It is the long winter of our discontent – or at least our impatience – while we wait for the TV show The Walking Dead to return from its winter break. What’s a fan of the not quite dead to do? Allow me to suggest Zombie board games! We’re at a point in tabletop gaming that might be described as a golden age and for fans of the zombie genre that means you have lots of choices from very light and quick to play dice games to board games that feel like they’re right out of the pages of your favorite zombie comics, books or TV shows. I’ve put together a short list of some of my favorite zombified board games for you to check out and I hope you’ll find something here that you’ll be able to use to make the time in between episodes of The Walking Dead go a little faster and have fun while you’re waiting.
Zombie Dice
Zombie Dice – You’re a zombie, eat brains, press your luck, don’t get blasted!
The simplest of Zombie games, Zombie Dice is most definitely a beer and pretzels game that even comes in a tube about the size of a beer can. There isn’t a lot of strategy here, you’re just rolling dice, looking to chow down on as many brains as you can before getting blasted. It’s a press your luck dice roller that is great as a warm up game or time filler between other larger games. Sometimes I break this out for people to keep busy while I’m setting up another game. Due to the fact that it’s so small you can throw it in your bag or back pack and break it out almost anywhere to help pass some time. It’s also really inexpensive at around $8 on Amazon. 2-5 players, about 15-20 minutes for your average play time.
Get your copy of Zombie Dice here!
Dead of Winter
Dead of Winter – survive the zombies, the weather and treachery from other bands of survivors
Dead of Winter is a semi-cooperative game where players who are survivors of a zombie apocalypse will fight off zombies while dealing with other problems like trying to avoid getting bitten, the weather, and other players putting in the double cross. Each player gets their own group of survivors and there are loads of different and fun to play characters. It’s semi-cooperative due to the fact that while everyone is working on a common goal, each player also has their own secret objective which can have several different consequences for the other players. This means you have games where everyone, someone, or no one can win which keeps the game interesting and very dynamic. Dead of Winter is for 2-5 players and typically takes about 90 minutes to play. $44 on Amazon
Get your copy of Dead of Winter here!
City of Horror
In City of Horror you’ll need your persuasion and negotiation skills to outlast the other survivors
City of Horror is unique for a Zombie game because it isn’t really about fighting the zombies. It’s a game that’s about negotiation, diplomacy and ultimately, betrayal. In a city overrun by the walking dead players try to survive in a variety of buildings until they can be rescued. Each player controls a small band of survivors and must strive to keep everyone alive through the zombie filled night. The catch is that there’s only so much space in the building which means some survivors will have to be thrown to the ravenous horde of zombies outside. The mechanism for this is voting by the remaining survivors which means there will be lots of pleading, haggling and double crosses as players try desperately to get their survivors rescued. Definitely a different sort of Zombie game. 3-6 players. 90 minute play time. $25 on Amazon.
Get your copy of City of Horror here!
Last Night on Earth
It’s the Last Night on Earth, can your survivors outlast the zombies?
Last Night on Earth is probably the granddaddy of zombie board games. This game has awesome production values that include photos of the characters in full costumes and make up and with props. It even comes with an audio soundtrack. It’s one I’ve had in my collection for awhile that still comes out semi-regularly. Last Night on Earth is another semi-cooperative zombie game but in this game some of the players control the survivors while others control the zombies. That makes it different from most other zombie board games where the zombies are typically mindless and follow pre-programmed behaviors. Naturally, since they’re controlled by players the zombies are a lot smarter and more of a challenge than what you’re used to seeing. Last Night on Earth has been around for awhile so there’s lots of expansions available for it as well. 2-6 players. 90 minute play time. About $40 on Amazon
Get your copy of Last Night on Earth Here!
Zombicide
Zombicide is you go to post apocalyptic zombie survival board game
Zombicide was one of the early board game successes on Kickstarter that probably lead to the explosion of crowd funded board games we’re currently enjoying. This is a very thematic, action packed fully cooperative post apocalyptic zombie survival game. There’s no diplomacy or negotiation or hidden agendas, it’s just all out carnage as players battle zombies and try to survive. Players must work together to accomplish the mission objectives or they all lose. Each player takes on the role of a survivor and survivors are all based on familiar tropes or well known pop culture icons. As the players battle the zombies, they gain new skills and become better at defeating them while Zombicide’s clever spawning mechanic means that the zombies also get tougher and appear in ever increasing hordes. There are mechanics that take in to account how much noise players make in determinng how the zombies behave, as well as lots of loot for players to find and use in their quest to defeat the zombies. If you’re looking for a zombie board game that really simulates what it’s like to battle zombies in the land of The Walking Dead, this is the one. This game is intense and to be honest it’s pretty challenging for the players to win. The game is mission based so there’s tons of replay-ability with just the main game. Additionally there is loads of flavorful add on content that includes different types of zombies, new survivors. new locations like Prison Outbreak, Toxic City Mall and Rue Morgue.
Lots of extra missions, rule books and other free stuff can also be downloaded directly from the Guillotine Games Zombicide website. This is hands down the favorite zombie game of the various play groups and Meetups I participate in. Most people I’ve introduced Zombicide to are hooked about ½ way through their first play through. 1-6 players. Playtime varies based on mission but it can be anything from 30 minutes to 3 hours. About $60 on Amazon.
Get your copy of Zombicide here!
Check out all of the Zombide expansions and add-ons here
Visit the Guillotine Games website for free Zombicide downloadable content
Braaaaaainsssss!
There you have it, some of my favorite zombie flavored board games. While it’s not an exhaustive list of zombie board games, any or all of these should fulfill your zombie yearnings while you wait for the return of The Walking Dead. I have all of these games and they’re all great fun but if you’re only going to get one big zombie board game then I’d definitely recommend you pick up a copy of Zombicide. You can thank me later when you’re gritting your teeth and trying to desperately survive your own tabletop zombie apocalypse.