ZOMBIES!!!

My friend Bill and I were in Hastings yesterday where I was trying very hard NOT to buy anything. We were almost to the register and I had managed to put down everything I had picked up. I was going to make it out with my wallet intact. Then from behind me I heard Bill's voice.

"Hey, check this out," he said. I turned and there in his hand was ZOMBIES!!!

"Crap!" I thought, "I'm not going to make it. Wait, wait, it's $24.95. I don't have enough with me." And then I made the big mistake. I checked my wallet. I did have enough. I wasn't going to make it. Bill couldn't know I had been intending to buy the game for over a year. It wasn't his fault, but if I was going down he was going to go down with me.

"If I get this game, are you going to play it with me?" Bill hemmed and hawed. He's been crabby about playing games lately. Eventually I wrestled a commitment from him to at least try it once. So I bought the game and left the store. It got me. I was now infected. Just like in a zombie movie.

So, I finally have ZOMBIES!!! and I love it. I played two games that night with the afore mentioned Bill and his nephew, Brandon. The first time through we were confused by a few of the rules, so that is a minor flaw but we still had fun. After checking the FAOs on the publisher's website and getting things straightened out, we decided to play a second game. It was just as fun as the first and went a bit smoother.

Here's a brief description of the game from the box.

"Zombies!!! puts you in the middle of the action as you try to escape the ever advancing zombie hoard. Players must use a combination of wits and brawn to be the first to the heliport and certain escape. The only problem is, the zombies are everywhere, they appear to be very hungry and your opponents would really prefer if you didn't escape."

Rather then a board, the game uses tiles that represent city streets, stores, Town Square, and the Hellipad. Tiles are laid out by the players as the game progresses so that you get a different playing field each time. This really makes for great replayability. Players win by being the first to reach the heliport, thus flying away to safety. Alternately you can win by being the first to kill 25 zombies. It's possible for the tiles to get laid out in such a way that the heliport can't be placed. In that case killing 25 zombies is the only way to win.

I won't go into all the rules, but there are lots of ways to screw over fellow players. This is a game of survival, not cooperation. It's all a lot of fun. Oh, how we laughed when Bill's big gamble failed and almost certain victory was snatched away at the last moment.

A few of the components of the game could be a little better. The Bullet and Heart counters that came with the game look a little too much alike so we used red and white glass beads instead. It would be nice if the tiles were heavier. They had a tendency to slide around. But thicker tiles would probably drive the cost up and it costs quite enough already. Still I recommend the game if killing zombies and screwing over your friends sounds like fun to you.

There are several sequels and expansion sets. I may get them later. During the second game we ran out of zombies and had to use Heroclix, so I'll definitely be getting a Bag O' Zombies.

Zombies!!!, wholesome fun for the whole family.