How to Play

Nemesis: Retaliation

1-5 players 120-180 min 8.8 Board Game Geek Rating

In this standalone horror game, elite marines infiltrate an alien nest using advanced equipment. Players face overwhelming alien hordes while managing health, items, and exploring modular map sections. Victory requires surviving the onslaught and completing individual objectives, though hidden traitors among the team create constant betrayal threats.

Published 2025

Nemesis: Retaliation

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Place characters in rooms
Characters may only be placed in Rooms, while Intruders may be placed both in Rooms and in Corridors
2
Orient corridors correctly
All Corridors, at the moment of placement, should be oriented with a Door slot in the direction of the Room just placed
3
Handle corridor placement exceptions
If a Corridor leads to a Room that is already placed on the map, do not set it up
4
Equip armor items
When gained, an Armor Item is always placed on the Heavily Injured section of the Health track
5
Store items in backpack
All regular Items are placed in a Backpack card holder with no limit to quantity
6
Assign player numbers
Player numbers given at setup are only used for some Objective card purposes, not turn order
7
Power the Hibernatorium
The Hibernatorium needs to be powered up in Life Support section C before being usable
8
Prepare the intruder bag
The Blank token is the only token returned to the bag after being drawn and resolved; all other tokens are discarded afterward

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Take two actions per turn
After each time a character takes 2 actions, they must suffer oxygen loss and fire damage before the next player takes their turn
2
Choose objectives freely
Objective cards can be chosen at any point during a player's turn and it is not an action
3
Activate the Robot locally
Discard 1 Action card if in a Room with the Robot
4
Activate the Robot remotely
Discard 1 Action card plus 1 additional card if in a Room with a Computer
5
Move through rooms
If any Intruders are in the same Room or in the Corridor you want to move through, resolve an Intruder Attack for each such Intruder (up to 3 Attacks maximum), starting with largest
6
Make noise rolls after movement
A Noise roll must be made after each Movement, even when moving to a Room with another Character and/or Intruder
7
Resolve noise roll numbers
Find all Corridors adjacent to your Room sharing the rolled value
8
Shoot at intruders
Characters may only Shoot at Intruders in the same Room with a working, loaded Ranged Weapon
9
Perform melee attacks
Gain 1 Contamination card, choose target Intruder in same Room, deal 1 Hit, roll Shoot die
10
Execute burst attacks
Choose a Weapon with at least 1 Ammo token, spend and make a Burst roll
11
Use tactical gear
Choose any number of Tactical Gear tokens and use them, applying their effects
12
Use items on other characters
You may use Items with Restoring, Discarding Serious Wounds, Discarding, or Gaining effects on another Character in the same Room if they allow it
13
Discard items and tokens freely
All Characters may discard any number of Tactical Gear tokens and/or Items at any point
14
Pass your turn
When passing, you may discard any number of cards from hand including contamination cards
15
Avoid commanding into danger
You may never perform an Action using another Character that would result in an Intruder Opportunity Attack
16
Resolve effects completely
When choosing an effect, you must be able to resolve it entirely; if impossible, you may not choose that effect
17
Handle contamination cards
When gained, they are added to your discard pile and cannot be used to pay costs
18
Place secure tokens
There is a limit of 3 Secure tokens per Room; Characters may never Secure a Room with an Intruder inside
19
Manage serious wounds
When gained, draw random card from Serious Wound deck and place in leftmost Health Section without a Serious Wound
20
Handle armor damage
When Health marker would move to a section with Armor Item, discard the Armor and continue moving the Health marker
21
Respect closed doors
Closed Doors block access to anything except Noise markers; Characters cannot perform Actions influencing objects behind Closed Doors
22
Handle malfunction markers
Components with malfunction markers cannot be used
23
Manage intruder movement
Intruders move to closest Character using shortest route ignoring closed doors
24
Track intruder limits in corridors
A Corridor can hold: Queen plus up to 2 other Intruders OR up to 6 Adults/Drones/Larvae OR a Noise marker
25
Handle intruder hit markers
Intruders in Corridors never have left-over Hit markers; injured Intruder moving to Corridor discards all Hit markers
26
Remove noise markers for intruders
When Intruder is placed or moved to Corridor with Noise marker, discard the Noise marker first
27
Resolve intruder attacks
Each Intruder in Room Attacks Character first in Turn order
28
Track Queen hits specially
For each Hit to Queen, advance Universal marker on Queen's Hits track instead of placing markers near base
29
Interact with the nest
Eggs are Heavy Items picked up via Nest Room Action; destroy Nest by removing all Eggs
30
Apply the nightmare rule
If unsure about rulings, resolve in worst possible scenario for players; if still unclear, worst for Character first in Turn order
31
Handle overwhelming fire
If you must place a Fire marker with none available, the Facility is destroyed and game ends

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Escape or hibernate to win
Each Character must Escape from the Facility or Hibernate to win
2
Escape via lander
Use the Lander in the Landing Zone; any number of characters may escape this way
3
Launch the lander
At very start of Event Phase, any Character inside may decide to Launch
4
Hibernate in Hibernatorium
Lock yourself by Hibernating; only possible if Hibernatorium is Active
5
Escape via shuttle
Use the Escape Shuttle; only one character may escape this way
6
Pass the noise roll check
When trying to use Lander, Hibernatorium, or Escape Shuttle, make a Noise roll as part of Room effect
7
Kill the Queen
When last Queen Health card is discarded, Queen is dead
8
Avoid facility destruction
If no Fire markers are available when one must be placed, the Facility is destroyed and game ends

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

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