Zombie Dice

Last updated
Zombie Dice
Zombie Dice.jpg
Zombie Dice in action
Designers Steve Jackson
Publishers Steve Jackson Games
Players2–8
Playing time10–20 minutes (average)
ChanceMedium (dice rolling)

Zombie Dice is a "press your luck" party dice game created by Steve Jackson Games and released in 2010. [1] [2] A digital app version of the game has also been released. [3]

Contents

Gameplay

The gameplay of Zombie Dice is simple. [4] The player has to shake a cup containing 13 dice and randomly select 3 of them without looking into the cup and then roll them. The faces of each die represent brains, shotgun blasts or "runners" with different colours containing a different distribution of faces (the 6 green dice have 3 brains, 1 shotgun and 2 runners, the 4 yellow dice have 2 of each and the 3 red dice have 1 brain, 3 shotguns and 2 runners). The object of the game is to roll 13 brains. If a player rolls 3 shotgun blasts their turn ends and they lose the brains they have accumulated so far that turn. It is possible for a player to roll 3 blasts in a single roll, but if only one or two blasts have been rolled the player will have to decide whether it is worth it to risk rolling again or "bank" the brains acquired so far and pass play to the next player. A "runner" is represented by feet and rolling a runner means that the player can roll that same dice if they choose to press their luck. A winner is determined if a player rolls 13 brains and all other players have taken at least one more turn without reaching 13 brains. [5] [6]

Awards

Zombie Dice was the winner of the 2011 Origins Awards for a Family, Children's or Party game. [7]

Expansions

Zombie Dice 2: Double Feature is an expansion released in 2012. Three new dice are included, replacing three of the dice from the original: the Hunk, the Hottie, and Santa Claus. Each has its own unique abilities. The Hunk die has a double shotgun and a double brain, the Hottie has extra feet, and Santa Claus has three special gifts: a helmet (to let one take an additional shotgun blast), an energy drink (to capture the brain of a runner), and a double brain.

Zombie Dice 3: School Bus comes with one yellow 12-sided die that represents a school bus with many young brains. Different sides include one side with three brains, and one with two brains and a shotgun blast.

Zombie Dice: Horde Edition is a boxed edition of the game including the original base game, as well as the Double Feature and School Bus expansions. Replacing the dice cup in this edition is a cloth bag. [8]

Reception

A board game review in The Wirecutter stated that the game is easy to learn and quick to play, but that it was a simple game that did not hold a player's attention for long. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Jackson Games</span> American game publishing company

Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.

<i>Risk</i> (game) Grand-strategy board game with the goal of conquering the world

Risk is a strategy board game of diplomacy, conflict and conquest for two to six players. The standard version is played on a board depicting a political map of the world, divided into 42 territories, which are grouped into six continents. Turns rotate among players who control armies of playing pieces with which they attempt to capture territories from other players, with results determined by dice rolls. Players may form and dissolve alliances during the course of the game. The goal of the game is to occupy every territory on the board and, in doing so, eliminate the other players. The game can be lengthy, requiring several hours to multiple days to finish. European versions are structured so that each player has a limited "secret mission" objective that shortens the game.

<i>Trouble</i> (board game) Board game

Trouble is a board game in which players compete to be the first to send four pieces all the way around a board. Pieces are moved according to the roll of a die using a contained device called a "Pop-O-Matic". Trouble was developed by the Kohner Brothers and initially manufactured by Irwin Toy Ltd., later by Milton Bradley. The game was launched in America in 1965. The classic version is now marketed by Winning Moves Games USA. The gameplay, board, and concept is derivative of the British board game Ludo, itself based on the Indian board game pachisi.

<i>Munchkin</i> (card game) Card game spoofing table-top RPG play

Munchkin is a dedicated deck card game by Steve Jackson Games, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic. It is a humorous take on role-playing games, based on the concept of munchkins.

Zombies!!! is a tile-based strategy board game for two to six players. Zombies!!! won the 2001 Origins Award for Best Graphic Presentation of a Board Game, and Zombies!!! 3: Mall Walkers won 2003's Origins Award for Best Board Game Expansion.

The Great Brain Robbery is a board game designed by James Ernest and released in 2000 by Cheapass Games.

<i>Zombies</i> (video game) 2011 video game

Zombies is a video game adaptation of the popular tile-based board game by Twilight Creations Inc, publisher of the original game. The game was initially to be developed by Big Rooster for PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Windows PCs through Steam, with possible versions for the Wii and the Nintendo DS. However, only Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8 versions have been confirmed after development of the game was resumed by Babaroga.

Betrayal at House on the Hill is a board game published by Avalon Hill in 2004, designed by Bruce Glassco and developed by Rob Daviau, Bill McQuillan, Mike Selinker, and Teeuwynn Woodruff. Players all begin as allies exploring a haunted house filled with dangers, traps, items, and omens. As players journey to new parts of the mansion, room tiles are chosen at random and placed on the game board; this means that the game is different each session. Eventually the "haunt" begins, with the nature and plot of this session's ghost story revealed; one player usually "betrays" the others and takes the side of the ghosts, monsters, or other enemies, while the remaining players collaborate to defeat them.

<i>Divine Right</i> (game) Fantasy tabletop wargame

Divine Right is a fantasy board wargame designed by Glenn A. Rahman and Kenneth Rahman. The game was first published in 1979 by TSR, Inc. and a 25th Anniversary Edition was published in 2002 by The Right Stuf International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poker dice</span> Type of die

Poker dice are dice which, instead of having number pips, have representations of playing cards upon them. Poker dice have six sides, one each of an Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, and 9, and are used to form a poker hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Last Night on Earth (game)</span>

Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game is a survival horror board game that was first published in 2007. Players can play on the Hero team or as the Zombies. A modular board randomly determines the layout of the town at the start of each game and there are several different scenarios to play. Seven supplements have been released.

Demon Dice, originally published as Chaos Progenitus, is a collectible dice game for two or more players created by Lester Smith and Tim Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monopoly: The Mega Edition</span> Larger version of Monopoly board game

Monopoly: The Mega Edition is a special variant of the popular board game Monopoly. The game was first published on May 22, 2006 by Winning Moves Games USA in the USA. A UK version was adapted on October 1, 2007.

<i>Catan</i> Multi-player competitive-cooperative board game

Catan, previously known as The Settlers of Catan or simply Settlers, is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) as Die Siedler von Catan. Players take on the roles of settlers, each attempting to build and develop holdings while trading and acquiring resources. Players gain victory points as their settlements grow; the first to reach a set number of victory points, typically 10, wins. The game and its many expansions are also published by Catan Studio, Filosofia, GP, Inc., 999 Games, Κάισσα (Káissa), and Devir. Upon its release, The Settlers of Catan became one of the first Eurogames to achieve popularity outside Europe. As of 2020, more than 32 million copies in 40 languages had been sold.

<i>Mansions of Madness</i> Flight games

Mansions of Madness is a tabletop strategy game designed by Corey Konieczka and published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2011. Players explore a locale filled with Lovecraftian horrors and solve a mystery.

<i>King of Tokyo</i>

King of Tokyo is a tabletop game using custom dice, cards, and boards, designed by Richard Garfield and released in 2011. A New York City-based edition, King of New York, was published in 2014. The game was re-released in 2016, with all-new artwork and characters.

Dead of Winter is a Semi-Cooperative strategy board game for two to five players designed by Jonathan Gilmour and Isaac Vega through Plaid Hat Games. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested colony. Players are faction leaders who must work together to ensure the colony's survival through incoming zombies and lack of supplies. In addition, players have individual, secret win conditions that they must meet to be victorious.

<i>Azul</i> (board game) Abstract strategy board game

Azul is an abstract strategy board game designed by Michael Kiesling and released by Plan B Games in 2017. Based on Portuguese tiles called azulejos, in Azul players collect sets of similarly colored tiles which they place on their player board. When a row is filled, one of the tiles is moved into a square pattern on the right side of the player board, where it garners points depending on where it is placed in relation to other tiles on the board.

<i>Patchwork</i> (board game) Two-player board game

Patchwork is a two-player board game created by Uwe Rosenberg. It was released in 2014.

The Chameleon is a deception party game designed by Rikki Tahta and published in 2017 by Big Potato Games. All players except one—the "Chameleon"—are given a secret topic and attempt to identify the Chameleon, while the Chameleon attempts to identify the topic, using social deduction.

References

  1. "Zombie Dice" . Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  2. "Zombie Dice (2010)". Board Game Geek. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  3. "Zombie Dice by Stven Jackson Games". iTunes . February 23, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  4. Ben Kuchera (May 13, 2011). "Eat the brains, avoid the shotguns: Ars plays Zombie Dice". Ars Technica. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  5. "Zombie Dice from Steve Jackson Games". Think Geek. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  6. Dave Banks (June 8, 2010). "Zombie Dice Is A Double-Barrel Of Dice Game Fun". Wired. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  7. Dave "The Game" Chalker (June 25, 2011). "2011 Origins Awards Winners". Critical Hits. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  8. "Zombie Dice Horde Edition". Table Talk Reviews. September 26, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  9. Perling, Anna; Austin, James (9 December 2019). "The best beginner board games for adults". Wirecutter . The New York Times . Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Zombie Dice at BoardGameGeek