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About Nemesis
Nemesis is a semi-cooperative survival horror game by Adam Kwapiński, published by Awaken Realms. The crew wake from hibernation on a damaged ship full of intruders, and each player secretly holds personal objectives that may require someone else to fail. Moving makes noise, noise draws aliens out of the vents, and your hand of cards is also your stamina. Most games end with a desperate run for the pods or the cryo chambers.
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Is Nemesis Right for You?
Best for
Nemesis is for groups who like tension, story and a little treachery. Every game produces its own disaster, from a crewmate sealing a door behind them to a last-turn sprint for the escape pods, and the secret objectives mean nobody is quite sure who is on their side. Three and four players is the sweet spot. Groups who prefer to trust each other can use the included cooperative mode.
Maybe skip it if…
It is long and swingy, and characters can die well before the end, leaving that player with nothing to do. Anyone who dislikes dice luck, betrayal or player elimination should pick a fully cooperative game instead.
How to Play Nemesis
Setup
Build the ship with random room tiles face down. Each player drafts a character, its action deck, and two secret objectives.
On Your Turn
- Take two actions per turn by playing cards, including moving, searching, crafting and using room actions.
- Moving into a room with no intruder in it triggers a noise roll, which can spawn an intruder from the bag.
- After everyone passes, the event phase moves intruders, resolves fire and damage, and advances the time track.
How to Win
You win if you survive, the ship reaches its destination or you escape in a pod, and your chosen objective is complete.
💡 Strategy Tips
Scan your contamination cards when you can. An infection you do not know about ends more games than intruders do.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Moving carelessly. Every move into an empty room triggers a noise roll, and noise is how intruders find you.
- Leaving contamination unchecked. An infection you have not scanned for can kill your character late in the game with no warning.
- Assuming your crewmates want what you want. Some objectives require another character to die or the ship to go somewhere else.
- Forgetting the ship itself. Surviving the aliens is not enough if the engines are broken or the coordinates point the wrong way.
Advanced Strategy
- Learn where the escape pods are as soon as their rooms are explored. The endgame is usually decided by who can reach them.
- Close doors behind you. A closed door buys a turn against most intruders and costs very little.
- Watch what other players avoid. A crewmate who never goes near the engines is telling you something about their objective.
- Keep a card in hand when you end your turn in a dangerous room. Cards are your actions and your stamina, and an empty hand in combat is often fatal.
Variants & House Rules
Cooperative and solo modes
The rulebook includes a fully cooperative mode with shared objectives, and a solo mode. Both keep the same horror but remove the suspicion.
Nemesis: Lockdown
A standalone game set in a base on Mars, with new characters, a new intruder type and a two-level map.
Aftermath, Void Seeders and Carnomorphs
Expansions for the original game. Aftermath adds new characters and a follow-up mode; Void Seeders and Carnomorphs each add a new alien species with its own rules.
Video Guides
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Our Verdict
Nemesis is one of the strongest thematic horror games available, and it produces more memorable stories per game than almost anything else we cover. It is long, luck-heavy and sometimes cruel, but that is the genre it is working in. We recommend it to groups who want to be frightened and a little betrayed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nemesis cooperative?
Semi-cooperative by default: everyone faces the same aliens, but each player has a secret objective. A fully cooperative mode is included.
Can you play Nemesis solo?
Yes. The solo mode keeps the same systems and works well, though you lose the suspicion that drives the multiplayer game.
How long does a game take?
Two to three hours with experienced players. A first game, with the rules being learned, can take longer.