Downfall

About this board game

Downfall is a post-apocalyptic board game for 3–6 players, with games lasting about 180 minutes. Set in the year 2213, it begins after a devastating 19-day war has ended the world order and left ninety-nine percent of Earth’s population dead or soon to die.

Players work to survive and, where possible, rebuild. Each turn, everyone drafts and simultaneously plays a card from their hand, or “pack,” to choose an action. Cards can move citizens or airships, expand across the modular board, build structures, research technology, start conflicts, produce or gather resources, or reduce radiation.

Every card offers a primary action and a weaker version of another action, so you are rarely completely unable to pursue a particular goal. Cards may also be stored for later use, adding flexibility as the situation changes. Resources that cannot be stored remain on the ground, where anyone present may use them.

• Explore and expand around a modular board.
• Manage citizens, airships, structures, technology, and resources.
• Initiate conflict and respond to the spreading effects of radiation.
• Earn points through multiple forms of survival and rebuilding.

After all actions are complete, hands pass to the next player and each hand receives a new card. If a Winter card appears, it is discarded and replaced while the game timer advances. As the Winter track progresses, expected events—including radiation spread, combat, and feeding citizens—take place alongside unexpected events.

When the Winter track reaches its end, the game concludes and points are scored. In Downfall, every drafted card, gathered resource, and rebuilding effort contributes to the struggle to endure a harsh new world.