Space Crusade
Space Crusade Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Assembly
- Introduction
- Outline of the Game
- Choosing Roles
- Starting the Game
- The Marine players
- Order of Play
- Marine Player's Turn
- Movement
- Opening Doors
- Moving onto new Boards
- Placing Blips
- Revealing Blips
- Line of Sight
- Firing
- Combat dice
- Rolling to Hit
- Re-rolling dice
- Heavy Weapons
- Hand-to-Hand Combat
- Collecting Blip Tokens
- The Alien Player's Turn
- Moving and Firing Aliens
- Moving Blips
- Attacking with the aliens
- Eliminating Marines
- The Dreadnought
- Moving the Dreadnought
- Passing through doors
- The Dreadnought's Weapons
- The Dreadnought's Life Points
- Dreadnought example
- Alien Reinforcement
Assembly
Before you can begin to play Space Crusade, several playing pieces need to be assembled. Detailed assembly instructions can be found on the inside of the box lid.
The plastic miniatures in Space Crusade have been specially designed by Citadel Miniatures.
Introduction
Before starting to read the rules, page through this booklet and read the story that accompanies the illustrations. This will give you an insight into the setting of the game. Then read the rules carefully before beginning the game.
Outline of the Game
The game is for 2 to 4 players. One player must control the aliens. This player is called the Alien player. The other players control the three Commanders and their Space Marines. These players are called the Marine players.
Each game is a mission. The missions are detailed in the Mission Manual. The game starts with the Alien player reading out one of the missions. A map in the Mission Manual then shows the Alien player how to set up the game boards and Docking boards. The Mission Manual also tells the Alien player how many, and which, Blip tokens he should take, as well as which Reinforcement tokens he should use.
Whilst the Alien player sorts out his tokens and sets up the board, the Marine players may choose their cards and weapons. Having chosen their cards, and with the board set up, the Marine players move first. Play begins with the Marine player to the left of the Alien player, and then proceeds clockwise.
The Marine players must attempt to accomplish the mission read out by the Alien player. During his turn, a Marine player may move and fire each of his Marines. As the Marines explore the gameboard, the Alien player puts out more Blips. These show the locations of the aliens.
Players score points for eliminating their opponents. The player who scores most points wins the game.
Choosing Roles
One player must act as the Alien player, even if there are fewer than four players. The last player to choose his role must play that part if no-one has already chosen to do so.
If there are fewer than four players one or more sets of Marines will have to be left out. Players should not control more than one set of Marines.
Each of the Marine players takes the following:
One set of Marines comprising a Marine Commander miniature, 4 Marine miniatures, 5 backpacks and 9 weapons, 12 Chapter cards plus the matching Commander's Scanner, Docking board and Reference card.
The Alien player takes:
The Alien Control Panel, the Mission Manual and the Alien Event cards. The alien miniatures, Blip and Reinforcement tokens should also be close to hand.
Starting the Game
At the beginning of each game the players must sort out the cards, weapons and tokens that are to be used.
The Alien player
The Alien player should shuffle the event cards and place them within reach.
The Mission Manual
The Alien player chooses one of the missions from the Mission Manual and reads out the sections in bold type. This is the Marines' mission and will tell the Marine players what they must try to do to score bonus points.
He should then arrange the four gameboards, as shown on the mission map. The four walls are then placed onto the gameboard. The assembly instructions on the inside of the box lid shows how this is done. The Docking boards should then be attached to the outside of the board as shown on the mission map and the doors placed onto the board.
Sorting out the Blip Tokens
The Alien player then sorts out the Blip tokens listed for the mission to be played. These should be placed within reach and the remaining tokens put back in the box. The Marine players are allowed to see how many Blips the Alien player has, but may not inspect them to see what they are.
Sorting out the Reinforcement Tokens
The Alien player sorts those Reinforcement tokens he is allowed for the mission to be played. These should be placed within reach and the remaining tokens put back in the box. The Reinforcement tokens available may vary, depending on how many Marine players there are. The Marine players are allowed to see how many Reinforcement tokens the Alien player has, but may not inspect them to see what they are.
Having done this the Alien player is ready to begin play.
The Marine players
The Marine players must set their Scanners as well as choose their cards and weapons before they can begin the game.
Commander's Scanner
The Marine players set their Scanners by moving the Commander's life point marker to six and the points track marker to zero.
Choosing Chapter Cards
The Marine players should choose five of their Chapter cards. Each Marine player must pick four of the eight cards marked Equipment and one of the four marked Order cards.
Choosing Weapons
Each Marine player has a range of weaponry to choose from at the start of each mission. The weapons chosen may vary from one mission to another. Players may only choose from the coloured weapons that match their Marine miniatures.
Commander
There are three alternative weapon combinations for the Marine Commander:
- Power Axe and Bolt Pistol
This gives him a good hand-to-hand combat weapon with a little firepower.
- Heavy Bolter
This gives him better firepower but his hand-to-hand combat ability is only as good as a normal Marine miniature.
- Power Sword and Power Glove
This gives him no firepower at all, but two fearsome hand-to-hand combat weapons.
Each Marine player should clip the chosen weapon combination onto his Marine Commander miniature, along with a backpack.
Marines
The four Marines may choose from the available weapons. One of the four Marines must carry a heavy weapon and one other must carry a Bolter. The remaining two may choose between carrying a Bolter or a heavy weapon. The three heavy weapons available are:
- Assault Cannon
A useful weapon for attacking scattered groups of the weaker aliens or for attacking single, more powerful aliens.
- Missile Launcher
A good weapon for attacking aliens who are closely packed together or for attacking the more powerful aliens.
- Plasma Gun
The Plasma Gun is a very powerful weapon that is best used in the corridors where it is effective against all manner of aliens.
Each Marine player should clip the chosen weapons onto his Marine miniatures, along with their backpacks.
Having chosen their weapons the Marine players should place their Commander miniature and four Marine miniatures on their Docking board, ready to assault the alien ship.
Having done this, the Marine players are ready to begin play.
Order of Play
Each player moves in turn, starting with the Marine player to the left of the Alien player. Play then proceeds clockwise.
Marine Player's Turn
During a Marine player's turn he may move and/or fire all his miniatures. He may move and fire each miniature in turn. A miniature may move first, then fire, or fire first and then move. A miniature does not have to fire or move. However, a miniature may not move twice or fire twice unless a card is played that allows the Marine player to do so.
The Marine player may also use any of his equipment cards during the course of his turn. However, Marine players may only use one Order card per turn. The card is played at the beginning of a Marine player's turn, before moving or firing, and then discarded.
Movement
The gameboards are divided into squares which are used for movement. Squares are either corridor squares or room squares.
The Marine reference chart shows the maximum number of squares a miniature may move. A miniature may be moved in any direction, horizontal, vertical or diagonal. The Marine player may always choose to move a miniature less than the maximum distance shown, or not at all.
When moving, you may not finish your move on an occupied square. You may, however, pass through an occupied square, provided that you have enough movement to move beyond the square and the player controlling the obstructing miniature allows you to pass. Otherwise you must take another route or stop. Only one miniature may occupy a square. You may always pass through your own miniatures.
Miniatures may change the direction in which they are facing. This does not count as a move, nor does it reduce your movement.
Opening Doors
Alien and Marine miniatures may only enter and leave rooms through open doors. A door may be opened by moving onto one of the two squares in front of it, and declaring that the door is open. The door piece should then be removed from the board. Players do not have to open a door if they do not wish to.
Opening a door does not count as a move. Having opened a door, a miniature may continue to move. Players may not close doors, unless they have a card that allows them to do so.
Note that each of the four walls has two doors. Miniatures may move through these doors. They are always considered to be open and may not be closed.
Moving onto new Boards
When a Marine or Commander miniature is moved onto one of the four gameboards for the first time, the board must be scanned. The Marine player should finish moving and/or firing the miniature that moved onto the board, then pause before he continues his turn. This will give the Alien player the opportunity to place out any Blip tokens that he wishes.
Once the Alien player has placed out any Blip tokens that he wishes, the Marine player may continue to move and/or fire with those miniatures he has left to move.
Placing Blips
The Alien player may place out some, none, or all, of his remaining Blip tokens onto a board being scanned. The Alien player must place out all remaining Blip tokens when the fourth board is scanned. The Blip tokens may be placed onto any square that is not in the line of sight of any Marine or Commander miniature. No more than one Blip may be placed onto a square.
Revealing Blips
If a Marine or Commander miniature moves onto a square from which a line of sight can be traced to one or more Blip tokens, then those Blip tokens must be revealed. The Alien player should turn over each Blip token that can be seen, and place the corresponding alien miniature in the same square. If there is not an alien miniature of that type available then no alien is placed onto the board. In either case the Blip token is then placed face-up to one side of the board.
When the Dreadnought Blip token is revealed, the Dreadnought must be placed onto the board in such a way that part of its base covers the square the Blip token occupied.
Line of Sight
Line of sight between any two miniatures is found by tracing a straight line from the centre of one square to the other. If the line passes through a square containing another miniature, a closed door or a wall, the line of sight is blocked. Line of sight may not be traced between two miniatures that are diagonally adjacent. Miniatures only block the line of sight for the purpose of firing, they do not block line of sight for the purpose of seeing if a Blip token needs to be revealed.
If there is a reasonable disagreement as to whether or not a square can be seen, each player should roll a heavy weapons die. Whoever rolls the highest decides the outcome. If it is a draw, the player whose turn it is decides the outcome.
Firing
You may only fire at targets that are visible. Targets are visible if you can trace a straight line of sight to them. There is no maximum range for any of the weapons used in Space Crusade. The dice you must roll will depend upon which weapon you are using.
Light Weapons
| Weapon | Dice |
|---|---|
| Bolter or Bolt Pistol | 2 Light Weapons dice |
| Heavy Bolter | 2 Heavy Weapons dice |
Heavy Weapons
| Weapon | Dice |
|---|---|
| Assault Cannon | 2 Heavy Weapons dice |
| Plasma Gun | 2 Heavy Weapons dice |
| Missile Launcher | 2 Heavy Weapons dice |
Note: The above information is shown on each of the Marine reference cards as a reminder during gameplay.
Combat dice
There are two different types of Combat dice: white light weapons dice and red heavy weapons dice. Combat dice are used for firing and to resolve hand-to-hand combat.
Rolling to Hit
When firing, roll the appropriate combat dice and count the numbers you have rolled. If the total is greater than the Armour Value of your target you will have scored a hit. The target must then lose one life point for each point you rolled over its armour value.
All aliens, except the Dreadnought, have only one life point and are therefore eliminated whenever they are hit. Marines also have only one life point. Marine Commander miniatures start the game with six life points.
When a miniature is eliminated it is removed from the board and points are scored.
Re-rolling dice
Having rolled the combat dice, some cards allow you to re-roll one die. You do not have to re-roll a die, but if you do the new roll must be used.
Heavy Weapons
There are three heavy weapons in the game and each has a special way of firing. The dice are rolled as usual. However, all heavy weapons affect an area, and may therefore hit more than one target.
Assault Cannon
When using the Assault Cannon the total number rolled may be split between any visible targets. Removing one miniature may make others visible targets. These may then be removed, providing you have scored enough points.
Example One: Assault Cannon
Look at the diagram for Line of Sight. The player rolls two Heavy Weapons dice and scores a total of four. He may therefore split these points amongst the visible aliens in one of four possible ways:
- 1 point against each of the Gretchin. The last point is then wasted as it cannot overcome the Armour Value of either the Ork or the Android;
- 2 points against the nearest Ork and then 2 points, 1 each, against two of the three Gretchin;
- 2 points against the nearest Ork and then 2 points against the second Ork as he is now visible;
- 3 points against the Android and 1 point against one of the three Gretchin.
Plasma Gun
The Plasma Gun fires at all miniatures in a straight line of squares, which may be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. The total number rolled is compared to the armour value of each and every miniature in the line of fire. Any Marines caught in the line must also be attacked.
The line of fire will be blocked as soon as it hits a wall or a closed door.
Example Two: Plasma Gun
In the above example the player with the Plasma Gun may fire in any one of the three directions. He scored a total of four. Thus all the aliens in his chosen line of fire will be hit with four points.
The alien in square B will also be hit with four points, regardless of whether the alien in square A is eliminated or not.
He may only fire one square diagonally before hitting the wall.
Missile Launcher
The Missile Launcher must fire at a square, rather than a miniature, although the target square may contain a miniature. Any miniature in the target square will be attacked with the total number rolled on both dice. Furthermore, any miniature in an adjacent square will be caught in the blast and is attacked with the higher of the two dice rolled.
The blast will not affect adjacent miniatures on the far side of a wall or closed door.
Example Three: Missile Launcher
In the above example the darker shaded square is the target square. The two heavy weapons dice scored a 2 and a 3. Therefore the target square is hit for five and all adjacent squares are hit with three. The squares beyond the wall are not affected by the blast.
Hand-to-Hand Combat
Instead of firing, a miniature may attack using hand-to-hand combat. A miniature may attack using hand-to-hand combat either before or after moving. To attack another miniature in hand-to-hand combat you must be in one of four squares: to the side, front or rear. You cannot attack diagonally.
Each player rolls the combat dice shown for the miniature's hand-to-hand combat ability. This information is shown on the Reference card for the Marine player, and on the Alien Control panel for the Alien player. The number of dice a Commander miniature must roll will depend on which weapons he chose at the start of the game.
Players compare how many points they have rolled. Whoever rolled the most wins. The loser must lose one life point for each point his opponent rolled above his own total. Therefore, if one player rolled one and his opponent rolled four, he would lose three life points.
If both players roll the same number it is a draw and neither loses any life points.
Any miniature eliminated is removed from the board.
Collecting Blip Tokens
Whenever a Marine eliminates an alien he should check to see if there is a face up Blip or Reinforcement token for that alien. If a token is available the Marine player may take it.
If there is no token available then the Marine player will not score any points for the alien eliminated. The token collected does not have to be the specific token that was revealed for the alien miniature eliminated. As long as there is a token available a Marine player may claim it for eliminating an appropriate alien miniature.
The Alien Player's Turn
During the Alien player's turn he may move and/or attack with all the aliens on the board, including Blip tokens. Before he moves any of the aliens he must take an Alien Event card. This card is then played immediately. After moving and firing all the aliens he wishes, the Alien player may then choose to use a number of his Reinforcement tokens. The Alien player's turn is then over.
Moving and Firing Aliens
The Alien Control panel shows the maximum number of squares that may be moved by each alien miniature. An alien miniature may move before or after it has attacked, or it may choose not to move at all.
Alien miniatures must follow the same movement restrictions as Marine or Commander miniatures. Aliens may open doors.
Moving Blips
All Blip tokens may move a total of five squares and follow the same movement restrictions as miniatures. They may open doors. If a Blip token moves into view of a Marine or Commander miniature it must be revealed. An alien miniature may continue moving after being revealed. However, squares moved before being revealed count against the alien's movement allowance. If the number of squares moved before being revealed is equal to, or greater, than the movement allowance of the alien, then that alien may move no further that turn, but may attack.
Attacking with the aliens
Each alien miniature, except the Dreadnought, may make one attack per turn. The attack may be made before or after the miniature moves. Aliens may attack either by firing or by using hand-to-hand combat.
Aliens attack in the same way as Marines. The Alien Control panel shows which combat dice should be rolled when attacking with any alien.
Some aliens have heavy weapons. One of the Chaos Space Marines has a heavy weapon and the Dreadnought may be armed with two. These heavy weapons fire in the same way as the heavy weapons carried by the Marine miniatures.
Aliens may not fire their weapons and attack in hand-to-hand combat in the same turn.
Eliminating Marines
If the Alien player eliminates a Marine or Commander miniature he should take the miniature and place it in front of the alien Control Panel. The Alien player scores five points for each Marine eliminated and ten points for each Marine with a heavy weapon or Marine Commander eliminated.
Marine players lose five points for every Marine eliminated, ten points for each Marine with a heavy weapon eliminated and ten points if their Marine Commander is eliminated. This loss of points should be recorded by moving the Points track marker on the Scanner down the appropriate amount. Marine players may continue to play normally, even if their Marine Commander is eliminated.
The Dreadnought
The Dreadnought is a fearsome war machine, developed by the followers of Chaos. It is an adversary to be feared and respected.
Moving the Dreadnought
The Dreadnought occupies four squares, instead of one. When moving it may pass through other alien miniatures but may not end its move if any of the four squares it occupies contains another miniature. When moving the Dreadnought always count the number of squares it moves from the front edge of its base. The Dreadnought may always change the direction in which it is facing by turning on the spot. As with other miniatures this does not count as a move, nor does it use up any of the Dreadnought's movement.
The Dreadnought may not move diagonally.
Passing through doors
Because of its size, the Dreadnought must lower itself to pass through doors. While it is lowered it may not fire any of its weapons. The Dreadnought is, therefore, programmed never to stop beneath a door. A Dreadnought may not finish its turn under a door. If the Dreadnought has insufficient movement left to pass through a door fully it must stop by the door and pass through on the Alien player's next turn.
The Dreadnought's Weapons
The Dreadnought starts the game with Bolters mounted on its body and two heavy weapons. Before placing it onto the board, the Alien player should choose which heavy weapons it will have and clip these onto the Dreadnought model.
When the Dreadnought fires it may fire all three of its weapons. The weapons are fired one at a time. It may fire more than one weapon at the same target or may choose to fire each weapon at a different target.
The Dreadnought can fire all its weapons as long as it can trace a line of sight to its intended target from at least one of the four squares it occupies.
The Dreadnought may not fire those weapons that have been removed. When it has lost both its heavy weapons it may only fire with its Bolters.
The Dreadnought's Life Points
The Dreadnought has three life points. When it loses the first life point the Alien player must remove one of its heavy weapons. The second heavy weapon is removed when it loses another life point. It continues to roll its full number of combat dice for hand-to-hand combat, even when damaged. It is removed from the board when it loses its third life point.
Dreadnought example
The Dreadnought begins on the four shaded squares. It moves four squares, first onto the two squares marked 1, then onto the two squares marked 2. The Dreadnought then turns and moves onto the two squares marked 3 and finally onto the two squares marked 4. The Dreadnought therefore ends up occupying the four lighter shaded squares.
From this position the Dreadnought can trace a line of sight, for all its weapons onto any of the squares, except those marked with an X.
Alien Reinforcement
The Alien player starts the game with a number of Reinforcement tokens. The exact number will depend on the mission being played. The Alien player may play up to six Reinforcement tokens at the end of his turn. However, if there are no Blip tokens or alien miniatures on the board the Alien player must use six Reinforcement tokens, or as many as he has available.
The token is placed face-up to one side, together with any revealed Blip tokens. The alien miniature it represents is then placed onto the board in any of the squares marked for reinforcement arrivals. These squares are shown with an "R" on the mission map. If the appropriate miniature is not available then the Reinforcement Token may not be played.
Alien reinforcements may not, however, be placed on a square that is visible to a Marine miniature.