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The Ultimate Horror Adventure: Zombicide

I admit this was one of my first experiences with the horror genre. I must say, before playing Zombicide , I knew nothing of zombies or horror movies in general save for Resident Evil. That said, after playing the game a few times, horror elements are still strong.

Overall Gameplay

To start off on how to play Zombicide , one player is assigned as the overseer who controls all of the zombies and placing them on the board. They also have a separate deck of cards called “Overseer Cards”. These cards consist of different kinds of zombies that can spawn during the game including ones that spawn hazardous items on the map instantly that only they can activate (hence why you want an overseer). The other players act as survivor characters with their own unique traits. As they kill zombies, they get more skills which the survivor characters use to accomplish certain tasks such as finding gold or opening doors.

Survivors start off with three random equipment cards. They can equip one of these cards on free slots on their character board at the beginning of the game and upgrade later on if they gain skill cards that say so. They can then go out into different areas of the map where buildings are divided by smaller zones inside separated by walls within each building zone. Within these smaller zones, there are rooms separated by double-sided tiles (one side showing an outside area while another side shows a room interior). People who have played Pandemic before might think is familiar territory because it works in a similar way.

Each zone can fit a maximum of one zombie group at the start of the game. When survivors kill zombies in that zone, more zombies spawn until they take them all out and survivors claim it as their own. Zombie groups must exhaust after spawning before they activate again which makes killing them much easier and once they run out in a zone then no more zombies will spawn there in future rounds. If too many zombies spawn then the board becomes overrun and everyone loses so players must cooperate to prevent this from happening by managing how many zombies appear on each turn depending on how skilled they are when compared with other survivors in their party.

Zombies for Days

Zombies come in two types: Walkers or Runners . Walkers shuffle slowly towards the nearest survivor they see and kill them on their next attack phase (they do not take turns like survivors). Runners move faster and can activate every turn instead, allowing them to eventually catch up to their target. Players must either balance killing zombies or fighting other hostile survivors also roaming around the map who will try to take out as many of your group as possible before you manage to overcome them.

Zombies come with their own inherent traits that change up strategies somewhat such as Hunters that run straight for the closest survivor instead of walking around the map, Brutes that cannot be killed until their armour has been destroyed or Virals who stand idle in a zone until a player enters it which allows them to move.

The core gameplay sounds simple but strategies start forming when we consider survivor abilities and how they work with each other which is why I enjoy this game so much. Each character has a certain ability that can help in specific situations such as having more than one survivor adjacent for extra defense against incoming enemies or taking two actions during your turn such as moving twice, searching twice or shooting twice in one turn. These abilities, combined with what equipment you have and other survivor buffs can lead to interesting tactical situations such as blocking another player’s line of sight while they shoot at the zombies or using your health for extra damage against a powerful enemy instead of risking it all fighting zombies.

A human-only game is also available where players control only survivors and no overseer exists but I’ve never tried this mode before so I can’t personally say how different (if at all) it is from the regular version.

Zombicide: Black Plague Expansion

Zombicide: Black Plague takes place after the events that transpired in Zombicide, and the heroes return to medieval times but this time, we get to play as the zombies instead!

The gameplay is still the same: players control survivor teams and fight against hordes of zombies with a deck of cards and dice. There are 104 miniatures, 100 double-sided tiles, 15 modular map sections, 6 pre-assembled board sections for different setups and more than 1000 cards to choose from when building your deck.

You start off by choosing a scenario which will determine what equipment you use (note: poison gas zones can be present in some scenarios so avoid entering these), how many zombies spawn per round based on our skills compared with other survivors in our group, where certain items are located within the map and what kind of starting abilities we get each turn.

A nice change from Zombicide is having NPC survivors working alongside you with different agendas and starting locations on the map. Some ally survivors will ignore your group but others may attack you so you have to be careful when entering new zones since they can add an additional hazard to avoid while fighting zombies.

The goal is to end up with more Name cards than anyone else at the end of 8 rounds, thus winning you that game; however, players can also win immediately if they manage to spell their own Name (the one written on their character sheet) which requires collecting any 6 Word cards in your hand, placing them all down at once and then revealing your choice for everyone to confirm. This mechanic feels like it might be too powerful compared to everyone else but no one has managed it yet so I’d say games are usually close enough despite this small edge someone might have.

Host your own night of horror and buy Zombicide today.

 

 

Citadels: Building A City Has Never Been So Ruthless

Citadels takes the concept of city-building and turns it into a race full of back-stabbing, theft, and deception. In this fantasy board game, you’ll take on different roles as you attempt to be the first to construct eight buildings and win the game. You’ll love the opportunities for throwing a wrench into your opponent’s plans as you take on the role of the deadly Assassin or malicious Warlord. With Citadels, you’ll find there’s nothing that you won’t do for your city.

Choose Your Character

Citadels is played in rounds in which each player takes on a new role. These roles represent the newest character you’ve hired to help you acquire gold and construct your buildings. At the beginning of each round, the player that was King on the previous round will randomly discard one of the eight character cards and choose one from the rest. Then, they’ll pass the cards to the next player, with everyone taking a card until each player has their own secret character.

These characters all have different unique abilities that can help you either get more gold, construct buildings, or hinder your opponents. Depending on what your strategy is and what your current needs are at the beginning of the round, certain characters can help or hinder your mission. 

The characters will perform their actions in numerical order, beginning with the Assassin. The Assassin will eliminate one of the other characters from the round, while the Thief will steal gold from whichever character you choose. The Wizard can swap building cards with another player, while the Warlord can destroy a building.

Choosing your character is a decision not to be made lightly, so be sure to plan ahead if you want to make the most of each round. However, you’ll also have to anticipate the moves of the other players if you don’t want to be caught off guard.

Constructing Buildings

The goal of the game is to earn the most points, which you earn by constructing buildings. The game begins with each player being given a certain number of building cards. These come in five different colors, each of which can provide you with a different ability provided you have a specific character that round.

Each turn, a player is given the choice between earning two or more gold or drawing two building cards and discarding one. Then, each player is allowed to construct one building if they choose (or as many as three when playing the role of the architect). In order to construct your building, however, you must have the amount of gold indicated by the symbols on the card.

Buildings are worth a certain number of points when you build them. You can also earn bonus points by constructing buildings of each color or by being the first player to build eight buildings. Once all eight buildings have been built by one player, then the game ends and everyone tallies up their points.

Citadels Expansion

Citadels comes with an expansion called Citadels: The Dark City that allows you to play the board game with up to eight players. It also includes additional elements such as the Quarry, which allows you to build identical districts to the ones you already have. If you order the 3rd Edition of Citadels, then you automatically get the expansion.

You can also earn bonus points with the Imperial Treasury, giving you a boost at the end of the game equal to the amount of gold you have. You can also earn bonus points with the Fountain of Youth or the Wish Fountain, which earns you points equal to the number of purple buildings you construct. 

Be the First to Build Your City with Citadels

Citadels is playable by 2-8 players, which makes it just as good for one-on-one games as it is for a family game night or a group of friends. It’s suitable for ages 10 and up, which makes it a good game to play with both adults and children together. Playing time lasts around 20-60 minutes depending on how many players you play with.

Buy Citadels today and enjoy the ruthlessness of city politics!

 

Reef: Explore the Beauty of the Ocean

Coral reefs are some of the most spectacular and beautiful parts of our ocean’s ecosystem. But while a coral reef may take thousands of years to grow, the board game Reef allows you to build your very own reef in a matter of minutes. Reef is an abstract strategy game for kids and adults alike that combines card playing with pattern building for a fun trip below the sea. With colorful pieces and simple yet entertaining gameplay, Reef is an excellent game for families.

Building Your Coral Reef

The game of Reef comes with a box of colorful plastic pieces of coral that you have to stack together to build a beautiful multicolored reef. The fun of this board game comes from having to arrange these pieces into dazzling patterns that earn you extra points. Each player will get their very own starting reef to begin with, which is represented by four pieces of coral that go in the center four squares of their board. 

Players will also start with several point tokens and two cards that they can use to collect more coral and build their reef into a big and beautiful display. Any cards not given out at the beginning of the game will go in the center of the table for players to choose from throughout the game. The game ends once all of the pieces of coral from one color have been taken or once all of the cards have been drawn.

Take a Card, Play a Card

Each turn you have two choices: you can either take a card from the center of the board or you can play one of your cards. To take a card from the center, you’ll either choose between the three face-up cards on the table or you’ll draw a random card from the deck. 

To draw from the deck, however, you must sacrifice a point token, assigning it to the lowest-scoring of the three face-up cards. This then acts as an incentive for other players to choose that card in a later turn.

Each player is allowed up to four cards in their hand. The cards are split into top and bottom sections, which give you instructions to perform in that order. When you play a card, you must first take from the coral supply the two coral pieces displayed on the top of your card and put them on your reef. You can either put them on a blank space on your reef or stack them up to 4 pieces high.

Once you’ve added the two pieces of coral to your reef, you’ll look at the pattern that’s on the bottom of your card. If that pattern appears anywhere on your reef, then you will earn special points in the form of tokens. These patterns can include different colors of coral as well as the heights of the stacks, so it’ll take a bit of planning to try and make the right match.

Reef Expansion

Reef comes with one mini-expansion board game called Reef: Kings of the Coral. This mini-expansion will provide each player with two fish that they can use to boost the points of their patterns. Whenever you score for having a particular coral pattern, each fish that’s present on the formation will earn you an extra point. However, you can’t lay down a piece of coral wherever a fish is present, so be sure to strategize where your little slippery friends will swim!

Reef: Take a Trip Down Under

Reef is suitable for 2-4 players, as it comes with up to four little coral reef boards. It’s also suitable for ages 8 and up, which makes it perfect for parents to play with their kids or for kids to play together. Playing time lasts around 30-45 minutes, which should be short enough to keep the attention of younger players.

Reef is pretty easy to learn and is an excellent way to introduce kids to pattern building and strategy. It also provides enough room for long term planning that adults can feel stimulated while playing it. Buy Reef today and enjoy the beauty of the deep blue sea!

 

Tiny Epic Dinosaurs: Get Your Jurassic Park On

Anyone who’s seen Jurassic Park knows that dinosaurs and theme parks do not mix well. However, no one seems to have told the rich bigwigs inside Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, because these greedy bidders are looking for their next big attraction! In the world of Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, modern science has advanced enough to allow us to recreate our prehistoric dino friends. This gives independent ranchers a new role in breeding and wrangling these dangerous reptiles. As a player of the board game, you’ll have to combine dinosaur ranching, resource management, and worker placement if you want to build the best dino farm on the market.

6 Rounds, 6 Phases, Countless Dinosaurs

Tiny Epic Dinosaurs assigns each player their own team of ranchers to control. The goal of the game is to obtain dinosaurs in order to breed and sell them to the highest bidders to use for high thrill theme parks. The game is played over the course of six different rounds, each consisting of six unique phases. The first phase requires you to harvest any resources in your farm that the dinosaurs aren’t already eating.

The second phase is where you really put your ranchers to work, assigning them a multitude of tasks aimed at acquiring and breeding more dinosaurs. You’ll capture and buy new dinosaurs, build up barriers to hold them, research technologies and new breeds of dinosaur, boost your farm’s security or supplies, and more. You’ll have to figure out the best strategy for breeding the most dinosaurs if you want to blow the other ranches out of the water.

In the third phase, your ranchers will return to finish their work at the farm, while the fourth phase has you arrange your ranch however you want. Arranging your ranch is important in order to make sure the dinosaurs are properly placed in the correct barriers to ensure they don’t escape.

Once everything is set, it’s time to feed the dinosaurs. Phase five requires you to feed each and every dinosaur because any dinosaur that doesn’t get fed will escape and threaten the safety of your farm. Dinosaurs are dangerous cattle, and breeding them is not without its risks! Finally, the sixth and final phase of each round has you breed matching dinosaurs. Each pair of matching dinosaurs that is properly enclosed gives you one more baby dino to add to your farm.

Winning the Game

To claim victory in Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, you’ll need to earn the highest number of victory points at the end of six rounds. While breeding new dinosaurs is an excellent way to collect points, you can also earn points through research developments as well as any public or private contracts you acquire. Each player gets a private contract at the beginning and middle of the game with specific rules on completing it. You’ll also need to complete these private contracts at the same time as a public contract. This can make it tricky when you’re racing against someone else trying to complete the same public contract.

The Laboratory Mini Expansion

Tiny Epic Dinosaurs comes with a Laboratory mini expansion that provides each player with an additional board. This board gives you a map connected by blue, green, and red lines that lead to spaces that offer you extra bonuses from dinosaurs to research cards. Players will have to collect matching colored tiles in order to move along the lines. This adds a puzzle-like quality to the game that makes the strategy even more intricate.

Don’t Underestimate Those Tiny Epic Dinosaurs!

Tiny Epic Dinosaurs is playable by 1-4 players, which is definitely a bonus for kids who like single-player board games. It’s also suitable for ages 14 and up, so it’s more appropriate for teenagers and adults than it is for younger kids. Playing time lasts around 30 minutes to an hour. Tiny Epic Dinosaurs has plenty of opportunity for strategy, especially when you add the Laboratory mini expansion to it. You’ll love the cute little dinosaur tokens that come with the game, as they’re each carefully crafted to represent different colored dinosaurs. If you take a walk on the wild side and buy Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, you won’t regret it. Buy a copy or two today!

 

Arkham Horror: Get Lost In the Mystery

If getting the heck scared out of you sounds like your idea of a fun time, then Arkham Horror: The Card Game is the card game for you. This cooperative card game is set in a seemingly quiet and peaceful little town of Arkham. Underneath its calm exterior, however, lies a seedy underbelly rich with mystery and conspiracy. This 2-player card game requires you to keep your wits about you as you unravel the secrets of the Ancient Ones while trying to hold onto your sanity. Its haunting story elements and compelling gameplay make Arkham Horror: The Card Game the game for horror-lovers everywhere.

Know Your Weakness

Arkham Horror: The Card Game assigns you the role of one of two investigators exploring the New England town of Arkham. Whether you’re Federal Agent Roland Banks or street Urchin Wendy Adams, it’s your job to follow the clues and unravel the mysteries surrounding Arkham. Each investigator has his or her own unique strengths and weaknesses. Your investigator card has some traits of its own, but many others are built into your specific deck of cards.

You might be blessed with cards such as Wendy’s Amulet, an item that bestows the unique ability to play the topmost event in your discard pile as though it were in your hand. Or, you might be cursed with a weakness such as Amnesia, forcing you to discard all but 1 card from your hand. No matter what cards you use to build your deck, you’ll have to abide by your limitations if you want to fight the monsters without losing your mind in the process.

Follow the Clues

One of the best parts of Arkham Horror: The Card Game is that it gives you the ability to follow the clues however you choose. Each round gives you several possible options. You can search the room for clues, move to another location, fight the evil monsters, or dig for more resources and equipment.  The cards in your hand can aid or hinder you in your mission, but you as the player get to decide what to do.

Arkham Horror: The Card Game is unique in that it’s not about fighting against the other player in order to win. The real goal of the game is to figure out the mysteries behind the Ancient Ones and stop them from carrying out their evil plan. You’ll explore locations, unearth clues, and use those clues to move the act deck forward. Time is of the essence, however, as the Ancient Ones’ minions are actively working against you.

Another cool thing about Arkham Horror: The Card Game is that you can choose to play it as a series of standalone adventures or as parts of larger campaigns. Playing as part of a larger campaign means that the choices you make early on can have lasting consequences. You can also expand the game beyond its Core Set into one of its many expansions.

Deluxe Expansions and Mythos Packs

Arkham Horror: The Card Game has quite a few expansions that can make the game more difficult or give you a chance to play with a new story. The expansions are grouped into cycles, which contain a campaign that players have to go through. Each cycle comes with one deluxe expansion and six mythos packs.

The deluxe expansions come with new investigators, around 60 new player cards, and the first two campaign scenarios. The mythos packs come with around 24 new player cards and one campaign scenario. Choose from expansions such as the haunting Dunwich Legacy cycle or the terrifying Path to Carcosa cycle. You’ll be astounded by the endless hauntings that can abound in the sleepy little town of Arkham!

Arkham Horror: Unraveling the Conspiracy

Arkham Horror: The Card Game is playable by 1-2 players, so you can just as easily dive into the horrors of Arkham on your own as you can with a trusted friend. While the horror is definitely at the forefront of this card game, it’s still suitable for ages 14 and up. Playing time lasts around one to two hours, which is just as perfect for a game on a Saturday morning as it is on a weeknight. Calm your nerves and get your weapons at the ready, for the terrors of Arkham Horror: The Card Game have only just begun!

And you can have this little joy for yourself. All you have to do is click the “Add to Cart” button below  as buy it. So close… you can do it…