Cooperative Nemesis

 Note: Review is based on 8 games with a friend. We decided to play co-op because the rules are not that easy to get used to and because my friend doesn't like to compete. We won twice (and jokingly noted that we had just watched "Alien" and "Alien 2", because in the first game the aliens appeared only at the end, when we were already in the cryocapsules, and in the second game, after waking up, we immediately started shooting the aliens by the end my soldier had 5 frags, maybe more), three times we lost in a tight fight by a hair of victory (due to a bunch of bad rolls), and three times the game crushed us without a chance (with some coincidence the ship can explode at the end of the first turn, also, with a certain coincidence of circumstances, the character can die at the end of the first turn, both of which happened to us). In general, I love "Nemesis" because the game is very thematic and because it will not be possible to plan ahead and optimize all actions, unlike many other decks; all that remains is to do as the circumstances suggest and enjoy the unfolding story.

 2 players is clearly not an optimal lineup for Nemesis, so in the future we plan to use 2 characters each, because when there are only 2 characters in the game, you just don't have enough time for a lot of interesting things. The size of the map does not change, and the actions to explore it are much less. If you're unlucky with the layout of the rooms, 2 characters barely have enough time to complete the objectives and reach the escape pods before the timer runs out, provided they're not interrupted (in our winning and near-winning games, the timer was 1 - 2 moves). In conditions of acute lack of actions, it is impossible to be distracted by something extra.

 The co-op mode is generally not bad, but the game was clearly not designed to be co-op; some cards and items are completely useless in this mode. If we had more players, I would definitely prefer standard mode. It's officially called semi-co-op, but in practice it can go from "co-op just called something else" to "I'd rather burn the ship to the ground than let anyone but me win" depending on your group and is much more interesting. It also seems more difficult, but on the other hand, it is enough for one player to win. Co-op is generally easier, but everyone has to win. In my opinion, standard mode should be played with 4 or more players, so that there is as much chaos as possible on the field.

 Here's my ranking of the characters for the two-player co-op mode by fandom.

1. SOLDIER

 This brute has exactly one goal in life - to kill aliens. I am very happy when I get a soldier in the draft. It's durable enough to roam the corridors alone - just don't expect it to be effective at anything other than grinding aliens. However, his ability to effectively dispose of aliens with ammo is invaluable in a game where other characters can barely kill even one adult alien. Oddly enough, I consider a soldier to be a supporter. He supports you by covering your ass and killing everything that gets in the way of an important goal. And if it doesn't kill, then at least it will give you an opportunity to escape. A very fan character with great weapons and decent quest items.

 You might think that the support role makes him less valuable in a two-player game, since he has almost no one to go with in a team, but he also shows himself well as a scout, opening the map and leaving behind corpses of aliens. He copes well with this role, he is very much a fan.

2. SCOUT

 An interesting character; the complete opposite of a soldier. If the soldier covers the others, the scout tries to be as far away from the other characters as possible. Her action deck is generally very impressive, but the ability to move without making noise is priceless. The weapon is not great, but there are a lot of cartridges, and it is not bad for suppressing fire with subsequent escape; it is not necessary to kill the alien that got out. I think it's best for the scouts to explore the key rooms as soon as possible and let the rest know where to go. Moreover, the game rewards for this, since one of its quest items is given in the cabin, where you should go anyway.

 Both of her quest items are very good. The security key allows you to manipulate the door, helping your friends (or hindering them in standard mode) from anywhere on the map, and the motion scanner is even nicer. Probably the most pumped item in the game. You can lose quickly due to random events if you're very unlucky, but a misplaced noise is much more likely to ruin your game, creating a sort of time spiral, with noise dropping much more often. The ability to roll noise cubes allows you to be cheeky and get out of the water dry.

3. MECHANIC

 In general, I like him more than anyone, but he has a bad habit of wandering around alone, unable to stand up for himself. Despite all his utility, he is extremely vulnerable and unable to recover from a series of failures, so he is not as fun to play as the characters listed above. His quest items and weapons are mediocre, but that doesn't really matter because he has an extremely powerful action deck. He has two simple ways to repair rooms, the ability to use room actions for free, and the only available default way to get rid of fires without a fire extinguisher, which is just cool: fire is a very dangerous thing (he's also the only character who can easily start a fire, which in co-op is much less useful, but won us a game once when we set fire to a nest full of eggs and went on to another objective). And the map of movement along the technical corridor makes him apparently a mobile character in the game.

 The mechanic's role is to get to the engines, repair them, then fix broken rooms or put out fires. Unfortunately, my mechanic often went to certain death in the last third of the game in order for the escape pods to unlock. This character lives brightly, but not for long.

4-5. PILOT/SCIENTIST

 I only played with the scientist once, but with the pilot quite a lot. In my opinion, these are equal characters. Maybe we were just unlucky, but both didn't seem very helpful. They are not good at standing up for themselves, just like a mechanic, but the actions available to them are not as powerful as a mechanic. Both appear to be background characters whose job it is to stay in the safe zone and activate room actions or unlock tiles, speeding up the exploration process. Unfortunately, none of this is very useful in a two-player game, as you have few actions and are running headlong around the map. Both characters have a lot of interesting things, but there was no time to implement them.

 It is worth noting that the pilot can extract the key to the escape pod, and the scientist can start the self-destruct mechanism of the ship from any point. Both of them open access to escape pods, which allows you to quickly escape from the ship after completing the objectives, but the mechanic can do the same by killing himself, and bringing much more benefit (in co-op, you need to complete all the objectives, but one character is enough to survive ).

6. CAPTAIN

 The pilot and the scientist can be useful and fan characters in a large team, but I'm not sure about the captain. In any case, not in the cooperative for sure. I'm even considering removing his card from the draft. He doesn't look like a ship's captain at all; it is the pilot who knows the ship like the back of his hand and can control it as he wishes. "Captain" is more like an official who happened to be on board. He is a pure support and only useful in a party, but the effect of his support is very questionable, and only works on the same room as him, which makes party cooperation with him a nightmare, given the order of the round (unless he gets a quest item , which allows you to command those who are in certain rooms... provided you're lucky and someone is there).

 The captain wants to be your partner, just like a soldier, but unlike a soldier, he is completely independent and there is little point in him even as a partner. His second quest item allows you to look at another player's objective card, which is useless in co-op, since objectives are public information. But in standard mode, the captain is most likely one of the best characters, because he is the best at scheming. Find out who you can trust by looking at their objective card, go in their company and help out when needed... and when they're no longer useful, use the action cards, which are great for saving by feeding your rivals to the aliens. In general, not a captain, but a real politician.

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Nemesis (eng)

DESCRIPTION OF THE BOARD GAME NEMESIS  The spaceship team suddenly wakes up from sleep in deep sleep capsules. Cold fog compartment, flashing emergency light and anxiety. One of the capsules is broken. The man inside is dead, and a huge hole shines in his chest. Dashboards and ventilation grilles are smeared with mucus of unknown origin. Soon the survivors begin to catch some noises and sounds. SPACE VENGEANCE  Nemesis is a semi-cooperative space horror inspired by Ridley Scott's ..