The game setup is slightly different depending on which of the two main Game Modes that is used. The following outlines the setup of the Narrative Mode, since that is the easier mode to start with.
1. Separate the various decks of cards, and shuffle each one of them. You don't need to shuffle the Space Station cards or the Alien Profile cards, since you're never drawing them randomly. If you haven't already set up a Space Station in a previous Mission, locate the "HQ" and "Warehouse" Space Station cards; that's the initial Space Station the Hero Players have. Put away the rest of the Space Station cards for now.
2. Check the Mission description about any Mission specific setup. This includes how many build points the Overmind Player gets to buy units for.
3. Lay out the Map Tiles according to what the Mission Book description says. Some missions list all tiles explicitly, others only specify the shape of the Mission Map and a few of the Map Tiles; in those cases, randomly place other tiles with similar-looking backgrounds. Note that the tiles that are explicitly named are supposed to be oriented as shown in the scenario setup picture, meaning the names of the tiles aren't necessarily aligned to be easily readable from any single direction.
4. Place Hazard tokens (red flame) and Spanner tokens (blue Spanner/Wrench on the map Squares with the corresponding symbols. The Hazards are typically destructible terrain elements, and the Spanners are typically Items that can be picked up via the Interact Action. You will be drawing cards from the corresponding decks when you destroy Hazards and interact with Spanners. Also place one Building Exploration token in each building (and for buildings stretching over two or more tiles, place one token for each such tile).
Example 1: placing a Hazard token. Example 2: placing a Spanner token. Example 3: placing a Building Exploration token. (The token is placed on any freely chosen Square in the building that doesn't have any other token, icon or other special markings on it.)
5. Decide who plays as the Overmind Player. That player takes the Alien Profile cards and decides which units to buy. There is usually only one Alien Profile card for each Alien Type, but you can buy more than one of the same unit as long as there are Blip Tokens and minis available.
6. The other players divide the human Heroes between them in whatever way they choose, and take the two Hero boards corresponding to each character they play; each Hero has one Hero Profile board (with a picture of the character and information about their abilities) and a Hero Dials board (spinning dials/gears that adjust stats when receiving damage or recovering health). Spin the dials until they all have the numbers with red/orange background, which marks the starting values. Each Hero gets six Neon Rush tokens (the ones with the soda bottle symbol).
7. Deal two random Hidden Agenda cards to the Overmind Player, who chooses one of them and returns the other to the Hidden Agenda deck.
The setup is technically done after the seven steps above, but there are a few things that happen in the first round which you might just as well do as part of the setup:
8. Deal five Mutation cards to the Overmind Player. The Overmind Player isn't supposed to have these cards until the Overmind Player's first turn begins, so they can't play these cards until then. But they can read what they do and plan how to use them.
9. Unless the Mission Book says otherwise, the Hero Players place one Hero on each of two different deployment Squares in the Hero Players's starting area, and place the remaining Heroes adjacent to either of the two first Heroes so that there are three Heroes at each of the two chosen deployment Squares (unless some Hero stays in the Space Station; but there's no reason to do that for the first mission).
10. Unless the Mission Book says otherwise, the Overmind Player places all the purchased Blip Tokens, plus two free Decoy Tokens, facedown at Overmind Player's deployment Squares at least two Map Tiles away from those containing the deployment Squares the [Hero Players chose. Unlike the Heroes, who may only be placed on, or one step away from, their selected deployment Squares, the Blip tokens may be placed up to two steps away from their deployment Squares.
Component Overview
When you set up Chronicle X on the table, the setup may look something like this:
1. The Mission Map, consisting of Map Tile. This is the terrain which players will traverse when playing Missions.
2. Building, Hazard and Spanner tokens. These are placed on the Map Tiles when the Mission Map is setup. Hazard and Spanner tokens are placed one on each map Square with a corresponding icon (orange flame for Hazard, blue Spanner/Wrench for Spanner. Building exploration tokens are placed one per building building.
3. Mission Marker tokens. Certain Missions will require players to Interact with or move to Mission Markers.
4. Hazard and Building decks. Cards are drawn from these decks when players destroy Hazards or explore Buildings.
5. The Global Operation Map, also known as World Map, is mainly used in Conquest Mode, although the Alien Unit tracker is also located on this board.
6. Team Symbol tokens, used in Conquest Mode to keep track of which Regions on the World Map are controlled by which team (Hero Players or Overmind Player).
7. Fortified tokens. Used only in Conquest Mode; each team may "fortify" one Region they control.
8. Space Station cards.
9. Item bag. A curiosity left over from an earlier game design stage when Items where tokens rather than cards; they were then drawn randomly from this bag. After Items where changed to be cards, it is easier to draw them from the bottom of their deck (since the cards are double sided, so drawing from the top it would be visible which the next card to draw is). (I guess Archon felt they had promised Kickstarter backers a cloth bag during the campaign, so they included one in the final product even if it's no longer needed.)
10. Resource and Neon Rush tokens. Exchange Items for valuable Resources and energy drinks.
11. Hero Profile cards and Hero Dials. Each Hero has unique abilities and stats included on their Hero Profile card, and the Hero Dials keep track of their changing stats.
12. Hidden Agenda deck. These usually provide the Mission objectives for the Overmind Player.
13. Forced/Ultimate Mutation cards. These cards can be played more or less at any time (subject to whatever limitations are written on the cards, and what specific situations they have an effect in) by the Overmind Player.
14. Alien Upgrade Sheet. This shows all players what Upgrade Nodes the Overmind Player has acquired.
15. Upgrade Nodes. The tokens used to mark acquired upgrades on the Alien Upgrade Sheet.
16. Abduction tokens. The Overmind Player earns these during the game. The are similar to Experience Points gained by the Heroes.
17. Damage tokens. These are used to track the health of each Alien Unit. They can either be placed next to the unit on the Mission Map, or for Alien Units where only a single unit is on the map, on the corresponding Alien Profile card.
18. Overwatch tokens. Double-sided tokens to indicate when a model is in Overwatch mode.
19. Blip Tokens. These represent the Alien Forces before the Heroes have discovered exactly what Alien Types they are.
20. VIP Blip Tokens. Some Missions will require the Hero Players to locate hidden VIP characters.
21. Reinforcement tokens. These show how many Reinforcements the Overmind Player can play.
22. Alien Profile cards. Each Alien Unit will have unique abilities and profiles indicated on their Alien Profile cards.
23. Combat dice. These are used when Attacking or Defening.
For an overview of game components for the Expansions, see the main pages for those: TWILIGHT AT AREA 51 and ABYSS.
