Alien: Fate of the Nostromo Playthrough | Let's Play a Ravensburger Co-operative Board Game

Always Board Never Boring recently received some wonderful gifts from subscriber John Middleton. One of those gifts was the Ravensburger co-op game, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo. This is a pretty cool little game that does a decent job of capturing the theme of the film. To prove it, in today's video we're going to do a three-character solo playthrough, to see if we can survive the xeno threat.
#Alien #FateoftheNostromo #Ravensburger
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[@gcn9]

Fun replay. One clarification that the designer made in another forum (BGG): Concerning the Motion Tracker, the cost shown in the rulebook is incorrect. Amend the 3 in the rulebook to a 2 to match the reference cards which specify the cost as 2.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Really? I’m sure I read somewhere that three was the right amount and the cards were wrong, but I don’t think it has been officially confirmed anywhere. Three seems the right price for such a powerful item. Thanks for watching.

[@Ben_Mdws]

Cheers to John, because that was fun!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I had fun making this one.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

Wow, you got to this one really fast. From shipping box to game table in record time.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Received it, played it twice the first night to get to grips with it, recorded it the next day! I actually just played it again, lost on the final turn thanks to an encounter card taking all my scrap tokens! Thanks so much for sending it.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring No problem. I'm glad you like it.

[@TinyDiodes]

I really love the game NEMESIS. Although, I have only played with a group, havent tried solo yet. It's made with group play in mind and has three game modes; Semi-CoOp with Traitor possibility, Full CoOp, and Solo with campaign. It does a VERY good job of recreating the feel of ALIEN and ALIENS in one.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Nostromo is pretty far removed from something like Nemesis which is a big miniatures game. It's approaching the theme in a more simplified way - A board, six miniatures, a deck of cards, and a handful of tokens.

[@craigsreplaytoybox7443]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring And it doesn't cost an arm and leg to purchase.

[@dharmainthenorth]

The relative minimalism of this game appeals to me as more of an Alien fan than a tabletop gamer per se. 'I enjoyed this playthrough - helped clarify some of the rules for me and you really brought it alive as an RPG scenario in and of itself :)

[@user-ss4ms7pk6g]

isnt the Final girl alien better..?

[@diaz5292]

The rules should give Ripley the ability to restore 1 morale point for the team everytime she yells out "Get away from her you b--ch!", whether that makes sense in the context of the game or not, lol

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Time to grab my power loader miniature from the AvP game.

[@PungiFungi]

Personally I think when you complete an objective, you restore 1 (1-3 crew) or 2 (4-5 crew) morale points.

[@odsonic]

True but she said that line in the sequel movie..Aliens

[@user-ss4ms7pk6g]

​@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring or final girl, into the void..?

[@user-ss4ms7pk6g]

​@@odsoniclol, it doesnt apply then in thus game, haha

[@jonkirk2118]

Great playthrough! I just discovered your channel and will be watching through your other videos. I really like the pace and your editing is top notch. Just one rules correction: if you use the incinerator to send the alien back to its nest, you don't draw an Encounter card. I guess you've scared it off for a turn. It's in the manual (page 7, top right) and on the reference card but easy to miss. Many thanks.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. Trying to film, narrate, make good moves, and keep the pace up so the video is fun means sometimes rules mistakes get made or you forget what point you got to in a turn. Nothing to do with missing the rule, just something that’s hard to avoid when playing under these conditions.

[@synns6898]

Seems like a simple version of nemesis with the fantastic real Alien theme. Just pre ordered it,thanks for the review 👍🏻

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's very simple, very much in the style of Horrified, which I think is great. This is one of those games you can set up in minutes, play in an hour, and you get to have a fun Alien-themed experience that even non-gamers should be able to get involved with. I'm glad you found the video helpful.

[@user-ss4ms7pk6g]

or final girl into the void...😏

[@dwightrenfield2241]

Another great video!!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. I love this game.

[@zombiedad]

Excellent. Thanks ABNB. Thanks John too

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching.

[@BMW-sd6nn]

Me and my buds absolutely love this game.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

My group is the same. We always have fun with this one.

[@private2371]

I enjoyed this!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks.

[@Mailed-Knight]

Great vid.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks.

[@Aurion254]

Just a small rule clarification, in a turn when you use the incinerator, you don't need to draw an encounter card afterwards

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That's correct.

[@Aurion254]

Great playthrough btw. 2-3 players seems to be where it's at with this game. 4-5 is a lot more difficult. I wish Ripley's special ability let you control the other characters as if they were your own instead of just moving them. So many times when you want to use the incinerator but you're just one player turn away! 😂

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@Aurion254 Thanks. Playing with a full crew can be really tough. I really like this game; it’s usually a really tense experience.

[@stevenray8737]

Brilliant playthrough! Could be a must buy just for Parker's model alone....

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks so much. The miniatures are surprisingly nice. The one thing to note, though, is they're very big. Parker stands taller than a Primaris marine. I had been hoping I might be able to slot the characters into my Alien vs Predator games, but the scale is way off.

[@stevenray8737]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Taller than a Primaris? Its back to the drawing board for Belisarius Cawl...

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Parker should be the template. The man took on the Alien in close combat without a weapon.

[@thewatched8280]

He totally should have gotten full shares.

[@ivane5110]

Personally, I say a mashup inspired by Horrified; "I was a Teen-Age Werewolf Vampire-Hunter in Outer Space". Take these player characters and pick, divy up the American Monster player cards to represent how they were as teens (and apply once as skill remembered), replace the Ash with Dracula, and reach into a hat (without looking) everyone picks out a paper that has a W on it to decide who's secretly a werewolf. Crew Morale counter acts also as a Wereworlf transform counter; you start off human and each time you a row is finished you transform. Once you become a werewolf your goal changes; you're targeting everyone, going for closest and attacking once in the same space. If you are the werewolf and unfortunate enough to attack the alien even if you kill it, its acid blood kills you. Any who get injured by the werewolf have to reach back in the hat (with "W" slip replaced) to see if they were bitten/infected. Any other interesting cards from the Horrified (or any other suitable game) can always be shuffled in. The theme appropriate beauty if it is the more of a mashup, the more of a game Frankenstein (monster) it becomes. Who knows, maybe Colonel Mustard is on board? Maybe someone secretly uses the chaos to commit a murder? All's fair in love & boardgaming.

[@user-ss4ms7pk6g]

makes little sense that u don't get a minimum of ONE stress even if u had the flashlight or something no matter jonesy or not, it makes the game FAAAR to EASY me thinks ! HOUSERULES INCOMING🚀🚀🚀

[@steve-xt1zg]

Great vid as always, I heard that boardgame geek have a director's cut variant from the game designer to download which ups the difficulty level.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

There is indeed. It just lowers the amount of resources available and limits what you can make, and then gives you a load of options for other rules you can sprinkle on to taste. At the moment, I'm happy to play the game as-is (the game already includes an option to add Ash to up the difficulty and I haven't done that yet, and I also haven't played with more than three characters), but the game is so simple, it's very easy to adjust the difficulty. Thanks for watching.

[@user-ss4ms7pk6g]

34:46 better to use a cloth bag for the conceal tokens i think, weird they dodnt include, but hey its RAVENS BURGER so i dont expect to much from them anyway

[@GeneralSorrow]

8:38 The Alien's route to Ripley is shorter by the North stairs (red).

[@EriktheRed2023]

This one goes on my list for stuff to get! Thank you much for the playthrough! Nothing like a scary alien to get our characters to speed up and reveal those tokens! 😆What happens if the alien attacks a square with multiple characters? Does everyone scarper?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yes, everyone makes a run for it. I'm glad you enjoyed the playthrough; it's a really fun game.

[@marquonuk]

I'd like to see an Alien-themed version of the Jaws board game (including the two-stage game and the double-sided board), where one player is the Alien and in the second stage (maybe) the Alien has a chance to eliminate some of the crew before the crew destroys it. If one crew member survives the crew players win, if the Alien kills them all that player wins. Something along those lines. :-)

[@matthewwagner47]

Seems like a referee might work good for this game, so the players won't know were the alien is or where everyone else is moving. Would need atleast 2 board maps.

[@lctaylor6]

I would say use a bag for the conceal tokens, but that doesn’t work because you need to draw them face down. Otherwise, this sounds really fun.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yeah, that was my first thought and then I immediately realised it wasn't going to work. It's a minor inconvenience, just something that could have been a little bit more elegant. Overall, the game is loads of fun.

[@johnmiddleton4291]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Mix them up facedown in the box lid, old GW style.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yeah, a good old fashioned messy mix in a tray is how I'm doing it at the moment.

[@bradyvelvet9432]

Have you considered a house rule that restores morale?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm not a fan of house rules in general, and I don't think restoring morale is necessary with the standard rules. However, if you use the official "Director's Cut" rules which makes the game much harder, that variant does include a special rule for restoring morale.

[@chriscreativecontent]

This game looks well worth investing in :)

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I’ve been having a lot of fun with it. I can see it being quite tough to beat with five players.

[@chriscreativecontent]

I bet it is. Ironically I picked up horrified yesterday, so I’m looking forward to playing that 😁

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Horrified was a massive hit for me, my family, and friends. It's a real winner in my book, so I hope you really enjoy it.

[@chriscreativecontent]

I hope so too 😁

[@Roywebcafe]

An idea for player elimination could be if a character suffers a chain reaction where they encounter the Alien 2 or more times in one turn they are eliminated. It doesn't happen too often. One example Alien moves into room character flees and triggers an Alien CC that character is eliminated.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Personally, I don't think the game requires player elimination, and I don't think it would be a good fit for the game anyway. I've seen characters get a double alien encounter within a turn or two of starting play, and to make that player sit out for the rest of the game would be quite boring for them. It would also throw out the balance for the rest of the game. We get this game to the table quite often because everybody is always involved in every turn, and the game manages to generate a lot of tension without the need for player elimination. That being said, if you think the game should have elimination, give it a go and see how things turn out. I suspect when the player elimination occurs could really impact the rest of the game, potentially even making the game easier as the alien has fewer, more widely spaced targets to hunt.

[@Roywebcafe]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I also enjoy the game enough with out elimination. Gave it a try playing solo by giving each character 3 lives. It was fun. I was down to one player, Ripley. Trying to eliminate Ash to win game. Succeeded but then I was stalking Ash and the rules say Ash has to encounter a player so it didn't count really. Sorry I forgot to mention player elimination for solo games only. Another idea for players who want elimination. If 2 or 3 players take 2 characters each. If one player is eliminated they can share another character to avoid sitting out. Even bringing in a 5th character if not used. Can't see myself doing it.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@Roywebcafe The wording on the Ash mission is a bit wonky, but my understanding is it doesn't matter if you enter his space or he enters your space, it still counts as an encounter. If that wasn't the case, the Ash end-game would be ridiculous, as the heroes would just have to stand next to his space and then wait there flipping cards until you get a card that makes Ash move. That would be a terrible way to finish the game and would also put your ultimate victory down to the luck of the draw.

[@Roywebcafe]

I forget to mention Ripley had to damage Ash 3 times with the cannisters and I had her carrying more than one so again the victory didn't count. Well only my first playthrough.

[@Tony-lc5kc]

Parker was the best, smartest and went down fighting trying save somebody else,

[@Tony-lc5kc]

P.S Cheers John :)

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The first time I ever saw Alien, I was devastated when Parker died. Just a great character - very human, very real, and truly heroic.

[@Tony-lc5kc]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I thought the way he went out was awesome

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's an amazing scene. The whole film is a masterclass, but that scene in particular is incredible. I find it's not that often I feel so bad for characters that don't make it, but that's testament to the writing and acting that all these characters felt so real, and you really wanted them to survive. I really wanted Parker to make it out alive.

[@ragasha89]

I know this is an older video so hoping you see this, but wouldn't you lose 2 morale for the "lost in the signal" alien card around 16:45? I know morale is only lost when the alien actually encounters a crew member during movement, but with no movement for that card it seems silly to put the morale damage on the card without any specified way of losing it. And thematically it makes sense. The crew tracking the alien, and then losing it on radar would be a demoralizing event as the alien could now be anywhere on the ship. That's how I made sense of it anyways. The rules are a bit vague or ambiguous sometimes so any input is appreciated

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

That card returns the alien to the nest, so you would take the morale hit if there was a crew member in the nest.

[@ragasha89]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring ah yea that makes perfect sense, didn't even consider that. Thanks for the help!

[@ghoulishgroom189]

Flashlight can be used on other players turns right? Pretty sure that's a thing. As long as so.eone has a flashlight all moral damage is basically reduced by 1. Flashlights have infinite use.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yes - rules page 6, "Use: Unlimited. Whenever you lose morale, reduce the amount lost by 1. May be used when it's not your turn." Of course, the character with the flashlight has to be present at the location!

[@Spardin]

dooms day countdown is back in stock on game

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Yeah, Fireteam and Bladeborn aren't though. And with people getting the Bladeborn preorders cancelled in the US, and Doomsday appearing and disappearing multiple times, I don't want to keep reporting on it until things have settled down. Clearly there is going to be stock, it's just a matter of waiting for the distribution to sort itself out.

[@Spardin]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring yeah just a message saying we are having problems because of would help

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Absolutely. I think Game and GW are a good pair when it comes to communication!

[@eldritchmorgasm4018]

The dinner-scene as a dice-minigame & introduction to the main game would be fun. Kane feels kinda funny, so roll the dice. A 4, good, you just had to fart, no harm done. Hopefully. I guess. Now he feels weird, roll the dice, and it's a 2, some mild pain, no problemo, pouring some relieving whiskey into the muesli. Save, for now. The tension now is palpable, breathing is getting difficult, another dice rolling, and it's a 6, which means, in this case, Subverting Expectations, Kane dies, and the Chestburster is not a Chestburster, but a Bottomburster. Everybody loses their holy shit, and 5 points of morale, which would carry over into the main game. 😬

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Bottom bursters were a thing in Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. Incidentally, if you look at the art for the galley on the game board, you can see a streak of blood leading to a vent in the wall. There's also acid damage in the sub deck below the med bay.

[@eldritchmorgasm4018]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring That is very true, but when I said Buttomburster I imagined something a lot more gruesome, because the creature immediatly explodes outside, so no sitting on the toilet, no farting, just what happend in the movie, but from a "different" part of the body... it would be fun... horrible, but fun

[@JoeyJoJoJoestarJuniorShabadoo]

Kinda odd that the alien can't kill any crew members since, you know, that's what the whole movie was about.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

The game does a surprisingly good job of creating the tension of the movie despite not having player elimination. I think it works really well.

[@JoeyJoJoJoestarJuniorShabadoo]

I think what i would do is instead of players having to sit out the rest of the game they get coccooned up in the nest instead of killed. And thats if they fail some check to run away. Then another player can come rescue them and join back in.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@JoeyJoJoJoestarJuniorShabadoo I think that would be a cool mechanism for a longer more involved game, but Fate of the Nostromo is a very streamlined, compact game. You can finish the game in 30 minutes or so, and I think the design choices were just to make sure everyone was completely involved for that whole play time.

[@simounobrien9096]

In three Space No one can hear you scream However, We can hear you scream once you run out of those spaces XD!!!!!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I love this game. It does such a great job of reproducing that claustrophobic atmosphere from the movie, even though characters don't ever die. You are never far from disaster.

[@simounobrien9096]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring The fact your characters do not die makes it quite accessible. Least you got many chances to get the job done.

[@user-ss4ms7pk6g]

34:47 i mean it seems ok for the prize and for the first time user friendlyness and whatnot but i feel it doesnt really catch the paranoia and claustrophobia of the first movie, something is missing, probabaly the chance of instant death of that particular team member when the alien pounces at u or the alien cards, i mesn it makes no sense thematically that everybody survives till the end...🙄😐

[@simounobrien9096]

29:03. Things are going well, but we still need to draw an encounter card Stalk comes up. What was that again? XD!!!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. I tend to kick myself as soon as phrases like "anything but a 1" or "we're having an easy time of it" come out of my mouth.

[@simounobrien9096]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Oh please keep up with all the talk. I reckon it adds to the entertainment :D!!!!!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@simounobrien9096 Don't worry. Nobody has managed to stop me yet!

[@jonanjello]

Finally bought the game and it arrived yesterday. Last night I sat down to learn it and gave up in frustration and several false starts. The encounter phase explained in the terrible rule book is truly baffling. I also on the designers previous game Rayguns and rocket ships. I had the exact same experience with that game. Terrible rule book and I gave up in frustration. Both games really have some nice components and theme. It’s a shame they are rule books are terrible. Thank you for this video I may give Fate of the Nostromo another try.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's a fantastic game, and well worth persisting with if you're having trouble with the rules.