Tabletop_Gaming__Issue_27__February_2019

tabletopgaming.co.uk 69

stops things being too predictable on

either side of the screen.

Alone’s gripping atmosphere suers

only in its adherence to sci- cliché

• none of the monsters or heroes are
  overly memorable, and the map tiles
  are near-identical grey corridors. e
  repetitive visuals add to the sense of
  being lost in a maze, but do little to
  bring the world alive, even during the
  campaign mode.
  e game’s other stumble is that
  it works best as a head-to-head
  experience for two players. While
  adding a second or third evil player
  adds an interesting element of restricted
  communication and co-operation, it
  doesn’t go far enough to make up for the
  diluted tension of a one-on-one chase.
  Alone doesn’t quite stand completely
  apart from the dungeon-crawler crowd,
  but its tense use of unseen danger and
  reversal of the one-versus-many format
  gives it plenty to recommend. Bring it into
  the light and it might just surprise you.
  MATT JARVIS

R

emember the motion tracker in

Aliens that Ellen Ripley used to

locate approaching xenomorphs,

your heart pounding in time with the

relentless bup-bup-bup-bup as the dots

blipped ever closer? at feeling is the

feeling of playing as Alone’s isolated

hero, eeing the nightmarish terrors

that lurk in the dark: your friends.

Alone is a sci- dungeon-crawler

with a refreshing premise. e solo hero

is trapped in a labyrinthine network of

corridors and rooms, only able to see a

very limited portion of the environment

at any point. In the parts of the map

they can’t see, on an overlay of the

entire environment hidden behind a

screen, the ‘evil’ players summon alien

monstrosities and lay traps for the

unsuspecting explorer to encounter as

they try to survive a series of missions.

Having a player serve as a DM-like

overlord isn’t exactly new to dungeon-

crawling games, but it’s well executed

here. Once you’ve wrapped your head

around the three (3!) rulebooks in

Alone’s box, the game’s reaction-based

gameplay quickly becomes second

nature, as the hero moves around,

scavenges for kit and tries to avoid being

turned into extraterrestrial tagine by

the evil player(s) as they lay down cards

after each action to spawn creatures,

move them around and make portions

of the map more dangerous. Both

sides of the ght can combo actions

and cards together – at a cost – so the

choices never feel stilted or limited, and

there’s never too much downtime.

Alone’s real masterstroke is the

claustrophobic atmosphere achieved

by its line-of-sight mechanics, which

remove sections of the board that the

hero player can no longer see, allowing

monsters to sneak up in the dark and

spring out at them if they fail to explore

ahead – or are forced to run and take

their chances. Just as engaging is its

clever use of light; the hero can repair

light units to illuminate sections of

the environment, letting them gain

the upper hand over monsters that

thrive in the darkness. Combat, when

it occurs, is fast: a few dice chucked

to dish out wounds, with a variety

of dierent aliens, from facehugger

stand-ins that move fast but go down

in a couple of shots to slow-moving

worms that are formidable in the dark

but useless in the light, oering plenty

of chances for variation.

ere are some other smart

additions, including a basic system

of unlockable hero abilities and a

sizeable inventory board that lets them

keep track of where unseen noises are

coming from – something that the evil

players can use as distractions to their

advantage. e constant pressure of

time on the hero keeps things moving

at a fair clip, gently prodding them out

of a safe ‘check every corner’ approach,

while the opportunity to complete

optional objectives for extra benets

If you’re not afraid of the dark, you will be

ALONE

1-2h 2-4 13+ £TBC

WHAT’S IN

THE BOX?

◗ Hero sheet

◗ Evil screen

◗ 21 item cards

◗ Four character cards

◗ 104 reaction cards

(four decks)

◗ Eight green starting

mission cards

◗ Eight blue starting

mission cards

◗ Eight final

mission cards

◗ Four reference cards

◗ Compass

◗ Eight room tokens

◗ Six mission tokens

◗ Eight dice

◗ Two map sheets

◗ 10 doors

◗ 15 creature tokens

◗ Two boss tokens

◗ Two difficulty

level tokens

◗ Five hero miniatures

◗ Three cultist miniatures

◗ Cultist leader miniature

◗ Three hybrid miniatures

◗ Three spores miniatures

◗ Three parasite

miniatures

◗ Three worm miniatures

◗ Alpha Worm miniature

◗ Mech miniature

◗ Eight room tiles

◗ 17 corridor tiles

◗ Round marker

◗ Eight turn tokens

◗ Six adrenaline tokens

◗ 73 charge tokens

◗ HP marker

◗ Four stairs tokens

◗ Light/blocked tokens

◗ Evil leader token

◗ SC marker

◗ Stairs/LCU tiles

◗ Danger/condition

tokens

◗ Hero token

TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED... DESCENT: JOURNEYS IN THE DARK

Alone’s sight-based action brings something new to the dungeon-crawling

format, making those journeys in the dark even more dangerous.

PLAY IT? PROBABLY

Alone’s inventive use of line-of-sight

really makes the horror lurking in the

dark feel truly frightening – even if its

monsters aren’t all that memorable

once you see them. It’s decent fun

with three or four, but a two-player

hunt is where it shines brightest.

WHAT’S IN

Picture courtesy of BoardGameShot