Description, Scope & Features
Advanced Xenoquest (AX) is a board game about futuristic Marines fighting xenomorphs in dungeon-like sci-fi locations outside Earth. It follows the same premise introduced in the movie Aliens and later adopted by board games such as Space Hulk and Space Crusade, but in an alternate, somewhat reimagined universe.
Setting aside the theme, which is not set in stone yet, it’s essentially a sci-fi dungeon crawler focused on exploration, tactical combat, resource management, and survival.
If I had to describe it in a few words, I’d say it’s a reskin of Advanced Heroquest with an Aliens premise and theme, based on the former's D12, light RPG-like mechanics but mashed up with an action-based activation and combat system inspired by Advanced Space Crusade and Space Hulk as a foundation, modernized, so to the speak, to play more like the titles of the franchise, mentioned below.
Some of its features were also inspired by other titles of the type, including the ones in the franchise, such as Aliens (1989), Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps (2020), Doom: The Boardgame (2004), Forlom: Hope (2010), The Regiment: Colonial Marines (2013), Space Cadets: Away Missions (2015), and Xenotactics (2018).
AX aims to revise and combine what I see as the best aspects of the titles above into a solo-friendly sci-fi dungeon-crawler, all in a board game format.
The idea is to offer more tactical flexibility and solo play in dread-filled, against-the-odds environments the movie and those games are known for while keeping the original old-school feel as much as possible.
I'm currently working on a PnP prototype meant for playtesting purposes and to showcase the game system and its possibilities. It’s still a work in progress; the title, artwork, and design, may change as development continues. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
