Zombies!!! Horror Board Game

[Iron_Chef]

I think I'm the only person who really doesn't like this game. I own it and have played it a couple of times, but we found it repetitious and kind of boring. It's depressing, really, because I want to like it -- but I don't dig the gameplay.

I've found that the expansion packs, combined with house rules, really make this game horribly addictive and always a complete challenge, even with just two players. By adding in super zombies, zombie dogs, tougher victory conditions, nearly all the new event cards, and "death match" rules, you get a much scarier, more interesting game. So far, I've easily integrated Zombies 3 and 4 (including the dogs) into my game. I'll be adding Zombies 2 and 3.5 in this week. Each new add-on really changes the game and makes it more fun!!!

The manufacturer's website offers free downloads of fan submitted house rules, scenarios, campaigns and other misc. ideas on what to do with the game and pieces (not necessarily even using them in a traditional Zombies board game).

ZOMBIES!!! GAME SERIES by Twilight Creations, Inc.
http://twilightcreationsinc.com/zombies/

Zombies 1 ($24.95) gives you the largest map tile selection (city location), 50 event cards, black heart and bullet tokens, two dice, six shotgun guy player minis and 100 gray human zombie minis.

Here's what the expansion packs offer:

Zombies 2 ($14.95) adds a set of military base/top secret lab tiles you can use as a stand-alone location or as an add-on to any other expansion pack, red heart tokens, six glow-in-the-dark super zombie miniatures (tougher to kill and faster movement), and 32 new event cards.

Zombies 3 ($14.95) adds a set of shoping mall tiles you can use as a stand-alone location or as an add-on to any other expansion pack, two new scenarios (rescue survivors or catch the guy with the helicopter keys), and 32 new event cards.

Zombies 3.5 ($9.95) adds 50 new event cards and rules for building custom card decks.

Zombies 4 ($24.95) adds a set of forest and rural tiles you can use as a complete stand-alone game or as an add-on to any other expansion pack, 100 zombie dog miniatures (tougher to kill and faster movement), two dice, six shotgun guy player minis (different colored than the ones in Zombies 1), a new scenario (collct the pages to the book of the dead, get tgo the cabin and cast the spell to destroy the zombies to win) and 50 new event cards.

Bag O' Zombies ($9.95) gives you your choice of 100 human zombie minis in either classic gray or new glow in the dark. Practically a must-have item if you are using more than one location. I have a couple ideas here on how to integrate 100 glow in the darks: 1) When you run out of regular zombies, all new zombies are super zombies (killed on a 5-6, move 2 squares instead of one if playing by default rules), or 2) every time a new tile or card is played that places zombies on the board, one of those zombies is a super zombie (as per my rules above for default play).

 

[Hypersmurf]

I think I'm the only person who really doesn't like this game. I own it and have played it a couple of times, but we found it repetitious and kind of boring. It's depressing, really, because I want to like it -- but I don't dig the gameplay.

Gameplay? You're missing the point! A hundred zombie figures!

-Hyp.

 

[Iron_Chef]

Gameplay? You're missing the point! A hundred zombie figures!

-Hyp.

I like the game play (after adding my house rules), but even if you don't, you still get 100 plastic zombie figures suitable for D&D. Makes me wanna play a mad necromancer...

 

[Piratecat]

I've GOT the zombie figures. Heck, I bought extra! But I just don't find it fun when compared to other games.

Take Pagan Publishing's "The Hills Rise Wild," for instance. Best freakin' Cthulhuesque hillbilly board game ever. As the box says, it's a blood-red, corpse-fed, inbred, hillbilly bonanza! I'd rather play this than zombies.

But y'never know. You guys almost certainly play it more "fun" than we do.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Take Pagan Publishing's "The Hills Rise Wild," for instance. Best freakin' Cthulhuesque hillbilly board game ever. As the box says, it's a blood-red, corpse-fed, inbred, hillbilly bonanza! I'd rather play this than zombies.

That looks pretty cool.

One day I'm gonna find copies of Wabbit Wampage and Wabbit's Wevenge again, though.

-Hyp.

 

[Wycen]

I played it with my buddy and his seven year old son last night and despite his ill-advised and often cowardly moves of both himself and the zombies, once he knew what his cards did, he usually knew which ones to play to great effect. We did not really help him play too much outside of explaining his cards to him. Once he can read the cards, he should become quite the dangerous player. We caught him cheating or fancifully moving pieces around several times, but it wasn't too bad, except for the time his dad surrounded him by zombies and he almost blew a gasket --- fortunately, he managed to roll his way out the situation and drew a card that surrounded his dad with twice as many zombies, so he turned that frown upside down pretty quick. He mostly understood the game fairly well and developed some rudimentary strategies (even if some were based around nonsensical premises).

The kid was impressed with himself because he beat two 33 year old men and was 5 years younger than the recommended age the game recommends (12+). He managed to win almost completely fair and square without our help, which just goes to show that it's often luck who wins the game --- but strategy can still influence that quite a bit, or at least delay another player's seemingly impending victory by several rounds, perhaps long enough to alter the outcome in another player's favor, even if it's not yours.

Ah, see your 7 year old played with his dad who obviously taught the kid how to play or at least a modicum of fair play. This 8 year old version went something like this:

First you place all the tiles face up. Then each player gets 4 lives and 20 bullets. Then you place zombies. Everywhere. Then you roll 2d6 for movement. Then you roll 2d6 for zombie movement. And you move ALL THE ZOMBIES that distance. And the ultimate rule, was to make the rules up as you go along.

 

[Iron_Chef]

I just finished a five hour four person Zombies game, LOL, which would have been over hours earlier except for three things:

1) We made a new rule that the helipad has 8 regular zombies and 1 super zombie (roll a 6 to kill) on it and all foes on the helipad must be defeated in order to win.

2) Just when one player was about to win, I played "Here, Doggie!" which summoned up 9 zombie dogs (roll a 5-6 to kill each dog) and placed them all over the helipad.

3) Right after I died, I drew "Here, Doggie!" again and placed 9 more zombie dogs arouind the board near the helipad and on the other players, LOL.

This was my first four person game (two newbies, two experienced players), and it was freakin' intense, because of all the evil cards that were constantly being played on each other. It was a glorious bloodbath that never let up until the final moment. With my house rules, the game always stays intense right up to the end, so I don't see why people who think it gets boring don't just "spice up" the rules like I did to make the game suit their play style. Not one of the five other people I introduced the game to found it even remotely boring, and all wanted rematches again soon. I don't seem to win very often, but it doesn't bother me, because who wins doesn't seem to matter so much as how deviously you played the game... unlike most other boardgames, I always come away from Zombies with a sense of accomplishment after a loss.

 

[Bagpuss]

And that is my problem with the game. What should be a quick beer and pretsils type game, goes on for hours and hours, because of the cards that can completely screw over a player and get them back to the town square. As soon as anyone looks remotely like winning, every hoard the 'screw you' cards and repeatedly plays them on the would be winner, until they end up back at the start.

Even the basic game on its own is like this, with the add ons it just gets worse. It can take longer to play than Risk or Civilization! And considering the basic game play is just roll a dice to move and another to attack zombies, by about the third time you've been sent back to the start it gets a bit boring.

Great idea, but needs the fast play house rules to make it enjoyable.

 

[Capellan]

I think I'm the only person who really doesn't like this game. I own it and have played it a couple of times, but we found it repetitious and kind of boring. It's depressing, really, because I want to like it -- but I don't dig the gameplay.

Not the only ... we played it and found it so-so. Not a waste of time, but no match for the fun of something like Carcassonne, Night of the Ill-Tempered Squirrel, or Settlers of Catan.

 

[Iron_Chef]

BTW: Just bought and played a couple games with the Zombies 3.5 Expansion Cards (50 new cards), and found most of the cards to be incredibly cool. 3.5 is a good value at $9.95, but I found the custom deck building optional rules confusing on how each player decides which 50 cards he gets in his personal deck.