Board Game Geek Avg Player Rating: 9.07
Players: 2 to 4
Published: 2019
Content Notes: Kickstarter Edition of Lifeform Board Game by Hall or Nothing Productions. Include core game and all unlocked stretch goals. Please note: unless otherwise stated paid add ons from the Kickstarter Campaign are not included.

Lifeform is a game of survival horror for two to four players in which one player takes on the role of an almost invincible, utterly hostile alien, while all other players take on the roles of the crew of commercial mining starship, Valley Forge. During each game, the crew, outfitted with glitchy handheld sensors disrupted by a proximate nebula, search their labyrinthine vessel for equipment, weaponry, and supplies to load onboard escape shuttlecraft Remora. Along the way, the alien lifeform will ruthlessly attempt to stop the crew from carrying out this plan.

The crew and alien lifeform both have a unique deck of cards, and each card has symbols on it to indicate possible actions. The alien can move around the starship, attack, cocoon, activate a malfunctioning android, sabotage equipment and the vessel’s wiring, scurry into vents, and more; while the starship crew can fire flamethrowers, search, move or run, protect themselves with shock-prods, hide, shut security doors, and other actions.

 

Let’s start trying to blast through the next security door…

In the vast, forbidden seas of space… terror stirs.

++++Incoming Transmission++++

++++ Received: 24/09/2195+++

+++Source: Antares binary system 876/ 978+++

,,ID: Industrial Salvage and Mining Vessel Valley Forge

Crew: 12 Human

Androids: 1 Andromech 580-A “Demigod” class

Engines: Hagfish Twin FTL J-3000 Tachyon Shunters

Navigation: SIS-TER 6000 Mainframe

Cargo: 2,000,000 tons of Mineral Ore; 3 tons of Trimonite

Logged Flight Plan: Thedus to Earth

Message begins:

+++

Mayday, Mayday! This is the ISMV Valley Forge – comms systems failing, scanners malfunctioning… one of us is missing. Several of the crew are also claiming to have seen an alien lifeform.

Ore-payload canister M-CXC-3790 ruptured when taken for processing. Doctor Chandra claimed it cracked like an egg before she vanished (possible space psychosis). Request advice, and rescue boat. Comms out.

+++++

Message Appended- Received 24/09/2195

+++++

Oh god! Two of us are dead, and two are still missing. We’ve got to get out of here! The captain has ordered Palmer to prime the auto-destruct. It mustn’t get back! Save our souls.

Players can choose from up to 9 unfortunate crew members faced with the impossible task of survival against overwhelming odds…

Each crew member has their own unique set of skills to help them survive…

That board!!  At a mammoth 40 x 20 inches the ship blueprint really puts the board in board game. With over 80 beautiful chambers it really is a labyrinthine ship unlike anything we’ve ever seen in a board game before. When it’s laid out on the table for demos people just stop and stare…

Lifeform is a game of survival horror for two to four players in which one player takes on the role of an almost invincible, utterly hostile alien, while all other players take on the roles of the crew of commercial mining starship, Valley Forge. During each game, the crew, outfitted with glitchy handheld sensors disrupted by a proximate nebula, search their labyrinthine vessel for equipment, weaponry, and supplies to load onboard escape shuttlecraft Remora. Along the way, the alien lifeform will ruthlessly attempt to stop the crew from carrying out this plan.

The crew and alien lifeform both have a unique deck of cards, and each card has symbols on it to indicate possible actions. The alien can move around the starship, attack, cocoon, activate a malfunctioning android, sabotage equipment and the vessel’s wiring, scurry into vents, and more; while the starship crew can fire flamethrowers, search, move or run, protect themselves with shock-prods, hide, shut security doors, and other actions.

Lifeform is a standalone, dice-less game that tells of twelve commercial astronauts working on a battered mining starship, far away in space and time, who encounter an awesome galactic horror. Featuring an innovative self-destruct game mechanism, and alternate playable endings, depending on crew success, Lifeform presents a tense, suspenseful adventure with each and every game.

A Right Royal Playthrough!!

We are extremely pleased and honoured to welcome boardgaming royalty on board. Sir Ricky Royal from Box of Delights has filmed a 2 part playthrough and preview of the solo expansion. This is fantastic for us and we are extremely honoured and grateful to Ricky!

Here’s a full run-through of the multi-player game hosted by designer Mark Chaplin:

 

— from the publisher

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