Zombies!!! 2nd Edition
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Toys and Games Reviews of Zombies!!! 2nd Edition
Customer Review: A Fantastic Board Game - for the Gamer or Horror Fan
Summary: 4 Stars
Zombies!!! is that rare game that actually lives up to the hype. Before I purchased this game, I did quite a bit of reading about it and finally decided to buy a set. I wasn't disappointed. Zombies!!! is a fast-paced board game that is easy to set up and play (you can play it out of the box with just a couple minutes of prep), but the gameplay itself can become very absorbing - you'll be amazed at just how much fun you'll have.
Here's the concept: like any zombie movie, your city is filled with the walking undead. You and a few other people have survived, and you have two objectives: either make it to the Helipad and safety, or try and destroy 25 zombies. However, there can be only one survivor, and you and the other players have to resort to treachery in order to win.
This game comes with map tiles, 100 zombies, 6 human figures, 2 six-sided dice, a deck of Event cards, a rulebook, and a host of ammunition and life tokens.
Zombies!!! doesn't have a set board; instead, this set comes with a number of sturdy map tiles that are placed on each player's turn, creating a board that changes each time you play. Once placed, each tile is then set up with a set number of zombies and (if it is a "building" tile) additional life and ammunition tokens which are spent when you roll the dice to kill zombies if your die rolls aren't good enough (when you land on a square occupied by a zombie, you have to roll a 4, 5 or 6 to destroy them). If you lose all of your life tokens, you have to start over at the City Square tile.
What really makes this game great, however, are the Event cards - these can be anything from a Chainsaw that grants you additional attack abilities, to situational cards that can either help you or drive your opponent(s) absolutely insane. While there is a tactical quality to the game as it is, the Event cards lend it that extra level of unpredictability. This is truly a game where your fortunes can turn on a dime; I had a game where one of my opponents was absolutely sure he was going to win (and told us so) - he had a plan all worked out. But a couple of well-placed Event cards brought his strategy down around his ears and he lost to the very player he was planning to demolish. Even if you start out slow or just can't seem to get an edge over other players, you're literally just one die roll or card draw away from potential victory. This game can get super competitive but, most of all, super fun.
The game comes in a sturdy box that is suitable for storing all of the pieces and cards, and even has room for extra zombies and expansions (though not too many). I highly recommend immediately adding an extra Zombies!!! Bag o' Zombies, as well as the Zombies!!! 3.5: Not Dead Yet expansion; the bag of zombies will come in handy while playing, because it is possible to run out, which is never good. Zombies 3.5 is an all-Event card expansion that has some amazingly fun and unpredictable cards and will without a doubt add a great dimension to your game. Neither of these extra items is too pricey and both are of good quality.
I recommend Zombies!!! for anyone who is 1) A fan of zombie movies, the Resident Evil video games, etc. 2) A board game nut 3) A gamer of any stripe. One of the great features of this game is that, not only are there a large number of official expansions available (sewers, a mall, a mountain setting, an abandoned army base, etc.) but people also customize the rules to suit their own play styles. There are endless possibilities for this game, and it excites the imagination. I hope you have fun!
Customer Review: Because one exclaimation point wasn't enough.
Summary: 4 Stars
Zombies!!! is a game that puts style over substance. Luckily, the style is true to the genre of films it's based on. And what substance is there is quite good.
It's a very simple game. In fact, by your second or third turn (which should be about 5 minutes in), you'll have the rules down. You and the other players are stuck in a zombie infested town, searching for whatever supplies you can find until you can make it to the heliport and bid this unholy mess adieu. Players take turns laying down map tiles. This gives each game a unique quality, since the playing board will never be the same twice. There's various building for the players to explore, where they can find extra life and bullets. But, as the name so subtly suggests, there's zombies. A TON of zombies. At times, there will be so many that it seems overwhelming; just like the movies. Killing them is easy. Roll and 4, 5, or 6, and they're dead. Roll 1, 2, or 3, and you lose a life token (you start with 3 and can carry a maximum of 5). Or, if you roll low, you can spend bullet tokens. One token adds one to your die roll. Play continues until the heliport is placed and a player makes it to the center the heliport square.
This is also a mean, mean game. There's plenty of cards that you can play to annoy your opponents, all borrowing common elements from the horror genre (Your shoe's untied! You can't move this turn!). The rest of the cards will help you, although there seems to be too many that rely on being at the right place at the right time. For example, some cards will give you bonuses if you're in a certain building. If this building has already been raided, it's pointless to go back. Luckily, you're allowed to discard unwanted cards at the end of your turn. Still, it seems a waste.
I should talk somewhat about the components themselves. The cards are quite nice and feature some truly grotesque artwork (this game is not for people with a strong disliking for gory violence). The zombies are kinda cool and come in to poses (a male and a female zombie). The player pieces (called "shotgun guys" by the rules) aren't so good. Something tells me Zombies!!! didn't have too much of a budget, so it's forgivable. The map tiles are fine, and looks like the art might be computer generated.
Simply put, if you like zombie movies, and you like unwired games, you'll get plenty of enjoyment from Zombies!!! There's a huge amount of extra material out there (Dawn of the Dead fans will want to pick up Zombies 3: Mall Walkers). But you need to start here. RECOMMENDED.
Customer Review: A great game for the right person
Summary: 4 Stars
I got back into playing board games when a friend brought a Risk board to the local coffee shop (and, subsequently, Risk Godstorm, which is also a blast). I enjoy games that take a while to play, and we were looking for something new. Long story short, I purchased this, and most certainly don't regret it.
First, the bad: The rules are poorly written, and the stock event cards and overall gameplay tend to make winning more a game of luck than skill when playing with smart players. With all the cards designed to hinder your opponents, it's amazing anybody ever wins. Reaching weapons is almost a futile endeavor, and no one has ever been able to win via the "kill 25 zombies" rule in the games I've played. Also, lose the dice that comes with it and get some real dice. Beyond that, inevitably, one person in the game always gets bored and either quits or does whatever they can to end the game quickly.
Now, the good, and how to counteract the bad.
The tile based system is fantastic, and the art is beautiful. I love the noir style. The game itself plays out fairly tense and exciting if you're paranoid enough and watch your opponents. If you like zombie materials, you'll love this game. There were so many aspects I thought would be counter-intuitive (people place tokens and zombies where they want? Trust me, it works out PERFECTLY) that ended up making gameplay a lot more amusing. The weapons, when you do attain them, are balanced and useful. Plus, the game allows you to be creative; you can focus on getting weapons and killing zombies (supposedly, but it's hard to do with all the anti-opponent event cards), or you can make a mad dash for the helipad when it pops up, trying to keep your opponents stuck back in the beginning. Just note that they'll be doing the same to you.
As far as handling the bad, AT LEAST pick up the 3.5 expansion for this, and build a new event deck with less anti-opponent cards. This will allow the gameplay to be much less frustrating, and can even speed up the game if that's your goal. Also, only put one of the seriously powerful cards ("We're screwed" and "Alternative Food Source" come to mind here) in the deck, rather than having both in. If you can, pick up the 2nd expansion, as well; it offers a second exit, more tiles, and more event cards allowing for an even better deck.
Customer Review: Great Game for Horror fans
Summary: 5 Stars
Zombies!!! Is the type of board game that every horror fan will love. It's fairly fast paced once you get the rules down, and allows for a bit more variety than most board games. It fosters the competitive spirit well, and even seems to encourage the players to be a bit of jerk to each other (at least that's how me the wife and our friends play it). The game board itself is made up of tiles drawn each turn and is laid out is whatever fashion the players can think of, which goes a long way in making the flow fun and unpredictable.
The positives to this game are many: It's fairly inventive and easy to learn. As I mentioned, the way the board is played keeps things fresh. If you play with people who aren't afraid of busting each other's balls, things get exponentially better. The artwork and design is pretty good, and has a dark sense of humor to it. Dying may happen often is your unlucky, but does little to ruin the fun since your able to quickly make up for lost time (sometimes, it's even a viable strategy). Speaking of which, there is actually a bit of strategy once you learn the in-and-outs, and the game play openly encourages players making their own house rules to tweak things to everyone's liking. There are many expansions you can get to lengthen the experience. The sculpting of the figures is fairly detailed for such small models.
Now for the negatives: Some of the rules and wording can be a bit confusing at times. Things are updated and clarified on the website, but still. Depending on how you play, the game can take a while to play, anywhere from 90 minutes to a few hours. This could be seen as a plus or a minus, depending on the person. I would highly recommend purchasing an extra bag of Zombies figures, since the 100 included will quickly get used if more than two people are playing. Some parents may find it inappropriate for younger players, but if you buy a zombie based game you really should know what you're getting yourself into.
Overall, this is one of the best genre-based board games I have played, and it rarely gets old. Finding the time and people to play seems to be the biggest obstacle, but that's easily remedied with the right group of people.
Customer Review: Not another "Bored" on a Board
Summary: 5 Stars
There are a few types of board games but only one really captures the essence of any occasion by placing you in the midst of an army of the undying and asking you to stay alive. It also bucks that annoying trend of "trying to help others" out of the window by giving you pieces that are never really helpful to anyone but yourself, and it tells you that your sole objective is to get out of the "city" alive. This means leaving everyone, even hindering them with cards especially suited for the task, until they manage to stumble and fall you make it to a newly arrive helicopter.
O, the joy.
The game has quite a few different parts, but all of them are quite easy to learn/manipulate. First, there are the game tiles themselves. They are randomly flipped over, reveal pieces of a broken city, and they have specific "stats" that have to do with that portion of the city. They tell the tale of health, of bullets, and have the number of zombies that appear when the card is flipped over. Added to that are the cards you acquire, more suitably used to mess with your "opponents" than to really help you make it out alive, and the health and bullet cards. Fighting is casting a six-sided die (1-3 gets you hit/ has you use a bullet to get a new roll and not lose a health card, 4-6 gets them to pimp on you), and surviving is flipping over new cards with terrain on them until a helicopter pops up.
Then the scramble comes up to get the hell out.
While the game seems simply and the fun seems geared toward a specific audience, you'd be surprised by how many people can play it. Some of the cards have gory little pictures on them but the little zombies are not that creepy, and throwing down with some relative that you only see once or twice a year definitely makes for good fun when you ride off in your chopper and laugh.
That's how I imagine Santa feels each and ever Christmas.
There are also six editions to the game thusfar, all ranging from higher education to mall blitzes, and they hook in easily. You can also buy sets of new cards, sets of zombie dogs and undead babies, and that keeps the fun rolling on and on.