Fallout Shelter

In Fallout Shelter, you play as one of the officers in your very own Vault, fostering happiness among your Vault Dwellers while keeping them safe from the radiation and monstrosities of the Wasteland that awaits outside your utopia. You will need to assign your Dwellers to tasks, manage the Vault’s resources, and keep everyone safe from threats. Keep in mind, the officer who can inspire the most happiness will win the hearts and minds of your Dwellers for the coming election of the new Overseer.

Overseeing Happiness

If you are reading this, your Overseer is dead. Vault-Tec extends its deepest condolences for your loss, but now is not the time for mourning! As the officers of your Vault, it is your responsibility (after performing the proper burial ceremonies) to lead your people through this tumultuous time.

The Dwellers of your Vault, ready for their daily tasks.

Fallout Shelter is a worker-placement game that puts you in charge of the various Vault Dwellers in your underground utopia beneath a post-nuclear world. You’ll start every game with two Pip-Boy bobbleheads, representing the Dwellers you personally lead as an officer. While two may seem like a small amount, with careful planning you can facilitate the repopulation of our great nation and increase your number of Dwellers up to seven. No matter how many Dwellers you have, however, on your turn, you’ll have to decide how your Dwellers spend their time. Maybe you’ll send them to a lounge to increase their happiness. Or perhaps you’ll send them back to their living quarters to produce even more Dwellers!

Every room has two spaces for a Dweller. Some have a cost, but all will give you some kind of reward. In the Fitness Room’s case, placing a Dweller in the indicated space will cost you an item, but gain you a happiness token.

While gaining the most happiness will secure your victory, Vault life isn’t all about rest and relaxation. Every Dweller has to do their part to create a brighter future. Your Dwellers will have to work in gardens, power plants, and water treatment facilities to harvest the food, energy, and water your Vault needs to survive and thrive! These resources not only allow your Dwellers to visit exciting new locations but are also essential in expanding your Vault.

In fact, every officer will have their own level of the Vault that they can construct to their heart’s content. Once your Dwellers do their part and gather the right resources, you’re free to expand your level of the Vault as you see fit. Having the best level of the Vault is sure to help your chances of becoming the new Overseer—attract everyone to your level with the coolest Nuclear Power Reactor around, or build a brand-new Game Room so the Dwellers know who the right choice for Overseer really is. But don’t get too ahead of yourself! When an officer builds the sixth room on their floor, the game will end after that round is complete. 

If you can pay the resource cost of a room, you can begin to construct your very own level of the Vault for Dwellers to thrive in.

Trials and Tribulations

As your Dweller’s happiness increases, so too will their skills and work ethic. By spending their time training in an Athletics Room, studying in a Classroom, or chatting it up in a Lounge, Dwellers can be trained in a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat, making them even more efficient. The next time this Dweller wanders the Vault in search of happiness or resources, they’ll get double the reward for participating in an activity they are trained in. By inspiring those around them and working towards a bright future, a trained Vault Dweller is vital to spreading happiness throughout the Vault!

Your very own resource tracker allows you to take stock of your resources and remember which of your Dwellers is trained in a S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat.

Even though you are competing with your fellow officers for the most happiness, you’ll have to work together to construct and improve your home. Remember: a harmonious Vault is a happy Vault!

You’ll also have to work together to deal with any threats that pop up during your time as officers. While Vault-Tec has taken every measure possible to ensure your Vault runs smoothly, accidents like fires and power outages are inevitable. In these cases, a Dweller will have to spend resources to deal with the problem, doing their part by keeping the Vault safe and secure.Threats also represent a ticking clock: when the threat deck runs out, the game is over at the end of the round.

While your Vault is a safe living space protected from the nightmares of the Wasteland, some enemies may still find a way to wander into your Vault-Tec Vault. When an enemy takes up residence in your Vault, some brave Dweller will eventually have to confront it, either destroying and removing the menace or discovering a brand-new reason to visit the always-exciting Medbay.

Your Dwellers can even venture out into the Wasteland themselves and come back with weapons perfect for cleaning out any pesky intruders. After all, keeping your living space clean and tidy is a surefire way to spread happiness.

Oh no! A Feral Ghoul in the Fitness Room! An officer will have to send a Dweller to fight it off!

Weapons aren’t the only trinkets to be found in the Wasteland. Dwellers can recover fancy Nightwear to charm everyone around them as easily as a missile launcher to take care of any pesky intruders who find themselves in your Vault. But there’s always a risk of injury, whether it’s from spending too much time in the irradiated Wasteland or feeling a little overconfident when clearing out some radroaches from the Game Room. An injured Dweller can’t contribute to your bright future, so they’ll have to spend some time in the Medbay before they return to their harmonious lives in the Vault.

You never know what a Dweller might find out in the Wasteland.