In Space No-One WILL Hear You Scream!

Because in this family-friendly version of the Sci-Fi Horror classic by Ravensburger, no one gets hurt! But you do get a whole heap of nail-biting tension as you and your fellow crew members strive to complete hazardous tasks whilst being chased by the 8ft xenomorph before time runs out for you and your crew morale tanks to zero.

“I can’t lie to you about your chances, but… you have my sympathies” Ash

In Alien: Fate of the Nostromo you play as one of the five main characters of the film, the crew of the ill-fated Nostromo; Captain Dallas, Engineering duo Brett and Parker, Navigator Lambert and final girl Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley. Ash can play a part against them and Kane is already deceased.

Each character is represented on the board by a finely sculpted 40mm miniature and has a player card with their picture from the movie Alien and the details of their abilities and special features.

The game is played co-operatively with all the players working together to try to defeat the Alien represented by a fine, all black 50mm figure. You work together to complete the tasks given to you before your time runs out.

What The Hell Are We Supposed To Use, Man? Harsh Language?

The board is a reconstruction of the Main and Sub Deck of the USCSS Nostromo with all the key locations: Hypersleep, MU-TH-UR, Bridge, Med-Bay, Garage, Workshop, Airlock etc. You all start in the Galley on Main Deck (where Kane met his demise) whilst the Alien is in its’ nest at the other end of the Sub Deck. Each player is given a Starting Objective to complete. You set out to collect key items that are spread about the ship and bring them back to specific locations. As you enter each area you trigger Concealed tokens that could bring the Alien to attack you and bring your morale level down. You never die but when your morale reaches zero that’s game over.

Some of the items you collect can help you in your struggles : Flame Thrower, Motion Detector etc. others like Coolant cannisters are needed for your final escape. There’s even a Cat Carrier for the ship’s cat Jones.

This Is Ripley Last Survivor Of The Nostromo, Signing Off

Once all the Starting Objectives are completed you reveal one of the five final objectives. These draw on key moments from the movie like Blowing the Alien out of the Air Lock or Blowing up the Ship. Unlike the movie they depend on all the crew working together.

The timing can be quite tight and good co-operative work is essential. For this reason it works very well solo with one player controlling up to 4 of the characters. On the other hand if you are finding the game too easy you can add in the aforementioned Ash, starting in the Med Bay, to wander around making a nuisance of himself and stealing your all important scrap metal tokens.

Alien: Fate of the Nostromo has an authentic amount of flavour and attention to detail from the film without so much of the horror making it a fantastic family friendly space adventure.

This blog was written by Pete Bartlam