Zombies!!! Part The Second: Variants, Fixes, and Lord Dicely's Gambit

In the first part of this series, I provided an overview of the game Zombies!!! and its expansions. The second and concluding part considers fan-provided variants which attempt to improve the game, and includes my own humble submission in the annals of Zombies!!!-fixing house rules.

Zombies!!!, with it's low price point and ease of learning, has a wide consumer base. Add to that the tendency of the game's foibles to rise to the surface fairly quickly, and the inevitable result is a large body of variant rules intended to "fix" and improve the game. I believe those rules to be most useful which solve the game's issues, without significantly harming its accessibility. To summarise, here are the game's largest problems:

1. It's too slow (particularly with regards to movement)
2. There is too little strategy, with too few meaningful decisions
3. Linked to point 2, there is too much luck, with the difference of a small number of unlucky rolls meaning someone is going to have very little fun for a considerable period of time.

 Let's look at some popular variants which attempt to tackle these problems. (There are other variants, which perform "total makeovers" to convert the game to a fully co-operative boardgame, have players as zombies, or even play the game as an RPG; these are outside the scope of this article.)

1. Movement rules

Roll two dice for movement

This rule does indeed make movement faster, without adding complexity. The downside is that, while luck is somewhat mitigated through the magic of the binomial distribution of probability, there's still a serious risk of situations where, for instance, one player only gets to move 3, and the next gets to move 11 and leap onto the helipad. Furthermore, cards affecting movement become much less useful. Consequently, I can't recommend this variant as it improves on point 1 but arguably worsens points 2 and 3.

Health-based movement

The most popular variant of which is to add the player's current heart tokens to the roll of a die. This tends to increase movement, without giving rise to the wide distribution of the previous variant. (Other variants used fixed health-based movement, e.g. heart tokens plus two.) Furthermore, this variant adds to the theme and strategy of the game, as players are slowed by the wounds they receive, and must prioritise regaining health over "luxuries" such as bullets and location-based items. The only problem with this variant is that it tends to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer - those who have a couple of unlucky rolls, and hence are already behind, will fall further behind as they move more slowly. Of course, this adds to the theme even more. Consequently this is a decent, simple variation that works well for those who prioritise the zombie theme, but runs the risk of alienating those who simply want to have fun.

Use "best of two dice"

In this variant, players roll two dice, but only use the highest individual die. This effectively reduces luck and speeds the game (as higher rolls become more common than lower rolls), without adding much complexity. This is not at all a bad variant, and recommended if you don't like the downsides of health-based movement nor the (relative) complexity of my own variant, explained below.

Fast movement across empty squares

E.g. if a tile has no zombies on it, it can be crossed at a cost of one movement. This certainly enables faster movement, particularly in the end game, and allows respawning players to get back into the action more quickly. On the other hand, it can make sprinting to the helipad a bit too easy, adds slightly to complication as movement points mean different things in different circumstances, and can lead to players moving zombies onto empty tiles just to slow movement (which then further complicates movement as players alternate between empty and non-empty tiles). Then again, that last point could be argued to be a strategic improvement. This is by no means a bad variant, and is definitely worth considering.

2. Game-shortening rules

Lower zombie target by number of players

One problem with the base game is that the alternative goal - acquire 25 zombie trophies - does not vary with the number of players. With high player numbers, this goal rapidly becomes nigh-on impossible. Having a lower target makes this a viable goal, and at the same time shortens the game at higher player numbers. Formulas differ - some set a goal of 25 minus the number of players, others might divide an overall number (such as 60) between the number of players and use the resulting goal (for example, for two players, the goal would be 30 each; for four players, 15 each). This latter option produces a game which is pretty much the same total duration irrespective of player number. Probably the best matrix is found in the Quick(er) Play variant. A zombie-target variant is highly recommended for more than two or three players - it makes the game shorter, makes the alternative goal more viable (hence adding to the strategy), and all without making the game any more complicated.

Blitz start

Simply give the players more bullets and/or health at the beginning of the game (and, usually, on respawning after death). This variant helps in combat, but doesn't make movement any faster. As players will generally die less often, and hence have to respawn and start again less often, it also will slightly reduce game length. Overall, I have no problem with these sorts of variants, but frankly feel they don't really add that much.

Faster zombies

For example, double the number of spaces moved by each zombie. This can result in players reaching the zombie trophy goal more quickly, so speeding the end of game, and also can add to the amount of action occurring. Strategically, it's pretty much a wash - it's easier for players to block one another, but also less easy to plan future moves. The downsides to this variant are (1) it detracts from the "shuffling zombies" theme and (2) the "move zombies" phase (arguably the least-interesting phase) takes slightly longer, mitigating any speed gain. Consequently I cannot personally be bothered with this variant, but your preferences may differ.

"Explorer" variants - only place tiles for players at the map edge

These variants cut down the time taken per turn by only placing new tiles in certain circumstances. For example, players only add a tile if they are at an exposed edge, or on a tile which contains an exposed edge. These make each turn faster, and also provide players with a decision whether to "explore" or not. The downside is that more turns have to be taken to "fill out" the map and reach the helipad tile. Furthermore, as players do not "see ahead" on the map, longer-term strategies (e.g. working towards a building which would activate a powerful item) are less relevant. Furthermore, the advantage to the person pulling the helipad tile (or winning the auction for it, if the auction rule below is used) is often insurmountable. Consequently, despite the thematic appeal of this rule, I cannot recommend it, but those who want a theme-heavy game and aren't worried about the extra time might enjoy this option.

Fixed zombie movement

Instead of moving a number of zombies determined by rolling a die, just move a fixed number of zombies (e.g. 3). People rarely care that much about the zombie movement phase, and this skips a few precious seconds every round. The only downside is that it replaces the simple symmetry of every other phase of the game (i.e. roll a die then apply the result). The variant doesn't make much difference, but doesn't cost much either. For me, this just about edges into "recommended".

3. Adding strategy/reducing luck

The Helipad Auction

According to this variant, when the helipad is drawn, rather than it being placed as normal, the players hold an auction for the right to place. Players bid with their zombie trophies, with only the highest bidder paying, and then placing the helipad where they, rather then the current player, wish. This variant reduces the luck associated with drawing the helipad (which otherwise is a strong predictor of who will win the game, though it's not a certainty). It also adds strategy, as players may focus on which goal they wish to pursue. The main criticism of this variant is that it is a wholly new mechanic, adding to the complexity of the game. Since it only comes out once per game, however, I'm willing to allow it.

Ranged Weapons

Numerous variants involve the capability to attack zombies at range, usually by using a bullet token, with the range typically being anything on the same tile, or maybe the next. This adds to the decisions a player may make, in particular allowing a variant on "push-your-luck" by allowing a player to make attacks without risking health, but paying bullets for the privilege. A nice and thematic option for those who want it, but adds complication, and isn't that useful in practice (as you will usually want to move onto the zombie's space sooner or later). I would place this variant with those that add theme, but otherwise don't improve enough to be worthwhile.

Cutting the cards

One central tenet of modern game design is that losing a turn is an anachronism. Any turn when a player does not play is no fun for them, and doesn't add much to the fun of the others. Consequently, any cards which cause another player to miss a turn should be considered for exclusion. Again, the fine Quick(er) Play variant has more to say on this topic, with a full breakdown of cards that author recommends be removed. I wouldn't necessarily mess with the game that much, but I most certainly endorse the removal of turn-missing cards.

4. My humble offering: Lord Dicely's Gambit

My attempt to make as many improvements as possible with as few additional rules is as follows:

Instead of rolling for movement, choose the number of spaces you would like to move (from zero to six). Then take a combat die according to the movement chosen:
5-6 movement: 4-sided die
3-4 movement: 6-sided (i.e. standard) die
1-2 movement: 8-sided die
0 movement: 10-sided die
Treat your movement points exactly the same as if you had just rolled them on a die - any cards or other effects that might adjust your movement adjust this number. The player may choose not to use their full entitlement in exactly the same way they would have if they had rolled that number for movement. The combat die remains the same once selected for the player's turn, irrespective of any changes to movement allowance. If the player must reroll their movement, they use a standard six-sided die and use that new movement (this does not affect their combat die). When in combat, a roll of 4 or more wins, irrespective of which die is used.
(If playing with Guts rules, lose one Guts token if you roll a 1 in combat, and gain one if you roll the maximum possible on the combat die). 
I recommend that the game phase order be changed so that the phase before movement where a player must fight a zombie on their square be removed, and the player simply fight that zombie at the beginning of their movement, after selecting movement and combat die. Alternatively, the player must use the combat die they used on the previous turn to fight a zombie on their square at the beginning of their current turn - this option adds to the bookkeeping, however.
 

This variant is clearly more complex than most individual variants above, and requires a range of dice rather than just a standard d6. However, in my opinion, it is worth the complexity as it achieves several improvements in one fell swoop. For one thing, players have the option to reliably move quickly (particularly in "safe" areas), solving slow movement issues while removing luck as regards movement. Luck still plays a factor in combat (the game wouldn't be much fun if it didn't), but the player may now make actual strategic, risk-management decisions at the beginning of their turn. Poor combat rolls can be mitigated by taking a few turns of low movement and relatively safe combat. The use of fixed bonuses (from bullets, items, and other cards) creates an interesting probabilistic interaction with varying dice, as a +1 has more relative effect on a d4 than a d8. Thus, overall, this variant adds strategy, hastens movement, and reduces luck, all without too badly compromising the simple fun of the game.

This variant is intended to solve as many problems as possible at once (justifying its relative complexity), and hence is not intended to be played with the movement and combat variants above. That said, I would strongly recommend "cutting the cards" and varying the trophy goal. If you do wish to add any of the other variants, you might want to try auctioning the helipad and/or fixed zombie movement.

Standard-die only variant: If you only have a six-sided die, then choose movement and then use the six-sided die for combat (as in standard Zombies!!!), deducting 1 to all combat rolls if you selected 5 or 6 movement, adding 1 if you selected 1 or 2 movement, and adding 2 if you selected zero movement. This option isn't as much fun, and the probability interactions aren't as interesting, but it removes the need for multiple dice.

Printable play-mat of this variant, including game turn summary, below:

Zombies!!! Part The First: Lord Dicely Reminisces

To whom it may concern,

You are cordially invited to join me in a brief retrospective of the widely-sold, and reasonably-frequently played, Zombies!!! series. For those not in the know, Todd Breitenstein, dark overlord of Zombies!!! publisher Twilight Creations, passed from this vale in March of this year. Now that some months have passed since that tragedy, it seems appropriate to launch a retrospective of the game series, its place in the hobby, and its meaning to me personally.

Chapter 1: Zombies!!!

Many years ago, a friend of mine (who shall remain nameless) attempted to convince me of the value

Photograph by Martin Donat

of the boardgaming hobby by introducing me to the bestselling Settlers of Catan. He succeeded in convincing me that boardgames had nothing to offer.

Years later, he tried again. This time, things went rather better. The game in question was Touch of Evil, though that fact is of no consequence here. His suggestion, that I try close cousin Arkham Horror, had merit, and I took myself off to one of the few vendors of boardgames with which I was then familiar. I there found Arkham Horror, at a price I could not possibly justify. However, sitting next to it on the table, was a much more affordable horror-themed game - Zombies!!!. I made my decision by price alone. And, quite honestly, who wouldn't have fun with zombies?
Zombies!!! is often referred to among the gaming community as a "beer-and-pretzels" game - that is to say, it is not a game which provokes deep strategical thinking, but one which functions better as a casual pastime in the background of an evening of drinking and raucous banter. Does it succeed? Let's look closer.

How The Game Works

I will not repeat the rulebook here, but in brief, each player's turn consists of the following steps:

1. Take a city tile from the pile, and add it to the city. This game does not have a fixed board, but rather it is built in a turnwise fashion by placing these tiles - at the time, this mechanic was new and fascinating to me. Some tiles merely have connecting roads; some have buildings, containing helpful tokens.
2. Roll a die and move up to the number of squares indicated. Here we find Zombies!!!' greatest crime against the boardgame community - that of "roll-and-move".
3. As you move, fight zombies encountered. This involves more dice rolling - a roll of 4-6 wins, and adds the zombie to your trophy collection, and a lower roll loses. You may expend "bullet" tokens to push the value into that winning zone, or take the hit, lose a "heart" token, and lay on.
4. Play cards from your hand of three, on your turn or on that of another. Cards have a variety of effects, some helping, some hindering, and some activated by entering certain buildings which appear on the tiles which make up the city.
5. Move zombies, ideally to help oneself and hinder others.

Repeat until a player has amassed a certain number of zombie trophies (by default 25) or until they reach the centre of the Helipad, a city tile which appears near the end of the deck.

The Case For

• The game offers value for money. The box retails for half the cost of most modern boardgames. You will receive 100 zombies in two sculpts - they may not be quite the level of high-priced competitors such as Zombicide, but they're actually quite good, and great value at that price. Plus further miniatures for the players, a huge number of tokens, some dice, a deck of action cards, and the city tiles. That's a lot of game for a low price.
• The game does, indeed, function as a "beer-and-pretzels" game. The theme is easy to sell to non-boardgamers. It can be explained and played in moments. As the "board" is laid out turn-by-turn, initial setup is very quick. The caprice of the dice, particularly in combat, makes this a fine game to drink over and laugh at the misfortunes of others.
• Unlike certain other cheap and widely-available games with which non-gamers may be familiar, this game does actually have some minor strategic decisions. City tile placement can involve weighing up helping oneself as opposed to hindering others; when to play, and when to discard, cards provoke some decision making (though such decisions are often obvious); and choosing one's route, whether to maximise zombie targets, acquire resources, or activate cards, involves some light push-your-luck planning. 

Thus, for some groups of older non-gamers, the theme and easy access can make this an effective "gateway" game. Certainly, other gateway options are vastly superior games qua games (e.g. Ticket To Ride, Carcassonne, Bohnanza), but the fun theme, low price, and quick start-up make Zombies!!! a legitimate introductory option, and an appropriate social activity to accompany cocktails in the drawing room.

The Case Against

• "Roll-and-move" plus dice-based combat seriously limits the strategic depth of this game. More problematically, they can result in some players not having fun - it's not particularly enjoyable to wait for one's turn to come around, as other players have slain zombies left and right, only to roll a 1 for movement and a 1 in combat against the only zombie you'll see this round (if you even have that much of an opportunity).
• The tile-laying becomes redundant in the later game, as parts of the city must be placed and filled with zombies that will realistically never be visited by the players.
• The game takes too long. Both the points above contribute to this problem. Furthermore, once players start dying and restarting with half their trophies, they are likely to face long walks to reach the action again.
• None of the decisions faced are really very strategic. Most of the time, the player's options will be obvious, and the outcome of their turn determined entirely by the roll of dice.

These issues are difficult to deny. The lack of strategy can be forgiven, particularly for a game aimed so squarely at being a casual group experience rather than a battle of wits. The length and slow pace (particularly in later rounds) is more of a problem for a "gateway" game, however. Many variants have been proposed to tackle these issues; in the second and concluding part of this series, I will present my own.

Chapter 2: Expansions to the main game only

Picture by Francisco Rueda Garcia

Zombies!!! has a prodigious library of expansions. Confusingly, they are different types, which are not clear from their titles. Some expansions are of the more standard type, merely adding components to the base game. Others are separate games entirely. Finally, there are those which may be played either on their own or with the main game. I do not own, and have not played, every expansion - however, I do have experience with at least one example of each type.
This chapter considers the first type - those which add to the main game. At the time of writing, these include Zombies!!! 3.5, 6 and 10 (otherwise known as Zombies!!! X). The first primarily functions to add a large number of cards to the game; though this may seem rather basic and perfunctory, it is probably the most vital expansion in the entire series. The new cards are generally superior to those in the base game, and as the cards are the major source of strategy in the game, this expansion in practice adds a great deal. Zombies!!! 3.5 also adds rules for players to pre-build separate decks with which to compete; I do not know any other gamers with with Zombies!!! and Zombies!!! 3.5, so I cannot comment on this variant.
Slightly more involved is Zombies!!! 6. This adds tiles, cards and tokens relevant to two new gameplay mechanisms - subway stations, which can be travelled between in a single round, and zombie-free underground travel via the sewer system.
The first mechanism is potentially very useful, as it can make the turgid late game much faster. However, this will only work if the subway stations are placed usefully. I suggest shuffling one into the first few city tiles, to make sure that respawning players can get some value out of the fast movement.
I have yet to see the second mechanism used. This is because sewer travel takes away health every round. Paying one health just to avoid zombies for a round is rarely an attractive proposition - if you are low on health, it is not an option, and if you have health to spare it generally makes more sense to engage in combat. Potentially this mechanism could be used to bypass zombies to reach a resource-rich building when one is running low, (but still has enough to spare for the journey), but this is so circumstantial it rarely arises.
Overall, I would recommend both these expansions if you enjoy Zombies!!! and want to improve on it. Both expansions take steps to mitigate the problems with the core game. Just don't expect to use the sewers much without some sort of rules variation.
Of the another expansion of this type - Zombies!!! X - I have not played it, and cannot comment. From what I can divine, it does not directly address issues such as play time, but it does include an Addictions mechanism which alters players' abilities and may enhance meaningful decision-making, as well as adding further building tiles.

Chapter 3: Expansions which may be integrated with the core set, but also played on their own

 These expansions form the principal type of Zombies!!! expansion. As expansions to the core set, they can be separated into two subtypes - those which add additional goals, and hence expand the players' options (expansions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9), and those which represent new start areas for the players, which must be navigated before starting the core game (expansions 7 and 8). Although I have not played every one of these expansions, I can state that I have played both types.
As expansions to the main game, those which add additional goals work more seamlessly, and have a

Photograph by the author

positive effect on the gameplay experience by providing legitimate exploration options. The downside is that they can significantly increase the total playtime of an already-long game. They work well for higher player numbers, but with only two players create too much of a sprawling map.
Those which add start areas are rather odd as expansions. In practice, rather than creating one larger game, it feels more like the players are playing two separate games of Zombies!!!, one after the other. This can test the patience of those who are not committed fans.
However, both subtypes work much better as standalone games. With more constrained geography and thematically-focused cards, they actually play much better (and more quickly) than the core game - at least for small player counts. Zombies!!! 8 standalone has become our favourite two-player Zombies!!! experience.
In conclusion, these expansions are good as quicker standalone adventures, and can be used to make a more "epic" game in the (admittedly rare) circumstance where committed players wish to play a big, sprawling game. However, you probably won't want all of them - adding more than one of the "alternative goal" subtypes as an expansion will create far too large a game, and the "alternative start" versions don't integrate that well. One of each subtype will give you plenty of gameplay options, but there isn't enough difference between them to justify acquiring every one except for committed players.

Chapter 4: Stand-alone Zombies!!! adventures

And then there are those which are not intended to integrate with the core game, but are standalone
adventures. These might borrow components from the base box (Zombies!!! 12: Zombie Zoo), or be playable without the core set (Zombies!!! 11). It is difficult to recommend these, for one simple reason - I already have the game Zombies!!!. Why would I want separate games which are also Zombies!!!? With the huge number of excellent games in the world, that would seem rather redundant, particularly given that the expansions of Chapter 3 may also be played standalone. Nonetheless, I have purchased and played Zombies!!! 12 - I am afraid to say I was tempted by the promise of six types of zombie animal. The playing experience was much like playing one of the previously-discussed expansions as a standalone - the zombie animals were amusing, but the gameplay experience was Zombies!!! - no more, no less.

Conclusions

Photograph by spearjr

In conclusion, then, Zombies!!! is not a game of grand strategy, but that does not mean it doesn't have a place. Specifically, late in the evening, when the wine and song are already flowing - and in particular, when those singing and drinking are not (yet) boardgame players. The game as designed is simple to learn, and equally simple to modify (and a certain amount of modification is recommended). Of the many expansions available, those which add mechanics are recommended to fans, though consider the impact on complexity they will have for a game whose beauty is in its simplicity. Those which can be played together with the core game or alone are probably the next-most useful, while it is difficult to recommend those which are purely standalone. Ultimately, though, this game provides so many options, all at a reasonable price point, that really I would advise choosing any part whose theme appeals, and not worry overly regarding the specific mechanics involved.