How to Play the Board Game Zombies!!!: A Survival Guide

So, you’ve bravely unboxed Zombies!!!, the tile-based board game where you’re trying to escape a town overrun by the undead. The core gameplay revolves around navigating a dynamically generated map, battling hordes of zombies, and either reaching the helipad tile to escape or being the first to kill 25 zombies. Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of how to play:

Setting Up Your Zombie Apocalypse

Before the screams begin, you need to set up the game:

1. Place the Town Square Tile: This is your starting point. Find the specific tile marked “Town Square” and place it in the center of the table.
2. Shuffle the Map Tiles: Thoroughly shuffle the remaining map tiles and create a face-down draw pile. These will form the evolving town.
3. Shuffle the Event Cards: Shuffle the Event cards and place them face-down to create an Event card draw pile.
4. Player Setup: Each player chooses a color and takes the corresponding player pawn, three life tokens, and the three event cards. Place your pawn on the Town Square tile.

Surviving the Undead: A Turn-by-Turn Guide

Each player’s turn consists of the following phases, executed in order:

1. Draw and Place a Map Tile

The active player draws a map tile from the top of the map tile deck. It must be placed adjacent to any existing tile on the board, aligning roads and buildings where possible. If the new tile has a road leading off its edge, it should connect to another road on an adjacent tile, if possible.

• Special Tiles: Pay attention to any special instructions printed on the tile. Some tiles might immediately spawn extra zombies or trigger other effects.

2. Combat Zombies

If there are zombies on the same space as your pawn, you must resolve combat.

• Combat Rolls: Roll a six-sided die (d6). You need to roll a 4, 5, or 6 to defeat a zombie. A roll of 1, 2, or 3 means you failed and the zombie remains. Each zombie requires its own combat roll.

• Losing Life: For each combat roll that fails, you lose one life token. If you run out of life tokens, you are dead.

• Zombie Death and Movement: When a zombie is defeated, remove it from the board. If zombies remain on your space after combat, you can’t move until you defeat them or decide to run away.

• Running Away: Instead of fighting, you can choose to run away. Move your pawn to an adjacent tile. However, you must roll a die for each zombie on your current space. If you roll a 1, 2, or 3 for any of those zombies, they follow you to the new tile.

3. Move Your Pawn

After resolving combat (or choosing to run), you can move your pawn up to three spaces. Each move must be to an adjacent tile. You cannot move through buildings or blocked areas.

• Moving Through Zombies: Players may share or move through spaces with other players.

4. Draw Event Cards

At the end of your movement phase, draw Event cards until you have a total of three in your hand. If the Event card deck is depleted, shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.

5. Roll and Move Zombies

This is where the undead really come to life! You roll one six-sided die and move that many zombies one space each. If there are fewer zombies than your die roll, you must move all zombies on the board.

• Movement Rules: Zombies always move towards the nearest player. If there are multiple equally close players, you can choose which player to move the zombie towards. Zombies follow roads whenever possible. If there’s no direct path, choose the direction that brings them closer to the player.

• No Double Movement: No zombie may be moved twice by the same player in the same turn.

6. Discard an Event Card

At the end of your turn, you discard one Event card, playing it immediately if applicable. Event cards can provide various benefits, such as extra movement, combat bonuses, or even zombie manipulation.

Death and Rebirth (Sort Of)

If you lose all your life tokens, you are dead. Discard all your Event cards, and place your pawn back on the Town Square tile with three new life tokens and three event cards. Start your next turn as normal. However, being dead sets you back and gives your opponents a better chance to win.

Winning the Game

There are two ways to win Zombies!!!:

1. Escape to the Helipad: The first player to reach the Helipad tile wins the game. Once a player reaches the helipad, they are considered “safe” and cannot be attacked or affected by other players.

2. Zombie Slaughter: The first player to kill 25 zombies wins the game, even if they haven’t reached the helipad. Keep track of your zombie kills throughout the game.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What happens when the map tile deck runs out?

If the map tile deck runs out, the game continues without adding any new tiles. Players must make do with the existing map to reach the helipad or kill zombies.

2. Can a zombie move onto the same space as another zombie?

Yes, multiple zombies can occupy the same space.

3. What happens if two players are equidistant from a zombie during the movement phase?

The player moving the zombies chooses which player the zombie moves towards.

4. Can I attack another player?

No, Zombies!!! is primarily a cooperative game against the zombies, even though it can be played competitively. You can’t directly attack other players, but you can strategically move zombies to hinder their progress.

5. What happens if I run out of Event cards?

If you run out of Event cards, you simply skip the “Draw Event Cards” phase of your turn.

6. Can I trade Event cards with other players?

No, there is no trading of Event cards allowed in the standard rules.

7. How do I keep track of how many zombies I have killed?

Use a pen and paper, dice, or any other method to track your zombie kill count.

8. What is the strategy for new players to win the game?

Focus on both reaching the helipad and killing zombies. Don’t get bogged down in unnecessary combat, and use Event cards strategically to your advantage. It is important to try to conserve health while picking off the zombies one at a time.

9. Can you move diagonally?

No, movement is always orthogonal (up, down, left, or right) to adjacent tiles.

10. What happens if a zombie is blocking the path to the helipad?

You must either defeat the zombie or find an alternate route.

11. Can you move a zombie off of the helipad?

No. The Helipad is the winning space. You can move your zombie off of there.

12. What is the goal of the game Zombies?

The gameplay of Zombies is closely modeled on the original board game. Players move their “shotgun guy” (player piece) around the board trying to reach the helipad tile to escape the ever-growing zombie horde. Alternately, players can win the game by killing 25 zombies.

13. Is zombie army multiplayer?

Take the fight to the undead alone, or team up in 2-4 player online co-op. Face your fears in the brutal new Horde Mode for 1-4 players, across 5 blood-curdling maps.

14. Can you play zombies with only 2 players?

Using Player 1, open up your social menu and you should see that there’s an option showing quick join for Player 2’s account (In player 1’s Treyarch friend list). Then, quick join Player 2 as Player 1 and if it works as intended, you will now be in the split-screen menu in Zombies.

15. Is zombie apocalypse a game?

Zombie Apocalypse is a downloadable action shoot ’em up video game developed by Nihilistic Software and published by Konami.

Final Thoughts

Zombies!!! is a chaotic and thrilling board game that blends strategy, luck, and a healthy dose of zombie mayhem. The dynamic map and unpredictable Event cards ensure that no two games are ever the same. So gather your friends, roll the dice, and prepare to fight for your survival in the ultimate zombie apocalypse!

Remember to explore the world of game-based learning and research at GamesLearningSociety.org, where you can find resources and insights on the educational potential of games.