Alone is an asymmetric survival horror game for 2 to 4 players. One player controls the castaway Hero, who has a limited amount of time to complete missions while exploring a map full of dangers and traps that only gets revealed to them a small bit at a time. Up to 3 more players control the forces of Evil, plotting behind their screen against the Hero. They can see the whole map at all times, they control all the creatures lurking in the darkness, and they can play cards to react to the Hero’s actions, with the ultimate goal of killing them.
Alone has been created by Andrea Crespi and Lorenzo Silva, two of the designers of the award-winning Potion Explosion, with stunning artwork by Steve Hamilton and highly detailed miniatures sculpted by Stephane Simon and Stéphane Nguyen Van Gioi.
Depending on which side you choose, Hero or Evil, the gameplay is completely different. As the Hero player, you have 8 Turn tokens that you can spend to perform actions. You can MOVE to adjacent sectors, at the risk of falling into the Evil players’ traps, or you can EXPLORE beforehand, to force the Evil players to reveal parts of the map before you move, preventing their devious tricks but losing some precious time. Should you meet hideous creatures waiting for you, remember that brainlessly shooting at everything you see won’t get you far: as you only have an extremely limited supply of ammo, a safe retreat is often the wisest move. Sometimes you will be forced to FIGHT, though, so be sure you’re prepared.
By using the LOCATE action, you can force the Evil players to tell you how far you are from your target locations or other critical elements such as doors, light switches, creatures, and so on. You can also SCAVENGE the environment to find useful items, weapons, and armor, and combine these items to upgrade them and unlock new, stronger abilities. Finally, you can INTERACT with devices you find while you explore to switch on the lights in the otherwise dark space station, or to complete your missions. When you have spent all the available Turn tokens, a round is over. With the most distant parts of the map removed from the table at the end of each round, you’ll have to use your memory, tactical wits, and deduction skills to work your way through the map and reach your goals before you run out of time.
As the Hero, you have 2 Health meters: the Health Points meter and the Self Control meter. The HP meter measures the physical damage you take, while the SC meter measures the psychological damage. As you take damage (of both kinds), your life will be more and more in danger, but the amount of Adrenaline at your disposal at the beginning of each round is gradually increased, and Adrenaline is one of your strongest assets, as it allows you to perform two Actions in a row preventing Evil Reactions, or to heal yourself.
If you’d rather be one of the malicious beings trying to kill the Hero, you’ll have to plan long term strategies. Where is the Hero going? What is the most likely route they’ll follow? Which actions are they likely to perform next? In Alone it is always the Hero’s turn, there is no proper “Evil turn”. After each Action performed by the Hero, you have the chance to perform a Reaction to hamper the Hero's efforts. To do so, you rely on your Reaction cards.
You can play Reaction cards face-down to SPAWN or MOVE a wide range of creatures, with different strengths and weaknesses, to obstruct the Hero’s path. Each Reaction card can also be played face-up in reaction to a specific action performed by the Hero, to alter the outcome of those actions or hit them with effective counterstrikes and powerful combos. At the end of each round, you can also place Danger tokens on the map: they can unlock additional effects on your Reaction cards if you play them at the right time and place!
Beware, though: whenever you place something on the map, you produce sounds, warning the Hero about the impending menaces. Thanks to the memory cache of their Holowatch, they can track these clues and use them to deduce the position of the threats you placed—and avoid them. On the other hand, you can also use this to your advantage and make clever bluffs. Also remember that darkness is your greatest friend. If the Hero manages to switch on the lights, you may be forced to reveal sectors to them, your creatures will become weaker, and the Hero’s attacks will be stronger!
Alone offers a fresh and ever-changing experience. Thanks to the different map sheets, you can create a different map to explore each time. In addition, all 8 Room tokens are placed at random, so every game is unique. As the Hero player, you can choose from different characters to play, each with their own special ability. When you play on the Evil side, instead, you can choose from 4 different Reaction decks: Fury, Speed, Terror, and Traps. These options will allow you to alter your play style and try new approaches to the game.
Finally, the included Scenario Book will put you through a long and exciting campaign of 12 scenarios, in which each player will play as one of the characters and live their story, from the initial shipwreck to one of their possible personal outcomes. The rules also allow you to easily generate your own custom scenarios!
