Background
"they mostly come out at night......mostly"
Aliens- Another Glorious Day in The Corps (AGDITC)is a co-op game for 1-6 players. It is based upon the 1980's film by James Cameron which is arguably the best film within the Alien Franchise, containing stereotypical US style "marines" vs large xenomorph aliens which also happen to have acid for blood (just don't get me started on facehuggers!).
The game contains everything you need to play about 50% of the actual film and the scenarios are based upon key aspects of the film. Where it differs is the film spent a large amount of time without actually seeing any of the xenomorphs- whereas the game they are present from the start and this has a positive effect on game play.
It has plastic minis of 6 colonial marines ( all characters in the film) and Ripley(the main protagonist) of the first movies. As well as 16 xenomorph models, tokens, cards double sided game boards, briefing cards and dice. However to have the whole films scenarios expansion sets are required-
Ultimate badasses- with more marines and characters, extra scenarios-£18
In the pipe five by five- with two extra ,miniatures and some special aliens- £18
And finally get away from her you B*&tch containing an Alien queen, Ripley in power loader, Ripley and Newt character (watch the film), Bishop the android and also a model of a disembowelled Bishop. This is the same price as the basic game -£42
The total for all sets is approx. £110, which in comparison to GW's space hulk which is probably the closest in comparison of game type was £150 at its last release and in limited numbers, is still pretty good value as you will never need anything else.
Being a huge fan of the film it seemed only right to get the game and relive the suspense and atmosphere but in 32mm. On checking the reviews these have been made by a lot of boardgamers as opposed to wargamers with the chief complaint being building fiddly minis and the lack of glue!
Gameplay
The games concept is quite simple- players have a team of 6 characters with one being the "hero" and the rest "grunts" each character has differing attributes marked on a character card, with details such as movement (how many squares can be moved per action) with some being more tech savvy for example (useful for building barricades and accessing computer systems in the game)or aim ( higher the number better chance of hitting which will be examined later).
The players take it in turns to control the xenomorphs if they have been seen by the characters or blip tokens if not, tying into the motion sensor device of the film. Each blip has a number between 1 to 4 signifying how many xeno's are present.
Characters have 2 actions and always go before the xeno's.
Once all characters have moved then a player takes charge of the xeno's move.
This is where during gameplay we tried something different.
We used a third player to act as the xeno's. Which meant attacks on characters was done in a non biased way and only attacking the closest character to a xeno.
Combat initially is very biased towards the marines- armed to the teeth with assault rifles, grenades, heavy machine guns (smartguns) and flamers.
Each time they fire the have to expend a set number of endurance cards starting with a deck of 60 but having issued various pieces of equipment ( the weapons, body armour, helmet and welder) to the characters means that you will have depleted the endurance deck before you start. Without arming your guys it would be a very short game indeed!
This adds another dynamic as consideration and conservation becomes another factor. If the endurance cards are depleted, then in the words of PFC Hudson "It's game over man, game over!"
Play testing
Each game has either a mission based upon part of the film or a generic mission called bug hunt. With a player brief at the start setting certain game criteria and exit points etc. As stated we deviated from the main rules as having an independent xeno player made more sense.
However as that player it was exceptionally demoralising when multiples of aliens became cannon fodder time after time.
But, for every turn more blips appear at various spawn points, with the xenos determined to change the dynamic set by the players and their use of firearms. Suddenly wave after wave begins to get closer from all directions. This increases the suspense level quite dramatically. With players expending cards left right and centre in an effort to stem the tide of the xenos. Every time a character fires, their aim decreases by 1, this is marked by a dial. Remembering to change the dial does at times get missed (it is reset at the end of the xeno turn).
Combat is very basic- the players, if attacked can elect any character within four squares to engage an attacking xeno ( but with multiples of the xeno can mean this massively expends the endurance cards). Using the characters aim rating the player rolls a D10 and if they get below the current number then they kill the xeno.
If a xeno finally manages to get to attack the character, then the player makes a defense roll. If they fail then they are classed as knocked over ( and can be captured by the xenos if they are not rescued) If they fail massively then they die.
There is no maximum turn and the game carries on until the players complete their objective, the xenos kill all the players or the players expend all the endurance cards.
The pro's and cons
Pros
Affordable basic game retails at about £40
Easy game play mechanics
A very enjoyable game with loads of suspense which builds the longer the game goes
Cons
You realistically need at last 2 of the 3 expansion packs to follow the films story line
The rules aren't the best and a bit of interpretation may be required.
Aliens are quite fiddly to build and fitting their tails and can at times become snagged together, twinned with sometimes causing issues having loads of alien minis on the board in the same bit.
Due to being overly excited players at times forget to expend endurance cards and reduce aim number.
Conclusion
In my view the cons are pretty minor, not detracting from enjoying the game overall.
If you want a game that is easy to learn, fast paced, full of suspense and relive a classic action/sci-fi movie then this is the game for you.
If you want to have a game let us know- i have great plans with building the dropship, APC and making the gameboards into 3d terrain.