Ok, so I'm trying my first game of XCom and I really do not understand Success vs. Loss.

As I understand it, for any task, you roll one blue die for each asset assigned to the task. In this case, we'll use Research as an example. I have 3 Tech cards on the board. one requires one success, the other two both require two successes. Each card has two scientists assigned to it.

So, if I'm understanding correctly, this means I roll two blue dice and the red die.

For the first tech, I get one success and roll a 1 on the red die. Since this is my first roll, and I only needed one success to research the tech, this counts as a win and the card is assigned to the team member noted on the card.

For the second tech, I also roll two dice. This time, I get one success and roll a 7 on the red die. I put one success counter on the tech, but the roll is still counted as a loss. All scientists are flipped to their exhausted side, and the panic goes up by one.

Here is where I'm beginning to get confused. If all my scientists are exhausted on a card, I cant reroll. But if I can't reroll, what's the point of raising the panic level? I can't roll again and the panic level is reset to one for the next tech. Huh? If rolling a loss means the panic level increases, but all the assets are exhausted, then It's moot. I can never, unless I have other cards to allow it, reroll. HELP!

Something sounds odd about this... I'll check the rules and get back about my interpretation.

At least I would have checked if my phone would've let me. But iIrc (and please correct me if I don't), a red die roll equal to or lower than the current _threat_level (which iIrc starts at 1 and increases 1 for each further attempt beyond the first) makes for a loss and would exhaust the scientists.

This would mean, if I interpret my memory of the rules correctly, that the first part of your example (one success and a 1 on the red ) would lead to those scientists becoming exhausted. The success would still be placed and thus complete the research. And in the second part (one success and a 7 on the red) would allow you to place one token on the tech and then you may roll again to attempt another success. This time with the higher risk of failure that a threat level of 2 brings with it.

Now bear in mind that it has been a while since I read the rules so my memory is a wee bit hazy and I might be way off...

Remembered that I had the app which has the rules in it. I was correct about the equal or less part which leads me to believe that the rest of my interpretation is also correct. The part about successes being applied even when rolling equal or below on the red might still be wrong though. But it feels right.

For the second tech, I also roll two dice. This time, I get one success and roll a 7 on the red die. I put one success counter on the tech, but the roll is still counted as a loss . All scientists are flipped to their exhausted side, and the panic goes up by one.

This is where you went wrong. Your red die beat the current Threat level (7 > 1). This roll WAS NOT a failure. Your scientists are not exhausted. You can try again at Threat level 2. You now have to roll above a 2 on the red die to not fail.

Basically as long as you consistently roll above the current Threat level on the red die, you can keep trying any task, even if you get no successes on the blue dice, as long as you have assets assigned to that task. (I will make a note that some Crisis cards or enemies make an exception to this, but they are obviously special cases).

There are four possible outcomes for any roll:

1) Success

2) Loss

3) Both Success and Loss

4) Neither Success nor Loss

Success/not is entirely determined by the blue XCOM dice, and Loss/not is entirely determined by the red alien die.

In your first example, you got a Success from the blue dice (completing the research) and a Loss from the red die, so you got the Tech, but lost the Scientists (for a round)

In your second example, you got a Success and no Loss so, while you didn't get the Tech on that roll, you didn't lose the Scientists either. You could reroll at increased Threat to try for the second Success (and keep going until you either roll a Loss or get that second Success).

Also, one must differentiate between THREAT (which determines the difficulty of a task roll) and PANIC (which is a measure of how scared a certain continent is) and not mix them up or use them interchangably. Using the correct terms as described in the rules is always the best way to make sure everyone knows what is being discussed.

And further, iIrc, a failed research attempt (as in equal to or lower than the current THREAT with the red die) would not raise the PANIC level either. A lack of successes on the blue dice, however would raise the THREAT by one IF you would decide to risk it and continue rolling on the same task.

Yeah, rolling a Loss just means you lose the units assigned to the current task (either for one round in the case of Scientists and Satellites, or until you buy them back in the case of Interceptors and Soldiers).

Panic rises as a result of some Crisis cards, as the critical Base damage effect on at least one Invasion Plan, and as a result of UFOs remaining on the board when you stop rolling against them (whether because you have no Units assigned, or because you've decided that the Threat's got too high, or because a Crisis card limits your rolls).

Threat increases by 1 after every roll, and only resets when you stop rolling against a given Task (for the Squad Leader, Threat only resets when you stop rolling for Base Defense and when you stop rolling for the Mission)