1. Connect the boards so that the Hibernating Beast icon and the Human Miner icon are facing up and place the Miner side (with the terminal) in front of you.

2. Place the 3 Upgrade tiles on their matching action spaces on the Miner’s terminal.

3. Place the 4 Bacteria tiles on the starting spaces of their respective tracks on the Beast’s board.

Place the 8 Crystal tiles next to the board.

4. Give the Miner player the 3 action dice.

5. Shuffle the Stomach cards and draw 7 to place on the spaces outlined between the Miner and the Beast. These spaces are collectively called the Digestive Tract.

6. Do not deal a hand of Stomach cards to the Beast.

7. Place the remaining Stomach cards in a face-down deck next to the board, leaving space for a discard pile next to it. The discard pile is NEVER reshuffled into the deck.

8. Leave the 9 Mutation cards in the box. They will not be used.

9. Prepare the Immune Response cards by selecting all the cards with the Hibernating Beast icon on them.

Return the cards that ONLY have the Awake Beast icon to the box.

Some cards have both icons, and are therefore used in all games.

10. Shuffle the Immune Response cards and place them in a face-down deck, next to the board.

Draw 1 card and place it face up on top of the deck.

YOU ARE NOW READY TO BEGIN!