Comanauts is a cooperative adventure game set in the mind of Dr. Martin Strobal, a brilliant scientist in a coma. Players are “comanauts” who enter his subconscious, navigating through bizarre dream spaces to find clues and defeat the inner demons (I.D.s) troubling him. The game uses a unique storybook that serves as rules reference, story guide, and game board all in one. It can be played as individual sessions or a campaign.
Components
1 storybook (rules, story, and game board combined)
Character cards and standees
Comannaut miniatures
Dice
Item cards, clue tokens
Dream space tiles
I.D. enemy cards
Status tokens
Event cards
Setup
Choose a session or continue a campaign.
Each player selects a comanaut character.
Open the storybook to the designated starting page.
Place characters in the starting dream space.
Distribute starting items and cards.
Turn Structure
Event Phase: Draw and resolve an event card.
Action Phase: Each player takes actions (move, explore, interact, fight).
Enemy Phase: I.D.s and their minions act.
Status Phase: Check for ongoing effects and advance any timers.
Actions
Action
Effect
Move
Travel between connected dream spaces
Explore
Search the current area for clues
Interact
Talk to dream characters, use objects
Fight
Engage I.D. minions or the I.D. itself
Use Item
Play an item card for its effect
Rest
Recover health or remove negative conditions
Combat
Roll dice based on character stats and equipped items.
Compare results to enemy defense.
Enemies counterattack; players must manage health carefully.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
Win a session: Collect enough clues to identify the I.D.’s weakness, then confront and defeat it.
Campaign win: Defeat all I.D.s across multiple sessions to wake Dr. Strobal.
Lose: All comanauts are knocked out, or time runs out for the session.
Special Rules & Edge Cases
The storybook changes based on player choices, creating a narrative experience.
Dream spaces are thematic and surreal, with unique rules per space.
Each comanaut has unique abilities affecting exploration and combat.
Items found in one session may carry over to the next in campaign mode.
I.D.s have unique behaviors and weaknesses that must be discovered through clues.
If a comanaut is knocked out, they can be revived by teammates at a cost.