How to Play

Stationfall

1-9 players 60-150 min 7.7 Board Game Geek Rating

In Stationfall, players secretly control diverse characters aboard a doomed space station heading for atmospheric destruction. Using deduction and tactical conspiracy mechanics, you manipulate multiple characters—some controlled by opponents—to achieve hidden objectives. Victory requires exploiting secret alliances while identifying enemies among apparent collaborators in this complex game of betrayal and survival.

Published 2023

Get Ready

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

Prepare the board

Place the game board in the center of the table with all section labels visible

Assign player components

Each player takes 8 Influence Cubes, 1 Activation Disc, 1 Bribe token, 1 Reveal token, 1 Guilt token, and 3 Time tokens in their chosen color

Select characters

Choose or randomly select Character cards based on player count (maximum 9), shuffle them, and place in 2 columns next to the board

Distribute Identity cards

Find Identity cards matching the Character cards in play, shuffle facedown, and deal 2 to each player

Choose Secret Identity

Each player selects one Identity card as their Secret Identity and the other as their Bonus Character (BC), rotating the BC card 180 degrees to mark it

Place map modifications

Position the 4 Pods (Alcatraz, Hail Mary, Houdini, McQueen) at Aft Airlocks with arrows pointing up, plus any Character-specific map tiles

Distribute Kompromats

Shuffle all Kompromat tokens facedown and place on purple Kompromat icons on the board, starting from the bottom

Set Guilt tokens

Place each player's Guilt token on "Innocent" on the Guilt track

Position Minute marker

Place the Minute marker on position 13 (for 3-9 players) on the Minute track

Set Reentry token

Shuffle the 3 Reentry tokens facedown and place 1 on position 0 of the Minute track

Configure status tokens

Place Abandon Ship token on its space, Cameras and Jammers tokens on "ON" side, and Power Status token on "Normal Power"

Deploy Character standees

Place each Character's standee in their starting Section as indicated on their Character card

Place starting objects

Position Artifact in Physics Lab, Antimatter in Magnetic Containment, Briefcase in Suite, plus Helmets, Bludgeons, and Nanogels on their printed icons

Set Locks

Place Lock tokens on corridors leading to Reactor, Vault X, and Shred Room

Add starting Hazard

Place one Asphyxiation token in Magnetic Containment

Prepare Project X

Place one random Project X card facedown in the Project X space near Vault X

Determine first player

Randomly select the starting player and give them the First Player token

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

Advance the Minute marker

At the start of each new round, move the Minute token one space to the right on the track

Consider Revealing

Optionally flip your Secret Identity card face-up to become your Player Character (PC), activating your Revealed Power and returning your Influence cubes while sending opponents' cubes to the Betrayal Box

Place Influence cubes

Optionally place any number of your cubes on a single Character card to make them your Conspirator

Activate a Conspirator

Place your Activation Disc on any Conspirator's Character card to activate them

Perform Basic Actions

Use actions for Step (move through corridors), Pick Up, Drop, Give, Throw, Attack (requires weapon), Rob (requires weapon), Sabotage (requires weapon), or Revive (requires Nanogel)

Perform Section Actions

Execute special actions listed on the Section where your Character stands, such as Manufacture, Airlock, Timed Launch, or Section Launch

Perform Console Actions

From Security Station or Mainframe, use Hazard Suppression, Cameras On/Off, or Jammers On/Off

Use Kompromat

Spend a collected Kompromat token to force 1 action from the matching Character (no free Pick Up/Drop included)

Use Bribe

Spend your Bribe token on any Character to gain 1 additional action with them

Handle Hazards

Humans require a Helmet to survive Fire, Asphyxiation, or Outer Space

Manage Character states

Characters can be Alive, Down (marked with X token, cannot act until Revived), Escaped (reached Mesosphere via Pod), or Annihilated (permanently removed, cannot be Revived)

Trigger Abandon Ship

This occurs automatically at Minute 1, or earlier by damaging 2 Power Sections, releasing Project X, or using Bridge actions

Launch Pods

Use Timed Launch from inside a Pod (places Time token, launches at end of your next turn), Section Launch from an adjacent Section, or Bridge Launch to launch all eligible occupied Pods

Arm Antimatter

Removing Antimatter from Magnetic Containment arms it, triggering Abandon Ship and placing a Time token 4 Minutos ahead for detonation

Handle Data tokens

Manufacture Evidence, X-Secret, Digital Assistant, or NDA at appropriate Sections, then Copy, Delete, Transmit, or Rob Data as needed

Become Suspect

Your Guilt token moves to Suspect when you Down a Human in a Lit Section with Cameras ON, or when you refuse a Kompromat action while Innocent

Become Guilty

If Evidence is Transmitted to Authorities while you are Suspect, you become Guilty

Choose Renegotiate instead

Skip Activation to retrieve your Activation Disc and optionally 1 Influence cube from any non-Escaped, non-Annihilated Character

Resolve Time tokens

At turn end, resolve any Time tokens on the current Minute space or on Sections (damage, launches, detonations)

Execute Project X

If Project X is released, follow its card instructions at the end of each player's turn

Winning

How to claim victory.

Trigger Stationfall

The game ends when the Minute marker reaches position 0 and the Reentry token shows a fireball (immediate end) or after one additional turn (if no fireball), or when armed Antimatter detonates aboard the Station

Reveal all Identities

All players who haven't Revealed must flip their Secret Identity and Bonus Character cards face-up

Deliver Data

Escaped PCs may Transmit any Data they Possess to Authorities or News Offsites

Score Agenda points

Calculate points from your Secret Identity's Agenda requirements (starred items on Identity card)

Score Bonus Character points

Gain points if your BC matches Friend conditions (typically Escaped) or Grudge conditions (typically Down)

Score Bribe tokens

Gain 1 point for your unused Bribe token, plus 1 point for each Bribe token on your PC's Character card

Calculate Influence penalty

Lose 1 point for each Influence cube placed beyond your Influence Limit