The Shadow Planet: The Board Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Idea and Goal of the Game
• Components
  • Preface
  • Component Overview
  • Introduction
• Location Decks (In-depth information)
• Setup
  • 1. Board
  • 2. Cards
  • 3. Sheets and Markers
• Sections' Effects (In-depth information)
• Messages Pile
• Starting Gear (In-depth information)
• How to Play
• Playing a Round
  • 1. Control Phase
  • 2. Operations Phase
  • 3. Messages Phase
• Driving Vehicles (Additional rules)
  • Moonette
  • Crawler
• Indicators (In-depth information)
• End of the Round
• Messages from the Shadows
  • 1. Threat
  • 2. Repair
  • 3. Countdown
  • End of the Phase
• Game Strategy
  • Astronaut Strategy
• End of the Game
  • Award Victory
    • Assign Identity
  • Alien Strategy
  • Guardian Strategy
    • Determining the Winner
• Example
  • Setup
  • A Game Round
  • Jenna Scott's Turn (1) by Olivia
  • Driving Moonette
  • Driving the Crawler
  • Nikke Larsson's Turn (2) Uncontrolled
  • John Vargo's Turn (3) by Giacomo
  • Rachel Robinson's Turn (4) by Demis
  • Reed Robinson's Turn (5) by Alan
  • Robot's Turn (6) by Gianluca
  • Messages from the Shadows (Example)
  • End of the Game (Example)
• Summary
  • Game Round
  • End of the Game

Idea and Goal of the Game

The official board game is for 3-5 survivors fleeing from the shadow planet.

Someone killed Mark (the pilot) and severely damaged the shuttle commands. In order to return to Vidar, the spaceship waiting in the orbit, the characters (each with a different goal) have to repair Melita. Time is limited: only 12 hours, then... Vidar will leave for the next rendez-vous point.

Components

• This Rulebook
• The Board that features the moon Gliese 667, with Locations and Sections, which the Characters can visit
• 136 Cards: 6 Characters, 5 Objectives, 121 Operations (80 for four Locations, 36 for the Starting Gear of each Character, 5 for the Messages from the Shadows pile), 1 Protagonist (1st player), 2 Vehicles (Moonette and the Crawler), 1 Ability (for Jenna Scott)
• 1 cardboard sheet containing: 3 circular Indicators (Countdown, Repair and Threat; attach them to the board with their plastic connectors), 2 Vehicle tiles (Moonette and the Crawler), and 75 Markers in 5 different colors (yellow, orange, red, white and black)
• 6 Pawns representing the characters (each made up of a figure and a standee in the character's color): Jenna (yellow), Nikke (orange), John (red), Rachel (white), Reed (black) and the Robot (beige)
• 5 Player Sheets

Preface

Gliese 667 is a hostile planet. The first time you spend a couple of hours on its surface, playing your first game of The Shadow Planet, you will experience an identity crisis: you will have a clear goal, but you will not know who you are until the end. You may feel that everything is decided by pure luck and you won't understand the consequences of your choices. Don't worry: everything will become clear after a few playthroughs. The rules aren't difficult, but you have to learn how each choice has a whole series of consequences leading to matching the identities (decisive for the outcome), making each game a tactically immersive and intriguing strategic experience. The Shadow Planet has an innovative ruleset, where the goal is known, but your identity is a secret even to you. To master it, you must be aware that your choices continuously interact not only with the characters and your opponents, but also with yourself! The challenge is to mislead the other players (trying to understand their goals and push them towards unfavorable Gear decks) and avoid making mistakes. Having played a few times you will start to strategically manage cards and effects in an efficient way, knowing how every choice entails important consequences. You could say The Shadow Planet is a kind of "old school": designed to be played over and over again and to bring mastery to the players. Play all the roles linked to different emotions, and try every tactic to enjoy The Shadow Planet experience to the fullest.

Component Overview

• Board: shows the Locations (each with a deck area for its 20 cards, a Starting Location marking for Characters, and Sections), Links with their Movement Cost between Locations, the Melita deck, E/Rico deck, Hill deck and Cave deck areas, the Messages from the Shadows pile (5 cards), the Discarded cards area, the Cards removed from the game area (face down), the Characters' Gear areas (each with an Initiative Order number), and the places for the Repair, Threat and Countdown Indicators.
• Cards: Protagonist (1), Vehicles (2), Characters (6, each with an Identification Color, Identification Icon, Starting Location and Ability), Ability card (1, Jenna Scott only), Objectives (5, each with a Priority and Strategy).
• Cardboard components: Character Pawns (6, miniature and coloured standee), Vehicle Tiles (2), Markers (75, 15 for each color), Indicators (3). Important: Assemble each Indicator with a plastic connector in the appropriate position on the board. Important: Create a common pool of Markers close to the Gear.
• Operations (121): Each card has a Type and Value (Character's Gear and Location Deck cards) and an Effect; Messages cards have a Type and an Effect.
• Player Sheets: Each player has a sheet that summarizes on the back useful tips to understand the general strategies of the received secret Objective (Important: Do not reveal your secret Objective by consulting the strategies). On the front there is the summary of actions for each round and the areas on which you can place your components. All information on the sheet is a valuable help for the players but does not replace the rulebook or the experience that you can gain by playing the game. Place cards and Markers on the corresponding areas of the sheet. In your turn play the cards from your hand above the sheet, so that your opponents can see your actions.

Introduction

This rulebook is a manual of sorts, in which the rules are formulated in a technical way. Players who are not accustomed to reading technical rules could find them difficult to understand at first glance, but don't worry: it is simple to understand if you change your approach.

We don't "tell" the rules, but we explain them as if they were math formulas. We hope that the interpretation is unique. The rules are what makes the game work: only after you understand them, you can use them to plan your strategy and apply the most suitable tactical choices for each situation. We do not want the rulebook to be used for your own advantage so that you prevail over opponents who haven't read it.

These rules are created to facilitate the players to use their talents and imagination, not to force you into some strategy chosen by the producers or designers. We think in this game there is no single winning strategy and not even one much stronger than others, otherwise, once discovered, it would make the game boring.

Carefully punch out all cardboard elements from their sheet.

Location Decks (In-depth information)

Near the decks of each Location, on the board, there is a diagram that summarizes the rarity of the types of cards it contains. These suggestions hint players on where to search for the cards needed for their strategy.

• Melita: Move cards are the most common (9/20), while Attack and Repair cards are the most rare (both 3/20). You won't find Get cards in this deck.
• E/Rico: Search cards are the most common (6/20), Repair cards the most rare (4/20). You won't find Attack cards in this deck.
• Hill: Also in this deck the Search cards are the most common (6/20), while Get cards are the most rare (4/20). You won't find Repair cards in this deck.
• Cave: In this deck you can find only three types of cards, Repair as the most common (8/20) and Attack and Get more rare (both 6/20). You won't find Move or Search cards in this deck.

Important: Consider your strategy because once a Location deck is depleted (i.e. emptied of cards), the Countdown Indicator advances faster!

Setup

1. Board

Put the Board in the center of the playing area: the red Shadow Planet in the background represents the moon Gliese 667 with its 4 Locations, each with its Sections and an area for a specific deck of 20 cards (see the icons).

Melita - It's the shuttle used by the team to descend on the moon. It landed no more than thirty meters from the wreck of E/Rico. It carries Moonette, a tricycle vehicle. This is the starting Location for the Jenna, Nikke and John pawns.

Important: Set up the Repair Indicator in Melita, with its starting position depending on the number of players (an orange number against a black background).

3 players	4 players	5 players
5 (of 10)	6 (of 10)	8 (of 10)

E/Rico - It's the wreck of the scientific spaceship located around thirty meters from Melita. This is the starting Location for the Rachel and Robot pawns.

Important: Set up two Indicators next to E/Rico - Countdown with its starting position 12 (of 12), and Threat with its starting position 2 (of 8). The starting positions are orange numbers against a black background.

Hill - It's impervious and surrounded by a strange green fog. It's located a few hundred meters from Melita and E/Rico. This is the starting Location for the Reed pawn.

Caves - A series of natural caves, more than ten kilometers away from the other places, reachable only with vehicles. This Location has the area for the Temple pile.

2. Cards

Separate the cards by type: keep the horizontal Vehicle cards and the 2 tiles (Moonette/Crawler) at hand. They may be needed during the game.

121 Operations

Separate them by the icons shown on their fronts, then shuffle each pile carefully:

• 4 face-down decks of 20 cards each to place on their respective Locations: Melita, E/Rico, Hill and Caves.
• 1 face-down pile of 5 cards for the Messages from the Shadows placed next to the board, adjacent to the Messages area; near this pile you will find two additional areas - one for the discarded cards and one for the cards removed from the game.
• 6 piles of 6 cards each for the Characters' Gear placed next to the board, adjacent to the corresponding areas (Jenna, Nikke, John, Rachel, Reed, Robot). The number next to the icon shows the Initiative Order.

Important: The effects and abilities of the cards generally use the term pile to indicate the decks, the discard piles and the Gear.

1 Ability (Jenna Scott)

Place the Ability card next to Jenna Scott's Gear, but do not shuffle it with her other cards. When Jenna Scott is controlled and a player uses her ability to cancel other Character's ability, they should place the card on the chosen Character to cover the canceled ability. Remember to return the Ability card next to the Gear at the end of the round.

5 Objectives

Set aside the Alien card, face-down; then shuffle the other 4 Objectives (3 Astronauts and the Guardian): add to the set-aside Alien card enough face-down cards to form a pile containing 1 Objective card for each player. Shuffle them carefully and deal 1 card to each player. Everyone keeps their Objective on their sheet secret until the end of the game. Any remaining Objectives should be removed from the game without looking. Winning conditions for each Objective are as follows:

1. Alien: It wants to reach Vidar (by helping to repair the shuttle), then overwhelm the Astronauts (with a high Threat value); the Alien is always assigned to a player. 2-4. Astronauts: There are three Astronauts in play (Captain, Lieutenant and Sergeant), cooperating to return to Vidar (by repairing the shuttle) and defeat the Alien (by accumulating a high attack value); at least one Astronaut is always assigned to a player.
2. Guardian: He cannot allow anyone to return to Vidar (the spaceship in orbit) and thus sabotages the repairs of the shuttle; in a game with less than 5 players he may not be present.

6 Characters and the Protagonist

The player who has read a comic book most recently (or a randomly chosen player) receives the Protagonist card and 6 Character cards.

3. Sheets and Markers

Each player receives 1 Sheet (remove any unused sheets from the game) and places it in the playing area in front of themselves.

Create a common pool for all Markers: it is recommended to keep them close to their related Gear.

You are ready to play!

Sections' Effects (In-depth information)

• Flight Deck (Melita): 2 Move to move a pawn into this Section. Reveal Move, Move, Repair, Repair: Advance the Repair Indicator by 2. Reveal Move, Move, Move, Search: Put into play the Moonette Vehicle in this Location.
• Accommodation (Melita): 1 Move to move a pawn into this Section. Reveal Get, Get: Look at the top 3 Messages cards and discard 1 of them to the removed-from-the-game area.
• Bridge (E/Rico): 2 Move to move a pawn into this Section. Reveal Attack: Look at a Robot Character's Gear and choose 1 card to swap with 1 card from your hand.
• Decompression Chamber (E/Rico): 1 Move to move a pawn into this Section. Reveal Move, Get: Advance or move back the Countdown Indicator by 1 (your choice).
• Hibernation Chamber (E/Rico): 2 Move to move a pawn into this Section. Reveal Search, Search: Choose 2 Markers from the pool and give them to another player.
• Graveyard (Hill): 2 Move to move a pawn into this Section. Reveal Attack, Attack: Choose the pile in any Location and add its top card to your hand.
• Temple (Caves): 3 Move to move a pawn into this Section. Reveal Search, Get, Repair, Attack: Look at the Messages pile to choose 5 cards and place them on the Temple pile (when you have to reveal cards from the Messages pile, the cards on this pile have priority).

Messages Pile

The Messages from the Shadows pile is placed next to the board, and it starts with 5 cards, 1 of each type (Move, Search, Get, Repair, Attack), marked with the Messages icon.

Important: When you discard cards to the Messages pile, you have to consider how you want to alter the number of cards by type, in order to change the consequences... That is if fate helps you by randomly revealing those cards!

Starting Gear (In-depth information)

Each Character has a starting Gear of 6 Operation cards, marked with their icon.

All the Characters have access to Move and Search cards but each of them also has some unique Gear.

1. Jenna: 3 Move, 2 Search and 1 Get.
2. Nikke: 2 Move, 3 Search and 1 Repair.
3. John: 3 Move, 2 Search and 1 Attack.
4. Rachel: 2 Move, 2 Search and 2 Get.
5. Reed: 3 Move, 2 Search and 1 Attack.
6. Robot: 1 Move, 3 Search and 2 Repair.

Important: At the end of the game the Characters' Gear cards determine the final outcome of the game!

During the game, each Gear deck may entirely change according to the tactics of the players: having full control over the Gear distinguishes a skilled player.

How to Play

Someone killed Mark Myers, the pilot, and destroyed the shuttle commands. To return to Vidar, the spaceship waiting in the orbit, you must repair Melita. Time is limited - soon Vidar will leave.

The game ends when 12 hours pass (i.e. the Countdown Indicator points at the black zero on an orange background): this is the time available to return to the spaceship. Other conditions may end the game, too (more about them later).

Each round roughly represents 1 hour. During each round players compete to control the Characters and make them act according to their strategy and their secret Objective.

Trust no-one: anyone may be dangerous on the Shadow Planet!

Playing a Round

Each round consists of 3 phases in which all six Characters, in ascending Initiative Order, resolve their turns. Players act through the Characters they are controlling in a given round.

1. Control Phase

The Protagonist (as marked by the special card) shuffles all 6 Character cards (without looking at them). Then the player to their right draws 1 random card.

Then the Protagonist picks up the remaining 5 cards and chooses 1 of them by playing it face-down on their sheet. Next, the Protagonist passes the rest of the cards to the player to their left. These steps are repeated until the last player (to the right of the Protagonist) receives all remaining cards, adding to them the one they previously drew from the Protagonist's hand. Finally, the last player selects and plays their card.

When all players have played 1 Character card face-down, all the cards are revealed - both the chosen and the remaining ones (put the latter alongside their respective Gear).

Each player takes all Gear cards of the Character they control this round. Each player also takes from the pool 1 Marker in their Character's color. The players keep all of their Markers on their sheets (on the dedicated area, clearly visible to other players).

Exception: The player who takes control of the Robot does not take any Marker because the Identity of this Character matches no player.

Important: Owning Markers is not an advantage. Their number limits the chances of matching you with the Identity of a given Character at the end of the game, thus affecting your secret strategy. You must have the fewest possible number of Markers of the Character you want to be at the end of the game. Be careful!

2. Operations Phase

The Characters, in the Initiative Order (indicated on the board next to their respective icons), resolve their turns now.

The uncontrolled Characters act as described by their (gear icon) ability and then discard face-up to the Discarded cards area the top card from the deck of the Location they are currently in.

The controlled Characters, through the players who control them, must first resolve their (person icon) ability. Then they resolve 5 Action steps as described below. In each step they may optionally play Operation cards from their Gear to perform actions. The cards they play have to match a given step (however, remember that drawing 1 card from the deck in your Location in step III is mandatory even if you do not plan to play any Get cards).

The Operation cards are played from the hand in order, one at a time. First, resolve any effects shown on each played card. When you are done, add the values (the numbers below the icons) to resolve their consequences:

Additional rules

I. Move: Cards with the grey icon are played first. The consequence allows you to move your pawn from one Location to another through the Links and/or into the Sections (any unused points are lost). A Character cannot move into a Section already containing their Marker.

II. Search: Cards with the black icon are played second. The consequence allows you to secretly look at cards from the top of the deck of your Location and reorder them as you prefer.

III. Get: You must add to your hand the top card of the deck of the Location your Character is currently in. This is mandatory even if you do not play any cards in this step. Then, you may play cards with the green icon. The consequence allows you to add to your hand a number of additional cards (from the top of your Location deck) equal to the Get value played.

IV. Repair: Now, you may play cards with the blue icon. These cards have no consequence: they may be played to apply their effects.

V. Attack: Finally, you may now play cards with the red icon. These cards have no consequence: they may be played to apply their effects.

End of turn: The current player may choose to apply the effect of the Section that their Character occupies if they can pay the Section cost by revealing from their hand the cards with the required icons. If this happens, place 1 Marker in the Character's color on a given Section (take this Marker from the pool). Then the Character is expelled from the Section into its Location.

Exception: The Robot cannot enter or occupy Sections and has no Markers of its own.

Additionally, the Character is expelled from the Section even if they do not resolve its effect (in this case do not place any Marker on the Section).

Important: Manage the cards in your hand. Those you play during the phase will not be in your hand at the end of your turn, when you reveal them to trigger the effects of the Sections. Remember that you are not forced to play any cards.

3. Messages Phase

Each player picks up all the Operation cards of their controlled Character (i.e. their Gear) and must discard 1 card face-down to the Messages pile in order to affect the Messages from the Shadows pile and benefit their secret strategy.

Next, the Protagonist shuffles all the Messages cards into the Messages pile (all face-down) and then reveals 6 random cards to apply the consequences (see Messages from the Shadows below).

Driving Vehicles (Additional rules)

When a Character is in a Location containing a Vehicle, they may use it for their movement through the Links (Vehicles cannot move the Characters into Sections).

The player controlling a given Character may drive the Vehicle. If they choose to do so, they must declare their movement destination first, then play Move cards. The Move cards they play from their hand get the bonus described on the Vehicle card.

Additionally, other (controlled) Characters in the Location with the Vehicle may choose to be transported by it (respecting the limitations). The players make this decision in the Initiative Order.

Moonette

It is a fast Vehicle carrying up to 3 Characters (including the driver). The total Move value of the cards played by the driver is doubled (add first, then multiply). Moonette comes into play by resolving the effect of the Flight Deck Section of Melita.

Crawler

It is a slow Vehicle capable of carrying up to 6 Characters (including the driver). 1 is added to the printed Move value of each Move card played by the driver. The Crawler comes into play by resolving the effect of the Crawler Operation card from the Hill deck.

Important: Additional detailed rules regarding the Vehicle movement can be found on p. 13 and 14 along with gameplay examples.

Indicators (In-depth information)

The board features three Indicators that should be set up before the first game.

Each of them has a color associated with the icon affecting its progress.

All Indicators have a starting number in orange against a black background. The Repair has three starting positions depending on the number of players.

All Indicators also have a "final" position, which triggers the end of the game - a number in black against an orange background.

An empty space divides the first position on the Indicator from the last. The Indicators cannot be rotated beyond their maximum or minimum value.

The two icons shown on each Indicator help you remember how to rotate it as a result of the consequences.

When you are instructed to "advance" an Indicator, rotate it clockwise by the required number of positions (so that the end of the game is closer). On the other hand, when you are instructed to "move back" an Indicator, rotate it counter-clockwise by the required number of positions (so that the end of the game is postponed).

End of the Round

Each player returns next to the board all the cards in hand to their Character's Gear (if Jenna Scott's Ability card was used this round, it should be returned next to her Gear).

Start a new round with the same rules as described above: all the steps are repeated until the game ends (see End of the Game below).

Messages from the Shadows

In the third phase of the round, after all the cards of the Messages pile have been shuffled by the Protagonist into the Messages pile (the player to their right may "cut" the deck), reveal the top 6 cards: group them by type to apply their consequences in the order shown below.

Important: When you apply the consequences in this phase, count only the number of cards with the suitable icons, not the values below the icons.

1. Threat

Compare the number of Get cards against Attack cards and apply any difference to the movement of the Threat Indicator (if there is no difference, the Indicator does not move):

• more Get: The Threat Indicator advances, increasing the power of the monster. If the Indicator is at "8", the game ends.
• more Attack: The Threat Indicator moves back, decreasing the power of the monster (remember that Indicators cannot move below zero).

2. Repair

Compare the number of Attack cards against Repair cards and apply any difference to the movement of the Repair Indicator (if there is no difference, the Indicator does not move):

• more Attack: The Repair Indicator moves back, making the spaceship repairs more difficult.
• more Repair: The Repair Indicator advances, decreasing the difficulty of the repairs.

If the Indicator is at "0", the game ends.

3. Countdown

Compare the number of Move cards against Search cards and apply any difference to the movement of the Countdown Indicator (if there is no difference, the Indicator does not move):

• more Move: The Countdown Indicator advances, reducing the time before the spaceship leaves.
• more Search: The Countdown Indicator moves back, increasing the time before the take-off.

Regardless of the result, now advance the Countdown Indicator by 1. For each depleted Location deck the Countdown advances by 1 additional position. If the Indicator is at "0", the game ends.

End of the Phase

Now, all revealed cards are removed from the game, face-down, to the removed-from-the-game pile.

Important: Cards removed from the game and placed on the removed-from-the-game pile CANNOT be checked by players.

Game Strategy

Astronaut Strategy

Try to figure out what the other players' Objectives could be to identify how many other Astronauts are in play and who they are.

Remember, in a 5-player game you will always have two friends to cooperate with and at least one in a 4-player game.

With 3 players you may be the only Astronaut in play, although it's unlikely. Generally, the fewer players in the game, the more you should "come to terms" with the Alien against the Guardian, at least in the first phase of the game.

Analyze the revealed Messages cards for clues about the Objectives and try to convince the other Astronauts of your intentions (it is forbidden to show your Objective).

Your strategy is to have, at the end of the game, the biggest number of the Repair and Attack cards in your Character's Gear.

Make use of the tactical advantage of the consequences by moving the Indicators in your favor: the Search cards will slow down the Countdown, but do not over-discard them or it'll be difficult for you to find the necessary Repair and Attack cards in the Location decks.

Mind the Repair cards that do not count for their effect in Gear of the Astronauts at the end of the game - those are perfect to discard to the Messages pile in order to advance the Repair Indicator.

It is very important for your strategy to reach the Caves, so try to put at least one Vehicle into play.

End of the Game

The game ends at the end of the round in which one of the following conditions is met:

• The Threat Indicator is at "8".
• The Repair Indicator is at "0".
• The Countdown Indicator is at "0".

If more than one Indicator causes the game to end at the same time, the order of priority for awarding the victory is as follows: 1. Threat, 2. Repair and 3. Countdown.

When the game ends, it is time to award the victory.

Award Victory

When the game ends, it is time to award victory: each player is matched with an Identity and after that the winner is determined depending on the Indicator, which triggered the end of the game.

Assign Identity

All players reveal their Objective cards drawn during the Setup.

In order of Priority (1. Alien, 2. Commander, 3. Lieutenant, 4. Sergeant and 5. Guardian) each player is matched with one Character from among those still available. A given player checks the Markers on their sheet looking for the lowest number of Markers in one color, then the player turns out to be the Character matching this color. In case of a tie the player is allowed to choose the Character they prefer.

The Robot, which has no matching Markers, is ignored for victory purposes.

Important: If the Guardian Objective card is not in play (i.e. no player drew it during the setup), after the players have been matched with their Characters, the Guardian Objective is matched with the Character featuring the highest Initiative value among the remaining, unmatched Characters. Any other unmatched Characters are considered Astronauts for awarding the victory.

Alien Strategy

At the beginning of the game your tactics will be the same as the Astronauts': trying to create the best situation to repair Melita.

Try to pass yourself off as an Astronaut and mislead them: if they lose too much time to understand your true Objective, it might be too late for them to sabotage your plans.

However, remember that the Repair cards in your Character's Gear are not counted for awarding victory at the end of the game. Because of that, you may prefer to discard them to the Messages pile.

Do not forget the importance of the Get cards. Accumulate them in your Character's Gear and discard others to the Messages pile to advance the Threat Indicator. Just be careful not to reach "8" during the game.

Try to prevent your opponents from adding the Attack cards to their Gear, as they are the worst for you. Read the effects of those cards carefully. Some of them are so dangerous to you, that it might be better to risk discarding them to the Messages pile, rather than letting your opponents keep them.

Guardian Strategy

Get ready, everyone is against you!

Try to act effectively, but without letting them discover your Objective or everyone will start to trigger every possible effect and ability against you, making your game more complicated.

Time is a key factor - the more rounds your opponents have, the more useful cards they may add to their Gear. Discarding the Move cards in the Messages pile is advantageous, as the Countdown Indicator will advance and bring the end of the game sooner.

Additionally, even the Attack cards are perfect for discarding to the Messages pile in order to move back the Repair Indicator.

If the game is turning sharply in favor of the Alien, do not forget that you can try to change your tactics, giving up the Attack cards in favor of the Get cards: discarding them to the Messages pile may advance the Threat Indicator to its maximum position (8), awarding you victory.

Determining the Winner

Once all players have a matching Character, check for the final winner.

1. Threat

If the game ended due to the Threat Indicator reaching "8", the Guardian immediately wins the game.

2. Repair

If the game ended due to the Repair Indicator reaching "0", the Guardian immediately loses the game and the Astronauts compete for victory with the Alien as described below:

• Alien: Its player reveals all cards of their Character's Gear, comparing the number of Get cards against Attack cards and applies any difference to the movement of the Threat Indicator. (more Get: The Threat Indicator advances. more Attack: The Threat Indicator moves back).
• Astronauts: Such players reveal all cards of their Characters' Gear, add the number of Attack cards they have and compare them with the new position of the Threat Indicator (after it has been moved in the previous step by the Alien). If they reach or exceed that value, the Astronauts win the game. Otherwise the Alien wins.

3. Countdown

If the game ended due to the Countdown Indicator reaching "0", all players compete for victory:

• Astronauts: Such players reveal all cards of their Characters' Gear, add the number of Repair cards they have and compare them with the position of the Repair Indicator.
  • If they DO NOT reach the value of the Indicator: The Guardian immediately wins the game.
  • If they reach or exceed the value of the Indicator: The Guardian immediately loses the game and the Astronauts compete for victory with the Alien as described below:
    • Alien: Its player reveals all cards of their Character's Gear, comparing the number of Get cards against Attack cards and applies any difference to the movement of the Threat Indicator. (more Get: The Threat Indicator advances. more Attack: The Threat Indicator moves back).
    • Astronauts: Such players reveal all cards of their Characters' Gear, add the number of Attack cards they have and compare them with the new position of the Threat Indicator (after it has been moved in the previous step by the Alien). If they reach or exceed that value, the Astronauts win the game. Otherwise the Alien wins.

Example

Important: Reading this example enables you to see the rules in action and learn how to deal with certain situations and exceptions. Please, read this section carefully.

Setup

We have 5 players in the game: Gianluca, Olivia, Alan, Demis and Giacomo. Olivia is the Protagonist and receives its card.

The three Indicators on the board are set: Countdown in position "12", Repair in position "8" (the starting position for five players) and Threat in position "2".

The pawns are placed on their respective starting Locations.

All the cards are prepared as described on page 6.

Olivia receives all five Objective cards because five players are involved in this game. She shuffles them and deals one to each player. Giacomo is the Guardian, Alan the Alien, Demis the Astronaut Captain, Gianluca the Astronaut Lieutenant and finally Olivia the Astronaut Sergeant.

They are ready to start their game.

A Game Round

Olivia, as the Protagonist, receives all six Character cards, shuffles them and hands them to Gianluca (to her right), so he can draw one random card (he draws the Robot). Olivia now looks at the five cards left and chooses one to play face-down on her sheet (Jenna). Then, she gives the four remaining cards to Alan (to her left), who looks at them and chooses the one to play on his sheet (Reed).

Alan gives the three cards left to Demis (to his left) who, after looking at them, chooses one to play face-down on his sheet (Rachel).

Giacomo receives from Demis two cards, from among which he chooses John to play face-down on his sheet, leaving the last card to Gianluca (to his left).

Gianluca is the last player to choose between Nikke from Giacomo and the Robot taken randomly at the beginning of the round from Olivia. He chooses the Robot, plays it face-down on his sheet and reveals Nikke, by placing her next to her Gear (2).

All five players simultaneously reveal the Character they have chosen to control during this round and take their Gear.

Everyone also takes from the pool a Marker matching the controlled Character (except for Gianluca controlling the Robot).

Jenna Scott's Turn (1) by Olivia

At the beginning of her turn Olivia must resolve Jenna's (controlled) ability. She chooses to cancel John's (controlled) ability, passing to Giacomo Jenna Scott's Ability card to remind him about that (he places it on his Character card).

Olivia plays from her hand the Move and Direct Order (Move) cards, triggering the latter's effect, so that other Characters in the same Location gain +1 Search; with the value of 2 Move, Jenna moves from Melita using Link 2 to reach E/Rico.

Now, Olivia plays two Search cards to look at the top two cards of the E/Rico deck (Spare Parts (Repair) and Messages (Get)) and returns them in the order she prefers: Messages then Spare Parts on it.

Olivia adds the first card of the E/Rico deck to her hand (Spare Parts) and chooses not to play Seduce (Get) because she has no interest in adding the other card she has seen to her hand.

With no more cards to play, Olivia ends her turn so that Nikke may resolve her turn.

Driving Moonette

Gianluca controls John and he plays Medi-Kit (Move) to move into the Flight Deck of Melita.

At the end of his turn he reveals (three Move and Smoking (Search)) to put Moonette into play on Melita. Then he expels John pawn back to the Location and marks the Section with a red Marker.

Demis controls Rachel in Melita, so he decides to let her drive Moonette. He takes the Moonette Vehicle card and places it in front of himself, then he plays Space Suit (Move, with the value of 5) and applies its effect: this turn he cannot play other Move cards. Moonette's ability doubles the value of Move: Rachel has Space Suit: 10 Move, so she can move through the Link to the Caves.

In Melita, at that moment, there are Nikke (controlled by Olivia), John (controlled by Gianluca), Reed (uncontrolled) and Robot (controlled by Giacomo).

Moonette can carry two other (controlled) Characters. Demis asks, in the Initiative Order, who wants to be transported. Olivia accepts, as well as Gianluca. Reed is uncontrolled, so he cannot be transported. Robot (controlled by Giacomo) cannot be transported, too, because Moonette has reached its crew limit.

The pawns of Rachel, Nikke and John are moved to the Caves along with Moonette.

Demis would rather transport Robot instead of John, but even though he is driving the Vehicle with Rachel, he cannot choose the Characters to transport.

Driving the Crawler

Alan controls Jenna in the Hill.

Among the cards of her Gear he finds and plays Crawler (Move) to resolve its effect: by discarding Crawler to the Messages pile he puts the Crawler Vehicle into play on the Hill. He decides to drive it immediately, placing the Crawler Vehicle card in front of himself.

Now, he may play other Move cards: Move (value 1), Direct Order (value 1) and Threaten (value 2), applying their effects in order.

During this turn, thanks to the Crawler, Jenna has 7 Move (4 Move as the sum of the Move values from normal cards and +3 Move for the Crawler ability). Unfortunately it is not enough to move to the Caves (Link 8). Therefore, Alan decides to move Jenna to E/Rico (spending 4 Move), but he cannot use the remaining 3 Move to move into one Section because he is driving a Vehicle.

No (controlled) Character was on the Hill, so no one can be transported by the Crawler currently being driven by Jenna.

Jenna's pawn and the Crawler are moved to E/Rico and Alan can continue resolving his turn.

Nikke Larsson's Turn (2) Uncontrolled

No player controls Nikke, so she uses her (uncontrolled) ability: the Characters in her Location gain +1 Search. Then she reveals and discards the top card of the Melita deck (Medi-Kit, Move) to the Discarded cards area.

Now the turn goes to John.

John Vargo's Turn (3) by Giacomo

Giacomo cannot use John's (controlled) ability because he was targeted by Jenna's ability.

Giacomo plays no Move cards, so he stays in Melita.

He plays Search and Smoking (both Search), so he cannot play any Get cards this turn. Thanks to Search values of his cards and Nikke's ability, Giacomo may look at the top four cards of the Melita deck (putting back Mark Myers, Digging Tools, Driving and Ration K (Move) at the top).

Then he adds Ration K to his hand.

Giacomo does not play any more cards and the turn goes to Rachel.

Rachel Robinson's Turn (4) by Demis

Demis has to apply Rachel's (controlled) ability and decides to take 1 orange Marker from the pool and give it to Alan.

Then he plays both of his Search cards from his hand. Thanks to the effect of Direct Order (Move) played by Jenna, Demis looks at the top three cards of the E/Rico deck (Messages (Get) left by Olivia, Ration K (Move) and Space Suit (Move)). Demis now knows Olivia did not take a strong but dangerous Get card: could she be trustworthy and not the dangerous Alien?

Demis rearranges the cards (Messages, Space Suit and Ration K on the top, adding it to his hand), then he plays Crying (Get) to add Space Suit to his hand as well.

His turn is over and he must apply the effect of Crying, discarding it to the Messages pile.

Reed Robinson's Turn (5) by Alan

This is Alan's turn and he applies Reed's (controlled) ability, so without playing Move cards he moves into the Hill and then to its Graveyard Section (he does not have two Attack cards as requested to trigger the effect, but he hopes to get the one he misses during this turn).

He plays two Search cards and thanks to his ability, he may look at four cards from the top of the Hill deck (Search "Corn", Search "Potatoes", Get Fury and Attack Pickaxe). He rearranges them in the reverse order and adds Pickaxe to his hand.

Alan plays no more cards and ends his turn by revealing from his hand Axe and Pickaxe (both Attack) to trigger the effect of the Graveyard, adding to his hand the top card from any Location deck. From the top of the Caves deck he gets Remove Ice (Repair). He takes 1 black Marker from the pool and places it on the Graveyard, then expels the black pawn back into the Hill. The black Marker in the Graveyard prevents Reed from returning there for the rest of the game.

Robot's Turn (6) by Gianluca

Finally, it is the turn of the Robot controlled by Gianluca. He immediately resolves its (controlled) ability, taking the Protagonist card from Olivia.

He plays three Search cards and thanks to Direct Order played by Jenna, he looks at the top four cards of the E/Rico deck, rearranging them as he likes (Green Fog (Get), Messages (Get), Family Photo (Search) and Scrap Metal (Repair) on the top).

He adds to his hand Scrap Metal and he plays it immediately to swap 1 card in his hand with another player of his choice (Olivia): Gianluca gives away Help (Repair) for Move from Olivia.

Messages from the Shadows (Example)

All players pick up the cards they played during their turns, then they secretly choose one card to discard face-down to the Messages pile.

Gianluca (Astronaut) discards a Search card, Olivia (Astronaut) discards a Repair card, Alan (Alien) discards a Move card, Demis (Astronaut) discards a Move card and finally Giacomo (Guardian) discards an Attack card.

Gianluca, the new Protagonist, takes all Messages cards (first he flips face-down the two cards on the pile that were discarded face-up earlier) and shuffles them into the Messages pile, passing the pile to Giacomo (to his right), so that he can "cut" the deck. Now, Gianluca reveals the top six cards, putting the remaining pile back to the Messages area: one Move, one Search, two Get, one Repair and one Attack.

All consequences are applied in order: the Threat Indicator advances by 1 to position "3" (2 Get against 1 Attack), the Repair Indicator does not move (1 Repair against 1 Attack) and the Countdown Indicator also does not move due to the discarded cards (1 Move against 1 Search). Finally, the Countdown Indicator advances by 1 to position "11".

Before discarding all revealed cards to the removed-from-the-game pile, the players may do their own considerations: Crying (Get) is from Rachel's Gear: it's the one everyone saw Demis play during his turn or maybe he also discarded the other one of the Gear? Fight (Attack) is from John's Gear: Giacomo could be the Guardian wanting to sabotage the repair, or maybe he is simply scared by the Alien's Threat? The game continues...

End of the Game (Example)

The Countdown Indicator shows "0", so the game ends. Giacomo turns out to be the Guardian, Alan the Alien and consequently Olivia, Demis and Gianluca are the three Astronauts.

The Identities are assigned in the order of priority: Nikke is matched with Alan because she is the only Character of which he has only one Marker, Jenna is matched with Demis who has no yellow Markers, Gianluca is matched with Reed, Olivia with Rachel and finally John is matched with Giacomo.

Award Victory (Example)

Demis, Olivia and Gianluca check if the Gear of Jenna, Rachel and Reed contains at least three Repair, as requested by the Repair Indicator: there are five Repair, so Giacomo, as the Guardian, has failed his mission and is defeated.

Now, victory is contested by the three Astronauts and Alan (the Alien). Alan checks the number of Get cards and Attack cards in Nikke's Gear (one Get and two Attack). The Threat Indicator moves back by 1 (since 2 Attack exceeds 1 Get), moving it to position "4". [Printed as "4" in the source; transcribed as printed.]

The Astronauts now check their Gear for Attack cards: they only have three Attack cards, so Alan is expecting to win, but Olivia shows she owns Ray Gun (Attack) worth two Attack cards if it is in an Astronaut's Gear at the end of the game. This way, Attack is equal to the Threat. The Alien is defeated and the Astronauts win the game: Olivia, Demis and Gianluca have survived The Shadow Planet!

Summary

Game Round

	Phase	Description
1	Control Phase	Players choose a Character to control based on their availability. They receive all the cards of that Character's Gear and take 1 Marker of the matching color from the pool.
2	Operations Phase	All Characters take their turns in the Initiative Order using their (gear icon) ability - if uncontrolled - or through the players who control them.
3	Messages Phase	All players discard 1 card from their Character's Gear, face-down, to the Messages pile. All Messages cards are shuffled into the Messages pile and 6 cards are revealed to apply their consequences.
I	Threat Consequence	The difference between Get and Attack moves the Indicator (advances it if there are more Get or moves it back if there are more Attack).
II	Repair Consequence

End of the Game

		Description
	Assign Identities	All players reveal their Objectives. Each player is matched with the Identity of one Character based on the lowest number of Markers they own.
A	Threat	The Indicator is at "8": the Guardian wins.
B	Repair	The Indicator is at "0": the Guardian loses, while the Alien and the Astronauts compete for victory (see page 12).
C	Countdown	The Indicator is at "0": everyone competes for victory (see page 12).