Legendary Encounters: An Alien Deck Building Game

To set up the game, first lay out the neoprene game mat. Players then select one of the four movie scenarios (Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, or Alien: Resurrection) from the rulebook. Based on the chosen scenario, specific character cards (identified by a unique symbol) are gathered and shuffled to form the Barracks deck. Five cards from this deck are drawn and placed face-up in the HQ area as the market. Additionally, the corresponding Location card and three Objective cards are stacked in numerical order (Objective 1 on top) and placed in their designated spots. The Hatchery deck and Strike deck are also prepared and placed face-up and face-down respectively. Finally, each player chooses an Avatar card (representing their character's health and defense) and a matching Role card, which is shuffled into their starting deck along with five Grunt cards and seven Specialist cards. The remaining Avatar and Role cards are returned to the box. The Drone cards are then shuffled and a number equal to the number of players is added to each Objective deck, which are then shuffled individually and stacked in order (Objective 1 on top).

The primary objective of Legendary Encounters is cooperative: all players must work together to successfully complete three specific objectives tied to the chosen movie scenario. These objectives are revealed sequentially as players progress through the game. Each objective presents unique challenges and conditions that must be met, often involving defeating specific alien types or achieving certain game states. Failure to complete an objective within certain parameters or the elimination of all players results in a collective loss for the team.

A player's turn consists of four phases: 1. Hive Phase: A new card from the Hive deck is added face-down to the rightmost empty space in the Complex, and all existing cards in the Complex shift one space to the left. If a card moves off the leftmost space of the Complex, it enters the Combat Zone face-up. 2. Action Phase: The active player plays cards from their hand to recruit new cards from the HQ market, scan face-down cards in the Complex (flipping them face-up), or fight revealed aliens in the Complex or Combat Zone. Damage cards are used to fight, and recruit points are used to buy new cards. Some cards also have special actions. 3. Strike Phase: Each enemy card in the Combat Zone performs a strike, dealing damage to the active player. The number of strikes is indicated on the enemy card. 4. Cleanup Phase: The player discards all cards from their hand and all played cards, then draws six new cards for their next turn. If a player's deck runs out, their discard pile is shuffled to form a new deck.

The video does not explicitly detail a scoring system for individual players. Legendary Encounters is a cooperative game, meaning the focus is on collective success or failure. Players win or lose as a team based on whether they achieve the scenario's objectives or are eliminated. Therefore, individual scores are not a primary component of the gameplay as presented.

The game concludes in one of two ways: either the players achieve a collective victory by successfully completing all three objectives of the chosen movie scenario, or they suffer a collective defeat. Defeat occurs if all players are eliminated from the game (e.g., by accumulating too many Strike cards, which represent damage, exceeding their Avatar's health) or if certain critical game conditions are not met, such as failing to defeat a Facehugger within a specified timeframe, leading to a Chestburster card being added to a player's deck, which can cause immediate elimination when drawn.