Under Falling Skies

Version and setup: This entry follows the complete 2020 retail box rules published by CGE, not the earlier nine-card Print & Play game. For a first game, choose the instructed city, two base boards, sky tiles, and mothership board; place the purple ships at their deployment points and keep white ships in reserve. A beginner game uses three gray and two white dice. Robot dice, other cities, and campaign content can be added later. CGE defines the standard game as solo; two people discussing decisions is not a separate official mode.

Round sequence: Each round has three phases in order: Dice, Room, and Mothership. In the Dice phase, roll three gray and two white dice, then place them one by one in different columns of the base. After placing a white die, reroll every die that has not yet been placed. If the last white die is placed last, there is no unplaced die to reroll. A die stays in its column once placed.

Dice placement and ships: Whenever a die is placed, enemy ships in that column descend by the die’s value. If the die is placed in an Anti-Aircraft Gun room, ships descend one fewer space. A die showing one means ships do not move and no spaces passed through trigger effects. If multiple ships are in a column, move them all first, then resolve only their final spaces from top to bottom. Slowing ships in the Dice phase is separate from firing the AA room in the later Room phase.

Excavation and rooms: The Excavator moves along the base track. Spaces behind it are excavated; spaces ahead are not. At most one die per column may be placed in an unexcavated space, and its value must be at least the distance from the current Excavator position. During the Room phase, spend Energy to move the Excavator there and make the spaces behind it available. All other dice must be placed in excavated rooms. Resolve dice in any order. A multi-space room works only when all its spaces are occupied, and only dice in that same room can combine their values.

Energy, firing, and research: An Energy room adds its effective value to the Energy track, up to its maximum. A Fighter room destroys every enemy ship resting on an Explosion space whose number is no greater than the room value. A destroyed purple ship returns to the mothership for redeployment; a destroyed white ship is removed from the game. A Research room advances the Research marker, but the total values of Research symbols crossed must not exceed that room’s value. Research values from separate rooms cannot be combined into one move. If a room requires Energy the player cannot or does not want to pay, that die has no effect.

Enemy ships and mothership: A purple ship returns to the mothership reserve if it is shot down or hits the city; a white ship is removed when shot down, but returns to reserve after hitting the city. In the Mothership phase, move the mothership down one row, resolve the action shown there, then deploy waiting purple and white ships in the specified order. Ships in a row covered by the mothership return to reserve. Reaching a skull row causes an immediate loss, including when a ship icon advances the mothership early.

Robots and difficulty: Blue Robot dice are not rolled in the Dice phase, do not occupy a column, and do not move enemy ships. During the Room phase, build a robot and place it in an empty excavated room; a newly built robot is exhausted for that round and cannot be used immediately. A player can have at most two robots. When used, a robot applies the room effect with its value reduced by one; a value-one robot is removed. Higher Threat levels flip more sky tiles to their threatening sides, while cities, bases, and characters offer different abilities.

Victory, loss, and campaign: The player wins immediately when the Research marker reaches the top of its track. The player loses immediately if the mothership reaches a skull row or the city Damage marker reaches its final skull space. The standard single game can be played independently; the box’s four-chapter campaign is recommended after learning the base rules. Follow chapter instructions to reveal cities, characters, scenarios, and upgrades, record results, and continue the next attack. Keep sealed campaign material closed until directed so setup and story are not spoiled.