from when the Nest is empty?