Space Alert is a cooperative team survival game. Players become crew members of a small spaceship scanning dangerous sectors of the galaxy. The missions last just 10 real-time minutes (hyperspace jump; sector scan; hyperspace jump back) and the only task the players have is to protect their ship.
During play; the central computer will announce the presence of various threats on one of the supplied 10 minute soundtracks that also acts as a game timer. The threats vary from space battleships and interceptors to different interstellar monsters and abominations; asteroids or even intruders and malfunctions on the spaceship. Players have to agree who will take care of which task and coordinate their actions (moving around the ship; firing weapons; distributing energy; using battlebots to deal with intruders; launching guided missiles; etc.) in real time to defend the ship. Only a well-working team can survive 10 minutes and make the jump back to safety.
The game offers several difficulty levels; huge variability and a unique experience for one to five player teams. One mission lasts only about 30 minutes; including setup and evaluation.
