Tabletop Gaming Review: Zombie Dice

Braaaaaaaains! The staple diet of every flesh eating zombie. Most people picture the zombie apocalypse and see themselves as the survivor. They see themselves fighting zombies, playing it safe, and being an all around bad ass. The sad truth is that the majority of us would become flesh eating zombies ourselves. But hey! It’s not that bad! In Zombie Dice, each player takes on the role of a zombie and must compete to eat the most brains or have his or her own brains blasted apart with a shotgun. What’s not awesome about that?!

OVERVIEW

Players: Zombie Dice can be played by two or more players. However, I have found two player games to be unexciting, while games of eight or more tend to be long and drawn out.

Suggested Ages: The game is recommended for people ages ten and up, but practically anyone can learn how to play.

Time: Games are expected to last anywhere between ten and twenty minutes. The actual length of game will be determined by how many people are playing. Most four player games can be expected to last around fifteen minutes.

Price: Depending on where you are buying the game at, you should expect to pay around $15 US.

THE CONCEPT

Zombie Dice is a “press your luck” dice game in which each player is a zombie…a hungry zombie. Each player takes a turn randomly picking three dice out of a cup and rolling them. You will always roll three dice at a time, no matter what. There are three possible results from the dice: Shotguns, Brains, and Footprints. Red dice have the highest chance of a Shotgun result, yellow has the highest chance of footprints, and green has the highest chance of brains. You keep all of the Brains and Shotguns from each roll off to the side, and re-roll the Footprints while rolling new dice randomly selected from the cup. Remember: You must roll exactly three dice each roll. After each roll, you have the option to stop rolling and pass the turn. If you choose to do so, you tally up your total number of brains collected that turn and put all of the dice back in the cup. However, after each roll, if your total number of Shotguns ever becomes three or greater, you lose all brains that were collected that turn and it becomes the next player’s turn. After a player ends a turn with a total brain count of thirteen or more brains, each other player gets one more turn to try and collect the largest amount of brains. At the end of that round, whoever has the most brains wins.
The official rules can be found here.

THE PROS

Zombie Dice truly is a high quality product. The dice that come with the game don’t chip or scratch easily at all! I’ve played with them on sidewalks, tables, hardwood floors, and nothing, I mean NOTHING, has as much as scratched the dice. The game is easily portable too, with the cup being made out of durable material. Additionally, the sound made by the cup while shaking up the dice does an amazing job of adding to the suspense before you select your three dice. To top it all off, the game is really easy to learn and is actually really fun if you can get a group of at least 3 people. On a completely separate note, Zombie Dice can easily be made into a drinking game!

THE CONS

The game is not without its flaws, though. One issue I have run into is that, because the game is solely based on luck, some players will get extremely good rolls that will launch them to victory without the other players really having much of a chance. As a result, many people feel turned away by this game because there is not much skill involved in it. In regards to the quality of the product, the only negative thing I have noted is that the cup’s great artwork is easily scratched around the edges.

CONCLUSION

Zombie Dice is fast, easy to learn, and, with the right group of people, a whole lot of fun! Though some games can be dulled because of one player getting excessively lucky rolls, those occurrences are few and far between. It is suspenseful, brings out your inner risk-taker, and it is zombie themed. Who doesn’t love zombies?! It is perfect for parties, conventions, transitions between games, or deciding which player will go first before a bigger game. Steve Jackson Games has also created a flash demo for people to test the game out. For around $15, buying this game is a no-brainer.

OTHER ZOMBIE DICE STUFF

The official Steve Jackson Games Zombie Dice webpage can be found here.