Board Game - Chase for Aurora. Ice Steel (Expansion)

Attention! This is an expansion. You will need the base version of "Chase for "Aurora" to play.

About the expansion

If you have already "gained experience" in building winning strategies in the base "Chase for "Aurora"", and exploring icy territories under the strict supervision of "Athena" and her turrets poses no difficulty, then "Ice Steel" is exactly what you need. In addition to the classic dilution of the base box with four new survivor decks (which have asymmetric abilities), new powerful opponents from the "Asgard" clan are added to the game. Additionally, the expansion includes scouting cards with new properties, plot cards that will present you with a difficult moral choice, as well as a "player versus player" mode.

About the game
Players will command columns of survivors striving to reach "Aurora". During the game, players will need to distribute their scarce resources, improve vehicles, recruit new crew members, and fight dangerous threats and opponents encountered along the way. Let us not forget that you are not the only ones wishing to board the rescue ship, and those who fail to get on board are likely to perish in the fierce cold of the impending winter.

How to play?
On the "Alpha" side of the game board, special points of the upcoming route are placed randomly, with the icebreaker token being set at the end. Outcome, scouting, loot, and item decks are formed, and game tokens and markers are placed next to the board in reserve. In the scouting zone, cards from the corresponding deck are placed, and then each participant receives the necessary game components. 

A game session consists of several rounds, each of which is divided into five stages. 

In the first stage, Scouting, players take turns interacting with the cards in the scouting zone and perform actions, gathering resources and items, improving their column, recruiting survivors to their team, and encountering various characters. Additionally, bonus actions can be performed here, such as repairing damage to the column, replenishing fuel, food, and ammunition supplies. Players can also remove infection tokens from survivor cards or acquire additional infection, which, by the way, can be deadly.

By the way, here players are free to choose either to proceed with the aforementioned scouting or simply pass. In this case, one of the survivors from the active zone moves to the resting area, simultaneously removing damage from the column. The Scouting stage ends when all players have no survivors in active zones.

After Scouting, the Rest stage occurs, during which the fatigued survivors move to the resting area, from where they will subsequently move to the active zone.

Having restored health and fortified for future undertakings, the columns set off. Of course, this is provided that there is at least one survivor token in the truck; otherwise, what’s the point? Depending on the speed of the trucks and other factors, a player moves their column token the corresponding number of spaces, and if the column stops at a special point on the route, the effect indicated on the token must be applied. It’s worth mentioning that in special cases, the column can take detours, meaning shorter routes, although such roads may not always be safe.

Up to this moment, everything has been relatively quiet and peaceful. Here, whether you want to or not, you will have to face an enemy, starting the Shooting stage. If an enemy has infiltrated the scouting zone, players fall into an ambush. By defeating the enemy and dealing a certain amount of damage, players open fire with their columns, attacking nearby enemies and, if successful, obtaining loot. After these actions, they will feel the force of enemy fire. Here, they can either take damage or fall into an ambush again. However, the enemy can always miss. Those who manage to stay alive after all of the above proceed to the final stage of the round.

In the fifth stage, it is determined whether the game can be completed. If any player has reached the coveted icebreaker or perhaps even gone a bit further, or if "Aurora" is standing on the division marked 6, the winner can be determined. Otherwise, the ship token moves one space forward, the scouting cards are refreshed, and the game continues.

Who won?
Upon meeting the game-ending conditions defined in the fifth stage of the round, the glory points accumulated during the fierce race by all participants are counted. The player who has earned the most points is declared the winner. Their column stands in close proximity to the icebreaker "Aurora" and looks at the rescue ship with tears of joy, dreaming that all this cold horror surrounding them will soon end.

In case of a tie, the column that has advanced further on the game board wins. It is unlikely during the game, but still possible, for a player to unexpectedly lose all of their survivors. In this case, they immediately exit the game.

To complicate the process, you can add mine cards to the game, as well as use the "Beta" side of the game board. The game rules also offer a solo mode, for which the game provides separate necessary components. In this case, you will be competing against Automaton (a game character that will replace your opponent).

Contents:
- 110 cards
- Expansion rules

Game duration: 60 to 90 minutes
Number of players: 1 to 4