Zombies!!! is a tile-based strategy board game for two to six players.

Zombies!!! is an homage to zombies in fiction, particularly the zombie films of George Romero and Sam Raimi. The shambling movement of the zombies as compared to the players and the relative ease with which they are dispatched makes them weak enemies individually, but (as in the films) they are strong in large numbers.

The game board is a zombie-infested town built by the players as the game progresses meaning that every game is unique. The game starts with the Town Square tile face up and 28 other town tiles shuffled into a pile, with the Helipad tile placed underneath.

The players' pieces ("shotgun guys") are placed on the town square, with each player receiving three life tokens and three bullet tokens.

On each turn, the player draws the top town tile and places it next to the tiles already in play. The new tile must be placed in a way that matches the existing tiles i.e. roads must connect to roads, and so on. Most tiles are roads and road junctions, but some contain locations within the town, such as the Drug Store, Gas Station, Fire Station or Hospital. When a tile is placed, the player must also place two or more zombies on it. The number of zombies placed is either a) equal to the number of junction on the town tile or, in the case of a special building/location tile, b) is dictated by the wording in the top right hand corner of the tile - a named building/location may also hold additional life tokens or bullet tokens.

If the player shares a square with a zombie, he must try to destroy it (see below). Otherwise, he draws a number of event cards bringing his/her hand back up to a total of three cards. These event cards may be used to modify the game rules. Each player is only allowed to use one event card per turn, but may also discard a card at the end of his/her turn.

Next, the player rolls a six-sided die to determine how far his "shotgun guy" can move. He may use some, all, or none of this movement, at his discretion. If the player moves into a square containing a zombie, he must attempt to kill it by rolling 4 or more on a six-sided die. If he fails to roll a 4 or greater, he has the option of improving his roll by using bullet tokens (each bullet tokens add +1 to the dice roll), or by discarding a life token and rolling again in an attempt to once again kill the zombie. This continues until either the player or the zombie is dead. If the zombie is killed, the player keeps the zombie figure to show who killed it; if the player is killed, he "respawns" at the town square with three life tokens and three bullets, but may not move further. If a square is clear of zombies and contains a life token or bullet token, a player may pick it up and add it to his own, although no player may have more than five life tokens at a time.

Once the player has finished with movement, he rolls a six-sided die to determine the zombies' movement. Each zombie can move only one space per turn, but as many zombies move as are shown on the die.

Finally, as suggested earlier, the player may discard an event card. Since each player may only discard one and use one per turn, this means the player should always have at least one card at all times.

The game is won by the first player to kill 25 zombies or the first player to reach the centre square of the Helipad tile and clear it of the zombie if one is there, whichever comes first.

STRATEGY

Players must decide whether to avoid combat and allow the other players to dispose of the zombies for them, or to strike out and collect the various items that the board and event cards provide.

Once the Helipad tile is placed, the players can choose between racing to the helicopter (which will often result in death); holding back and hoping to rush in when another player dies; or ignoring the helipad entirely and trying to kill 25 zombies.

The event cards and the zombie movement phase also provide opportunities to hinder the progress of other players, and there is scope for diplomacy.

The game can take up to three hours to complete, which was a complaint of some reviewers, so for shorter games, the publishers recommend that the Helipad tile be shuffled in amongst the other town tiles.

3D BUILDING FOR ZOMBIES!!!