I thought I'd toss in a review of a board game for those who want to create their own "Zombie Appocalypse" excitement.
Zombies!!! is a unique game from Twilight Creations Inc.
http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/zombies/You and other survivors must make it from the town square to the helipad while fighting off the moaning army of the undead in the streets and in buildings.
Or as the site says:
Zombies!!! puts you in the middle of the action as you try to escape the ever advancing zombie horde. Players must use a combination of wits and brawn to be the first to the heliport and certain escape. The only problem is, the zombies are everywhere, they appear to be very hungry and your opponents would really prefer if you didn't escape.
We've played this game several times with four or five people and it's freaking fun.
You start out in Town Square with three action/item cards in your hand. The first player draws a city tile from the deck and places it, and inserts a number of zombies, health, and bullets that is dictated by the card. That player then rolls a movement die to proceed that many squares (each card is 3x3 squares, not all traversable). They battle each zombie as they come to them, rolling the other die. 4+ on the die means a victory and you collect that zombie to your pile. Less than 4 means you have to sacrifice a number of bullet tokens to get to 4, or a life token to roll again. After movement, the player rolls a die again to see how many zombies they get to move 1 space each. Running out of life restarts you in town square with half your zombie kills. The first to the Helipad center or to 25 zombie kills wins.
Sound easy? Think again. Since each person draws a city tile in their turn, the city, and consequently the number of zombies, increases rapidly before the helipad is uncovered in the lower third of the deck. Buildings contain health and bullets, but there's only one way into each building, and there are Zombies in there. You have to fight them to get the goods, which more often than not results in wasting more than you get out of it.
Still sound like a walk in the park? Sheesh, you're dense. There are other players all playing for the same goal!!!! To be the one alive at the helipad or with the most kills. They (and you) will move zombies to block their paths, force a combat roll to begin their turn, or play an action card to put the screws to them. This is about survival, after all, and being second place to the heli-pad means a last stand against the hoard while you watch the winner wing their way to freedom.
The action cards range from being able to collect and use a weapon after visiting a certain building to adding 10 zombies to the board at your pleasure, to controlling another player's movement through those zombies. All of the included cards are incredibly well drawn with a small assortment of characters you'll swear you've seen before. Most of them sport a guy who looks just enough unlike Bruce Campbell to avoid suits, doing all of the classic Ash facial expressions. Insert "Workshed" here.
This game is about luck and conniving more than skill. On our first true game night with it, we found ourselves engrossed (quite unintentionally) as character types from zombie flicks. Myself and my friend's younger brother tried the "buddy-system" approach, my friend was the classic "jerk who screws everyone and leaves them to die", and the other two guys played it by ear.
Incidently, being the jerk sucks because everyone gangs up on you eventually, dumping wave after wave of zombies and cards against you. The buddy system only holds up until one of you dies, then it's everyone for themselves.
Playing it by ear seems to be the way to go.
The basic kit is a bit thin on zombies, so you should also pick up a "Bag-o-zombies" to go with it.
Overall, this game is a great way to spend the evening with friends. A game usually lasts an hour, depending on how the city forms. If you want to make it really hard to get to the helipad, place the Hospital or firestation tile adjacent to the helipad and supply the zombies from there. It certainly makes the game difficult and unpredictable.
On a more personal note, this game is nearly identical to a game my friend and I were developing only a couple of years ago. We were shocked to find that someone had already done it, and done it better. Kudos to them for getting there first and doing it well.
