Overview

Boarding Party is a tactical board game in which your squad of soldiers attempts to fight through the interior of a robotic enemy cruiser to reach its command center before it destroys your ship. Players control a team of boarding marines navigating corridor-by-corridor through an enemy vessel, battling automated defenses and robotic enemies along the way.

Components

• Game board representing the interior of the robotic cruiser
• Squad member tokens/figures
• Enemy robot/defense tokens
• Dice
• Equipment cards or tokens
• Damage markers

Setup

1. Place the game board representing the cruiser’s interior.
2. Choose your squad members and place them at the boarding entry point.
3. Set up enemy defenses according to the scenario being played.
4. Distribute starting equipment to squad members.

Turn Structure

Each turn:

1. Player Phase: Move squad members and take actions (shoot, interact with ship systems, etc.).
2. Enemy Phase: Automated defenses and robots activate, move, and attack.
3. Time Check: Advance the countdown timer — if it reaches zero before you reach the command center, you lose.

Actions

Move:

• Move squad members through corridors and rooms of the cruiser.
• Movement is limited by each member’s movement allowance.

Attack:

• Engage robotic defenders in combat.
• Combat is resolved using dice, modified by weapons and positioning.

Interact with Ship Systems:

• Certain rooms contain ship systems that can be accessed (hacking, disabling defenses, opening locked doors, etc.).

Equipment Use:

• Use special equipment items for tactical advantage (breaching charges, medical kits, etc.).

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Players win by reaching the cruiser’s command center and neutralizing it before the countdown timer expires. Players lose if the timer runs out (the enemy cruiser destroys your ship) or if all squad members are eliminated.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Solo Play: The game can be played solo, controlling the entire squad yourself.
• Countdown Timer: Creates urgency — players cannot afford to be overly cautious.
• Automated Defenses: Enemy robots and turrets follow predetermined behavior patterns, making their movements predictable but still dangerous.
• Squad Casualties: Losing squad members reduces your firepower and ability to accomplish objectives.

Player Reference

Phase	Actions
Player Phase	Move, attack, interact with systems, use equipment
Enemy Phase	Automated defenses activate and attack
Time Check	Advance countdown timer

Win condition: Reach the command center before the timer expires Loss conditions: Timer runs out or all squad members eliminated Players: 1-2