Zombicide

Before sparkling vampires and their diaries hypnotized us, you couldn’t swing a chainsaw without hitting a zombie in pop culture. For people who miss those days, Zombicide is a collaborative board game that allows one to six players to fight for survival using classic zombie-shredding weapons such as axe, shotgun and Molotov cocktail. The heroes and zombie archetypes—Walker, Runner, Fatty and Abomination—have special skills, and it’s a credit to the game mechanics and detailed miniatures (created by CoolMiniOrNot) that they all feel unique and valuable. As players rack up kills, they gain levels and new skills, but with higher levels come more zombies. At first, a few trickle through the streets but soon dozens block every path. One misstep and the punishment is merciless. Don’t be surprised if each game features an “Oh, crap” moment of realization that no matter what you do, things just got bad. Real bad. Oddly, the rulebook has more than a few typos, but it’s a minor blemish on a game that embodies the horror, hopelessness and guiltless zombie slaughter found in our favorite walking-dead films. With Guillotine Games and the online community already supporting complimentary smartphone apps and a map editor, Zombicide has brought the undead back to life…again.