The Plum Island Horror Rulebook

Table of Contents

Game Overview
- Components
- Rules Reference Notation
Setup
Game Play
Combat Overview
Victory and Defeat
Game Modes

Game Overview

The Plum Island Horror is a 1 to 4 player game of cooperative gameplay as players try to work together to defeat the deadly onslaught of the monstrous Horrors in their attempt to overwhelm not only the island, but the mainland U.S. as well. Each player will control one of six unique Factions which represent various groups who populate the island. Each Faction has its own strengths and weaknesses and thus players must coordinate with one another to maximize the effects of their abilities. Players are playing together as a team, attempting to synchronize their efforts to save Plum Island and its residents. If they do that, they will win together as a group and receive accolades from the world. If not, they will lose together and share the blame equally for failing humankind.

Components

1 Mounted game board
1 Rulebook
1 Reference guide
124 Playing Cards
6 Player faction Mats
2 NPC/Horror mutations faction Mats
5 Player AIDS (4 Action Cards, 1 VIP Civilians/Quick Reference)
1 Game Track Sideboard
2 Cloth Bags
6 Custom Combat Dice
70 Murder of Horrors Tiles
39 Cardboard Standees with plastic stands
83 Wooden cubes*
210 Cardboard markers

* Spares of each wooden piece have been included as replacements for lost or damaged pieces.

(game components not shown to scale)

Rules Reference Notation

[R12] indicates page 12 of the Rulebook. [RG5] indicates page 5 of the Reference Guide. Herein, the first time a key word is mentioned it is formatted in bold italics and underlined. Each of those terms is listed in the glossary of the Reference Guide as a header or a subheader. To get a specific location, check the index [RG34].

Setup

Before playing each game, perform the following steps in order. This is the setup for the standard four-player game of The Plum Island Horror. Other player counts are covered later in the rules [R30].

1. Place Game Board

Unfold the game board and place it in the center of the play area within easy reach of all players.

2. Choose a Faction & Place Units

Each player chooses or randomly selects one of the six Factions to control during this play of The Plum Island Horror. Each Faction is identified by a symbol, abbreviation, and predominant color:

Greenport Township (GT) - Purple
Neighborhood Watch (NW) - Green
Plum Island Constabulary (PIC) - Blue
Plum Island Research Laboratories Security Services (PIRLSS) - Brown
National Guard (NG) - Khaki
Islanders Athletic Club (IAC) - Orange

Historical Note: During these dark days, many Plum Island residents grouped together and summoned unparalleled bravery and courage to stand against the Horrors. Each Faction unit represents a group of citizens and is named after the most heroic member of each cluster as reported by their comrades in the aftermath of the disaster.

Each Faction has a group of units that are controlled by the owning player. Once decided, each player takes the following components for their Faction: Faction Mat, Faction-colored Player Turn Activation Token, one 2-Supplies marker, Faction Units. Factions have one Leader, one Compound, and four other units. Each Faction starts the game with their leader and the four other units on the board, except the National Guard Faction which starts with only two units. Place these units onto the game map as detailed in the "At Start" Setup section under each Character's individual section. In addition, each player takes their Compound unit and places it directly onto their Faction Mat in its corresponding box.

3. Add NPC Units to the Board

NPC units are Neutral Player Character units that can be controlled by any player. Place NPC units on the board as follows:

The Ferry Boat Cheyenne Sky unit is placed in the Greenport Docks Area (3K). Note: Throughout these rules, you will see Areas referred to by their alpha-numeric Area Address [RG21].
Place the three Coast Guard units as follows: Shore Patrol and Coast Guard Cutter Alyssa into the Coast Guard Station/Docks Area (2J) and the Coast Guard Helicopter unit into Area 2i.
The Air Medical Helicopter unit is placed in the Good Samaritan Hospital Area (2G).
The Hero and Wolverine units do not start on the map. Place them on the NPC Faction Mat in their respective boxes.
The Texas Navy unit does not start on the map. Place it nearby within easy reach.

4. Add Civilians Units to the Board

The fine citizens of Plum Island are represented by circular Civilians units. Place all of the Regular Civilians units with the white background into one of the game bags. Then randomly select 30 units from the bag, one unit at a time, and place them according to the indicated Areas on the map as follows:

2 random Regular Civilians units in each Area with two pips in the upper right corner.
1 random Regular Civilians unit in each Area with one pip in the upper right corner.

After placing the last of these 30 Regular Civilians units, remove the remaining 8 Regular Civilians units from the bag and place them to the side near the map (they may be spawned during the game).

5. Place Turn Order tokens in Draw Bag

Place eight Turn Order Tokens (four Player Turn Activation tokens, each representing one of the four Factions selected for the game, three red Fate tokens and one black Impending Doom token) into the Turn Order Bag and shake it up. Place the Turn Order Bag within reach of at least one of the players.

6. Place Biohazard Cubes in Draw Bag

Place 5 green Biohazard Cubes directly into the Biohazard Draw Bag. Then place the 14 yellow Biohazard Cubes into the yellow cubes available pool in the Biohazard Cubes area of the Game Tracks Sideboard and the 14 red Biohazard Cubes into the red cubes holding pool.

7. Shuffle the Fate, Event, and Search Decks

Shuffle all the Fate Cards, Event Cards, and Search Cards individually and form a draw pile for each of those decks near the players. Note: If any deck becomes exhausted during the game, reshuffle it.

8. Spawn Murder of Horrors Units

Place a four-tile Murder of Horrors Stack in each of the six Spawn Zones across the top of the board. Each tile represents dozens of individual monsters that are coming for you and are referred to as a Murder of Horrors because, well, they want to murder you.

Important Note: The Spawn Zone Areas are special in that they may not be entered by any non-Horrors units and Horrors units in these areas may not be targeted by a Combat Action or special card effect.

9. Place Mutations on the Horror mutations Faction Mat

Place the Mutations Standees in their respective locations on the Horrors Faction Mat. Mutations are especially evil and annoyed Horrors that have the honor of also being represented by standees in the same manner as Player units.

10. Place markers on Game Tracks Sideboard

Place the Game Round marker in the 1 space of the Game Round Track.
Place the Biohazard Level marker in the 0 space of the Biohazard Track.
Place the Total Overrun Points marker in the 0 space of the Overrun Points Track.
Place the Evacuation Points marker in the 0 space of the Mandatory Evacuation Points Track.

11. Create Supply of Hit Cubes and Other markers

Place all the black Hit Cubes in the holding pool or near the players so that they can grab them as needed to record Hits on units.
Place all other game markers near the game board within easy reach of the players.

12. Storm Damage

The damage and carnage caused to the facilities and bridges of Plum Island must be assessed and recorded at the start of each game. Damaged markers are used to show the extent of the destruction.

Power Outage: Place the Power Now! marker and 3 damage worth of Damaged markers into the Islandwide Light & Power Area (3H).

Area Damage: The following Areas have a Damaged-2 marker placed into them:

Greenport Docks (3K)
Coast Guard Station/Docks (2J)
Old Republic Airport (6E)
Good Samaritan Hospital (2G)
Oceanside Industrial Park (2C)
Great South Bay Bridge

Bridge Storm Damage: The damage done to the nine Bridges of Plum Island is randomly determined each game (note that the Great South Bay Bridge is assigned Damage as an Area but could also receive more Damage in this step). Each of the nine affected Bridges has a black-circled number adjacent to them on the map and this number is referenced for any damage application. Any player draws a Fate Number, consults the Bridge Damage Table (below), and places the indicated amount of Damage on each Bridge, per the result.

Bridge Damage Table:

Fate Number	Effect
1	Widespread Damage! Place Damaged-2 markers on each odd-numbered Bridge and the Great South Bay Bridge Area.
2	Coastal Damage! Place one Damaged-2 marker on each of the following Bridges: #4, #5 and #7 and the Great South Bay Bridge Area.
3	River Flooding! Place one Damaged-2 marker on each of the following Bridges: #1, #2, #3, #6 and #9.
4	Tornado Damage! Draw a Fate Number. Place a Damaged-2 marker on that same numbered Bridge and then also on both Bridges numbered one number higher and one number lower than the Fate Number drawn. If the Fate Number is 1, then place a Damaged-2 marker only on Bridges #1 and #2.
5	Interior Damage! Place a Damaged-2 marker on each of the following Bridges: #6, #8 and #9.
6	Widespread Damage! Place Damaged-2 markers on each even-numbered Bridge and the Great South Bay Bridge Area.

13. First Contact!

Before players begin the game, they must determine where first contact with the Horrors of Plum Island occurs. As the final step of the Game Setup, the Murder of Horrors Stacks will move forward until contact with a Player unit (Faction unit or NPC Standee) or Civilians unit is made. After all, how can players do anything until they realize there is a problem?

Any player begins flipping Fate Cards, referencing only the Activate instructions section of each card—ignore all the other sections of the card. With each card flip, conduct the indicated Activate section only [R16].

If an activated Murder of Horrors Stack ends its move in combat with any Player or Civilians unit, resolve the combat normally [R25]. Then stop the First Contact! procedure immediately. Contact with the Horrors has been reported and the players are now aware of the threat!

If you draw a Surge! activation and contact is made at the end of the first activation, do not resolve the second activation.

If more than one Murder of Horrors Stack ends its activation in combat with a Player or Civilians unit because multiple Tracks were activated, resolve all the combats caused and then stop the procedure.

After contact has been made per the above, players take all the Fate Cards that were drawn for the Bridge Storm Damage and First Contact! procedures and shuffle them back into the draw pile.

Play begins with the Activity Phase of Round 1.

Setup Example

One example of a final setup (steps 1-13 completed) for the standard four-player version. Fate number 5 was drawn for Bridge Storm Damage.

Game Tracks Sideboard with placed At-Start markers and cubes.
Shuffled Fate, Event, and Search card decks.
Extra game and Civilian VIP markers.
Turn Order tokens and draw bag.
Green Biohazard cubes and Biohazard Draw Bag.
Custom Combat dice.
Horror Mutations Faction mat with placed Mutations Standees.
NPC Faction mat with placed markers/Standees.
Selected Faction mats with placed Compound markers.
Game board with placed markers and Standees (placement of Faction Standees does not reflect best practices or a specific strategy).
First Contact! was made in 1B when Fate Card "Activate Track 1" was drawn. Unprotected Civilians stand no chance against the Horrors and the unit was eliminated from the game [R27].

Game Play

Sequence of Play

The goal of The Plum Island Horror is to survive nine complete Game Rounds, which represent three full in-game days of activity. Each game day is broken down into a Morning, Afternoon, and Night Game Round. Each Game Round consists of three Phases.

Hunger Phase (Night Game Rounds Only)

Activity Phase: Turn Order tokens are drawn and resolved until all tokens have been drawn. There are three different types of tokens that may be drawn during the Activity Phase:

Player Activation Tokens: Activate the associated Player Faction
Fate Tokens: Horrors Spawn & Activate
Impending Doom Token: Draw Event Card

End Phase: Once there are no Turn Order tokens remaining in the Turn Order Bag, play proceeds to the end of round clean-up phase, simply referred to as the End Phase.

Hunger Phase

It's a good idea to eat regularly and stay hydrated, especially during a major crisis like this. Each evening, you will need to assess the well-being of your contingent and make sure they get the necessary nourishment. If you can't provide, there will be much grumbling, straggling, and outright casualties.

During the Hunger Phase of each Night Game Round—the first of which occurs during the third round of the game—players will need to feed their units with Supplies. This phase is ignored during the Morning and Afternoon Game Rounds.

Each player counts the number of their Faction's units on the map (including a Compound unit if they've built one) and checks to see if they have any Civilians units within their Compound. The condition of these units is irrelevant. If the Army Helicopter unit is in the game, it does not have to be fed by the National Guard Faction player.

Feeding Units: In order to feed units, players may discard 1 Supplies for each such Faction unit and 1 Supplies for all Civilians units housed in their Compound (regardless of the actual number of Civilians units). Players may opt not to feed any or all of their units.

Starving Units: If players do not have sufficient Supplies for all eligible units or do not wish to feed all of them, they must apply 1 Hit on each Faction unit that is not fed. If 1 Supplies is not spent to feed all the Civilians units in a Compound, then any one of those Civilians units is eliminated (Compound player's choice).

Example: If a player has four Faction units on the map, she will need 4 Supplies to feed all of those units. Should the player have only 2 Supplies available, she may discard those 2 Supplies to feed two units of her choice and then must assign a Hit to each of the two Faction units that were not fed. By the same token, she could opt to keep both Supplies but then must assign one Hit to each of her four Faction units.

Activity Phase

The Activity Phase represents the heart and soul of The Plum Island Horror. During this phase, gameplay is driven by drawing and resolving the Turn Order tokens, which determine what will happen next. The tokens dictate the order in which the Horrors will activate, when a potentially catastrophic event occurs, and when each player gets to take a turn.

The turn order bag is made up of eight tokens. Each player has one or more tokens—depending on player count—representing their Faction in the bag. When drawn, the corresponding player activates and can take a number of actions depending on the current Game Round. When the Active Player is finished, every other player will have an opportunity to do one Follow Action. But doing so comes with the risk of unleashing more ahem horror on the players.

Additionally, there are 3 red Fate tokens and 1 black Impending Doom token. When the black Impending Doom token is drawn, the top card of the Event deck is drawn and resolved. When one of the 3 red Fate tokens is drawn, new Murder of Horrors Stacks Spawn and designated Horrors units Activate.

Horrors Units Explained: The Plum Island Horror is filled with all kinds of monsters, beasts, and abominations that are collectively referred to as Horrors. In game terms, there are two primary types of units that make up these Horrors: Murder of Horrors Stacks (made up of individual tiles) and Mutations Standees. You will learn more about each of these types of units as they are introduced throughout the rules, but the main thing to note is that whenever a rule refers to Horrors units, it applies to both Murder of Horrors Stacks and Mutations Standees.

Every token is drawn during each Activity Phase. Once the final token in the Turn Order bag has been drawn and resolved, play progresses to the End Phase.

Player Activation Tokens: When a token of one of the Player Factions is drawn from the Turn Order bag during the Activity Phase, the player controlling the associated Faction becomes the Active Player and enacts the three parts of a Player Turn:

Crisis Adrenaline Phase
Player Action Phase
Follow Action Phase

Crisis Adrenaline Phase: The first thing that the Active Player may do during their Player Turn is channel the adrenaline of their Faction units into a free Foot Movement Action [R19]. Each Active Faction unit on the board, except for Compounds, may take this move.

Units with a Vehicular Movement ability cannot use their vehicle for a Crisis Adrenaline Move. NPC units may not be moved during this phase.

Units that did a Crisis Adrenaline Move may still move again using one or more normal Move Actions (or any other eligible actions for that matter) later during this turn.

Important: Don't forget this ability! It allows all units of the Active Player's Faction—whether they are later selected for a Player Action or not—to do a free Foot Movement. This move can be parlayed with one or more future Player Actions to allow a unit to do some funky marching and maneuvering or move 0 Areas to pick up/drop supplies in their current Area.

Supplies Markers: Supplies Markers may be freely traded between two Factions that have Player units in the same Area during one of the two Factions' Activations. Additionally, when a Faction unit takes a Move Action, it may pick up or drop any number of Supplies markers from or into the Area that they are in, move through, or in which they end their turn. Supplies Markers sitting in an Area are considered Loose Supplies. Exception: Even though most Compounds don't have a movement allowance, the Active Player's Compound may pick up or drop any number of Supplies markers during the Crisis Adrenaline Phase.

Player Action Phase: There are nine Actions that players can perform when their Player Turn Activation token is drawn; Move, Combat, Crowd Control, Evacuate, Repair, Build Compound, Use a Location Action, Heal, Use a Special Action. The detailed rules for each of these actions are explained in future sections.

For now, there are two key things to remember. First, the number of actions that your faction can collectively take is noted on the Game Round Track. You can split these actions between any number of your Faction or NPC units. The red square in the upper right dictates the number of action(s).

Second, any action may be selected and performed multiple times assuming that all action requirements are met. Repeated Actions each use up your number of allocated actions and can be carried out by the same or different units.

Follow Action Phase: After the Active Player announces that they are finished taking their actions, each other player, in clockwise order, may choose to conduct one Follow Action or pass. All normal Player Actions are available to be chosen as a Follow action, except for the Use a Special Action option. The use of Faction specific special actions is prohibited during the Follow Action phase of a turn. The Active Player does not get a Follow Action.

Additionally, the Reposition Action is a special action that may only be taken as a Follow Action [R23].

The Fickle Finger of Fate (Follow Action Event Check): Choosing to use a Follow Action has a cost. After each player completes their Follow Action, they must draw a Fate Card and check the bottom section for one of the two following results (ignore the rest of the card).

No Event Card: If the entry states No Event Card, nothing happens and the next player in clockwise order chooses whether to take a Follow Action or not.

Draw Event Card: If the entry states Draw Event Card, then that player must immediately draw the top Event Card from that draw pile and apply its effects. After resolving the Event Card, no further players may take a Follow Action this turn. The Follow Action Phase ends and normal play resumes with drawing a new Turn Order token.

Judiciously deciding when to use a Follow Action and which to use is often the make it or break it factor for most groups. Using them is often quite helpful, but just remember, when you test fate, you often get the horns. Hmmm, I may be mixing metaphors but I think you get what I'm saying.

Fate Tokens

The Horrors never stop—they are a murderous driving force that does not rest. Players know they are coming but exactly where and when cannot be predicted.

When one of the three red Fate Tokens is drawn from the Turn Order Bag, draw the top Fate Card and apply its Spawn effect. Then carry out the Activate instruction, in that order. Ignore the other entries on the card. After doing so, the card is placed into the discard pile.

Spawn

There are three possible spawn effects that can be present on a Fate Card: a Track Number(s) spawn, a Chaos! Spawn, and Reanimated! Spawn.

Important: Unless specifically told otherwise, when a rule in this rulebook or the text on a Search or Event Card instructs you to Spawn Murder of Horrors Stacks, the number of units spawned depends on the current Biohazard Track Level:

Biohazard Levels 0-8 = 3 tiles
Biohazard Levels 9-16 = 4 tiles

Track Number(s) Spawn: Players will Spawn Murder of Horrors Stacks into the Spawn Zone of the indicated Track Number(s). If multiple tracks are indicated, spawn Murder of Horrors Stacks in each Track's Spawn Zone in the order listed.

Chaos! Spawn: If the card indicates a Chaos! Spawn effect, set the first card to the side, draw two more Fate Cards and check each of their Fate Numbers (the number in the lower right of the card.) Spawn Murder of Horrors Stacks on each of the two Tracks whose numbers correspond to the two drawn Fate Numbers. If you draw two of the same Fate Number, you will spawn a 6- or 8-tile Murder of Horrors Stack onto that one Track depending on the Biohazard Level.

Reanimated! Spawn: If the card indicates a Reanimated! Spawn effect, set the first card to the side, draw another Fate Card and check the Fate Number. Reference the Track Number corresponding to the drawn Fate Number and add two Murder of Horrors tiles to each separate Murder of Horrors Stack on that Track, regardless of where they are located. If there are no Murder of Horrors Stacks on the track, no units are added.

Note that with a Reanimated! Spawn effect, no new Stacks of Murder of Horrors tiles are created. The existing Murder of Horrors Stacks are growing as they infect new victims at an alarming rate or resurrect the previously dead. Also, note that these spawns do not emerge from the Spawn Zone—they are added to the stacks of Murder of Horrors tiles already in play!

Incomplete Spawning: If there are ever not enough Murder of Horrors tiles to fully spawn the required number, deploy as many as possible starting with the Stack furthest down the Track. Then increase the Total Overrun Points marker on the Overrun Track by one space, regardless of how many tiles short the spawn is.

Murder of Horrors Amalgamation: Murder of Horrors tiles located in the same Area always group together and act as one big group, referred to as a Stack. So, if new Murder of Horrors tiles are spawned in a location that already has a stack of Murder of Horrors tiles OR one Stack ends their movement in the same location as another Stack, they are amalgamated together into one larger Murder of Horrors Stack. A Murder of Horrors Stack is considered to be one Horrors unit for things like Close Combat.

Spawning into Occupied Areas: If a newly spawned Murder of Horrors Stack appears in the same Area as one or more Non-Horrors units, then an immediate Close Combat is fought with the Murder of Horrors Stack attacking unit(s) in that Area using normal Close Combat procedures. Note that this is also the case if a Horrors unit is spawned into an occupied Area by any other method, such as by an Event.

Activate

After resolving the Spawn instructions, reference the Activate area of the first card drawn, if multiple. There are two possible Activate instructions that can be listed on a Fate Card: Activate Track Number(s) or Surge!

Activate Track Number(s): Players will move all Horrors units (Murder of Horrors Stacks and Mutations) located on the listed Track Number(s). The number of Areas each Horrors will move is based on that unit's Movement Allowance (see below). Horrors will only follow the indicated Black Arrow icon paths from one Area to the next connected Area, moving in the direction of the arrow. Note that Horrors may never move along the lateral White Arrow icon connections unless instructed to by an Event.

Murder of Horrors Stack: A Murder of Horrors Stack moves according to the number of tiles in the Stack at the start of the move:
- 1 to 3 tiles = 3 Areas
- 4 to 6 tiles = 2 Areas
- 7 or more tiles = 1 Area
Mutations: Each Mutation has its own Movement Allowance and moves up to a number of Areas as indicated on the Horror Mutations Faction Mat. Some Mutations move in a unique way.
Night Game Rounds: During Night Game Rounds (only), each Horrors unit's normal Movement Allowance, regardless of type, is increased by one Area.

Horrors that reach the Great South Bay Bridge or the final Area at the end of a Track move no further and may trigger an Overrun [R29].

Close Combats resulting from these moves are resolved after all Horrors on that Track have moved, starting with the combat that is farthest along the activated Track. A Combat! marker can be placed as a reminder.

Surge!: If the card indicates Surge!, draw another Fate Card and get a Fate Number. Players will then activate the Track Number corresponding to the drawn Fate Number twice using the normal Activate Track Number procedures.

Important: Complete the first activation in its entirety (including any combats) before starting the second activation on that same Track. Also, if there are no Horrors located on the activated Track then nothing happens on that Track… and the whole group is required by these rules to do a little dance.

Horrors Movement Details

There are a few key points of order to keep in mind when moving Horrors units.

Multiple Horrors Units on a Track or in an Area: If there is more than one Horrors unit on the same activated Track, units are moved one at a time beginning with the unit(s) furthest down on the Track (Area ID reverse alphabetical order). This unit is first moved up to its Movement Allowance and then the next furthest Horrors unit on that same Track is moved.

If more than one Horrors unit is in the same Area, the one with the higher Movement Allowance is moved first. If all have the same allowance, then a Mutations Standee is moved first.

Important: After all movement is complete, but before any combat resolves, any Murder of Horrors Stacks that are in the same Area amalgamate [R16].

Contact Leads to Combat: If a Horrors unit begins in or enters an Area containing a Player unit and/or Civilians unit, it must stop its move and automatically conduct a Close Combat attack [R19]. All its remaining Movement is lost for this activation. Horrors units ignore boats and helicopters and will never attack them.

Stunned Horrors: If a Horrors unit has a Stunned marker on it when activated, the unit will not move or conduct combat. Instead, remove the marker from the unit and it remains in its current Area. Horrors units can only have one Stunned marker assigned to them—additional Stunned results are ignored.

Impending Doom Token

Draw an Event Card. These cards represent all sorts of horrendous events that will really annoy players. Event Cards are drawn and resolved due to drawing the black Impending Doom Turn Order token. After the token is drawn, any player draws the top Event Card from that deck, and they read the card out loud. The card describes an event, and players must enact the instructions on the card immediately and to conclusion. If an Event cannot be completed for any reason, the card has no effect and another Event Card is not drawn.

End Phase

The End Phase is where cleanup and housekeeping occur, as expected. But there is also one devilish step to conduct that can instantly lose you the game. Be sure to conduct these steps at the end of each Game Round, especially the last one.

The End Phase consists of five steps. Each step is conducted in order and to completion before moving to the next step.

Replenish Locations Step [Night Game Rounds Only]
Mutation Regeneration Step
Biohazard Infection Step
Refill Turn Order Bag Step
Advance Game Round Marker Step

Replenish Locations Step (Night Game Rounds Only): Players will remove all Exhausted Location markers currently on the map. These Areas can now be used again for eligible Location Actions. This step is skipped during Morning and Afternoon Game Rounds.

Mutation Regeneration Step: Players will remove 1 Hit Cube from each Mutation that has one or more Hits. If there are no Mutations Standees in the game or those that are in the game have no Hits against them, then skip this step. Murder of Horrors Stacks are not affected in this step.

Biohazard Infection Step: Any one player (preferably the most clairvoyant of the group) will blindly draw two Biohazard Cubes from the Biohazard Draw Bag. The Biohazard Level marker is then adjusted on the Biohazard Track depending on the color of the cubes drawn:

Green cube = no effect
Yellow cube = increase the marker by one space.
Red cube = increase the marker by two spaces.

Effects are cumulative for both drawn cubes. After adjusting the Biohazard Level accordingly, the two drawn cubes are placed back into the Biohazard Draw Bag. If Biohazard Level hits 17+ as a result, the game immediately ends and players lose [R29].

In all cases throughout the game whenever you are required to draw from the Biohazard Draw Bag, the above procedure is always used.

Example: It's late in the game and during the Biohazard Infection Step of the Game Round the players pick Harvey to draw the cubes (figuring that he's due for some good luck after watching his last horrible Combat Dice roll). Well, Harvey draws a yellow cube and a red cube, increasing the Biohazard Level by three spaces! The players move the Biohazard Level marker three spaces up the track and then vote to never let Harvey touch anything in the game again.

Historical Note: Scientists from the CDC are still studying exactly how the Horrors' infection spread and mutated so many people. The term infection is used loosely as the researchers really don't know what else to call the phenomenon. The pathogens and biohazard chemical mix created by the accident gave birth to some previously never seen reactions that permeated the environment and poisoned all who came near it. Exactly how the mixture completed its vile work is still under scrutiny, and all we could do with the game design is make an attempt at simulating the ends without comprehending the exact means.

Refill Turn Order Bag Step: Players gather all eight Turn Order tokens and place them back into the Turn Order Bag. Any player then gives the bag a good shake and it is thereby ready to go for the next Round.

Advance Round marker Step: Move the Game Round marker to the next space on the Game Round Track and then begin with the first phase of the next Round. If you've just finished Game Round 9, then the game ends and players need to determine victory or defeat [R29].

Player Actions Overview

Just a fair warning, players will need to use their Actions intelligently and with great care because, as the old adage goes, there is too much to do and too little time to do it . . . like barely enough . . . maybe. Seriously, it's going to be close!

There are nine Actions that players can perform when their Player Turn Activation Token is drawn and one Action that may only be performed as a Follow Action. These actions are:

Move
Combat
Crowd Control
Evacuate
Repair
Build Compound
Use a Location Action
Heal
Use a Special Action
Reposition (Follow Action only)

Reminder: The Active Player may use any eligible Player unit to conduct the action. An eligible Player unit is a unit in the Active Player's Faction or an NPC Standee. The same Action may be selected multiple times and may be carried out by the same Player unit if desired. The number of actions that can be performed is tied to the Game Round [R15].

Move Action

The Move Action allows the Active Player to choose any Player unit and move them any number of Connected Areas up to the maximum number indicated above the Foot Movement or Vehicle Movement icon depicted on their Standee and Faction Mat.

Movement is otherwise restricted by four simple rules:

Player Unit Area Capacity Limit: A Player unit may not end its movement in an Area that already has two other Player units* in it, but may pass through. In other words, only two non-Horrors Standees per Area.
No units may cross a damaged bridge (signified by Damaged markers). Once the Damage is removed, the Bridge can be moved across normally.
If a Player unit enters an Area with any Horrors unit(s) it must stop. Close Combat is not automatic when a Player unit enters an Area with Horrors—the player still needs to use a Combat Action to attack the Horrors [R19].
A Player unit may leave an area that contains one or more Horrors units without penalty.

While Compound units are Faction units, they do not count towards the two Player unit Area capacity maximum.

Foot Movement: All Player units have a basic Foot Movement Allowance (except Compounds). This is shown on the unit's Faction Mat and Standee with a feet icon. Remember that a Faction unit's free Crisis Adrenaline move can only be a Foot Movement and is done before any other Player Actions are conducted.

Vehicular Movement: Some units also have a Vehicular Movement Allowance ability. This is shown on the unit's Faction Mat and Standee with the wheel icon.

To use a Faction unit's Vehicle Movement, the Active Player forgoes the unit's Foot Movement and discards 1 Supplies marker from their pool (this, of course, represents gasoline). The 1 Supplies cost must be paid again if the same unit is selected to perform the Vehicular Movement Move Action again.

The Paddy Wagon unit (Plum Island Constabulary Faction) is the only Compound unit that may move. All other Compounds are immobile once placed on the map.

Example: The Martha Winfrey unit is in Area 2i, and the P.I.R.L. Security Services player wishes to get the unit to the P.I.R.L. HQ Area (4H) so that the C.E.O. can use its special Leader Ability on some units in the vicinity. The unit has a Vehicular Movement Allowance of 5. He decides to spend 1 Supplies and have the unit apply its Vehicular Movement Allowance (apparently a very nice sports car!). The Martha Winfrey unit moves from 2i to 2J to 3K (crossing the bridge there because it does not have a Damaged marker) to 3J to 4i and finally ending at 4H.

Combat Action

The Combat Action allows the Active Player to conduct an eligible attack against a Horrors unit with a Player unit. There are three types of combat, summarized below, and explained in detail in the Combat Overview section of the rules [R25].

Close Combat: Close Combat can only be conducted by a unit that is in the same Area as a Horrors unit and has a yellow triangle icon with a number in it.

Note: When being attacked by the Horrors, a unit will freely engage in Close Combat defense, but it always costs an action to initiate combat.

Ranged Combat: Ranged Combat is only conducted by Player units that have a Crosshairs icon with a number below it and are in an adjacent Area or the same Area as a Horrors unit. Ranged Combat costs one Supplies marker for each Ranged Combat Action. So, the cost must be paid again if the same unit is selected to perform the Ranged Combat Action again.

Gunship Combat: Gunship Combat is only conducted by Helicopter or Boat units that have a red target with a number to the right and are in an adjacent Area or the same area as a Horrors unit. The Active Player may select only one of these units per action spent.

Crowd Control Action

The Crowd Control Action is used to move Civilians units between Connected Areas in any direction, ideally closer to safety.

To do this, the Active Player chooses a Player unit that is sharing an Area with one or more Civilians units. Then the player may move a number of those Civilians units up to the unit's Admin Rating signified by the green number below the checkmark on the unit's Standee or Faction Mat entry. Civilians that are moved using this action will move one connected Area following normal movement rules (unless a Special Ability allows it to move two Areas). Civilians units may move in different directions or all in the same direction as the Active Player desires. The player unit conducting the Crowd Control action does not move along with the Civilians, it remains in the Area (unless a Special Ability allows it to move).

Civilians units that are in the Great South Bay Bridge Area may be Crowd Controlled off the map (thus the White Arrow in that Area) provided the Area itself is not Compromised. Units moved in this way are treated as being Evacuated (see below) by the player moving them.

Important: An Area is said to be Compromised if any of the following apply:

Any Horrors unit(s) occupies the Area.
The Area contains any number of Damaged markers.
The Area has an Overrun marker in it.

Example: The Greenport Township player has her Dr. Doug Haus unit in a Clear Area (3i) with two VIP Civilians units and two regular Civilians units. She decides to use a Crowd Control Action to set up evacuation opportunities. She can only move three of the four Civilians units as Doug Haus' Admin Rating is 3. The player moves the two VIP Civilians units to Area 3J (Town Hall), guiding them closer to the Greenport Docks and the safety of the Ferry boat. Not wanting all her civilian eggs-in-one-basket, she then decides to move one of the other Civilians units into Area 4H (P.I.R.L. HQ) because her Ed Kramden unit is there and it can shuttle the civilians around to most other evacuation sites fairly easily.

Record Evacuation Points: Lastly, check the Evacuation Points (EP) of the evacuated Civilians units (the red number on the front of the Civilians marker). In some cases, this may be a variable amount. Increase the Evacuation Points marker by one space on the Evacuation Points Track for each EP earned. Players may inspect either side of any Civilians unit markers on the map at any time.

Great South Bay Bridge: As long as the Area is not Compromised, Civilians units can be moved from the Great South Bay Bridge Area off the map via the White Arrow by using a Crowd Control Action. They are treated in all ways as successfully Evacuated Civilians units. Check their Evacuation Points and increase the Evacuation Points marker on the track accordingly.

Evacuate Action

The Evacuate Action allows the Active Player to remove Civilians units from the map, evacuating them to safety, which earns precious Evacuation Points that help win the game.

Eligible Evacuation Area: The Active Player can select any eligible Area in which to conduct the Evacuation action. The Active Player is not required to have a Player unit in that Area to do this action! An eligible Area is any of the following:

An Area with both a Helipad and a Helicopter unit plus one or more Civilians units.
An Area with both Docks and a Boat unit plus one or more Civilians units. Exception: Beaches are eligible Areas for the Texas Navy unit.

In both cases, the Evacuation Area cannot be Compromised, and the Helicopter or Boat unit cannot be on its Disabled side.

Evacuating Civilians: Once the player picks the eligible Area, they remove Civilians units up to the Evacuation Capacity of the Helicopter or Boat unit being used (as listed on the unit's marker). If there are more Civilians units in the Area than the Helicopter or Boat can carry, they must remain in the Area. The evacuated Civilians units are immediately placed on the Active Player's Faction Mat (into the Other box, representing the refugee camp). The Helicopter or Boat unit remains in the Area.

Example: There are five regular Civilians units in Area 1L (Fred's Fish Market/Atlantic Point Lighthouse) along with the Coast Guard Cutter Boat unit. It is the Plum Island Constabulary player's turn, and she elects to conduct an Evacuation Action. Since the Area is a Docks Area and is not Compromised and has a Boat unit, she can evacuate up to two Civilians units (the Cutter unit has a Capacity of 2). She picks two of the Civilians and moves them onto her Faction Mat, placing them in the Other box. The Coast Guard Cutter unit remains in the Area. She then looks at the front of the two evacuated Civilians units and notes that they are worth 1 EP and 2 EP, so she moves the Evacuation Points marker up three spaces on the Evacuation Points Track.

Repair Action

The Repair Action allows the Active Player to select a Player unit in an Area containing Damaged markers or a Disabled Helicopter or Boat unit and attempt to make a repair.

A Player unit may use a Repair action in each of the following situations:

In a Damaged Area.
In an Area with a Damaged Bridge connection.
In an Area with a Disabled unit.
Adjacent to the Great South Bay Bridge Area when it is Damaged.

If more than one of the above-listed situations exist at the same time, a separate Repair action is needed to address each one.

To conduct the Repair action, the Active Player draws a Fate Card to get a Fate Number, which is then cross-referenced on the Repair Table below:

Repair Table:

Fate Number	Effect
1	Epic Fail! For a Damaged Area or Bridge, increase the Damaged marker value by one. For a Disabled unit, the unit is immediately eliminated from the game. Duct Tape Option: The player may instead spend 1 Supplies marker to convert this result to No Effect. If so, the Damaged marker(s) or Disabled unit remains as is.
2-3	Repairs Underway! For a Damaged Area or Bridge, reduce the Damaged marker value by one. For a Disabled unit, spend 1 Supplies to flip it to its regular (operational) side. Otherwise it remains Disabled.
4-5	You've Got Skills! For a Damaged Area or Bridge, remove Damaged markers equal to the Admin rating of the unit. For a Disabled unit, flip it to its regular (operational) side.
6	Working Overtime! For a Damaged Area or Bridge, remove all Damaged markers (regardless of their value). For a Disabled unit, flip it to its regular (operational) side.

Power Outage: The Islandwide Light & Power Area (3H) starts the game with the Power Now! marker in the Area. If all the Damaged markers are removed from this Area, then the players will immediately remove the Power Now! marker and each player receives a 5 Supplies marker.

Example: The Neighborhood Watch player needs to fix the Bridge connection between Cherry Pit Grove Areas 1D and 1F to allow passage of a Civilians unit stuck in 1D. She has her Gordon Fieti Standee in 1F and during a Follow Action, she declares a Repair action. The Bridge has a Damaged-2 marker on it and she draws a Fate Number. Unfortunately for her, the number is a 1! She grabs a Damaged-1 marker from the pool of available markers and places it on the Bridge connection, thereby actually adding to the damage there. Apparently, someone messed up with the blow torch!

Build Compound Action

Compounds are occupied structures that act as a safe zone for refugees and as a bulwark against the Horrors and only enter play through this action.

The Build Compound Action allows the Active Player to take the Compound unit from their Faction Mat and place it onto the game board in an Area with one of their Faction Units.

To construct a Compound, perform the following steps:

Choose a Faction unit with an Admin Rating of 3 or better.
That Faction unit immediately takes 1 Hit cube. This represents some of that unit's entourage staying behind to staff the Compound.
Discard 2 Supplies (Must have the 2 Supplies to perform this Action).
Place the Compound unit into the same Area with the unit that built it.

Remember that Compounds do not count against the Area's Capacity Limit [R18].

Civilians Units in the Compound: There are a few key things to keep in mind when it comes to Civilians unit(s) seeking safe haven in a Compound.

Compounds may only hold four Civilians units.
Civilians units in the compound must be fed during the Hunger Phase. 1 Supplies no matter the number of Civilians in the compound.
Civilians units that are in the Area when the Compound is built or that enter the Area via a Spawn or Crowd Control action may immediately be moved into the Compound for free (up to its four-unit capacity).
Civilians units can be moved out of a Compound only with the use of a Crowd Control action. They move directly from the Compound into the desired adjacent Area(s).
If a Compound is eliminated from play, place any Civilians units that were inside the Compound directly into the Area. If a Horrors unit is still in the Area and there are no Player units, it will attack the Civilians units. See Determine Attack Matchups [R25].
Finally, and maybe most importantly, the Evacuation Points of Civilians units kept in a Compound are added to the Evacuation Points Track at the end of the game, but for this to happen the Compound and its housed civilians must first survive until the end. Do not count their EP value during the course of the game.

Compound Unit Details: Compound units are considered Faction units in all respects except that they cannot move (other than the Paddy Wagon unit) and do not count against the Player unit Capacity Limit in an Area. They may conduct Actions (for example, they may do otherwise eligible Close Combat Attacks, Ranged Combat Attacks and Location Actions).

If eliminated, they cannot be rebuilt.

And yes, they must also be fed during the Hunger Phase, along with any Civilians that are inside.

Example: A group of two VIP Civilians units are cut off in the middle of a track with the Kevin Blart unit of the PIRL Security Services faction. During Game Turn 8, the brown Turn Order Token is drawn from the bag and therefore it is the PIRL Security Services player's Player Turn. He realizes it's late in the game and these civilians will never be evacuated in time (if they even survive) and the players are still short 1 EP of their Evacuation Point requirement. He decides to sacrifice some precious Supplies and build his Compound in the Area. The player discards 2 Supplies, gives the Kevin Blart unit 1 Hit (it has an Admin Rating of 4 and thus qualifies to build the Compound), and then places his Compound unit in the Area. He immediately moves the two VIP Civilians units into the Compound unit's box on his Faction Mat. However, these Civilians will not count as eligible evacuations until they survive the game inside the Compound.

Use a Location Action

This action allows a Player unit to interact directly with the Area in which it is located. There are three different activities that may optionally be selected, however, only one of these eligible activities may be performed per Action spent.

The three Location Action activities are Forage, Decontaminate, and Search. A Player unit may only do an activity if the Area it occupies has the qualifying icon, there is no Exhausted Location marker in the Area, AND the Area is not Compromised.

Forage: The Active Player may take as many Supplies markers from the general supply as there are Forage icons in the Area. Then place an Exhausted Location marker in that same Area.

Decontaminate: The Active Player may reduce the Biohazard Level by the number of Biohazard icons in the Area. Move the Biohazard Level marker down the track one space for each icon. Then place an Exhausted Location marker in that same Area.

Search: If there is a Binoculars icon in the Area, the Active Player may immediately draw the top Search Card from that deck. Follow the directions on the card, make any necessary choices, and apply the results as required. Then check the bottom of the Search Card to determine if the Area becomes exhausted or not:

If the card bottom indicates Do Not Exhaust This Area, no marker is placed, and nothing further happens.
If the card bottom indicates Exhaust This Area After Resolving This Card, the player must immediately place an Exhausted Location marker in the Area.

Search cards often add helpful supplies and weapons. They are also the main way that NPC units and VIP Civilians enter the game. See Neutral Player Character (NPC) Units [RG6].

Exhausted Locations: Location Actions cannot be taken in Areas with an Exhausted Location marker. These markers are automatically removed during the End Phase of Night Game Rounds after which the Location Actions in the Area are available to use once again.

Heal Action

The Heal action allows the Active Player to remove Hits from a Wounded unit. There are three situations in which a player may use Heal:

Heal Special Ability: If one of your Faction units has the Heal Special ability (indicated by a red cross icon on the unit's Standee or Faction Mat entry), your Faction unit may use 1 Action to remove 1 Hit cube from itself or from another Wounded unit in the Area. OR If in an Area with another player's Faction unit that has the Heal Special ability, one of your Faction units or an NPC Standee may use 1 Action to remove 1 Hit Cube from themself.

Emergency Room: If a Player unit is in the Good Samaritan Hospital Area (2G) and the Area is not Compromised, the unit may use 1 Action to remove 1 Hit Cube from itself. Essentially, the hospital is doing the healing.

Medevac Helicopter: If a Player unit is in any Helipad Area and the Air Medical Helicopter unit (that is not Disabled) is in the Good Samaritan Hospital Area, you may use one action to place the unit directly into the Good Samaritan Hospital Area (as long as there aren't already two Player unit Standees in the Area) and remove 1 Hit cube from that unit. Neither the hospital Area nor the unit's Area may be Compromised. Note that the Air Medical Helicopter unit is not actually moved. Exception: Compound units may not be Medevaced.

Example: The Sergeant "Rock" York unit has 3 Hit Cubes and is in the same Area as the Dr. Doug Haus unit. Since that unit is an EMT unit and has the Heal ability, the Neighborhood Watch player decides to use a Heal Action during his Player Turn. The player removes one Hit Cube from Sergeant York's Toughness Rating box, bringing the total Hits on the VFW unit down to 2.

Faction Special Actions

Aside from the eight normal Actions allowed for all Faction units, some Faction units have an additional Special Action that is detailed on the player's Faction Mat. A Special Action costs one Action to perform and can only be used as a Player Action (not a Follow Action).

Example: It is the PIRL Security Services Player Turn, and the players are worried about the Biohazard Level, which is at 14 right now. Therefore, the PIRL Security Services player decides to activate her Dr. Leo "Bones" Corey Standee, and she uses its Special Action "Let's See What This Stuff Does". This costs one Player Action and she then draws the next Fate Card for a Fate Number and gets a 2, which means she can dig into the Biohazard Draw Bag and take out two of the red Biohazard Cubes that have been haunting her. These get placed back into the available pool of Biohazard Cubes.

Reposition Action

This is a unique action that is only available to players as a Follow Action. It allows the player to move any one eligible Boat or Helicopter unit to an eligible Area.

To be eligible to be moved, the Boat or Helicopter unit selected may not be Disabled.
A Boat unit may be moved to any Area (regardless of distance) that is a Docks Area and is not Compromised. Exception: The Texas Navy unit treats all Beach Areas as Docks locations and can therefore be moved to/from them.
A Helicopter unit may be moved to any Area (regardless of distance) that has a Helipad icon and is not Compromised.
The Army Helicopter unit may only be moved by the National Guard Faction player.

Boat and Helicopter units may be moved from an Area that is Compromised—just not to a Compromised Area.

Movement Details

Movement in The Plum Island Horror can simply be summarized as: Horrors units can only move down the tracks between Connected Areas. All other Faction and NPC Standees can move in any direction as long as they are moving between Connected Areas. For those of you who like the nitty gritty details, well, those are below.

Connected Areas: Connected Areas are signified by two adjacent Areas on the game board connected by a circle with an arrow. As can be seen in the illustration, there are three types of connection icons: Black Arrow icons, White Arrow icons, and Bridge icons.

Black Arrow Icons: Black Arrow icons with a white background are found connecting the top and bottom sides of adjacent Areas. These illustrate the downward direction that Horrors units typically move. It's important to note that other units are not restricted to only moving down and in fact can move up across these connections. Exception: There is one Black Arrow icon that points right and connects 6G to the Great South Bay Bridge.

Forked Paths: As can be seen at the very top of the illustration, Area 1C is connected to both Areas 1D and 1E. This is called a Forked Path because there are two potential exits out of the bottom side of Area 1C.

When a Horrors unit exits an Area with a Fork, draw a Fate Card and get a Fate Number to determine in which direction it moves. A draw of 2–5 will have the unit move along the main route; a draw of 1 or 6 will send the unit along the detour route. Note that this determination is made separately for each Murder of Horrors Stack or Mutation Standee as it leaves a Forked Area.

Non-Horrors units treat Forked Paths like any other normal crossing between any two Connected Areas.

White Arrow Icons: White Arrow icons with a green background are found connecting the right and left sides of adjacent Areas. These paths may typically only be used by non-Horrors units. However, it's important to note that some Event Cards move Horrors units across White Arrow icons, so just be aware that you may not be as safe as you think you are.

Bridge Icons: Bridge icons can have both green or white backgrounds and are identified by the small number in the black circle on the upper left side of the icon. Bridge icons represent the places where bridges are needed to move across the island and incorporate all of the same movement rules as the other two icons. The main thing that sets them apart is their ability to be Damaged!

If a bridge is damaged, no units may move across it until all Damaged markers have been removed, which usually happens through the use of the Repair Action [R21] or a Murder of Horrors Forced Crossing.

Forced Crossing: Horrors units that must move across a Bridge connection that has one or more Damaged markers on it cannot do so immediately. Instead, the Horrors conduct a Forced Crossing. To conduct a Forced Crossing the Horrors unit stops in the last Area entered before the damaged Bridge. Then the Horrors unit begins to take Hits 1 at a time. For each Hit, remove 1 point of Damage.

If the Horrors are eliminated, then the Bridge retains any remaining Damaged marker value.
If the Horrors unit eliminates all the Damaged markers and still has at least one Hit point left, it has successfully forced a crossing. It will then immediately move across the Bridge connection and enter the next Area, ending its movement in that next Area regardless of any remaining Movement it may still have left.

In the case of the Great South Bay Bridge Area, a Forced Crossing is still conducted normally, and the Horrors may enter the actual Area when and if the Damaged marker(s) are removed. If this happens, it might trigger Overrun [R29].

Example: There are two Stacks of Murder of Horrors tiles located in two consecutive Areas and their Track is activated. They both have a Movement Allowance of 2 (the first Murder of Horrors has six tiles and the second one has five tiles). The Murder of Horrors farthest along the Track moves first and must immediately cross a Bridge connection with a Damaged 2 marker. The Murder of Horrors can't move across the damaged Bridge, so it does a Forced Crossing. This results in 2 Hits on the Horrors unit and the elimination of the Damaged 2 marker. Because the Horrors unit removed the Damaged marker, it may now cross the Bridge and enter the next Area. Its activation then ends in that next Area, and it now has only four tiles. The second Murder of Horrors on that Track now moves two Areas, crossing the Bridge connection unimpeded. It enters the Area with the first Murder of Horrors Stack, ends its movement (because it moved its two Areas) and they then Amalgamate into one huge 9-tile Murder of Horrors Stack.

Historical Note: The Forced Crossing mechanic represents the ability of the Horrors to cross disabled bridges by piling into the water and across busted sections of the bridge, thus creating a new bridge formed of their broken bodies (much like swarming ants). They are essentially taking Hits to build their own kind of bridge. There are at least two confirmed reports of Horrors having done exactly this to get across the middle bridge in Cherry Pit Grove, much to the chagrin of the shocked observers.

Boat and Helicopter Movement: Boat and Helicopter units cannot be moved using a normal Movement Action. They can only be moved via a Reposition Follow Action [R23] and with some Event Cards.

When Boats and Helicopters move, they ignore normal movement restrictions and instead may only be moved between specific Areas that feature a Helipad icon, an illustrated Dock (Areas 1L, 2J, and 3K) and/or a Beach (Texas Navy unit only).

Combat Overview

For the most part, killing every Horrors unit possible will be the only way to slow them down (there is, after all, no real way to totally stop them). So, conducting combat effectively will be extremely important to winning the game. By the same token, the Horrors themselves only know of one way to behave—and that is violently.

The precise method used for conducting combat will depend on the type of combat being resolved—either Close Combat, Ranged Combat or Gunship Combat. For all types of combat, whether attacking or defending, the player will always roll Combat Dice for their unit to determine its combat results. In Close Combat (only), the involved Horrors unit will do a prescribed number of Hits depending on the type of unit involved, either a Murder of Horrors Stack or a Mutation Standee. Results for both sides are applied immediately and simultaneously in every case (and can even lead to mutual elimination when fighting Close Combat).

Close Combat

Whether initiated by a Horrors unit(s) starting their turn or moving into an Area with a non-Horrors unit OR by a player using the Combat Action in the same Area as a Horrors unit, proceed through the following order of resolution for each Close Combat:

Determine Attack Matchups
Determine Horrors Hits Potential
Determine Player Inflicted and Blocked Damage
Apply Combat Hits
Biohazard Infection

Determine Attack Matchups: When a Player initiates a Close Combat, they choose to either attack a Murder of Horrors Stack (1 or more tiles) or a Mutation Standee once per action. Therefore, the player is matching their unit up against the Horrors unit of their choice. A Murder of Horrors Stack is considered one Horrors unit regardless of the number of tiles in the Stack.

However one or more Horrors units may initiate Close Combat in an Area with one or more Player units and/or Civilians units. When that occurs, follow the matchup instructions in the table below. It is important to note that when more than one Horrors unit is involved in Close Combat, as long as there is a non-Horrors unit in the Area, each Horrors unit MUST make an attack.

Matchup Instructions Table (No. of Horrors units / No. of Player units / No. of Civilians units*):

Horrors	Player	Civilians*	Matchup Instructions
1	1	0	The Horrors unit and Player unit will resolve one Close Combat against each other.
1	2	0	The owning players will collectively determine which one Player unit will defend. The attacking Horrors unit and chosen Player unit will then resolve one Close Combat against each other.
2	1	0	Each Horrors unit (whether a Murder of Horrors Stack or Mutation) will conduct a separate Close Combat against the one Player unit. Players choose the order of combat resolution.
2	2	0	The units will be matched one against one as determined by the owning player(s). Each pairing of units will fight a separate Close Combat. Any extra Player units that are not matched up against a Horrors unit do not participate in the combat. Any extra Horrors unit that is not initially matched up as above, will then be matched against any surviving Player unit as the players choose (creating two-on-one or possibly even three-on-one situations). Resolve the resulting matchups as per the above listed cases.
1	0	1	If Horrors attack in an Area that has only Civilians units in it, they will attack all those Civilians units collectively in one Close Combat.

*Civilians units are ignored if Player units are present. However, if one or more Horrors units haven't attacked yet, and all Player units have been eliminated, the remaining attacks will be made against the Civilians units.

Determine Horrors Hits Potential: A Horrors unit will inflict Hits depending on its type.

Murder of Horrors Stack: A Murder of Horrors Stack will inflict Hits on the opposing unit(s) based on the number of tiles in the Stack and the terrain of the Area in which the combat occurs.

Terrain	Modifier	Details
Clear Area	1/2	The number of Hits inflicted = the number of tiles in the Murder of Horrors Stack divided by two, rounded up.
(unlabeled)	1/3	The number of Hits inflicted = the number of tiles in the Murder of Horrors Stack divided by three, rounded up.
(unlabeled)	1/4	The number of Hits inflicted = the number of tiles in the Murder of Horrors Stack divided by four, rounded up.

Mutations Standees: A Mutation Standee will inflict a number of Hits equal to its Combat Rating. No adjustment is made for the type of Area in which the attack takes place.

Determine Player-Inflicted Damage: After determining the amount of damage that the Horrors will inflict, as long as there is one or more Faction or NPC units present, the players roll the combat dice to see how much damage they can block or inflict in return.

The player whose Faction unit is involved in a matchup, or any player if an NPC unit is involved, rolls a number of combat dice equal to their Close Combat Rating, which is the number in the yellow triangle. Results are tallied in accordance with the table below:

Die Side	Effect
Miss	No Effect
Shielded	Cancel 1 Hit inflicted by the Horrors unit in this combat. Horrors Hits cannot be reduced below 0.
1 Hit	Inflict 1 Hit on the Horrors unit.
Light Hit	Inflicts ½ of a Hit. The player will need two of these die results to inflict 1 Hit on the Horrors unit. A lone Light Hit result is a Miss.
Critical Hit	Inflict 1 Hit on the Horrors unit plus the player rolls this die (only) again. Re-rolls can occur any number of times and all results from them are accumulated.

Important:

Take special note that Player units that engage in Close Combat do not use any Ranged Combat capabilities! So, when your unit is attacked by Horrors, it can only use its Close Combat Rating for defending.
Civilians units cannot defend themselves in Close Combat and do not roll any Combat Dice.

Apply Combat Hits: Even though the amount of damage that the Horrors are going to do is calculated before the Faction or NPC units' damage, hits are applied simultaneously and affect units depending on their types. If no Hits are scored by either side, nothing else happens and the combat is over. If one or more Hits are scored, they are applied as follows, depending on the type of unit taking the Hit:

Murder of Horrors Stack: Remove one tile from the Murder of Horrors Stack per Hit suffered. Tiles are placed back into the pool of available Murder of Horrors tiles.

Faction, NPC Standee, and Mutations Standees: Place one black Hit Cube per Hit suffered into the unit's Toughness Rating box on their Faction Mat. Hit Cubes remain in this Area until removed with a successful Heal action or during the Mutation Regeneration Step (for Mutations Standees). Units are eliminated when the total accumulated Hit Cubes equals or exceeds the listed Toughness Rating (but see Last Stand below).

Civilians Units: Eliminate one Civilians unit per Hit inflicted on the group of Civilians units. If there are more Civilians units in the Area than Hits scored, the players collectively decide which Civilians units are eliminated and which survive.

Eliminate Units: When a unit is eliminated whether by accumulated Hit Cubes or outright elimination, Faction units, NPC units, Civilians units and Mutations Standees are out of the game and cannot be brought back in (just put the units off to the side or back into the game box). A Murder of Horrors Stack of 1 or more tiles is eliminated by having its last tile placed back into the pool of available Murder of Horrors tiles. These tiles will be reused when new Murder of Horrors spawn.

Horrors Possession: A Horrors Possession takes place every time a Murder of Horrors Stack eliminates a unit of any kind in Close Combat. The Murder of Horrors will grow by one tile per unit eliminated.

Last Stand: When a Faction or NPC unit would be eliminated in a Close Combat due to it having accumulated Hit Cubes equaling or exceeding its Toughness Rating, the unit may try to save itself. The owning player immediately draws a Fate Card and gets a Fate Number. This is compared it to the unit's Bravery Rating:

If the Fate Number is equal to or less than the Bravery Rating: The unit extricates itself. Its total number of Hit Cubes is set to one less than its Toughness Rating. The owning player must then move the unit one Area in any direction, except it may not move further north on the track (i.e., it can't move closer to the Spawn Zones) and it can't enter an Area with a Horrors unit. If it can't be moved within these restrictions, it cannot conduct a Last Stand and is eliminated. Exception: Compound units that don't have a move ability are not moved at all. They instead remain in their current Area but are not eliminated. They can however be attacked again if there are Horrors units left in the Area that haven't yet attacked. The Paddy Wagon Compound has movement capability, so it must move away if its Last Stand is successful.

If the Fate Number is greater than the Bravery Rating: The unit is eliminated from the game per the normal rules.

Important: Units that would be eliminated by means other than Close Combat, such as by an Event Card or not being fed during the Hunger Phase, may not attempt a Last Stand. We should also note that, unfortunately, there were no reports of Civilians making valiant last stands and therefore they don't have the opportunity.

Biohazard Infection: When any Horrors unit is involved in Close Combat, players must add one Biohazard Cube from the available pool boxes of the Biohazard Cubes Area on the Game Tracks sheet. This is done regardless of the results of the Close Combat. Note that five green cubes begin the game already in the Biohazard Draw Bag.

Starting with the yellow Biohazard Cubes, one cube is added to the bag for each separate Close Combat. When there are no more yellow Biohazard Cubes available, players will then start adding the red Biohazard Cubes to the bag.

If there are no Biohazard Cubes left and players are instructed to add a cube, automatically increase the Biohazard Level marker by one space on the Biohazard Level Track.

Ranged Combat

Unlike Close Combat, a Ranged Combat attack is only initiated by using a Combat Action and may be issued against one Horrors unit in the same Area or in an adjacent, connected Area (a Damaged Bridge connection is still a valid connection for Ranged Combat purposes). Ranged Combat is only available when attacking—never when defending from a Horrors Close Combat attack.

Reminder: a Faction or NPC unit must have a Ranged Combat icon on their Standee or Faction Mat AND must discard 1 Supplies for each Ranged Combat Action [R19].

Ranged Combat Resolution: If the 1 Supplies is spent, the player announces which eligible Horrors unit the Faction or NPC unit is targeting. The player then rolls a number of Combat Dice equal to the number under the Crosshairs icon. Apply all rolled results immediately and cumulatively in the same way as detailed on the previous page. Rolled results are applied per the table below.

Die Side	Effect
Miss	No Effect
Shielded	Treat this as a 1 Hit result unless the targeted Horrors unit is in a Building or Forest terrain Area. In those types of Areas, this result is treated as a Miss result instead.
1 Hit	Inflict 1 Hit on the Horrors unit.
Light Hit	Inflicts ½ of a Hit. The player will need two of these die results to inflict 1 Hit on the Horrors unit. A lone Light Hit result is a Miss.
Critical Hit	Inflict 1 Hit on the Horrors unit plus the player rolls this die (only) again. Re-rolls can occur any number of times and all results from them are accumulated.

Important: The targeted Horrors unit does not inflict any Hits on the firing Player unit during a Ranged Combat Attack—the Horrors unit only has Hits inflicted upon it. Ranged Combat does not generate Biohazard Infection like Close Combat does.

Player Unit Ranged Combat Attack Example: Kevin Blart, and his unit of Security Guards, are in the Oceanside Industrial Park Area (2C) and there is a large 6-tile Murder of Horrors sitting in 2B (Inga Forest). This is the Greenport Township's Player Turn and he just finished up. Since the PIRL Security Services player is sitting to his left, she now can conduct a Follow Action. She decides to use a Combat Action and have the Security Guards issue a Ranged Combat attack on the adjacent Murder of Horrors to hopefully whittle it away before it activates again. She spends 1 Supplies and rolls two Combat Dice per the unit's 2 Ranged Combat Rating. She rolls a Shield (which becomes a Miss due to the Forest Area) and a 1 Hit. She removes one tile from the Murder of Horrors and prays that she gets to activate again before it does.

Gunship Combat

There are two NPC Boat units (the Coast Guard Cutter and Texas Navy) and one faction Helicopter unit (the Army Helicopter unit from the National Guard faction) that have a Combat Rating shown on their marker. These units can be selected for a Gunship Combat action if the Boat or Helicopter unit is currently located in an eligible Area. However, the Army Helicopter unit may only be used for Gunship Combat by the National Guard Faction player.

Either Boat unit must be in a Docks Area to conduct Gunship Combat or the Texas Navy unit (only) can be in an Area with a Beach. The Helicopter unit must be in a Helipad Area to do so. In both cases, the Area may be Compromised. This means that though a Boat or Helicopter could not be moved into a Compromised Area using a Reposition Follow Action, such a unit could still do a Gunship Combat action from a Compromised Area! This is a subtle but important distinction and means that an eligible Boat or Helicopter can attack Horrors that are in their Area using Gunship Combat.

Gunship Combat Resolution: Resolve this combat identically to a regular Ranged Combat. Remember that the NPC Boats do not use up any Supplies to conduct Gunship Combat (because NPC units never use Supplies). However, the Army Helicopter unit is a Faction unit and therefore does need to spend Supplies for ammo (just like all other Faction units).

Gunship Example: It's the Neighborhood Watch Player Turn and he spots the Coast Guard Cutter Boat unit sitting in the Coast Guard Station/Docks Area (2J). In the next Area inland (2i) is the Wild-Eyed Rats Mutation Standee with 1 Hit Cube already on it. He decides to use one of his actions as a Gunship Combat action and have the Boat unit open fire on the rats. He grabs 2 Combat Dice for the Boat's Combat Rating and rolls a 1 Hit and a Critical Hit for a total of 2 Hits so far. The Critical Hit die is re-rolled, and he gets another 1 Hit result. That's 3 Hits total and he applies the Hits on the rats to eliminate them (their Toughness Rating is 4). The Wild-Eyed Rats Standee is removed from the game.

Special Combat Markers

During gameplay, the players may reveal one or more Special Combat markers which spawn from certain Search Cards. These are the Molotov Cocktail and Pistols markers, and they can be picked up and used by Player units and even Civilians units.

Molotov Cocktails & Pistols: When Molotov Cocktails and Pistols markers are placed into an Area per a drawn Search Card, the unit that draws the card can take one marker and the remainder are left in the Area and can be picked up by a Faction or NPC unit according to the loose Supplies markers rule [R15]. A Civilians unit may also pick up a loose Special Combat marker (see Armed Deputized Civilians below).

An individual unit may carry only one of each type of Special Combat marker at a time and only the unit holding the marker can use it.

The marker can be used by the carrying unit at any time during a Player Activation Phase to resolve a Ranged Combat against Horrors units in an Area without using a Combat Action, which means:

Retaliatory damage and the Biohazard Infection step does not occur.
The Special Combat can be done either before or after another Combat (but not during the Combat resolution).

Molotov Cocktail Only: Due to their explosive nature, Molotov Cocktails damage all Horrors units in an Area. If there are two or more Horrors units in the Area when the marker is used, all Horrors are attacked with this one marker. Make a separate Combat Die roll against each targeted Horrors unit. The (†) icon on the marker is there as a reminder.

Each Special Combat marker may be used twice in this way and can even be used twice in a row if the player wishes. The marker's front side Combat Rating is used to determine the number of dice rolled with its first use and the marker is then flipped over to its back side. The back side Combat Rating is used with its second attack. The marker is discarded after the second usage and placed in the available pool.

If a unit carrying a Special Combat marker is eliminated, drop the marker in that Area and it can be picked up by another unit. The unit carrying the marker may also freely transfer it to another unit with which it shares an Area.

Armed Deputized Civilians: Players who move a Civilians unit into an Area with a Molotov Cocktails or Pistols marker may have that unit freely pick up the marker in the same way as a Player unit. Any player can have this armed deputized Civilians unit use that marker per the relevant marker's special rules to attack Horrors at any eligible point during the game without using an Action. However, armed deputized Civilians units can still only be moved using a Crowd Control Action or via a Search Card ability.

Victory and Defeat

Here's the moment you've been waiting for—how do you win this stupid game? Well, the players win as a group if they can collectively prevent the Horrors from winning . . . pretty simple really. Survive until the end of nine Game Rounds without the Horrors winning and all the players get the credit for saving the island (and maybe even the whole world). Well, here's the rub—the Horrors need only meet any one of the four criteria for winning the game to defeat the players. So . . . yeah . . . good luck with that.

Horrors Victory

If the Horrors achieve any one of the four following win conditions, the game ends immediately and all the players lose the game. Otherwise, the players win. The four conditions are:

The Island Becomes a Toxic Wasteland
The Island is Overrun by Monsters
Oh! The Humanity!
Where Is Everybody?

The Island Becomes a Toxic Wasteland! As soon as the Biohazard Level marker moves into the 17+ space on the Biohazard Track, the air itself becomes so toxic that it overwhelms the island, and all is lost—the entire population of Plum Island succumbs. The players lose the game.

The Island is Overrun by Monsters! If the Total Overrun Points marker enters the 8+ space of the Overrun Points Track, the Horrors multiply exponentially and overwhelm all survivors on Plum Island. The players lose the game.

There are seven Overrun Areas in the game. These are located at the end of each of the six Tracks and in the Great South Bay Bridge Area. These Areas are indicated with a yellow highlighted Area Address.

At the moment that any Overrun Area contains one or more Horrors units and there are no Player or Civilians units, the Area becomes Overrun and remains that way for the remainder of the game.

Note: Stunned Horrors units do not trigger Overrun until their Stun is removed and they are alone. Also, Boat and Helicopter units do not prevent an Overrun from happening.

Overrun Effects: The Horrors causing the Overrun are removed from the map. Murder of Horrors Stacks have all their tiles truly eliminated from the game (i.e., not placed back into the pool) and these tiles are no longer available for spawning. Mutations are simply removed from the game in the same manner.

The players then place an Overrun marker into the Area. This Area is now considered to be Compromised as well. An Overrun marker is never removed.

The Overrun Track: When an Area is Overrun, record two or more Overrun Points on the Overrun Track. The number of Overrun Points suffered depends on the Area itself, as follows:

Area	Overrun Points
Great South Bay Bridge*	6
Greenport Docks (3K)	4
Coast Guard Station/Docks (2J)	3
All other Overrun Areas (1L/4K/5i/6M)	2

*Remember that the Great South Bay Bridge Area cannot be Overrun until any Damaged markers there are first removed.

Piling On: Just in case things weren't bad enough. In addition to the Overrun Points scored for each Overrun Area above, more Overrun Points can be suffered when the Horrors pile on. This happens:

Each time a Murder of Horrors Stack cannot be fully spawned due to a lack of available tiles in the pool, record 1 Overrun Point. Note: This is not charged per unfulfilled tile—record 1 Overrun Point for each incident of a Murder of Horrors Spawn not being able to get its tile size requirement met, regardless of how far short the spawn is.
Each time any other Horrors unit of either type enters an Overrun Area with an Overrun marker that doesn't have a Player or Civilians unit (not Boats or Helicopters), record an additional 1 Overrun Point and remove the Horrors unit from the game as above.

Oh! The Humanity!

Players are required to have a basic sense of decency and that is reflected in your being able to evacuate Civilians units from the island. Players together must evacuate a minimum of 26 Evacuation Points (EP) worth of Civilians units or the game is lost because of your combined lack of empathy.

Each Civilians unit is worth EP when they are evacuated. The exact number of EP is indicated on the back of the unit marker.
Players keep track of how many EP they have accumulated by using the Evacuation Points Track. Simply move the Evacuation Points marker up the track to keep tabs on the number of EP earned as each Civilians unit is successfully evacuated.
When the marker enters the 26+ space, do not count further, and the mandatory minimum has been reached.
Remember to count the EP of any Civilians units located in Compounds at game end before making the loss determination.
If after the last Game Round is played (and the players have also accounted for EP in Compounds) the players have not earned at least 26 EP, they lose the game (regardless of other circumstances) and are condemned by the media for being heartless and selfish.

Where Is Everybody?

If any one Faction has all of its units eliminated from the game, the players lose the game. The other Factions become totally disheartened, depressed, and lose all hope—it's everyone for themselves at this point.

In the case that a Faction has not yet built its Compound and all the other units have been eliminated, the Faction is considered to be destroyed for the purposes of this loss condition.

Players' Victory

If by some miracle none of the four Horrors Victory conditions have been attained, even after conducting the final Biohazard Infection Step during the End Phase of the final Game Round, then the players have saved the island—and possibly the entire world as well! Congratulations—you have won the game!

Game Modes

1-Player Mode

Play the 2-Player Mode and control both Factions. If you're experienced at the game, you can also play the 3-Player Mode or standard full 4-Player Mode and control each Faction.

2-Player Mode

Choose any two Factions and then use two Turn Order Tokens for each of those Factions. In addition, the inactive Faction may opt to take up to two separate Follow Actions after the active Faction's Player Turn. Conduct each Follow Action separately and using normal procedures (so draw a Fate Card after each Follow Action to check for a possible Event, etc.). If you draw an Event during the first opportunity, you can still choose to do the second Follow Action opportunity.

3-Player Mode

Choose three Factions and use one Turn Order Token for each. Then also put the pink Wild Turn Order Token into the game. When this token is drawn, the players can choose any Faction to take a second activation.