Mind Invaders — Rules Manual

In Mind Invaders, everyone takes on the role of mind-invading aliens vying for control over world leaders and the recovery of technological artifacts. Whoever collects a certain number of artifacts wins the game; however, among the players there is an infiltrated Human who may achieve their goal first!

COMPONENTS
- 72 cards (56 x 87 mm)
• 5 Character cards
• 20 Power cards (4 per player in 5 colors)
• 5 Initiative cards
• 13 Leader cards
• 8 Agent cards
• 20 Resource cards
• 1 player aid card

OVERVIEW
During the game, players reveal Power cards to decide who wins each clash. The higher placements have priority to choose the valuable Leader, Agent, and Resource cards. Pay attention, because cards may have more than one symbol that can help or hinder your strategy!

SETUP
1. Each player receives the four Power cards (values 1 to 4) of a color of their choice.
2. Shuffle and deal one Character card to each player. Games with 2–4 players: exclude 1 Alien before dealing. Unused cards go back to the box. Players must keep their Characters secret until instructed otherwise.
3. Shuffle all Leader, Agent, and Resource cards together to form the draw deck. Then reveal cards from the top of this deck to form two rows. These represent the floors of the Grand Hotel, and each must contain a number of cards equal to the number of players + 1.
4. Set aside areas on the table for each player’s individual discard piles and for the general discard pile.
5. Determine who will be the first to play. That player receives the “1st” Initiative card, with the green side face up. The others receive the remaining Initiative cards, also with the green side face up, in ascending order (2nd, 3rd, etc.) clockwise from the first player. Unused Initiative cards go back to the box.

GAME FLOW
Players engage in contests for the cards on the lower floor of the hotel over several rounds until a game-end trigger is activated.

CONTEST
A contest is when players, in turn order, alternately play cards to the table and resolve them until everyone decides to stop.

Phase I – Block: The player with Initiative 1 must block one card on the lower floor (flip it face down or place a token on it). It cannot be collected nor be targeted by Resources.

Phase II – Hidden Powers: In Initiative order, each player on their turn selects one or more cards from their hand to play face down to the table (Power or Resource). The first time this phase occurs in a contest, at least one of the cards must be a Power.
Important: A Resource card can only be played if accompanied by a Power card, OR if there is already an active Power card previously played.
Tip: Use your Power cards wisely, as they will only return to your hand when ALL players have also used ALL of their Power cards.

Phase III – Reveal Powers: In Initiative order, each player on their turn reveals the card(s) they played and, in any sequence they prefer, may:
- use a to unblock one card on the lower floor and block another on that same floor (optional);
- use the effect and the Power bonus of one or more Resource cards. Resource effects must be carried out if possible.
In addition to using the Resource card’s effect, the player must keep it visible on the table until Collection, to benefit from the Power bonus.

Phase IV – Hold or Intensify Power: In Initiative order, each player on their turn chooses:
Hold Power (stop) - The player flips their Initiative card to the red side and will not play more cards until the end of that contest.
Intensify Power (continue) - The player keeps their Initiative card on the green side and repeats Phases II, III, and IV until all players decide to hold their Power.

OBJECTIVE
Be the first to achieve a victory condition before being eliminated.

Alien Victory: 4 cards with or 4 cards with
Alien Elimination: 3 cards with or 3 cards with
Human Victory: 4 cards with or 4 cards with
Human Elimination: 3 cards with

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CRÉDITOS
Game Design: Nordan Manz
Game Development: Thiago Castro, André Ruz, Andrea Bombonato, Fernando Celso Jr.
Art & Illustration: Nordan Manz
Graphic Design: Nordan Manz
Writing: MC Zanini @ Zombie Dodo Studio
Layout: Marcel Lambertini, João Luciano, Fernando Celso Jr.
Editing: Igor Raposo, Thiago Castro, Vinícius Figueiredo, André Ruz
Playtesting: Thiago Castro, Vinícius Figueiredo, André Ruz, Ana Barretta, João Luciano, Larissa Lima, Cassiano, Tharik, Pietra, Matheus, Valéria e De Paula, Otaviano Barneschi, Joka Jr
Acknowledgments: Ian, Iris, Miguel, Jhonny e Zenaide

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- all other players have been eliminated.
If a player draws a card that causes both victory AND elimination at the same time, that player is eliminated.
In case of Elimination, that player’s Power cards return to the box, while the others (hand and table) go to the general discard. The highest Initiative card is also returned to the box.
The number of cards that make up each floor of the hotel will be adjusted in the next Cleanup phase. The number of cards on each floor becomes the number of non-eliminated players + 1.

CARD EXPLANATIONS
When all players have their Initiative card on the red side, that is, they opted to hold their Power, proceed to card Collection.
When all players have their Initiative card on the red side

COLLECTION
The player with the highest Power in the contest is the first to collect a card from the lower floor, followed by the others in descending order. In case of a tie, follow Initiative order.
Reminder: cards collected with the icon in the lower-left corner go to the players’ hands, while cards with the icon remain face up on the table in front of whoever collected them.
After a player collects a card, if it triggers a victory or elimination condition, that happens before the next player collects a card. Likewise, if a player collects a card that enables an investigation, they may immediately carry it out if they wish.

Investigation
At any time, discard four cards with the symbol and choose a player to reveal their Character card. If they are Human, they are unmasked and you win the game. If they are Alien, nothing happens.

Example: Maria: Initiative 1, revealed Power 3 and Anti-Goliath (total power 4); Andrea: Initiative 2, revealed Power 4 and Room Swap (total power 5).
Following Initiative, Maria’s Anti-Goliath resolves, destroying Andrea’s Power 4, leaving her with power 1. Andrea, on her turn, resolves Room Swap even without a Power card.
Maria decides to Hold Power (flipping to red), but Andrea decides to Intensify Power (keeping green).
Andrea must play at least 1 Power card if she wants to use another Resource card, because Resource cards can only be played along with a Power card or if there is already a Power card on the table.

Phase III – Reveal Powers
Maria
Andrea

Phase IV – Hold or Intensify Power
Maria
Andrea

CLEANUP
After collection ends, each player discards all of their active Power cards to their individual discard pile. (Resource cards used as Power bonuses go to the general discard).
The remaining cards on the lower floor go to the general discard.
Then, slide the cards from the upper floor down to the lower floor.
Reveal cards from the deck to refill the upper floor.
Finally, each player flips their Initiative back to the green side and passes it to the player on their left.
At the end of this phase, if NO player has Power cards in hand, ALL players take back all of their Power cards from their respective individual discard piles. Otherwise, ONLY the players who still have Power cards in hand will participate in the next contest.
Start a new contest.

END OF THE GAME
The game ends with a sudden victory for a player when:
- they have, on the table and/or in hand, the cards needed to meet the victory condition stated on their Character card;
- an Alien unmasks a Human (see Investigation);

deck to refill the upper floor Finally each player flips their Initiative back to the green side and passes it to the player on their left At the end of this phase if NO player has Power cards in hand ALL players take back all of their Power cards from their respective individual discard piles Otherwise ONLY the players who still have Power cards in hand will participate in the next contest Start a new contest END OF THE GAME The game ends with a sudden victory for a player when they have on the table and or in hand the cards needed to meet the victory condition stated on their Character card an Alien unmasks a Human see Investigation

RULEBOOK
Remove a card with the from any player (including yourself) and place it in the general discard.
Return up to 2 Power cards currently in your individual discard pile to your hand.
Remove a card with the from any player (including yourself) and place it in the general discard.
Remove the highest-value active Power card to that player’s individual discard. In case of a tie, remove all highest-value cards and place them in their respective individual discards. Resources remain on the table counting as Power and resolve normally when their turn comes.
Choose a number from 1 to 4; each player who has a Power card with that value in hand must send it to their individual discard.
Choose an opponent and discard a random card from their hand. If it is a Power card, send it to that owner’s individual discard. Otherwise, send it to the general discard.
If there is a card with the on the upper floor of the hotel, collect it immediately. Then refill the floor with the top card of the draw deck.
Swap one card from the lower floor of the hotel (provided it is not blocked by the Flying Saucer) with one from the upper floor.
At the moment of collection, the player with the LOWEST total Power chooses first, followed by the second lowest, and so on. In case of a tie, the player with the HIGHEST Initiative card chooses first.

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