Under Falling Skies

Overview

Under Falling Skies is a solo dice-placement game where a hostile alien mother ship approaches Earth. As the commander of an underground base, you must develop weapons research while fending off enemy fighters and managing limited resources. Each die placed triggers both a beneficial base action and the descent of enemy ships in that column. The game features a multi-mission campaign with increasing difficulty.

Components

• 9 Double-sided cards (forming the game area: sky columns and underground base rooms)
• 5 Action dice (3 black, 2 white)
• 2 Blue robot dice
• 4 White tracker cubes (research, energy, damage, excavator)
• 5 Green enemy ships
• 2 Red enemy ships
• Round overview card
• Rulebook with campaign instructions

Setup

1. Arrange 7 cards vertically forming a continuous image (sky above, base below).
2. Place energy and research tracking card adjacent.
3. Place 5 green enemy ships on mother ship starting spots.
4. Position tracker cubes: research at start, energy at starting level, damage at 0.
5. Place excavator cube at starting position.
6. Keep 5 dice nearby; set aside 2 blue robot dice and 2 red enemy ships.

Difficulty scales by flipping cards to their harder side (each difficulty symbol = +1 level, maximum level 8).

Turn Structure

Each round has 3 phases:

Phase 1: Place Dice and Move Ships

1. Roll all 5 action dice.
2. Place dice one at a time into available base room spots (one per column, one per room).
3. After placing each die, move all enemy ships in that column downward by the die’s value.
4. White dice special: When placed, reroll all remaining unplaced dice.
5. Ships reaching the bottom: the base takes 1 damage and the ship moves to the mother ship card for respawning.
6. Ships landing on explosion spaces can be destroyed later by cannons.

Phase 2: Resolve Rooms

Resolve all 5 placed dice in any order. Spend energy as required.

Room Types: | Room | Effect | |—|—| | Energy | Restore energy up to die value (max 7) | | Cannon | Destroy enemy ships on explosion spaces with value <= die | | Research | Advance research track (die must >= next space number) | | Shield | Ships in this column move 1 fewer space than usual | | Robot | Take a blue die, set to the die value; place in any room next round |

Phase 3: Move Mother Ship

1. Resolve the glowing symbol beneath the mother ship arrow.
2. Move the mother ship card one line lower.
3. Ships obstructed by the board are placed on the mother ship card.
4. Respawn all ships from the mother ship card to unoccupied starting spots.

Mother Ship Symbols:

• Damage: Base takes 1 damage.
• Excavator Collapse: Move excavator backward.
• Research Setback: Move research tracker backward.
• Red Ship Spawn: Add a red enemy ship.

Actions

• Place Die: Assign to a base room; moves enemy ships in that column.
• Excavate: Place a die on an inaccessible space (costs 1 energy, die value >= route length). Unlocks new rooms.
• Use Robot: Occupies a room without moving ships or counting toward column limits. Costs energy; decreases in value each round.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win: Reach the final spot on the research track before the mother ship reaches the skull symbol or base damage reaches the skull symbol.

Lose: The mother ship reaches the skull symbol (bottom of the track), OR the base damage tracker reaches the skull symbol.

There is no point-based scoring in the base game. The campaign mode tracks performance across linked missions.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Die Placement Order Matters: Ships move immediately after each die is placed, so the order affects which ships advance and how far.
• White Dice: Trigger a reroll of all remaining unplaced dice. This creates tactical reroll opportunities but also uncertainty.
• Red vs Green Ships: Green ships respawn when shot down or when reaching the bottom. Red ships are permanently removed when shot down.
• Energy Limit: Maximum 7 energy. Cannot exceed this cap.
• Robot Mechanics: Robots occupy a room without moving ships. Their value decreases by 1 each round; remove when reaching 0.
• Column Restriction: Only 1 die per column. Once a column has a die, no other die can be placed there.
• Excavation: Allows unlocking deeper base rooms. Costs 1 energy regardless of distance. Unlocked rooms provide more powerful actions.
• Campaign Mode: The game includes a multi-mission campaign with persistent effects, unlockable content, and escalating difficulty.
• Ship Respawning: Ships respawn to unoccupied starting spots above columns. If all spots are full, excess ships wait until next round.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
1. Place Dice	Assign dice to rooms; ships descend per die value
2. Resolve Rooms	Activate room effects using placed dice
3. Mother Ship	Resolve symbol, advance mother ship, respawn ships

Win: Complete research track

Lose: Mother ship or damage reaches skull

Key Resources: Energy (max 7)

Dice (5 action + up to 2 robot)

Difficulty: Flip cards to harder side for higher levels