Overview

Grave Robbers from Outer Space is a B-movie themed card game where players take on the role of rival directors, each building their own horror film. Players add Characters, Props, Locations, Plots, and Special Effects to strengthen their movie’s Defense Strength while sending Creatures to attack opponents’ movies. The game ends when the draw pile runs out or someone plays the “Roll the Credits” card. The movie with the highest total Defense Strength wins.

Components

• 120 game cards (Characters, Creatures, Props, Locations, Plots, Special Effects)
• Instructions

Setup

1. A dealer shuffles the entire deck and deals 6 cards to each player.
2. Each player checks their hand for Character cards. If a player has no Characters, they discard their entire hand and draw 6 new cards. Repeat until every player has at least one Character.
3. All players reveal their Character cards by placing them face up in front of them.
4. Place the remaining deck face down as the draw pile.
5. The game cannot end until at least two full rounds have been played.

Turn Structure

On your turn:

1. Draw cards to bring your hand back up to a maximum of 6 cards (if below 6).
2. Play cards from your hand to your movie (Characters, Props, Locations, Plots, Special Effects) or attack opponents with Creatures.
3. Play passes to the left.

Actions

Building Your Movie

• Characters: Placed face up in your movie area. Characters provide Defense Strength and can hold Props.
• Props: Attached to Characters (one per Character). You cannot have more Props than Characters.
• Locations: Placed in your movie area to add Defense Strength.
• Plots: Played to your movie for additional Defense Strength and effects.
• Special Effects: Can be played at any time, including during other players’ turns. Provide various effects.

Reading Quotes

• When any card is played, the quote on the card must be read aloud to the group, or else the card is not considered to be in play.

Attacking with Creatures

• Creature cards have an attack strength value.
• Play a Creature to attack another player’s movie.
• If the Creature’s attack strength exceeds the target movie’s total Defense Strength, the attacking player chooses one of the target’s Characters to kill. That Character card is discarded.
• Props attached to a killed Character are also lost.

Modifying Movies

• Players may reassign Props between their own Characters.
• Players may alter Location cards (their own or opponents’), which can reduce Defense Strength.
• Players cannot modify opponents’ movies during the first round.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game ends when either:

• The draw pile is completely depleted, OR
• A player plays the “Roll the Credits” card (cannot be played until at least two rounds have been completed).

Scoring: Each player totals the Defense Strength of all cards in their movie (Characters, Props, Locations, Plots, and any relevant Special Effects). The player with the highest total Defense Strength wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Mandatory quote reading: Every card played must have its quote read aloud, or it does not enter play. This is a core thematic rule.
• First round protection: Players cannot modify or attack opponents’ movies during the first round of play.
• Minimum rounds: The game cannot end (via “Roll the Credits”) until two full rounds have been played.
• Props limit: The number of Props in play for a player cannot exceed their number of Characters.
• Special Effects timing: These cards can be played at any point during any player’s turn, providing interrupt-style effects.
• Character requirement: If a player loses all Characters, they may be unable to play Props until they draw and play a new Character.

Player Reference

Card types: Characters, Props, Locations, Plots, Creatures, Special Effects

Hand size: Maximum 6 cards (draw to refill at start of turn)

Attack: Creature attack strength vs. movie Defense Strength

Win condition: Highest total Defense Strength when game ends

Game end triggers: Draw pile empty OR “Roll the Credits” card played (after 2+ rounds)

Key rule: Read the card’s quote aloud or it doesn’t count!