
- BGG rating
- 7.5
We're Doomed: Meritocracy Expansion Pack
- 4–12 players
- 15 min
- 2024

2019
Rules assistance for We're Doomed!
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 4 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
We're Doomed! is a board game released in 2019 for 4–10 players, 15 minutes per game, and ages 13 and up. It was designed by Mike Horton and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Player Elimination, and Auction / Bidding.
We're doomed! The world is coming to an end! We must act now to survive!!! Players are the most powerful leaders in the world working alongside up to nine others to build a starship. Time is short! The goal? Build and be on a starship that escapes a dying world — or betray everyone to ensure your own survival. No seats on the starship are guaranteed. We're Doomed! is a quick, timed, panic-inducing game of international collaboration, retaliation, diplomacy, conspiracy, and blowing each other up for fun! It is not the 11th hour. It is the final hour. Do we have time? How many seats will be available? Who will get a seat? Will the ship even get completed? During the Action Phase, players take one action in turn order to produce or steal either Resource or Influence tokens. Resource tokens are used to build the escape ship. The bigger the ship, the more players can escape to victory at the end of the game. Influence tokens determine who boards the ship first at the end of the game. Each civilization is better at one of the standard actions. During the Contribution Phase, there is no turn structure. Players can negotiate as they pledge their Resources to building the escape ship by contributing Resource tokens. The player who contributes the most Resources is awarded 1 Influence and gets to draw the event card for that round. Each card is one of one hundred unique and ruthless event cards that change the game drastically — introducing new restrictions, secret missions, ethical dilemmas, physical challenges, robots, aliens, lizard-people and more. The player who drew the event card then takes an action, starting the next Action Phase. The game continues in this fashion (actions, contributions, event) until time is out! After 15 minutes, play stops. Time to board the starship. Who gets in first? The players with the most Influence board the ship first. Once full, the ship launches and the remaining players are left behind to die. Beware! Resources can also be used to nuke a player, completely eliminating them from the game, so watch the other players’ Resource token stockpiles! Witness humanity at its worst and finally come to terms with the truth you have known all along — we're doomed!
We're Doomed! supports 4–10 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for We're Doomed! is 15 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists We're Doomed! for ages 13 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
We're Doomed! has a complexity rating of 1.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
We're Doomed! belongs to these categories: Card Game, Party Game, and Negotiation. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Player Elimination, and Auction / Bidding. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of We're Doomed! are: Mike Horton. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists We're Doomed! as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.