A Deck Building Game

You got a job, we can do it. Dont much and wound the players. If you take damage
care what it is. Captain Malcolm Reynolds equal to or greater than your health, then
youre defeated. Dont worry though another
Game Summary player can heal you back into the game. But if
Welcome to Legendary Encounters: everyone gets defeated at the same time, then
A Firefly Deck Building Game. In this fully you lose.
cooperative game for 1-5 players, youll take Some enemies attack Serenity herself. If she
on the role of Mal, Zoe or one of the other takes too many hits, then its all over.
crew members.
You start with a deck of basic cards and
Your First Game
For your first game, follow the setup rules on
a special Talent card. At the start of your Page 3, using the specific card stacks listed
turn, take a card from the Episode deck and there. This will allow you to play the Pilot
place it face-down onto the board. It could Episode Serenity and The Train Job.
be an outlaw thug, an alliance ship, or even (Note: The Pilot episode is split into two
a reaver raiding party. Youll play cards separate Episode Decks.)
from your hand to generate Attack, Recruit After your first game, you can play through
Points, and special abilities. Youll use all 14 Episodes of the series or mix and match
Attack to defeat enemies and to scan hidden Episodes to play them in a different order.
cards. Youll use Recruit Points to gain new
character cards for your deck. At the end of
your turn, if there are any Enemies in the Sorting Guide
Combat Zone, they will strike you or Serenity. Youll find 500 cards in addition to the playmat.
Whenever your deck runs out of cards, Here are some suggestions on how to initially
shuffle your discard pile to make a new sort your cards.
Note: Each of the following card groups is made
deck, including all of the new characters up of similar-looking cards.
you recruited. This allows your deck to
get stronger over time. But beware the 35 Shiny
enemies and challenges also get tougher as 25 Misbehave
you go. 5 Browncoats
9 Avatars
How to Win 12 Side Jobs
During each game, youll play through three 40 Crew Strikes
episodes of the Firefly TV show. Players must 20 Ship Strikes (6 Ship Strikes have a label
work together to complete a set of Objectives on their left side. Set these apart from the
for each episode, such as Defeat Patience, regular 20.)
Impress Warwick Harrow, or Snatch the 10 Upgrades
Pills. The better you do, the more Credits 15 Talents
youll earn that allow you to repair or upgrade 20 Flaws
Serenity. If you complete the final episode, 3 Inevitable Cards
15 Objective Cards (They each have an
then you win the game. Episode number near the top.)
As the game progresses, enemies will attack

1
Note: Each of the following groups is an
Episode deck made up of different card types.
(Each one has a label at the bottom. Youll use
the 6 Ship Strikes you set aside now.)
10 Serenity (Part 1) A
11 Serenity (Part 2) B
12 The Train Job C
10 Bushwhacked A
11 Shindig B
12 Safe C
10 Our Mrs. Reynolds A
11 Jaynestown B
12 Out of Gas C
10 Ariel A
11 War Stories B
12 Trash C
10 The Message A
11 Heart of Gold B
12 Objects in Space - C

Finally, its time to sort the remaining cards.

Each of these should have one of the nine
crew members names underneath the cards
title. Sort by crew member as follows:
14 Book
14 Inara
14 Jayne
14 Kaylee
14 Mal
14 River
14 Simon
14 Wash
14 Zoe

2
 Your First Game - Use These Cards
Objective/Episode Deck A: Serenity (Part 1)
Objective/Episode Deck B: Serenity (Part 2)
Objective/Episode Deck C: The Train Job
Players: Mal, Kaylee, Zoe, Jayne, Book (In a four-player game, leave out Book.
In a three-player game, leave out Jayne and Book, etc.)
Crew Deck: Wash, Inara, River, Simon

3
4
 Game Setup
Player
Starting Decks
Give each player their
own personal 13-card
deck made up of these cards:
7 Shiny
5 Misbehave
1 Talent

Main Characters and

Supporting Characters Avatars
Each game will have 5 Main Characters Your Avatar card stays in front of you during
and 4 Supporting Characters so that all 9 the game.
crew members will be part of each game. Your Health determines how much strike
There are many cards in the game that have damage it takes to defeat you.
different effects based on who the Main Your Defense Value is referred to only by
Characters are. specific card effects. (It also comes into
Take the 9 Avatars and follow these steps: play if you mix in other Legendary
1. Each player selects an Avatar and puts Encounters games where players can fight
it in front of them. Each player is a Main each other.)
Character. (Players can choose which Your Avatar also has a Talent ability and
Avatars they like or randomly select them.) Flaw ability, which well cover later.
2. If there are fewer than five players, select Your Rank determines who goes first. (And
additional Avatars until youve reached some effects refer to Ranks.)
a total of five including the players.
Put these extra Avatars below the Bridge
space of the playmat. These cards are
Avatar Card
also Main Characters (but they do not
count as players). Mal
AvAtAr - 1 Name
3. There should now be four Avatars
Rank
left. These determine which four crew
members will be Supporting Characters
this game. Take each of those characters
14-card stacks, shuffle them together,
and place the 56-card deck onto the Talent - Fiercely Loyal 4 Defense
space marked Crew Deck. (Put those
Draw a card.
Activate: Choose two different players to each
draw a card. Defeat this Talent.

Flaw - Antagonistic
10 Health
four Avatars back in the box.) Add an Episode card to the Verse.

5
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.
Game Stacks and act as a timer for how long you have to
Shuffle the 10 Upgrade cards, the 5 complete each Episode.
Browncoats, the 20 Ship Strikes, and the 40 Heres how to build each Episode Deck:
Crew Strikes separately and put those stacks Find Objective As ten-card mini-deck.
face-down on their respective spaces. Randomly shuffle the proper number of
Put the Talent and Flaw stacks face-up above Side Jobs into the deck without looking at
the playmat. them. Randomly select one of the Inevitable
cards and put it on the bottom of the deck
without looking at it. Now place the deck on
Objectives the Episode Deck space on the playmat.
Objectives are marked as either A, B, Find Objective Bs eleven-card mini-deck.
or C. Each game uses exactly one of each As above, shuffle in the Side Jobs and
type. Players will attempt to complete each place an Inevitable card on the bottom.
Objective card in order with A first and C last. Set this Episode deck to the side of the
Pick an A Objective and put it on the playmat with its Objective card face-up on
Objective space. Pick a B Objective and top of it.
C Objective and set them aside for now. Find Objective Cs twelve-card mini-deck.
You can choose which three Objectives to As above, shuffle in the Side Jobs and
use or you can randomly select an A, a B, place an Inevitable card on the bottom.
and a C. Each Objective card has the name Set this Episode deck to the side of the
of an Episode of the Firefly TV show, and playmat with its Objective card face-up on
theyre numbered so you can play the whole top of it.
series in order if you like. (Note: The Pilot SIDE JOB TABLE
Episode Serenity is split into an A and a B.) Number of Side Jobs in Special
Players each Mini-Deck Rules
Episode Deck, Side Jobs, and 1 0
Inevitable Cards 2 1
Each of the Objective cards you picked has a
corresponding Episode mini-deck, which 3 2
includes enemies to fight, goals to complete,
and more. 4 3 One Preparation Round*

First, youll fight through the Episode A mini- 5 4 Two Preparation Rounds*
deck, then the B mini-deck, and finally, the C
mini-deck. *If youre playing with four or five players, then each
There are also 12 Side Job cards that are player gets one or two free preparation turns at the
randomly shuffled into the mini-decks beginning of Episode A. Take those turns as normal
depending on how many players there are. except skip the Episode Phase.
(See the Side Job Chart.) Some players enjoy playing solo by
Finally, there are 3 Inevitable cards that are controlling two Avatars. In this case, use the
placed on the bottom of each mini-deck 2-Player row in the Side Job chart.

6
 Starting the Game Push Other Cards to the Left
Put the top five cards of the Crew Deck If Necessary
face-up into the 5 spaces of the Bridge. Each of the five spaces in the Verse can only
Each player shuffles their own personal hold one card. Whenever a card enters a
deck of 13 cards and draws a hand of 6 space in the Verse, if theres already another
cards from it. card there, then the existing card gets pushed
The player with the highest rank goes one space to the left to make room for it. So
first. (Example: Mal is Rank 1 which is a single card entering the Verse sometimes
highest.) Then play proceeds clockwise. causes several cards to get pushed.
Remember: Only push a card forward if
it needs to move to make room for
On Your Turn another card entering that space.
Cards move the same way whether
During your turn, complete the following
phases in order: theyre face-down or face-up.
1. Episode Phase: Draw an Episode
card (keeping it face-down) and
add it to the Verse.
2. Action Phase: Play cards from your Alliance Gunship
EnEmy - Ship

hand, using them to recruit, scan,

and fight.
3. Strike Phase: Each Enemy in the
Combat Zone strikes. 3
4. Cleanup Phase: Discard your hand
Serenity (Part 1) - A
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.

and all cards played. Then, draw

six new cards.
Episode Phase: Add an Episode A Card Might Get Pushed to the
Card to the Verse. Combat Zone
At the beginning of your turn, without If a card is on the leftmost space and gets
looking at it, put the top card of the Episode pushed, it then leaves the Verse and enters
deck face-down into the closest space in the Combat Zone. If its face-down, then
the Verse. immediately turn it face-up. (See pages 10-12
for what happens when a card turns face-up.)
The Combat Zone can hold any number of
cards. Each time a new one is added, slide
the existing ones over to the right.

7
 Action Phase: Play cards from Some of your cards produce Recruit Points
that let you recruit more characters or pay for
your hand, using them to Recruit, other effects. Other cards produce Attack
Scan, and Fight. that let you scan spaces and defeat enemies.
Your deck includes lots of Character cards. Some cards give you special abilities like
Here are the different parts of a character card: drawing cards or healing.
Play cards from your hand in any order,
Character Card one at a time.
Shepherd and Flock Card Title Each time you play a card, do what that
Character
Card Frame: Character
Book

card says immediately. (Many cards say

Class Icon Character Name
Card Name: Shepherd Activate which means you can wait
until a later point in your Action Phase in
order to use that effect.)
Recruit Points: You get any Recruit Points listed in the
Use these to recruit Recruit icon of the card, but you dont
more characters 2 Activate: Defeat a Flaw in any other
have to use those Recruit Points right away.
You get any Attack listed in the Attack
players hand.

Special Ability 3 Cost: How many

icon on the card, but you dont have to
Maybe youre exactly where you
ought to be.
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.
Recruit Points it
costs to recruit use that Attack right away.
this character Some cards say something like 2 +
Character
No Power in the Verse Can Stop Me
RiveR Card Title inside their Recruit or Attack icon. The
Card Frame: Character
Class Icon 2 means you always get at least 2
Card Name: No Power Character Name from that card. The + symbol means
you might get more Recruit Points or
Attack based on the cards special ability.
Keep the cards you play face-up in front of
you until the end of your turn.
Special Ability : You get +2 . You dont have to play every card in
Attack: 2+ your hand. Some character cards are very
Use this to scan
Cant look. Cant look. 4 Cost: How many
powerful in the right circumstances but
Recruit Points it
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.

spaces & fight enemies costs to recruit risky or even harmful at the wrong time.
this character

8
 Class Combo Abilities Wash
AvAtAr - 6

Some characters have an ability with a Class

Icon and a colon, like : You get +2 .
You can use a class combo ability only if
youve already played another card of
that class earlier in your turn.
A cards class is shown with the class Talent Talent - Ace Pilot 5
icon on the upper left. (See page 22 for a Draw a card.
Activate: Scan any space. Defeat
this Talent.

list of all character classes.) Flaw Flaw - Semi-Cowardly

Enemies other than ships have +2
this turn. 9
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.

You can use a cards combo ability only

once a turn even if you played two or For example, if you are Wash and play a
more cards of the required class earlier in Talent card, you will immediately draw a
the turn. card. Then, if you choose to Activate the
Talent card, youll get to Scan a space for free
Example of a Class Ability: (and then the Talent will be defeated and
No Power in the Verse Can Stop Me
go back to the Talent stack). If you choose not
always gives you 2 when you play it.
to give up the Talent card, it will go to your
If youve already played another
discard pile at the end of your turn like your
earlier in the turn, then you can use the
other cards.
Class ability on No Power in the Verse
Can Stop Me to get an additional +2 . Flaws work a little differently. At the start
If you play two copies of No Power in of your Action Phase, if you have any Flaw
the Verse Can Stop Me as your first two cards in hand, you must play each of them
cards of the turn, then you wont get to one at a time. Also, if you draw a Flaw card
use the Class ability of the first one, but at any point during your Action Phase, you
you will get to use it on the second one. must play it immediately before you take any
other actions.
When you play a Flaw card, follow its
Talents and Flaws instructions. After you play a Flaw, put it back
Talents and Flaws are special cards that are into the Flaw stack.
gained during the game. (You also start the
game with one Talent card in your deck.)
You can play a Talent card the same way
you play a Character card. When you do, Recruiting Characters, Scanning
follow the instructions on your Avatar (as Rooms, and Fighting Enemies
if the text on the Avatar was on the Talent In between playing cards from your hand
card itself). Each Talent ability draws a card or after youve played all of your cards, you
immediately. Then, at some point during can recruit any number of characters, scan
your Action Phase you may Activate the any number of spaces, and fight any number
Talent in order to get a special ability. of enemies. You can do any or all of that as
(The special ability also defeats the Talent.) many times as youre able to and in any order.

9
How to Recruit a Character How to Scan a Space
The Bridge section of the board has five During the game, there will be hidden (face-
spaces, each of which contains exactly one down) cards in the Verse. Its usually a good
face-up character from the Crew Deck. To idea to scan those cards (turn them face-up).
recruit a character from the Bridge, spend That way, if you find an Enemy card, you
Recruit Points equal to that characters cost can try to defeat it before it moves into the
(found on its bottom right corner) and then Combat Zone and starts striking you.
put it into your discard pile. When your deck Each of the five spaces in the Verse has a
runs out and you shuffle your discard pile to Scan Cost. To scan a space that has a hidden
make a new deck, you will soon draw that card, spend Attack equal to that spaces Scan
new character. Cost. Then, turn the hidden card face-up.
Whenever there is an empty space in the There are also special abilities in the game
Bridge for any reason, immediately refill it that let you scan a space. In those cases, you
with the top card of the Crew Deck face-up. dont have to pay the Scan Cost.
For example, you might recruit a character,
see what new character appears in its place
and then recruit that new character if you
have enough Recruit Points.
You can also recruit a Browncoats card from
the Browncoats stack. To do so, spend 3
Recruit Points and put the top card of the
stack into your discard pile. Browncoats
always cost 3 Recruit Points, and there is one Turning a Hidden Card Face-up
Browncoats card for each of the five classes. A hidden card turns face-up when its space is
(You wont know which one you will get scanned or when it enters the Combat Zone.
until you recruit it.) Besides being different Depending on what kind of card it is, different
classes, Browncoats are identical. things happen when its turned face-up.
Some special abilities instruct you to gain
a character. Whenever you gain a character,
unless the effect says otherwise, put it in
your discard pile.

10
 Revealing an Enemy Revealing a Side Job
Enemies make up the majority of the cards When you reveal a Side Job, leave it where
in the Verse. They might be Outlaws, it is. It moves along the Verse just like an
Alliance soldiers, or even Ships. Here are the Enemy. Each Side Job has a little mission for
different parts of an Enemy card: the player to complete. Once you complete it,
the team gets its Success text. (If it grants
Enemy Card Credits, put the Side Job next to Serenity so
Alliance Soldier Name you remember to count those Credits at the
end of the Episode.)
EnEmy - AlliAncE

Card Type & However, if a Side Job ever enters the

Descriptor Combat Zone on a turn, you must complete
it by the end of that turn. Otherwise, its
automatically failed. Follow its Failure
instructions and put it into the Defeated
Special Cards space. (So if a Side Job is revealed in
Attack: You must
Ranged
Ability
have this much the Combat Zone, youll only have that turn
Bushwhacked - A
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.
2 Attack in order to kill to complete it.)
this enemy.
If an Episode ends with uncompleted Side
Jobs in play, they are discarded without
Ship Enemy Card success or failure.
Reaver Hunting Ship
EnEmy - Ship
Name

Revealing an Event
Card Type & When an Event card is revealed, follow its
Descriptor
instructions and then put it into the Defeated
Cards space on the playmat.

Special Reveal: Draw a Ship Strike unless Wash is a

Attack: You must
Revealing a Ship Strike
Ability main character.

have this much If you reveal a Ship Strike, it works just like
Serenity (Part 2) - B
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.
5 Attack in order to kill you had drawn it from the Ship Strike deck.
this enemy. Put it on the lowest slot of Serenity that
doesnt already have a Strike. (See page 13 for
When an enemy is revealed, it stays where it is more info on Ship Strikes.)
and continues to move through the Verse the Note: When you repair a Ship Strike that came
same way a hidden card moves. Some enemies from an Episode Deck, put it into the Defeated
have Reveal abilities. When an enemy is Cards space.
turned face-up, its Reveal ability triggers once
and then can be ignored afterwards.

11
Revealing a Goal, Special, or Strike Phase: Each Enemy in the
Character Card Combat Zone Strikes
Sometimes youll find a Goal, Special, or From right to left, each enemy in the
Character card. These cards will always Combat Zone strikes, one at a time. There
have Reveal abilities that tell you what to are two types of enemies: Crew enemies and
do. Goals are tied to completing Objectives, Ship enemies. (If it doesnt say Ship, its a
Special cards have different effects but Crew enemy.)
are not necessary to complete Objectives,
and Character cards get shuffled into Alliance Soldier
EnEmy - AlliAncE
Reaver Hunting Ship
EnEmy - Ship

player decks.

How to Fight an Enemy

Once an enemy has been turned face-up
you can fight it. You can fight any number of
enemies, one at a time, that are in either the
Ranged Reveal: Draw a Ship Strike unless Wash is a
main character.

Verse or the Combat Zone, as long as you Bushwhacked - A

TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.
2 Serenity (Part 2) - B
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.
5
have enough Attack on your turn. To fight an
enemy, spend Attack equal to that enemys Crew Enemies and Crew Strikes
Attack value in order to defeat it. Then, put When a crew enemy strikes, the player
that card onto the Defeated Cards space on whose turn it is draws a Crew Strike, puts it
the playmat. on their Avatar, and follows its instructions,
You can only fight an enemy if you have if any. Most Crew Strikes have a damage
enough Attack to defeat it. If somehow number. If you ever have damage greater
an enemy has 0 Attack Value, you defeat than or equal to your Avatars Health, then
it immediately when you attack it. Some youre defeated. But dont worry with luck,
enemies have a Defeated: ability. one of your teammates will patch you up.
When that enemy gets defeated, follow When youre defeated, immediately do
those instructions. the following:
After you defeat an enemy, if you have more 1. If you were in your Action Phase, then it is
Attack leftover, you can use it to scan spaces now over.
and/or fight more enemies. 2. Avoid all Crew Strikes you would draw
Note: Often fighting an enemy represents for the rest of the turn. (You will continue
shooting or punching it, but sometimes to draw Ship Strikes if necessary.)
it represents outsmarting, outrunning, or 3. Turn your Avatar face-down but leave all
outmaneuvering the enemy. (It would be strikes on it.
pretty hard to fight an Alliance Cruiser 4. Reset your deck by shuffling all of your
with guns.) cards together, but dont draw any cards
from it. (This includes cards you played
that turn, your hand, your discard pile,
and your deck.)

12
 While youre defeated, you are out of the If all slots of Serenity have Strikes and you
game. Your turn is skipped, you cant draw draw another Ship Strike, then Serenity
any more strikes, and you ignore all game explodes and the players lose the game. This
effects. Your Avatar does NOT count as makes Ship enemies especially dangerous.
having a Rank or being a Main Character any A Crew enemy only strikes the player
more with one exception: You can still be whose turn it is which means its damage is
healed by effects that heal a Main Character. effectively divided among the players. But
Several effects in the game say to heal a a Ship enemy will strike Serenity turn after
strike from any Main Character. This means turn, eventually destroying her.
you get to take any one Strike Card from The good news is that each Ship Strike has
that Character and put it onto the Discarded a repair cost. You may pay the required
Strike space. amount of to repair a Ship Strike. You
While youre defeated, if another player can repair any Ship Strike you have. You
heals one of your strikes and brings your dont have to repair them in the order you
damage total below your Health value, you received them. Put a repaired Strike face-up
get to immediately re-enter the game. Draw underneath the Ship Strike deck. (Once all
a hand of six cards and resume playing as the Strikes in that deck are face-up, youll
normal. (When your next turn rolls around, reshuffle that deck.)
you take it as normal.) You can also repair Ship Strikes between
There is no penalty for being defeated (other Episodes, but well cover that on Page 17.
than being temporarily out of the game).
However, if all players are defeated at the
same time, then the game is over, and the
players have lost. (Note: Its fine if each Life Support Failure
Ship Strike

player gets defeated at different times and Repair Cost

5
healed back into the game. You only lose if
everyone is defeated at the same time.) Ongoing: Crew Strikes cant
be healed.
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.

Ship Enemies and Ship Strikes

When a Ship enemy strikes, it strikes Strike Abilities
Serenity herself instead of a player. The Some enemies have Strike: abilities. When
player whose turn it is draws a Ship Strike, that enemy strikes, after you draw a strike
puts it on the lowest slot of Serenity that card, follow the instructions of that ability.
doesnt already have a Strike, and then
follows its instructions. If the instructions
say Ongoing, they take effect immediately
and last as long as that Strike is on Serenity.
Otherwise, just follow the instructions one at
a time when the strike is drawn.

13
Avoiding a Strike Cleanup Phase: Discard Your Hand
Some effects allow you to Avoid a strike. In and Draw Six New Cards
that case, you dont draw a strike card at all. If 1. At the end of your turn, put all the cards
you avoid the strike of an enemy with a Strike you played this turn into your discard pile.
ability, you also ignore its Strike ability. Also, discard any cards in your hand
Non-Player Main Characters that you didnt play this turn. (You can
look through your discard pile at any time
and Strikes to see whats in there.)
Usually only players draw Strikes. However, 2. Then, draw six new cards from your deck.
a few effects (for example, Zoe draws a 3. If you dont have enough cards left in
Strike) force a specific main character to your deck and still need to draw more,
draw a Strike whether theyre a player or then shuffle your discard pile to form a
not. If a non-player Main Character draws a new deck. Then, draw the rest of the cards
Strike, ignore its text, but if it has at least 1 that you need.
damage, then they are defeated. (If it has no 4. Dont shuffle your discard pile into a
damage, just discard it.) new deck until your deck has completely
When a non-player Main Character gets run out AND you still need to draw or
defeated, turn its Avatar face-down and put reveal more cards from your deck. (This
the Strike on it. While face-down, they are means sometimes your deck will be
out of the game (just like a defeated player, completely empty.)
they no longer count as a Main Character
or have a Rank). However, they can still be
healed back into the game like a player.

14
 Objectives Inevitable Cards
There are many different types of Objectives. The last card of each Episode deck is always
Some require you to find and reveal certain an Inevitable card. Inevitable cards act as
cards. Some require you to use the special a time limit for an Episode. There are three
abilities of Goal cards. And some require different ones, and each one does something
you to defeat specific enemies. It might not mean to the players if it enters the Combat
be immediately clear how to complete some Zone. Heres how Inevitable Cards work:
Objectives, but it will make sense as you play An Inevitable card cant be scanned,
through the Episode. fought, or interacted with in any way by
You can complete Objectives in an Episode the players or other cards. (You can tell a
in any order. Whenever you complete face-down card is Inevitable because it
an Objective during an Episode, youll has a different colored card back.)
immediately get a reward as indicated on Once an Inevitable card is in the Verse,
the Objective Card. Some rewards give you any effect that says add an Episode
Talent cards for your deck, and some give card to the Verse just moves the
you Credits that are spent after the Episode Inevitable card one space instead. (This
is finished. Some Objectives will tell you to includes when youre supposed to add an
place a card next to Serenity. This is to help Episode card during the Episode Phase.)
you remember how many Credits youve The spaces to the right of an Inevitable card
earned during the Episode. no longer count as being part of the game.
Once an Inevitable card enters the
Some Episodes have Setup text. Follow Combat Zone, reveal it.
those instructions right at the beginning of It strikes normally during the Strike Phase.
that Episode. Some Objectives have special However, once it has gone through
abilities that affect that particular Episode. a Strike Phase on each players turn, the
Once each Objective in an Episode has been Episode automatically ends, and any
completed or failed, the Episode immediately uncompleted Objectives are now failed. (If
ends. (See Ending an Episode on page 16.) any were mandatory, the game is lost.)
Some Objectives are Mandatory. If the players
fail a Mandatory Objective, then they lose
the game.

15
Ending an Episode Inter-Mission
Once youve completed or failed each There are two Inter-Missions phases during
Objective in the Episode, the Episode the game one after Episode 1 and one after
immediately ends. If this was Episode C, the Episode 2.
game is now over. (See Ending the Game on During this phase do the following in
page 17.) If it was Episode A or Episode B, do this order:
the following: Resolve any End of Episode effects
The player whose turn it is goes from the Objective card.
immediately to their Cleanup phase. Reveal the top three Upgrades.
(They discard their cards and draw a new Count up how many credits the team
hand as normal.) Then, note who the next earned during the Episode.
player is they will take the first turn of Now spend those credits in one or more
the next Episode. (Its helpful to turn their of the following ways:
Avatar sideways as a reminder.) Buy Upgrades.
Put all cards in the Verse, Combat Zone, Repair Ship Strikes.
and Operations into the Defeated Cards pile. Heal Crew Strikes.
If there are any cards left in the Episode Draw extra cards for the next Episode.
deck, put them face-up into the Defeated Note: The team decides as a group how to
Cards pile, as well. The only exception is spend Credits. If they cant agree, then the
the Inevitable card. Put it off to the side in highest-ranking player decides. (In this case,
the same orientation (face-up or face- the highest-ranking player includes a player

Card Name: Enhanced

down) it was in when the Episode ended. who is currently defeated.)
Now the team has an Inter-Mission phase
before the next Episode.
Buy Upgrades
You can buy one or Enhanced Sensors
more Upgrade cards SERENITY UPGRADE

by paying their Credit 4

Cost. When you buy
an Upgrade, place it Once each turn, you pay 2 less
to scan a space.
in the highest empty TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.

slot on Serenity. If
there are no empty
slots, you may discard an existing Upgrade to
replace it with a new one. Put the discarded
Upgrade (and any you chose not to buy) on
the bottom of the Upgrade Stack.

16
 Repair Ship Strikes Set Up the Next Episode
You can repair a Ship Strike by paying the Put the next Episode deck on the Episode
Credit cost printed on the playmat next to space and put its Objective Card on
that Strikes slot. You can repair any Ship the Objective space. (Discard the
Strike you have. You dont have to repair previous Objective.)
them in the order you received them. Put a If this is Episode 2, put the top two cards
repaired Strike face-up underneath the Ship of the Episode Deck face-down onto the
Strike deck. (Once all the Strikes in that deck two rightmost spaces of the Verse.
are face-up, youll reshuffle that deck.) If this is Episode 3, put the top four cards
of the Episode Deck face-down onto the
four rightmost spaces of the Verse.
Heal Crew Strikes The next player takes the first turn of the
You can spend any amount of Credits to
next Objective, and then play continues
heal up to that much damage worth of strike
as before.
cards from each Main Character.
For example, if the team spends 3 Credits
to heal Crew Strikes, each player may Ending the Game
heal up to 3 damage worth of strikes from At the end of the third Episode, if youve
themselves. So each player could heal three completed its Mandatory Objectives, then
1-damage strikes, a 1-damage strike and a youve won! (You still win even if you failed
2-damage strike, or a 3-damage strike. Each Objective A and Objective B.)
non-player Main Character also heals their If youd like to keep score, the team earns
strike if applicable. Victory Points as follows:
1 Point if Objective A was fully completed.
2 Points if Objective B was fully completed.
Draw Cards for Next Episode 3 points for winning the game
Once per Inter-Mission, you can spend (completing Objective C).
any amount of Credits to have each player So if you fully complete all three Episodes,
immediately draw cards. It costs 2 credits to then youll earn 6 points. But if you fail the
have the players each draw one card. first two Objectives but still win the game,
Note: Any unspent Credits are lost. then youll earn 3 points.
Note: Some third Episodes have End of
Episode instructions that affect the next game.
If youre not playing a campaign, just ignore
these. (See page 24 for playing a campaign.)

17
 Keyword Abilities Range
Many character cards and enemies have The Range ability lets an enemy strike even if its
keyword abilities. still in the Verse and hasnt entered the Combat
Coordinate Zone yet. During the Strike Phase, each enemy in
Coordinating allows you to let another player the Combat Zone strikes. After that, going from
borrow one of your cards. It is a critical left to right, each face-up enemy in the Verse that
way to help your teammates defeat tough has Range strikes. (Note: Range does nothing in
enemies. Many cards in the Crew Deck and the Combat Zone.)
all Browncoats have Coordinate.
During another players turn, you can Stationary
Coordinate with them like this: A card with Stationary doesnt move normally
Set aside a Coordinate card in your hand in the Verse. If another card would push it,
face-up and then immediately draw a new instead that card moves to the next space,
card to replace it. While it is set aside, its leaving the Stationary card where it was.
considered out of play. Stationary cards can still be moved by other
That player can now play a virtual copy effects, and an Inevitable card will still push a
of the card you coordinated with them. Stationary card normally. (Its Inevitable,
(A virtual copy counts as playing the exact after all).
same card including its text, stats, and
class symbol.)
At the end of that players turn, put the card Escape
you Coordinated into YOUR discard pile. When an enemy with Escape enters the
Combat Zone, it immediately leaves the
You can only Coordinate one card to each game. Put it into the Defeated Cards space.
player on their turn. However, multiple Also, if it has text after Escape, follow those
players can each coordinate one card to the instructions when it escapes.
player whose turn it is in order to give that
player a huge advantage.
When you Coordinate a card to a player, they Double Strike
can choose not to play a Virtual copy of it. An enemy with Double Strike will strike twice
Either way, you still draw a replacement card. during the Strike Phase. Each strike is treated
separately, so if an effect lets you avoid one
Browncoats Browncoats Safe on My Table
strike, youll still receive the other one from a
Monty Monty

Card Frame: Character

Simon
Double Striker.

Deck Label: Browncoats Deck Label: Browncoats

2 Coordinate
2 Coordinate Coordinate
When you coordinate this to a player, heal
one of their Crew Strikes with the
Alliance said they were gonna
waltz through Serenity Valley. And we
choked em with those words. 3 We cant die, Bendis. And you know
why? Because we are so very pretty. 3 1 lowest damage.
No matter how you come down on
us, I will never ever harm you. 3
18
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS. TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS. TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.
 Ability Timing Additional Rules and
Many abilities tell you when they are active.
Some say Reveal: which happens once Clarifications
when the card is first turned face-up. Some Referring to Crew Members
say Ongoing: which means its always By Name
active. Some say Verse: which means Many effects refer to specific Crew Members.
the ability is only active while the card is in These effects will only check Main Characters,
the Verse. And some say Combat Zone: and most of them only take effect if the Crew
which means the ability is only active while Member is a player. For example, Mal gains a
the card is in the Combat Zone. Talent only does something if Mal is a player.
A few player cards say Reaction: which Keep in mind that any Main Character can
means you can follow its instructions to do draw a strike whether or not its a player.
something helpful on another players turn. For example, The highest-ranked Main
If multiple abilities in the Verse and Combat Character draws a strike will cause that
Zone trigger at the same time, resolve them Main Character to draw a strike whether its a
in this order: Go from right to left in the player or a non-player.
Combat Zone. Then, go from left to right in
the Verse. (This typically means the order Your Characters
goes from oldest card to newest card.) Character cards include Shiny, Misbehave,
If a card tells multiple Main Characters to and Browncoats cards as well as any cards
do something at the same time, the player you gained from the Crew or Episode decks.
whose turn it is does it first. Then, it goes in They do not include Talents or Flaws.
clockwise order. If an effect refers to your characters, this
If multiple cards are moved to the Combat includes any supporting character cards in
Zone at the same time, turn the first one your hand as well as any characters youve
face-up (if necessary) and resolve any played this turn. The characters in your deck
Reveal triggers or text it has. Then, turn the and discard pile do not count.
next card face-up, and so on.
If multiple effects happen at the same time, Defeating Cards
and its not clear what order to resolve them In addition to spending Attack to defeat
in, then the player whose turn it is chooses enemies, there are many effects that instruct
the order. you to defeat certain cards. Defeated
characters go to the Defeated Characters
Space, defeated Talents and Flaws go back to
their respective stacks, and all other defeated
cards go to the Defeated Cards space.
If an effect says to defeat one of your
characters, you can choose a character in
your hand or one youve played this turn. If
you choose one youve already played this
19
turn, you still get to use the Recruit Points, Running Out of Crew Strikes or
Attack, and special abilities the character
has already produced. You also still get
Ship Strikes
When the Crew Strike deck runs out,
to count it for the purposes of triggering
immediately shuffle all of the discarded Crew
another cards Class ability. (You cant defeat
Strikes to make a new deck.
a virtual copy of a card that another player
Coordinated to you.) When a Ship Strike is repaired, you place
it face-up underneath the Ship Strike Deck.
Defeating your starting cards can actually be
Once all of the cards in that deck are face-up,
good for you because it means you will draw
shuffle them together and make a new Deck.
your more powerful cards more often instead
of those weaker ones.
Special Abilities On Cards
Gaining Cards Cards can override the rules of the game.
Whenever you gain a card, put it into your If one card says you cant do something
discard pile. After you shuffle your deck, while another tells you to do it, cant
youll be able to draw the new card. beats can.
If a card tells you to do something, but
you cant do all of it, then do as much as
Running Out of Cards in the you can. For example, if a card tells you
Crew Deck to discard two cards from your hand, but
If the Crew Deck runs out, keep playing you have only one card, then just discard
normally except that the Bridge will no the one card.
longer refill. Once there are no longer cards If a card requires a choice, but its not
in the Bridge, you will no longer be able to clear who should make the choice,
recruit characters (other than Browncoats). then the player whose turn it is makes
the choice.
Running Out of Browncoats If a card instructs you to do something,
Once there are no more Browncoats left, you but youre not sure to whom it refers to,
will no longer be able to recruit them. then it refers to the player whose turn it is.

Running Out of Talents or Flaws Show a Card

If there are no Talents or Flaws left, ignore any This just means to show the other players
effects that would cause you to gain them. that you have a particular card in your hand
or in play in front of you. You dont have to
play or discard the card.

20
 Activate Next Player
When you play a card, immediately gain Some effects refer to the next player. Usually
its Recruit Points and Attack, and you this means the player to the left. However,
must follow any instructions in its text. if theres only one player left in the game
However, if it has an Activate ability, you (whether because youre playing solo or
can wait until later in your Action phase to because everyone else is currently defeated),
activate it. Once youre ready to, simply say then next player refers to you.
youre activating the ability, and then follow
its instructions. Looking Through a Player Deck
You can activate an ability only once per If you ever need to look through a player
turn. It can be helpful to turn a card deck (for example Books Talent,
sideways as a reminder that youve The Power of Belief), that player shuffles
activated its ability already. that deck afterward.

Avoid Any One Strike Enemy gets -1 Attack

Some effects allow you to Avoid any one Some effects reduce an enemys Attack
Strike. In this case, you can skip drawing a value. It can never go below 0. When you
strike once during that turn. It could be from fight an enemy whose Attack value is 0, you
an Enemy striking during the Strike Phase can defeat it without spending any Attack.
or from another effect like an Event. If you
choose to avoid a strike from an enemy with
a Strike: ability, then that ability wont Attach to a Space
occur. You dont have to avoid the next strike Some cards tell you to attach to that space.
you would have drawn. For example, you In this case, put it in the space of the Verse
can wait to avoid a Strike from an enemy but slide it up a bit. This way other cards can
with a Strike ability. still go into that space on top of the attached
card while leaving the attached cards name
still visible. Attached cards dont move from
Cancel a Strike their attached space unless a game effect
Some effects allow you to Cancel a Strike. tells them to.
In this case, you will already see the strike Fireball

card, and if you are able to cancel it, then

goal

you immediately discard the strike Deck Label: Out of Gas

without applying its damage or following

its instructions. Reveal: Zoe draws a Crew Strike. Attach this to the
space its in. (If it was revealed in the Combat Zone,
attach it to the rightmost space of the Verse and push
any card thats there as normal.)

Ongoing: Treat this space as if it doesnt exist. (Other

cards, including Inevitable cards, skip over this space.)

Pay 7 to vent the fire into space. (Defeat this card.)

Out of Gas - C
TM & 2016 FOX. 2016 UDC. ENCOUNTERS.

21
Clear Space If an effect specifically says it moves the
A space is considered clear if there is no card Inevitable card (one card in the game currently
in that space. A space that has an attached card does this), it resets the timer. (Its as though it
can still be clear if there is no other card in it. hasnt entered the Combat Zone at all.)

Pay or Abilities
Some cards allow you to pay or in
order to get an effect. In this case, just spend
the amount and follow the instructions. The Character Classes
or you spent is gone and cant be used
for anything else. Intel cards are the best at gaining
information and drawing cards.
Inevitable Cards and Leadership cards help the team and
Defeated Players are good at gaining characters.
Once an Inevitable Card spends a Strike
Phase on each players turn, the Episode Strength cards are good at fighting and
automatically ends. Even if an effect lets defeating your own weaker cards.
you avoid a Strike from an Inevitable card,
that turn still counts toward the Strike Phase Survival cards can avoid strikes and can
ending the Episode. Even if a player is heal.
defeated and has their turn skipped while an
Inevitable Card is in the Combat Zone, that Tech cards are good at avoiding or
still counts toward the Strike Phase ending repairing Ship strikes.
the Episode.
Example:
Mal, Zoe, and Wash are sitting in that
order. Zoe is defeated.
The Inevitable Card enters the Combat
Zone on Mals turn. During the Strike
Phase, it strikes Mal.
Zoes turn is skipped because she
is defeated.
Wash plays a card that lets him avoid a
strike from the Inevitable Card. At the end
of that turn, the Episode automatically ends
because the Inevitable Card spent one turn
in the Combat Zone on each players turn
(including skipping Zoes turn).

22
 Adjusting Difficulty Give each player a Flaw at the start of one
or more Episodes.
The game can be very hard, especially for
newer players. Some Objectives are harder Dont skip defeated players turns. When
than others, and some combinations of their turn comes around, do the Episode and
Main Characters are stronger against certain Strike Phase as normal. (They still wont
Objectives. In addition to trying out different draw any Crew Strikes, but it would still be
combinations, here are some ways to make possible for a Ship enemy to strike Serenity.)
the game easier or harder. For a super-hard mode, end the game
immediately if any player gets defeated.
To make the game easier, do one or more
of these:
During setup, shuffle extra Side Jobs into
each Episode deck. Coordinate in Solo Play
Give each player one (or two) extra If you play a solo game with one Avatar,
Preparation turns at the very beginning of once per turn, you may discard a card with
the game. Note: On a preparation turn, Coordinate to draw a new card.
players skip the Episode Phase.
When you set up Episode 2, put fewer
than two cards into the Verse. When you Suggested Main Characters
set up Episode 3, put fewer than four You can use any Main Characters to play
cards into the Verse. any combination of Episodes, but if you are
Give each player an additional Talent in playing through the Episodes in order and
their starting deck. (You can also give want to choose Main Characters that played
them an extra Talent before the second a larger role in those TV Episodes, then here
and/or third Episode starts.) are some suggestions:
Give the team 1 or more bonus Credits in
between each Episode. Serenity and Train Job: Mal, Kaylee, Zoe,
Treat each players Defense Value as Jayne, Book
extra Health. Bushwhacked, Shindig, Safe: Simon, Wash,
To make the game harder, do one or more Inara, Book, River
of these: Our Mrs. Reynolds, Jaynestown, Out of Gas:
During setup, dont shuffle in as many Jayne, Inara, Zoe, Mal, Simon
Side Job cards.
When you set up Episode 1, put one or Ariel, War Stories, Trash: River, Jayne,
more cards from the Episode deck face- Kaylee, Book, Simon
down into the Verse. When you set up The Message, Heart of Gold, Objects in
Episode 2, put more than two cards into Space: Wash, Mal, Inara, River, Zoe
the Verse. When you set up Episode 3,
put five cards into the Verse.
Dont give the players a starting Talent.

23
Playing a Campaign Winning a Campaign
In addition to playing one-off games, The main goal of a campaign is to win all five
you can play through the whole series as a games. But you can also play to try to get
Campaign. In a Campaign, youll play five the best score you can. Heres how scoring
games in a row (covering all 14 TV episodes), works:
and some things will carry over from Note: Keep track of what your score is after
game to game (like Avatars, Strikes, and each game (see Ending the Game on page 17.
Upgrades). Heres how it works: After the fifth game, add up the points
All five Main Characters and four you scored for each individual game. (You
Supporting Characters will be the same can score up to 6 points per game.)
for all five games. Each player will keep Starting with Game 2, you also get bonus
the same Avatar for each game. points for winning individual games.
Each Episode will be played in order. (So (Later games are worth more points.):
Game 1 will use the first three Episode 5 Points for winning Game 2
decks, Game 2 will use the next three, and 10 Points for winning Game 3
so on.) 15 Points for winning Game 4
Each time you win a game, two things 20 Points for winning Game 5
happen before you start the next game: Finally, if you won all five games, you get
First, there is a special Inter-Mission an additional 20 points.
phase after Episode C. You earn Credits
and spend them on Upgrades, Repair, Example 1:
and Healing. (You cant spend them on You won all five games. Your individual
drawing extra cards for next Episode.) game scores were: 6, 4, 3, 6, 5 (24 total).
Second, when you set up for the next For winning games 2, 3, 4, and 5, you
game, keep all Upgrades and Ship earned 5, 10, 15, and 20 points (50 total).
Strikes that are on Serenity and all Crew You get an additional 20 points for
Strikes that are on Main Characters. (All winning all five games.
other decks reset normally, including Your final score is 94 points.
Player decks.) Example 2:
Each time you lose a game, reset You won games 1, 4, and 5. Your
everything normally when setting up for individual game scores were: 6, 3, 1, 6, 5
the next game. (Note: Losing a game will (21 total).
affect your final Campaign Score.) For winning games 4 and 5, you earned
Whether you won or lost, follow the End 15 and 20 points (35 total)
of Episode instructions for Episode C. Your final score is 56 points.

24
 Game Contents
FINAL SCORE CHART Rulebook, playmat and 500 cards.
35 Shiny
100 Points Big Damn Heroes
25 Misbehave
5 Browncoats
85-99 Points Everythings Shiny, Capn
9 Avatars
126 Character cards
51-84 Points Keep Flying
(9 characters with14 cards each)
Time to Retire and Give Up 15 Objectives
0-50 Points
This Life of Crime 165 Episode Cards
(15 different mini-decks)
Note: If youre going to use any of the 12 Side Jobs
options to make the game easier or harder, 40 Crew Strikes
make sure to use the same rules for all 20 Ship Strikes
five games. 10 Upgrades
15 Talent
20 Flaw
3 Inevitable Cards
Campaign Variant: Instead of playing the
15 Episode Decks in order, you can mix
and match Objectives however you like
to make five games worth of Episodes.
Remember to use the A-B-C method of
setting up Episodes.

25
26
Credits
Game Design:
Ben Cichoski and Danny Mandel (Super Awesome Games)
Brand Manager: Jason Brenner
Product Manager: Bubby Johanson
Development Team: Jason Brenner, Daniel Eues, Rob Ford, Bubby Johanson, Matt Rogers,
Mark Shaunessy, Jennifer Wu
Graphic Design: Krista Timberlake
Art Direction: Jennifer Wu
Project Manager: Louise Bateman
President, Upper Deck Company: Jason Masherah
Director of Creative Services: Mike Eggleston
Original Legendary Game Engine Design: Devin Low
Playtesters: Jason Brenner, Chris Dotson, Daniel Eues, Rob Ford, Bubby Johanson,
Travis Rhea, Matt Rogers, Mark Shaunessy, Jennifer Wu and many more
Super Awesome Playtesters: Drew Clark, Mike DAmico
Box Art: Adam Burn
Playmat Art: Ali Ries, Adam Burn
Card Art: Zazo Aguiar, Jacob Anderson, Caio Cacau, Ceci de la Cruz, Daniel Dahl, Cassy Dale,
Kevin Enhart, Marcio Freire, Michele Giorgi, Jason Kemp, Ted Kim, Daniel Landerman,
Chris Meeks, Georgi Minkov, Anthony Moravian, Aditya Nugraha, DJ Parnell, Bob Petrecca,
Bill Pulkovski, Leonardo Rodrigues, Vincenzo Salvo, Brian Steward, Preston Stone

Side Job Table

Side Jobs in Each
Number of Players Special Rules
Mini-Deck 1

1 0

2 1

3 2

4 3 One Preparation Round*

5 4 Two Preparation Rounds*

*If youre playing with four or five players, then each player gets one or two free preparation turns at the beginning of Episode A. Take those
turns as normal except that you will skip the Epiosde Phase.

2016 UDC. 2251 Rutherford Road, Carlsbad, CA 92008. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.
Firefly & 2016 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.