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Where to Buy Nemesis: Amazon US | Amazon CA
Nemesis Board Game Review: A Deep, Tense Experience That Feels Like Sci-Fi Survival
What Kind of Game Is Nemesis?
Nemesis is a semi-cooperative sci-fi survival game for 1 to 5 players. You wake up on a spaceship with a crew of other players, but something’s not right. The ship has taken damage, strange sounds echo from the corridors, and there are alien intruders on board. Each player gets a unique character and a secret personal objective. Sometimes those goals help the group survive. Other times they’re more about personal gain, even at the cost of the ship or your shipmates.
This is not a quick game. A full session usually runs 2 to 3 hours, especially with new players. It’s published by Awaken Realms and comes in a big box loaded with miniatures, custom cards, and high-quality components. It has expansions too, but this review sticks to the core game.
Basic Gameplay
Here’s the short version of how Nemesis works. Each round, players take two actions with their cards, like moving, searching, shooting, or repairing rooms. You can explore new parts of the ship, put out fires, and gather key items. But doing anything noisy risks attracting aliens, called Intruders.
The Intruders pop out when players make noise or trigger certain events. Once they appear, they’re fast and deadly. You can fight or run. Most of the time, you’ll want to run. The game then throws more problems at you—broken engines, fires, infections, or even hostile allies. It’s full of surprises, dice chucking, and tense decisions.
What Nemesis Does Really Well
It Drips With Tension
What sets Nemesis apart is how it builds tension. From setup, you feel on edge. The lighting in the rooms is moody and the art supports that creepy sci-fi atmosphere. You never feel safe. Every corner of the map could hide something awful. And the worst part? You’re not even sure if the player sitting next to you has your back. They might be planning to blow up the ship instead.
Full of Stories
If you enjoy games that create strong moments and narratives, Nemesis nails it. Every session I’ve played has had huge swings—from a flamethrower saving a player just in time to someone double-crossing the crew and jumping in an escape pod alone. It’s packed with things to talk about after the game ends.
In one game, we were down to the final turn. The engines were barely holding. I needed to check one last room to confirm the ship was heading to Earth. I made it, found the truth, and sprinted to the hibernation pod. Just before it closed, another player shot me in the back, infected me, and let me freeze alive with an alien growing inside me. That session is still talked about three game nights later.
Great Components and Miniatures
Nobody will argue the game’s production value. The ship tiles are large and well-designed. The alien miniatures are massive, creepy, and detailed. Each character has their own standee, deck, and gear. Everything from the plastic tokens to event cards feels polished.
Key Strengths:
- Immersive, sci-fi horror theme
- Choices filled with risk and tension
- Excellent solo play or group experience
- Miniatures and components really shine
- Persistent storytelling from turn to turn
Where the Game Struggles
Rules Are a Lot at First
Nemesis has rules that can slow things down. The core concepts aren’t hard to grasp—move, fight, search—but the details stack up fast. There’s a lot to keep in mind: noise tokens, room status, how Intruder movement works, how healing works, when contamination spreads, and objective rules. It’s easy to forget something.
Most first games will include multiple trips through the rulebook. If you have a group where rules need to run smooth, someone needs to know them front to back. That person is usually me.
Player Elimination
This part’s tricky. You can die pretty early and that’s it—you’re out. The game does offer things like sleeping pods so you can “win” by escaping early. But not everyone makes it. Dying during the second act of a 3-hour game can mean a long wait for others to finish. Some players are fine with that. Others will feel left out and frustrated.
Game Length and Setup
Setup takes time. With the many decks, token types, rooms to build, and player gear to prepare, it can take 20 to 30 minutes just to get the first turn going, especially if you’re playing with new people.
It’s not the kind of game you pull out on a whim. You need players who want the full event. It fits better into a planned game night than a quick filler game before dinner.
Weak Spots:
- Long teach and high rules load
- Setup and teardown are time-consuming
- Player elimination can feel punishing
- Can run long, especially with more than 3 players
Solo Mode: Strong and Scary
I’ve played Nemesis solo several times using the official rules. Solo mode works well because you can control two or more characters and work toward objectives without the hidden traitor aspect. It smooths out a lot of the chaos that comes from player unpredictability, but it keeps the feeling of dread and survival sharp.
You still have to deal with random events, power failures, and huge Intruder threats. There’s something very eerie about moving down a quiet hallway, rolling for noise, and hearing a “thud” from the next room. If you’re into solo gaming, Nemesis holds its ground against most top-tier solo-focused games.
Who Should Play Nemesis?
Nemesis is a strong fit for gamers who like:
- Story-driven games with high interaction
- Semi-cooperative games with hidden goals
- Dark sci-fi themes and horror elements
- Unpredictable outcomes influenced by player decisions
- Detailed miniatures and immersive table presence
If you’re the kind of person who likes sneaking around, just one alien tail swipe away from death, and whispering with teammates about who to trust, then Nemesis clicks. It plays best with people willing to lean into the theme and accept that not every story ends with a happy ending.
Tips for Playing
From all my sessions, here are a few ways to have a better time with Nemesis:
- Pick one player to run the rules: It speeds things up a lot
- Use player aids: There are several good ones online that help remind players of turn order and actions
- Don’t try to do everything: Focus on clear goals and work toward them step by step
- Expect betrayal: That’s part of the fun
- Play again: The first game is rough; the second is smoother and way more fun
Final Thoughts
This one has stayed in my collection and hits the table a few times a year. It’s not a game I play often, but when it comes out, it’s always memorable. Nemesis isn’t going to work for every group. It’s long, tense, and sometimes brutal. But the way it creates moments, tension, and wild endings makes it something special.
If your group likes co-op games like Dead of Winter, backstabbing in Battlestar Galactica, or the tension of Alien movies, then this is worth your time. Just make sure someone learns the rulebook well… you’ll need it.
