City of Zombies is a one- to six-player, cooperative, dice-rolling game by ThinkNoodle Games that challenges players to use math to stop an advancing zombie hoard. We also got a copy of the expansion Times Square. Initial Impressions One player is going to have a survivor bundled out of the building like terrified post through Hell's own letterbox. You'll argue. You'll plead. You'll use cards, trade cards, trade food, or even the precious plague vaccine tokens that are like cardboard gold. Bartering your options, your very hope, away. Did you ever play the tower defense custom games from Warcraft/Starcraft? That’s kind of what Zpocalypse 2 is like. It’s a mashup of tower defense games and RPGs. The game scales in difficulty from Basic to Director’s Cut. The basic game is what you expect from a low-budget zombie movie. The zombies shamble along and the survivors mow them down.

The game is suitable for all ages and abilities, and can be played in as little as 15 minutes (in the shorter version). The key game mechanics involve manipulating the numbers rolled on the dice via combinations of mathematical functions (from basic addition and subtraction through to squaring and cube rooting) to hit the exact numbers on the encroaching zombie cards - you need a precise head shot to take them out! As a co-op game, the difficulty can be tailored to suit the skills of the players, and supports groups of mixed abilities well. Dawn of the Zeds takes damn near everything zombie-related you could possibly imagine and shoves it into one box. That’s a bold statement but it does it in a way that I’ve never experienced before. Dawn of the Zeds feels like at least six separate games all put into one box and to a certain extent, that’s what they did. Other dangers hide in plain sight. There’s always the possibility that one of the players is a hidden traitor. You could always banish them from the safety of the hideout but there’s always a chance that you’re wrong and just made yourself another enemy. In Dark Darker Darkest, the players are on the offensive. It’s a nice change of pace for zombie-themed board games. There’s a collaboration mechanism that gives the game an interesting dynamic. What Could Be Better:

Educational Math Board Game

Zombie Dice usually had a permanent spot near the gaming table. Whenever I’m waiting around or have some time to kill we would play it. It’s great to pull out and play for 15 minutes then be on your way. This is a great addition to the Tiny Epic series. The game has multiple modes of play like cooperative, solo, and competitive, giving it high replayability. It’s also got good variability due to the character’s special powers, different map layouts, objectives, and missions. What Could Be Better: If you do manage to actually open the door, the game completely flips and enters a final showdown with a boss. It’s either Dr. Mortimer himself or Lisa Mortimer. Every game is random so you’ll never quite know how the showdown will go.

That’s basically it. You’ll always roll three dice and when something is scored, you get to pull another die out of the pool. The dice come in 3 colors: green, yellow, and red. Greens have the best odds for rolling brains and reds have the worst. It’s not all about slaughtering zombies either. Players have a series of objectives that they’ll need to complete to win the game, and the base game comes with tons of scenarios.Originally developed to assist the designer's daughter with her maths, the game has fantastic learning potential for players. It offers number manipulation skills by stealth rather than in a more traditional overtly "educational" game setting. What was designed with educational intent has become a great game for gamers and their families, and suits more experienced groups as a good warm-up or end of night filler. Both of them are extremely tense with the time limit really putting on the pressure. What We Liked: I really enjoy the Tiny Epic series. They are all, as you might guess, tiny games with epic themes and gameplay. Each one draws from a different set of mechanics and plays quite differently. Each character gets a different skill set and can only use specific equipment. The overall game is very faithful to the original, giving players a very cool nostalgic feeling during gameplay. You’ll notice a lot of mechanics attempt to mimic that same feeling you had when you first played Resident Evil 2. But this game's not done. Your dwindling options and your desperate dialogues are drawn out by a final pit-stop. Every survivor card is actually double-sided, and you can flip it - once - to use that character's power. The kid can hide. The burglar can break into a building that's full. The pregnant woman gives birth, giving her two votes. But if you do use these, those survivors are worth fewer points at the end of the game. If you get a bum hand of elderly survivors, it just means more points if you can get them through the night. Also, nobody suspects gramps has a holdout pistol.

In Zombie 15’, all of the adults have turned into zombies! All that’s left are a handful of 15-year-old kids and they have about 15 minutes before they’re eaten alive. Players need to upgrade their squads and find new equipment but the more they search and make noise during the day, the more zombies will come out during the night. The setting of the game feels very thematic, as you make your way from the Midwest to LA, salvaging what you can. Its art direction and components are superb, with each component looking like something you’d find in a zombie apocalypse. Bottle caps for tokens, “weathered” looking poker cards. Aesthetically on point. What Could Be Better: As it’s a game of strategy, the dice bring a bit of randomness to the game, so you can’t be sure your strategy will play out the way you plan. But it does keep you on your toes. Also, the box says playing time is 180 minutes, but I’d put at least a few hours aside.Dead Panic is the zombie version of Castle Panic. Replacing the hordes of orcs and trolls are unending hordes of the undead. Now you may think, “Hey didn’t I just read about this game in the previous section?” (Zombie 15’). Although they sound a bit similar, they both play rather differently. Same Same, But Different Anyhoo… The Walking Dead has numerous board games and spin-offs to choose from but I wanted to showcase this one in particular. The Walking Dead: All Out War is a miniatures skirmish game.

There’s basically a themed version of anything you can think of. If you’re into zombies, this one will be perfect. If you’re not, there are plenty of others to choose from. The main premise of Last Night on Earth is a zombie outbreak in small, rural town America. Every typical trope you can think of has been thrown into the game.

Game on!

Resident Evil 2: The Board Game is a cooperative, zombie-filled experience that can be devastatingly difficult to play if you don’t work together. The designers faithfully recreated the same atmosphere, which translates extremely well to the tabletop. What We Liked: Zombie games by nature tend to be cooperative but Dead Panic does it in a very simple and defensive way. All players live or die together by defending a single point. There’s no exploration or discovery just good old-fashioned zombie killing. What We Liked: In The Walking Dead: All Out War, however, it’s relatively cheap to get into. One box will have enough minis for two players to battle it out and fight for survival. There are not many mini-games that can claim that. There are, of course, a bunch of different survivors and upgrades, but they’re not necessary to enjoy the game. So how does it all work? So… surrounded by zombies, your neighbors pushing in more to your territory all the time, and your only defense is an ineffective military. What are you going to do? What can save you now? SCIENCE!!! Zombie 15’ is an oddball game that plays in exactly 15 minutes. There’s a real-life timer where the game will end after 15 minutes (whether you’re done or not) and you better have completed your objective by then.