For tips on how to play not alone, see Tips_notalone

Object of the game

• NOT ALONE is an asymmetrical card game, with one player (the Creature) playing against the other players (the Hunted).
• If you play as one of the Hunted, you explore Artemia using Place cards.
  • By playing these and your Survival cards, your aim is to avoid being hunted down by the Creature until help arrives.
• If you play as the Creature, your aim is to hunt down the shipwrecked survivors and assimilate them into the planet’s ecosystem.
  • By playing your Hunt cards and activating the powers of Artemia, you repeatedly attack the Hunted to wear down their will and inescapably bind them to the planet.

Place cards

• The planet Artemia is made up of 10 different Place cards.
• Each Place card has a number, a name and a power that can be activated by the Hunted.
• The place cards are horizontally or vertically adjacent.
• Each Hunted begins the game with the 5 basic Place cards (Lair, Jungle, River, Beach and Rover) and may explore new places during the game (Swamp, Shelter, Wreck, Source and Artefact).

Hunt cards

• Hunt cards increase the chances of the Creature being able to assimilate the Hunted.
• Each Hunt card shows a power that can be activated by the Creature and the phase in which that power may be played.
• Some also show a Target or Artemia symbol.
• Hunt Cards may be played at any time during the phase shown on the card and are discarded after use.
  • The Creature may only play one Hunt card per turn unless specified otherwise.
• If a Hunt card with the Target symbol is played, the Creature assigns its effects by placing the Target token on one of the 10 Place cards that form the planet.
  • If the Creature plays 2 Hunt cards with this symbol during a turn, apply both effects to the targeted place.
• If a Hunt card with the Artemia symbol is played, the Creature assigns its effects by placing the Artemia token on one of the 10 Place cards that form the planet.
  • If the Creature plays 2 Hunt cards with this symbol during a turn, apply both effects.

Survival cards

• Survival cards increase the chances of the Hunted resisting the Creature’s attacks until the arrival of the Rescue mission.
• Each Survival card shows a power that can be activated by the Hunted and the phase in which that power may be played.
• Survival cards may be played at any time during the phase shown on the card and are discarded after use.
• Each Hunted may only play one Survival card per turn even if caught by the Creature.
• There is no limit to the number of Survival cards that a Hunted may hold.
• Hunt and Survival cards used during the same phase take effect in the order in which they are played.
• The effects of Hunt and Survival cards are limited to the current game turn and they may change the general rules.

Playing the game

• Each turn takes place over 4 phases:

Phase 1: Exploration

• The Hunted simultaneously play one Place card each from their hand by placing it face down in front of them.
• They may communicate, but only aloud. Players may bluff, but they may not reveal their cards to each other.
• Playing a Place card is mandatory.
• Before playing a Place card, a Hunted may choose to do the following:
  1. Resist: the player forfeits 1 or 2 Will counters to take back 2 or 4 Place cards of their choice, respectively, from their discard pile.
     • If in doing so a Hunted loses their third Will counter, they must Give Up.
  2. Give Up: the player regains all of their Will counters and takes back all of their discarded Place cards.
     • Giving up, however, lets the Creature assimilate the Hunted faster.
     • Each time a Hunted gives up during this phase, immediately move forward the Assimilation counter by one space.

Phase 2: Hunting

• The Creature places tokens to try to catch the players.
  • If the token matches the location of a player the effect is applied.
  • In the first round the players can only be in locations 1 through 5.
  • They can only gain the additional locations by visiting the Rover.
• The Creature may place the following tokens on the Place cards that make up Artemia:
  • The Creature token.
  • The Target token if the target symbol is on a Hunt card played.
  • The Artemia token if the Artemia Symbol is on a Hunt card played AND/OR on the space under the Rescue counter.
• The Hunt tokens can be placed on the same place to stack their effects.

Phase 3: Reckoning

• The Hunted simultaneously reveal their Place card.
• The phase should then proceed as follows:
  1. Starting with the player to the left of the Creature, each Hunted who explores a place without a Hunt token may immediately use the place’s power OR take back 1 Place card of their choice from their discard pile.
     • If a place’s power is ineffective as a result of a Hunt card, the Hunted may not take back a discarded Place card.
  2. Each Hunted who explores the place where the Target token is located is subject to the effect of the Hunt card.
     • They may then use the power on the Place card OR take back 1 Place card of their choice from their discard pile.
     • If a place’s power is ineffective as a result of a Hunt card, the Hunted may not take back a discarded Place card.
  3. Each Hunted who explores the place where the Artemia token is located discards 1 Place card from their hand.
     • The place’s power may not be used and the Hunted may not take back a discarded Place card.
  4. Each Hunted who explores the place where the Creature token is located loses 1 Will counter.
     • Immediately move the Assimilation counter forward 1 space regardless of the number of Hunted caught.
     • The place’s power may not be used and the Hunted may not take back a discarded Place card.
• During this phase, if at least one of the Hunted loses their third Will counter, move the Assimilation counter forward by 1 space.
  • Then these Hunted take back all of their Place cards, as well as their 3 Will counters.

Phase 4: End-of-turn actions

1. Each Hunted discards the Place card played, face up.
   • The Creature must always be able to see the figures on all discarded Place cards.
   • The Creature takes back its Hunt tokens and draws Hunt cards up to a hand of 3.
2. Move the Rescue counter forward 1 space and begin again at Phase 1: Exploration.

End of game

• The Creature wins immediately if the Assimilation counter reaches the Victory space first.
  • With their will sapped, all of the Hunted have been assimilated. They are now part of the planet.
• The Hunted win immediately if the Rescue counter reaches the Victory space first.
  • A rescue mission arrives to extract the survivors from this hostile planet.

FAQ

The Lair

• If a Hunted chooses to retrieve their discarded Place cards, they do not retrieve the Lair because during the Reckoning phase, the Lair is not yet in the player’s discarded cards.
• If a Hunted caught on The Lair only has 1 Will counter, this Hunted loses only one Will counter.

The Beach

• Use of the Beach is limited to once per turn regardless of the number of Hunted exploring the Beach, either:
  • Charge the Marker, or
    • Place the Marker token on the Beach
  • Activate the Marker
    • Remove the Marker token from the Beach and move the Rescue counter forward by 1 space.
• If two or more Hunted explore the Beach, one of them may use the power of the Beach and the others may take back 1 Place card of their choice from their discard pile.
• The power of the Beach may stack with that of the Wreck.

The Wreck

• Use of the Wreck is limited to once per turn regardless of the number of Hunted exploring the Wreck.
• If two or more Hunted explore the Wreck, one of them may use the power of the Wreck and the others may take back 1 Place card of their choice from their discard pile.
• The power of the Wreck may stack with that of the Beach.

The Artefact

• The 2 Place cards played are resolved one by one in the order of the player’s choice, following the rules of Phase 3: Reckoning.
• The power of the Artefact may not be copied by a place’s power, nor by a Survival card.
• If you get caught twice by the same Hunt token, the personal effects of the token are applied twice.

Drone

• This Survival card can only be used if the power of you place card could be used.
• On Board Game Arena, you may only play this card when it is your turn to resolve the power of your place card during Phase 3.

Gate

• This Survival card can only be used if the power of you place card could be used.
• On Board Game Arena, you may only play this card when it is your turn to resolve the power of your place card during Phase 3.

Double Back

• If you played 2 Place cards using the Artefact, you may only take back one of them.

Wrong Track

• If the "Clone" Hunt card was played this turn, you may move either the Creature token or the Target token with represents the Clone.

Despair

• When this Hunt card is played, all Hunted players who already played a Place card automatically take it back in their hand, and then play again any Place card.

Dodge

• This cards effect only applies to the Hunted who plays it.
• Therefore you must be on the same location than the Creature to play it, and it will not prevent the other Hunted to get caught.

Detector

• This cards effect only applies to the Hunted who plays it.
• Therefore you must be on the same location than the Artemia token to play it, and it will not prevent the other Hunted to get caught.