Nostromo Crew vs. Ash - An Alien: Fate of the Nostromo Playthrough | Let's Play a Ravensburger Game

Always Board Never Boring really enjoys the Ravensburger co-operative game, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo. He's played the game on the channel once already, but this time he's adding in the optional rules for a secondary antagonist that makes the game tougher to beat.
Will Ripley, Dallas, and Parker survive a confrontation with the xenomorph? I can't lie about their chances, but they have my sympathies.
#Alien #FateoftheNostromo #Ravensburger
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[@jonkirk2118]

That was a lot of fun. Thanks again for making these.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. These were fun to do. It’s a great game.

[@robertseggie2773]

Thanks for a very useful demonstration. Will help immensely.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks for watching.

[@joshfrench5858]

Your ability to constantly roll ones would make you master at axis & allies.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Unfortunately, I think my skill is to be able to always roll exactly what I don't want. I am sure I would be all 6s when I'm looking for 1s.

[@EriktheRed2023]

Well, Ash, this is what happens when you break the Science Division's basic quarantine law. I hope Brett and Parker get your share.

[@alistairmyles4260]

That looks like a fun little game, we've got the Ravenburger Jaws game at home, I'm guessing that's from the same series of games, it's a lot of fun.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Ravensburger have been knocking it out of the park recently with movie tie-ins. I have a decent selection of their titles on my shelf: Alien, Horrified, Jaws, Jurassic Park, and Villainous. All quite streamlined games, in the same sized boxes.

[@Mailed-Knight]

gg Ash. Great vid.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Thanks. I had fun making this one.

[@blackraptor311]

I have to admit, when I read "vs. Ash", I thought your were bringing in Ash from the Evil Dead series. Who else thought that?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Ha. Now that would be an interesting crossover! The alien wouldn't stand a chance.

[@blackraptor311]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Groovy.

[@silvarknite7]

ah yeah I love this game!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It’s really good. Normally things go much worse for me than they did in this playthrough!

[@chriscreativecontent]

It’s a good game. Only played it once and now have the gist of my priorities. Next time I should survive longer 😁

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I really enjoy it. Nice and simple, but really tense. I would have liked a few more objective cards for even more variety, but I think there's plenty there to sink your teeth into.

[@chriscreativecontent]

I agree. I prefer the aliens game from gale force nine but this is a nice quick less spacious game.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I was really excited about Another Glorious Day in the Corps, but when it finally came out I went off the idea. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to enjoy it, but I still see-saw over the idea of getting it because I love the theme so much. At the moment, if I want to go big in the Aliens universe I have The Hunt Begins, which also throws the predators in, if I'm feeling nostalgic or want mindless chaos I have Operation: Aliens, and then Fate fills that co-op slot for now. But... like I said... I am continually tempted by Corps, so it may end up being added to the collection one day.

[@chriscreativecontent]

It’s still good even if you only get it for the minis, although adding predators to the mix is even better. I got the original predator minis delivered yesterday and they’re awesome 😁

[@carbilicon]

Great video. Parker's left arm is longer than his right.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm looking at the miniature right now, and they seem about the same to me. Do you mean on the character art on the card?

[@carbilicon]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring yes but I could be wrong, maybe it was the angle of his card. Thanks for your video, I'm learning to play this game before I play this game.

[@Stuffandstuff974]

This should be a fun video

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Well, I hope it is!

[@kevinedward6132]

Ash definitely deserved his own minifig, also where is lambert? alternative scenarios would have been cool to include Kane as well so you could play with the whole plot changing who got impregnated etc, This is a very cool game but there's certainly room to expand on its playability and scenarios :D

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Lambert is a playable character too - you get Ripley, Dallas, Lambert, Brett, and Parker as playable characters and Ash as an antagonist - I just didn't use a full roster of five characters in the playthrough. There's a surprising amount of variety baked into the design, with the random draw of the initial objectives, the big reveal of the final objective at the end, and the option to throw in Ash for an additional challenge, but I really would have liked to see Kane as a playable character too to play a "what if?" version of the story.

[@kevinedward6132]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Oh god I forgot about Brett... Don't let my alien fan groups know!

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@kevinedward6132 Your secret is safe with me.

[@Roywebcafe]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring I saw you used 5 actions for Parker to attack Ash - 4 to move and 1 to deal cannister. Am i missing something? If Kane is used in a what if scenario maybe his Special ability could be 1 action for 1 crew to use an item? Dallas could have that inc actions for crew to pick up/drop/trade but with 5 Actions maybe too powerful?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@Roywebcafe Discarding cannisters when encountering Ash isn't an action.

[@severindrax]

would it have killed them to include an Ash miniature rather than a card standee?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It's one of my biggest complaints, I think. Ash definitely deserves his own playing piece. I also would have liked them to include Kane as a playable character. I of course understand why they didn't, but I wouldn't mind playing what-ifs? and having an extra crew member to select from.

[@kevinriley1161]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Just got this game for Christmas _ I’m very excited for play after your video! I think the reason why Kane is not a playable character is that without Kane I.e. being the host for the Facehugger, there would be no Alien.

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

@@kevinriley1161 Yes, that's why he's not been included, and as I mentioned I do understand why they left him out, but it would have been nice to have him as a bonus character. Hope you enjoy the game.

[@Liberty-or-Death-1776]

Maybe somebody can do a custom 3D Printer file for an Ash figure. I also noticed that Ash's face is always obscured. I guess they couldn't get licensing rights to Ian Holm's likeness when they produced the game.

[@nickgraney2119]

Really thematic and a solid play through. Would 'Don't Look Back!' be right up your street?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It would, indeed. I was only discussing it in the comments to a video a few weeks back, actually. I've wanted to play it for a while, but (unless something has changed in the last couple of weeks) I would have to get it imported from the manufacturer as they don't have UK distribution, and then if I like it I would have to get expansions imported, so it's something I haven't moved on yet.

[@d0nKsTaH]

Just got this game a while back (B-day gift) and already found something that could be modified (sorta) When Ash is on the board.. the Stun Gun should be used to get him in 3 hits during the final mission where you have to kill Ash. Makes sense since it was what was used in the film (and book). Also gives the stun gun some real usage as opposed to just being a reduction in morale loss. But it would still require making a second one... since each one has 2 blasts. What do you think about this? Be kinda like the Free Parking on Monopoly.. Unofficial for sure... but seems to fit? Yes? No?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

You can try it, but I like the official rules. In the film, Parker initially subdues Ash by beating him repeatedly with the cannister until Ash's head comes off, and that's what they are recreating in the game. By the time he does the jump scare and gets electrocuted I think Ash is significantly less of a treat.

[@FranksMuseumOfGaming]

Hey I have a question, when you "flee" and run 3 spaces, if I was going towards a dead end like the airlock and that was only 2 spaces, can I do that? or do I have to come back one space?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

You must move three spaces if possible, without doubling back. If you can't move three spaces without doubling back, then you move as far as you can.

[@FranksMuseumOfGaming]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Ah okay, thank :)

[@Roywebcafe]

gr8 vid. However you made a mistake on final mission. Parker took 4 Actions to move into space with Ash then dealing Coolant Cannister to damage Ash makes 5 Actions! So he would have to wait next turn to deal coolant cannister. Unless I have missed something?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

When you encounter Ash you MUST discard a coolant cannister or take morale loss. It's not an action, just something that happens when you encounter him.

[@EastbourneSean]

Excellent playthrough video and it's reassuring to see that you are playing the Ash character the same way as myself. Though i do have a question regarding the "You have my sympathies" final mission as it states that "whenever Ash encounters a crew member, that crew member must discard a coolant cannister to deal 1 damage to Ash" etc. Shouldn't this mean that the correct way to defeat Ash is to discard the coolant cannister whenever an Order 937 card moves Ash into the crew members space, rather than move the crew member into Ash's space to discard the coolant cannister? I was also wondering what should happen should Ash encounter a crew member who has already discarded a coolant cannister. Would the crew member now be immune or would he or she have to lose 3 morale and flee 3 spaces?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I don't agree with that for a few reasons. 1. It would make the final mission something completely reactive - not something you beat by good play, but something you beat because the right cards come up. You could end up in a situation where you have three crew with cannisters standing next to Ash, waiting for him to move, and just skipping their turn each turn because they have nothing else to do. Avoiding this situation is also why you don't need Jonesy in the cat carrier for the escape final mission; you just need the carrier. 2. It could make a game drag on indefinitely. Imagine a situation where you have pulled all of the 937 cards except Crew Expendable which is sitting at the bottom of the stack. You would have to sift a whole deck (which would also be replenished at some point by other reshuffle cards), and there is actually a possibility that Ash would never move ever again due to deck reshuffles. 3. If you argue that you can only spend a cannister when Ash moves onto you and not when you move onto him, then by the same argument you would only lose morale when he moves onto you. That means you could freely move through Ash on your turn, making him virtually no threat at all. You could also freely run through him if you were retreating from an alien encounter, avoiding massive morale loss. As for the second question - if you don't have a cannister you lose morale. If discarding a cannister once made you immune to Ash, you could use one crew member to keep him standing in one place without risk of morale loss while other crew members tooled up. The intention is, Ash has revealed his true nature now. Every time he is in a space with a crew member, that crew member must discard a coolant cannister to fend him off, or else lose three morale and run away.

[@EastbourneSean]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Very well reasoned thanks. However the games designer Scott Rogers has made it clear that a crew member can enter and leave a space containing Ash without any damage by stating on Boardgamegeek that "In the movie, Ash is always "sneaking up" on the other crew members and freaking them out. That is the intention of this mechanism. The rule is - if Ash surprises you, you gain fear (lose morale), if you walk up on Ash, then all is cool."

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

I'm pretty sure he means during normal play (which is how I play it during normal play), not during the final mission, where Ash is outed as the villain. The rules state that the rules for Ash change during that end game. At that point, you're hitting him in the head with cannisters when you see him. Nobody is being sneaky anymore.

[@EastbourneSean]

@@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring Thanks!

[@ProfessorNoonie]

Ive played like 4 times. i have yet to win lol

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

It can be pretty tough. I think it's very hard to win with five players.

[@craigsreplaytoybox7443]

I haven't won yet either. Got to the very end (Final Objective), and got royally screwed by the Alien Stalk card. We all were in the airlock....but then. Well, another round coming up!

[@johnmiddleton4291]

Shouldn't everybody have the ability to make scrap? Isn't that just smashing the shit out of things on the ship?

[@AlwaysBoardNeverBoring]

Ha, I guess it is. I suppose it just represents Parker having a better understanding of what things he can make use of on the ship, or having the skill to dismantle things without just smashing them beyond use. Any game where he isn't present, a shortage of scrap always seems to be an issue! In fact, I would say that Ripley, Dallas, and Parker are always missed when they aren't in the team.