Zombies!!! Board Game: The Strategy of Survival

The other night my friends and I settled down to play a board game, and since my housemate had brought up a new game called Zombies!!!, we thought we'd give strategy survival a try. The game is made by Twilight Creations, and though we played the 2nd Edition Director's Cut, it seems there are a bunch of expansion packs and zombie figurines to collect for the avid gamer, as well as different scenario board games including Martians!!! and Cthulhu Rising.

The first thing to realize about Zombies!!! is that it's not just a roll-and-move board game. There are more facets to the gameplay than Monopoly or Life, and it takes a little time to fully understand the rules and situations. Once players get started, however, it's quite easy to fly through the game with little difficulty. But Zombies!!! takes a while to finish, and that's including set-up time, breakdown time, and the multiple times survivors will die trying to make it to the helicopter.

In terms of gameplay, it's probably best to think of the recent zombie video game Left 4 Dead. In that game, one is ambushed by hordes of zombies, working with teammates to get out of the level and escape from the zombie-infested territory. The basics of Zombies!!! are the same, but the implementation is different. Instead of working as a team, you and your friends will battle against each other, an all-for-one approach so that there must be a designated winner.

There is no pre-made board; instead, players construct their own board with puzzle pieces that can be placed anywhere that the roads of the two pieces connect. Zombies are then placed on the squares inside the board according to the rules and the instructions on each puzzle piece. Life tokens, in the shape of hearts, and bullet tokens can also be collected in certain squares - these help to determine who survives and who is eaten.

Most of the board will be filled with zombies because of the gameplay style - since players have to add a new game board each turn, and zombies must be added to these tiles, the amount of the undead multiplies all the time. This ensures a fun but stressful play mechanic for the survivors, because one might find they've cleared out a few zombies only to be swarmed with five more.

There's not much strategy to avoiding the zombies, though. Every time a player rolls the dice for movement, zombies must also move one game square. They approach all survivors, and most of the time it's almost impossible to avoid an encounter with the brain-eaters. They're all over, and no matter how you strategize your movement, there's bound to be a zombie attack quickly - it just depends on how many are around you at the time.

Killing zombies is pretty simple - you must roll over a three to kill the zombie. If one doesn't, they may use their three bullets to add to the dice roll; so if you roll a three, you may add one bullet to the roll to kill the zombie. Likewise, if one has no bullets or doesn't want to use them, one can use one of their three heart tokens to roll again for a higher number. It's a lot about chance, and though it can get frustrating to continuously roll under par, it makes it fair for each player. If a player dies, they must head back to the center square and attempt to make it back to the helipad. They also lose half of the zombies they collected by killing, but they get a new chance to get out of the town.

There are also player cards that survivors can use to help them defeat the zombies. Some of these cards give you added bonuses, like more bullets or hearts. Yet some of them can help you screw over your teammates by adding new zombies to the board or making others give up some of their tokens. This is where the strategy aspect plays a pivotal role: one must question who they want to help in hopes that they'll receive help from them later, and who they want to send to the depths of the underworld.

The game design looks great, and the artwork on the cards is incredibly well-done. There are only two types of zombie figurines to play with, unfortunately, but Twilight Creations makes different pieces for the collector to enjoy.

Overall, Zombies!!! is a lengthy, enjoyable strategy board game that is easy for newbies to pick up. Though there are a few kinks in the gameplay, the rules are easy to understand and simple to use. If you and your friends like zombies, horror atmospherics, or board games in general, give Zombies!!! a try.