Game: Zombietown

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

ZomCom — 2008-06-02T00:28:39+00:00

I took my own advice and follow the FAQ. The only thing we do differently from the FAQ is that we do not allow players accompanied by a survivor to initiate combat with the survivor. That seems too easy and would change the focus of the game to combat with survivors, instead of players fighting for survival.

We are very comfortable with the rules, and really enjoy the game.

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

Phantomwhale — 2008-04-25T08:44:15+00:00

I think TC get a lot of bashing on BGG because people often use BGG to discuss rules misinterpretations - which all board games have - and certainly when it comes to Zombietown, this was one of it's weakest points I feel. Even after lurking the yahoo group and these forums, I am still unclear of exactly the rules.

Zombies!!! was much clearer - a few card FAQs / exceptions - but the basic rules were clear, AND it's the grandaddy of them all - without Zombies!!! we might not have Last Night of Earth / Dead of Night or the other zombie themed games with awesome zombie pawns. But yes, the game didn't often yield a suspenseful end, and playtime was a bit choppy on that one. Actually something that zombietown does better, although I still don't really enjoy it due to rule ambiguities.

There also seems to be an attitude of hostility around BGG / TC - for me this stemmed from really trying to lock down what were logically ambiguous rules in zombietown, which I eventually found myself being told I was nitpicking by the games creators. I felt the game developers had a lot of ego invested in there product, which whilst not a sin by any means (this passion comes across in Zombies!!! thematically strong cards and humour) it makes breaking the game down quite hard without offending the makers, who in turn appear to have ruffled a few feathers with there comments. The decision to disengage from BGG and only interoperate with fans who signed up to the yahoo group has probably served them well in this instance.

Above all, I have to echo Chris' sentiments about rules and playtimes though. Zombies!!! is fun for a little while, but those long protracted endings can drag, esp. with 5-6 players. But I regret to say Zombietown is possibly the biggest regret of my game collection as well - and the fact that I can't seem to shift my copy secondhand for any price worth the effort of posting it speaks volumes to me.

*** In the interest of disclosure, I DO own Last night on Earth and I do much prefer it to any other zombie games I've played, but it's not the saviour of zombie board gaming either ! I've heard Dead of Night is though ***

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

ZomCom — 2008-04-24T21:24:45+00:00

I thought the rules were fairly clear, and Kerry's answer on the Yahoo Group seemed very clear. But, now, I'm not so sure. The game seemed to work quite well using the Yahoo answers. I think I'll stick with those.

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

cdwalkley — 2008-04-24T14:41:40+00:00

Richard

If you check the list of games that Twilight Creations have published, you will be viewing a list very similar to one I would come up with if I listed which of their games I had played.

I'll admit there are some exceptions to the statement in my previous post, but these are few and far between.

I made a significant error in buying Zombies!!!, ZombieTown and When Darkness Comes, along with expansions for Zombies!!! and WDC. If I'd played someone else's copies I'd have known not to bother.

Having played, but thankfully not bought, other TC games (Innsmouth Escape springs to mind as one I have recently tried), I find myself talking from personal experience. If it is not the same as yours, that's okay by me.

Obviously I'd like to add the disclaimer that any opinions expressed are my own and I expect people to disagree. Unfortunately I feel no desire to play ZombieTown ever again. It wasn't just a bad game, but one of the worst I have ever bought.

All I really ask for is for a great zombie game. At present, yes, for me that is Last Night on Earth. But the competition is limited. In no way would I suggest that TC publish games purely for my pleasure (I'm sure they have their own target audience), but if they want to keep on trying to produce a superior product, I'll be more than happy to give it a go.

I'd like to finish by rewording my last post, just for the sake of clarity:

"In *my* opinion, poorly written rules and an overlong playing time are characteristics held by several, but not all, games by Twilight Creations. Some people disagree with me and some agree with me. Although I offer this up as my point of view, I'd much rather you take the time to find out and formulate your own opinion."

Chris

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

caffeinehead — 2008-04-24T12:29:38+00:00

cdwalkley wrote:
latindog wrote:
The rules are poorly written and the game takes FAR too long for what it is.The defining features of a game by Twilight Creations.
(smirk) Gotta love those blanket statements. Exactly how many TCI games have you played? I must admit: i do find it amusing how LNOE fans will go out of their way to bash TCI.

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

cdwalkley — 2008-04-24T08:13:15+00:00

latindog wrote:
The rules are poorly written and the game takes FAR too long for what it is.

The defining features of a game by Twilight Creations.

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

valianttimdjango — 2008-04-24T07:26:35+00:00

Hmmm.No,you're right the rules don't say you must retreat 3 spaces every time you take damage.Trouble is,the way i read them,it does seem to imply that.
It's quite frustrating that the combat rules are vague and contradictary,given that combat plays a major part in the core heart of the game.
I guess the only solution is to agree amongst your own group which ruling to implement,as suits your style,and just run with it.After all you paid for the game,it's yours.

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

ZomCom — 2008-04-24T04:52:23+00:00

I got the game about a month ago. The basic rules are not intuitive because they cover a bunch of player options in only a few pages. So, yes, if you expected to bust open the game on game night, and have your group jump right in, it could be a little frustrating. The expanded rules available on the TC websight help. So does the FAQ. So do the questions answered in the Zombie Town Yahoo Group. So does playing a few practice turns. Since I paid for the game, I did all that to get comfortable with the rules. On game night, I spent maybe ten minutes going over the rules and game play them with my group. That’s all they needed to get comfortable, and everything went well.

OK, I have all of one game under my belt, but since that seems to be enough play for folks here to condemn the game, let me counter that we really enjoyed it. We found it to be fun and challenging. We had 5 players. Just like Mall of Horror, I think 3 players is not enough for a good game. I don’t believe hunkering down in the houses will win the game. You must be more agile than that. You have to claim houses, but you have to expect others to try to take them from you. I also think being too aggressive is not going to win consistently. We had two players get into a shootout to the death, and the seriously wounded winner later died. Despite it being our first full game, we were done in 1 ½ hours. Once you know what you are doing (and what you should be doing), pace of play is swift. Towards the late middle of the game, all the goodies like guns and barricades start to get scarce. By then, you are eying your neighbor’s property, as they are eying yours. And, then those zombies start becoming a nuisance. You never seem to have enough actions available to do everything you want, or need to do. It get’s pretty tense.

Anyway, a little pre-game study and a couple of trial turns made all the difference. If for you, that means that a game is no good, so be it; buy Mall of Horror. MoH is also a great game, much more abstract, but lot’s of strategy. And, you can unwrap it on game night and jump right in. But, if you put in a little effort with Zombie Town, it is definitely a good experience that is surprisingly true to the “zombies at the front door” aspect of the zombie genre. We certainly plan on playing it again.

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

ZomCom — 2008-04-24T04:06:38+00:00

It seems Todd's answers contradict the basic rules and the answers given by Kerry on the Zombie Town Yahoo Group. The basic rules don't say a player must retreat 3 spaces whenever he takes damage (for instance, no mention that a player must retreat if he takes damage from a barricade trap?). The basic rules say a player can retreat 1 space AFTER a round of combat, not before. Since every round of player vs player combat can only end with a player taking damage, the option to retreat 1 space after combat can only occur if the injured player is not required to retreat 3 spaces. The rules do imply that the 3 space retreat only applies if a player looses a combat to a zombie, or is unarmed and attacked by another player or a survivor. On the Yahoo Group, Kerry said:

Question-When initiating a combat with a zombie (one
action), the rules say you can fire multiple times (if you can/want),
all as part of one action. Cool. What about when fighting another
player? Is each subsequent shot an Action, or can you basically go in
with two loaded guns and muscle someone out after several shots on one
action?
>
KERRY-You are not required to move away from combat if you take a damage like you do in combat with a zombie. We actually made this change because we had some playtesters abusing the rule to get free movements.

Question-Focusing on player vrs player, if a player charges into a house and attacks another player, we were playing they kept drawing cards to find out who injures who (redrawing in the case of a draw). Between each injury each player was offered the choice of retreating one square to end the conflict. Is this right, or should an injury from a player cause you to move three squares away as well ? It seems to me the only time player v player combat causes the 3 square retreat is when the defender was unarmed.

KERRY-You're right. They don't automatically retreat after a damage in player vs player combat.

OK, I played my first game last night, and followed the answers given on the Yahoo Group. Am I misinterpeting Kerry's answers, or Todd's anawers, or both?

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

valianttimdjango — 2008-03-07T15:26:19+00:00

Phew.Yes,thank you,that would seem to be it.The rules imply that you can retreat BETWEEN rounds of combat,and this is where our confusion stems from.Very grateful for your time and patience.
Now...to war!

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

toddbreitenstein — 2008-03-06T12:51:00+00:00

Hey Bryan,
I see the problem. You can only retreat BEFORE you actively engage in combat. Once combat has begun, it must continue until one player is damaged. Retreat during combat is not an option.
I hope that clears it up for you.
Todd
Twilight Creations, Inc.

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

valianttimdjango — 2008-03-04T11:29:43+00:00

Thank you for your reply.Nice to get an answer straight from the horses mouth!The confusion stems from the fact that if both players choose to fight,a combat card is drawn,but if it is tied another card is drawn until there is a clear winner,thus causing one player or another to take damage.Does this mean that one player can disengage and retreat one square before a redraw?Otherwise,a player could only retreat if someone entered his or her house wanting to fight and its occupant was unwilling to defend it?I'm sure it's just me not getting my head round it,but my gaming group likes this game and we play it a lot.And i am very aggressive(in game)!The ability to back out of a fight one square only is of limited use in my view (in fact it's a liability in most cases) but it's a question that crops up regularly in our sessions.

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

toddbreitenstein — 2008-03-03T13:26:18+00:00

Hi Bryan,
Thanks for the question. Actually the example doesn't contradict the rules at all. If you take damage (regardless of the source) you are forced to retreat three squares. If, while in combat, you choose to retreat, you only move one space.
Let me know if you have any further questions,
Todd
Twilight Creations, Inc.

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

valianttimdjango — 2008-02-26T11:25:25+00:00

Hello.In response to the header question,further rounds of combat would be fought until one player took damage,after which there does seem to be some confusion. While it is of course great to have the designer of the game give a definite answer on this subject,i'm afraid it still is none too clear to me.The rules DO state that either player may choose to retreat one space after any round of combat,but the example on the back page shows a player taking one damage after losing a shootout and then being forced to retreat 3 squares,which seems to contradict this.Players are explicitly required to take one damage(or sacrifice a 'survivor') when losing a fight with a zombie,giving them the chance to get the hell out of Dodge;it would seem logical that they would move 3 spaces away from a pistol-toting former buddy gone loco.As combat only ends with one combatant or the other being hurt and losing a life the distance you can move afterwards could have a major impact on your survivability (particularly if you get stranded outside or you just attacked the person who is about to take their move next).I'm sorry it just doesn't seem clear to me,and as i am the postal player Brad referred to in his above post,it has suddenly become hyper-critical to my in-game lifespan!Love the game,by the way.

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

slyde — 2008-02-11T20:26:57+00:00

agreed. i played in the game with latindog (its actually my game), and i thought it was pretty bad, which is sad considering im a HUGE zombie fan...

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

latindog — 2008-02-10T13:35:37+00:00

I played in a large game (5 or 6 players, I'm not sure exactly) and we all hated it. The rules are poorly written and the game takes FAR too long for what it is.

Image

Narlgoth — 2008-01-14T13:21:17+00:00

The beginning of a six player game of Zombietown, end of day one.

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

Narlgoth — 2008-01-04T14:05:45+00:00

Really!? Damn, I better go and have a look at the rules! Oh well, you can't get them all... Still seems a little over the top though. Making retreat optional in our game group will mean multiple players going out of the game each time we play because they stubbonly got killed refusing to retreat from a fight! There's enough back stabbing and stuff already without regular showdowns too!

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

DLongo — 2008-01-04T07:10:38+00:00

Great!!! Thank you for the help! I always love when official answers are given by game designers! That shows a great amount of support for the game.

Off to kill some more zombies....(but wait, they just...keep....coming.....!!!)

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

toddbreitenstein — 2008-01-03T14:29:57+00:00

Hi Dean,
Not to be contradictory to the person who already answered (I appreciate the help.), but you played it exactly right. As the owner, you get to decide if you want to stay and defend your property or retreat. This does not count against the active player's actions for the turn.

Let me know if you have any more questions,
Todd
Twilight Creations, Inc.

Thread: Re: Question on Player Combat

Narlgoth — 2008-01-03T14:06:22+00:00

Hmmm... Not sure I ever found a rule that says defeated players move only one space away from a combat- only that if a player loses a fight he takes a wound and must be moved 3 spaces away (could be wrong though, I unfortunately don't have the rule book in hand).

For this kind of situation our gaming group would play as if the defeated player 2 had lost to a zombie -ie, he would lose a life (or sacrifices a survivor that is with him) and move three spaces away. This would leave the invading player 3 free to raid the house. As stated in the rules, if there is ever an enemy model in the same building as an un-armed survivor, that survivor is immediately killed and removed from the game (player 2 would also lose posession of the house too).

This means tough luck for player 2, but he should have been watching his neighbour more closely and shouldn't have put an unarmed survivor in a building! This is Zombietown after all, you must watch your opponents more then zombies if you want to win! We have someone who will (without doubt) always go postal on everyone at some point, running from house to house tearing down barricades and shooting surviviors and players alike. This is all in the spirit of the game and perfectly legal (in Zombietown anyway). The idea is to then charge back in in your turn and shoot the player back out again, or optionally go and get in one of his houses!

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

MoonSylver — 2008-01-01T01:40:27+00:00

slyde wrote:
moon, you KNOW i love zombie stuff, but i have to agree that i found zombietown lacking...

i love the concept, and i know theres a good game in there somewhere, but the rules just dont address the issues that can arise in the game, and quite frankly i have found the designers responses to people's questions about game rules clarification to be rude, and honestly just "sucky"...

Not to excuse any behavior, but I know TCI did have some personal issues going on over the past year. Plus, polite rules questions, as far as I've seen, were met with polite responses. Some of the comments I've seen posted about this game (& "Zombies!!!" as well) have been...less than civil, to put it mildly. Again, not excusing, but it must be difficult to have a certain vocal segment telling you "your game sucks"
---MS

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

MoonSylver — 2008-01-01T01:36:01+00:00

Warbanner wrote:
I'd suggest trying it with other players. The primary problem we found was that the rules were apparently designed with the assumption that people would just sit in their houses, hole up, and kill zombies. But the game's design clearly rewards an entirely different strategy of grabbing as many houses and cards as you can. This mostly leads to running out of cards and bullets far too quickly.

And I'm betting when you've got actual opponents with different plans than your own, you'll suddenly find the rules on things like zombie movement less clearcut than you thought.

I have played with other opponents. The solo session was just to get a feel for the game. As for the strategy you outline, uh, that's ACTUALY the whole POINT of the game. It's SUPPOSED to be a vicious competition for resources, a la the raiders vs the the mall in DOTD for example. The zombies arn't the worst threat, it's us...
---MS

Thread: Question on Player Combat

DLongo — 2007-12-30T10:10:28+00:00

Okay. I just played my first 3 player game of Zombietown tonight and one situation came up where we needed clarification.

Here was the situation:

Player 2 was in a house and he had played a survivor on that house (except the survivor did not yet have a gun...since player 2 ran out of actions). Player 3 (feeling aggressive) then entered that house on his turn with his free move.

Per the instructions and the FAQ, Player 2 decides whether or not to attack Player 3 first...and if he does, Player 3 does not use an action for the combat (since the defense is a reaction).

So in our game, Player 2 (the owner of the house) attacked Player 3 and Player 3 won. Player 2 did not want to lose control of the house or for his survivor to die (since he had a gun for him) so he chose not to retreat (the rules state that the player "may" retreat one space).

The question became...what happened then? Player 3 wanted to search the cards in the house and to kill the survivor. Player 2 wanted to stop Player 3. So we played that Player 2 could continue to attack Player 3 (in defense of his house) since no one had retreated and that Player 3 did not use any actions for these battles since they were a defensive reaction.

What are everyone's thoughts on this?

Thanks!

Thread: Re: 2-player?

Narlgoth — 2007-12-19T10:58:31+00:00

I wouldn't recommend playing Zombietown with only two players... This game is vastly improved with the more people that play it, a two player game just wouldn't be any good. Suppose you could always move double the amount of Zombies each turn... That would stir things up a little bit! If you have tried it tell us how it went!

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

Narlgoth — 2007-12-14T11:04:03+00:00

If you guys hate Zombietown so much why do you keep posting to the forums of this game and spoiling in for those who DO think Zombietown is a good game? I don't like Cluedo, but it doesn't mean I'm going to go onto its forums and bad mouth the game and its creators... I just stay clear of it. Fair enough if you review it and justify yourself properly, that's your call. I'm looking forward to the new expansion, as is everyone in our game group and I'm pretty sure we aren't the only ones. You make it out like its the worst game in the world, its not.

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

Narlgoth — 2007-12-14T10:53:38+00:00

Zombietown is a damn good game. Although the rules are a little vague at times this game is a seriously sweet creation. However, this game only shines for 4+ players... 3 and 2 player games lack too many opposing players. With 4+ players the graveyard usually empties before the end of the game (in a 6 player game 60 zombies move in the last day!), there's never enough supplies for everybody, and there is always someone that starts attacking the other players- tearing down their barricades and shooting them...I would recommend you try playing a 5 or 6 player game, you will change your mind.

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

slyde — 2007-11-19T15:29:31+00:00

moon, you KNOW i love zombie stuff, but i have to agree that i found zombietown lacking...

i love the concept, and i know theres a good game in there somewhere, but the rules just dont address the issues that can arise in the game, and quite frankly i have found the designers responses to people's questions about game rules clarification to be rude, and honestly just "sucky"...

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

Warbanner — 2007-11-19T02:25:22+00:00

Well, I love strategy games. I wasn't expecting (or all that interested in) a 'light zombie game'. Still hated it, as did all the rest of our group. But, de gustibus non est disputatum.

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

caffeinehead — 2007-11-17T06:35:44+00:00

My group has proved that Zombietown is very much not for everyone, but i really like it, most likely because of the large decision tree. I've been looking forward to the expansion for months. It's definitely a *strategy* zombie game, which i'm not surprised is not what some people want in a zombie game.

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

Warbanner — 2007-11-17T05:01:38+00:00

I'd suggest trying it with other players. The primary problem we found was that the rules were apparently designed with the assumption that people would just sit in their houses, hole up, and kill zombies. But the game's design clearly rewards an entirely different strategy of grabbing as many houses and cards as you can. This mostly leads to running out of cards and bullets far too quickly.

And I'm betting when you've got actual opponents with different plans than your own, you'll suddenly find the rules on things like zombie movement less clearcut than you thought.

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

MoonSylver — 2007-11-17T03:54:41+00:00

That's your opinion & you're entitled to it, but honestly, I never understood where all the hate came from for this games rulebook. I sat down, read through it a couple of times, played a sample game solo & had no problems. *shrug*

Since others have made the same observation I'm not saying you're wrong, but I just am not sure why many had such issues.
---MS

Thread: Re: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

Warbanner — 2007-11-17T02:35:42+00:00

Oh lord, kill me now! If I was the only one who knew what I was up to that would be a vast improvement from the first game where no one knew what anyone was up to, even themselves.

Seriously, if I could edit my microbadge to read "loves all games, EXCEPT Zombietown", I would.

Thread: "Zombietown 2" announced for Febuary

MoonSylver — 2007-11-16T23:55:46+00:00

This game has gotten a lot of bad press, but I for one found it to be fun. It's nice companion piece to "Zombies!!!" & offers a sort of counter point to it's gameplay IMO. ANYWAY... here is the info on the expansion from the TCI website:

We have just finished up Zombietown 2. This set will allow you to use cars and plow down some zombies You can also use them to barricade your house, but you need the right keys. Zombietown 2 also brings you hidden agendas where you are the only one who knows what you are up to.

Sounds like fun to me!
---MS

Thread: Re: Question re: Mall of Horror

Narlgoth — 2007-11-16T16:19:52+00:00

I agree with Karl. The only way these two games are similar to each other is they have the word zombie in the titles, as well as zombies in the games of course!
In mall of horror players are quick to be eliminated and are in the action straight away. In zombietown players are free to move about and get prepared for the slowly advancing zombie horde in the first couple of turns. Zombie movement is also controlled by the players in zombietown, where they simply appear randomly in mall of horror.
There is two other things that the games have in common with each other; they both play better with more players and they are both very good games!

Image

hoojii — 2007-11-10T22:15:22+00:00

Come get some!

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

drmabuse00 — 2007-11-06T03:27:36+00:00

darth_rooster wrote:
Unfortunately, DoN is no longer free to print. I believe this has gone into production.

It's been available again for a couple of months now as the production deal fell through. Download it NOW!!

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

darth_rooster — 2007-11-06T02:21:01+00:00

And you must definitely print and play Dead of Night

Unfortunately, DoN is no longer free to print. I believe this has gone into production.

Thread: Re: Bored in Zombie Town

asgelb — 2007-11-06T00:12:59+00:00

thats too bad...i've heard negative reports across the board on Zombie Town as well. Have you tried Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game yet?

And you must definitely print and play Dead of Night

Thread: Bored in Zombie Town

JamesMc — 2007-11-05T14:33:02+00:00

My friend bought and excitedly opened this game a few weeks ago. We were all looking foward to a good zombie game, since we were all fans of the original Zombies!!!, and this seemed to be an improvement. Once we started reading the rules, we became increasingly confused as they seemed to be poorly organized and written. The part on movement seemed particularly odd.

At any rate, we set up the game and got down to playing. We each seemed to quickly figure out that the best strategy was to barricade ourselves inside buildings and... wait. Each of us would move from one of a few buildings looking for barricades, and erecting new ones.

Zombie movement became rather stifled. The only time a person would get over run is when the two other players would team up on him with zombie movement; otherwise it is too easy to deflect zombies away from houses. I realize they can't walk backwards, but they can walk diagonally sort of away. Perhaps that was a weakness of only playing wth three players. I can't imagine how a two player game would go.

At the begining of the game zombie hunting seemed pointless, and at the end it was far too deadly. There was no motivation to go out fighting with other characters, since there were only three of us, resources were virtually limitless. The only time I would kill zombies was to make sure that there were just too few to break down a barricade. It almost seemed like maintenance, not a tense confrontation.

Eventually, I won because I had a huge number of barricades errected, and at the last second I ran out and killed a few zombies for points, knowing that there was no chance that they could kill me. All in all, it was an incredibly boring game. I almost felt like were prepareing for a hurricane, not zombies, considering all the windows I boarded up.

In the last couple of turns, one player decided to run outside and mow down zombies. He got swamped pretty quickly. It was too obvious of a choice to have him get swarmed by the other two players. Had there been more than just one person out hunting full time, it may have been more effective.

I've rated this game a 4. It seemed like a waste of time when I played it, and we havent touched it again. I guess if there was nothing else to play, I would play this.

Thread: Re: Welcome to DisappointmentTown, population: me

dontadow — 2007-10-12T18:35:31+00:00

glookose wrote:
Thanks for the very informative review....Geez! why can they not make a decent Zombie game?

They finally did - go check out Last Night On Earth.
You read my mind, great zombie game, though i hope that when we play this tonight it will live up to it.

Thread: Re: Zombietown: I am not a zombie but I play one on TV

ShotGun Jolly — 2007-09-24T12:16:32+00:00

A soon as I play this, I am going to do a session report!

Its reports like these that will make me go buy games before I ever play it!

Nice review. Thanks

Thread: Re: Zombietown: I am not a zombie but I play one on TV

ShotGun Jolly — 2007-09-24T11:36:07+00:00

A soon as I play this, I am going to do a session report!

Its reports like these that will make me go buy games before I ever play it!

Nice review. Thanks

Thread: Re: They're coming to get you, barbara.

ShotGun Jolly — 2007-09-23T18:53:23+00:00

Cant wait to play this game now!

this was a awesome review and really got me stoked!

Thanks
SGJ

Thread: Re: Won't you take me to... ZombieTown

ShotGun Jolly — 2007-09-23T17:52:04+00:00

I picked up this game a few months ago, and I have yet got the chance to play it. Although the premise looks pretty darn cool!

I just havent had the time yet to break it out on the table. But with this type of a review, its gonna be the next game played at my place!!

Nice review

Thanks
SGJ

Thread: Re: Blind testing zombie town

ced1106 — 2007-09-20T23:53:41+00:00

The rulebook *is* confusing. For example, there's a paragraph about the barricade card, but what the number means is found under the Zombie Movement section. We tried playing the game, but didn't get past the setup!

What you will want to do is play a game *solitaire*. You'll only need half of the board, and can have all the zombies move in your direction. The game won't be as much of a challenge, so increase the number of days to 12 or something. I didn't need the FAQ or errata to play the game.

aka. Washu! ^O^

Thread: Re: Welcome to DisappointmentTown, population: me

glookose — 2007-09-19T14:55:14+00:00

Thanks for the very informative review....Geez! why can they not make a decent Zombie game?

They finally did - go check out Last Night On Earth.

Thread: Re: 2-player?

The Jakster — 2007-09-02T12:12:54+00:00

Not me but I read somewhere here on the geek that it works well.
Give it a try!

Thread: Re: Blind testing zombie town

The Jakster — 2007-08-28T12:58:04+00:00

TheCollector wrote:

We were sadly mistaken. Although the fellow running the event had, in the meantime, and unbeknownst to us, run out and grabbed the errata an embarassing number of pages... yes, multiple pages) and printed it along with the turn summary from the rulebook.

What you mean are likely the FAQ, that´s different from errata.

Thread: Re: Blind testing zombie town

Aging One — 2007-08-13T23:37:54+00:00

Not much help now, but there is both expanded rules and an FAQ posted at the Twilight Creations website:

http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/zombietown/expandedzombi...

http://www.twilightcreationsinc.com/zombietown/faq.php?expan...

Thread: Blind testing zombie town

TheCollector — 2007-08-13T21:03:44+00:00

So I'm at the Metro Gamers Seattle Dragonflight convention and itching to spend some money... on a zombie themed game... in fact, on Zombie Town. I sit down to play at event JB-374 hoping to experience the glee and horror that is "Zombie Town" before plunking down my $40.00.

Six stalwarts join me. The seventh is the guy running the event who was a real trooper, so this isn't a slam on him. We realize at this point that nobody knows how to play, but it has short rules (and zombies) so how difficult could it be? I suspect similar thoughts are corner stones on the rocky road to hell.

We started, innocently enough, reading the setup instructions and getting it wrong. The rule book was being passed around like a particularly smoking hot potato, but we continued blithely on. As the possible actions you could take in your turn was read aloud, we immediately realized the need for a reference card. Searching the box for this nugget proved futile. Neverminds thinks we, solider on!

blah, blah, cards next to houses, blah, blah, put each person in one house with an ownership chip, blah, blah separate "Action" (the name is important later), house and combat cards... So we carefully read each card to figure out its parentage because they all look the same on the back separated only by what appears to be smeary-zombie scribbles indicating the type. Then we see the (para)phrase "deal six "Action" cards to each player Keep three and discard the other three." Okay. Tough for the first time through since you have no idea what stuff is for, but that's hardly the game's fault. Well, except for the part where it, in fact, is the game's fault, since the "Action" cards only have pictures on them. No explanatory text. None. So the one that looks like a firework does something fireworky, and the one that looks like guy-cowering, presumably is good because you play it on somebody else to make them cower, or bad, because it is a useless card, or, something else (something else). And the one that has a picture of a zombie, well, that's not something you should have kept. Please discard it. There's also a gun, with bullet symbols ala "Bang!" and sometimes it also says "draw 2" or something like that, but that's not explained anywhere, so don't you worry your pretty little head about it. Then there are other ones with pictures of barricades and some that say things like "+1 Action."

Turn 1: I barricade my house with the barricade card. Our first actual game (not setup) question comes up; can I leave a barricaded house? Page, page, thumb, thumb. The rules imply you can. Somebody starts pawing through the "Action" cards in one of the houses. And finds a card that is an actual action, not a thing (things are also in the "Action" deck). We read and re-read the rule that about what happens if you pick up an event-type-thing and it kind of implied that you sorta can keep it or not, but if you keep it it costs you an action. You spent an action drawing it, so that's two actions. Is it? Well, it's sorta suggested, so yeah. The drawing continues... A +1 action comes up. So, if I play this now, because it's an event from the "Action" deck does that mean I get +1 action and then draw again? Or do I have to spend an action to take it?

We realize we have totally screwed things up shortly after this point, so we start over, thinking: we have it now!

We were sadly mistaken. Although the fellow running the event had, in the meantime, and unbeknownst to us, run out and grabbed the errata an embarassing number of pages... yes, multiple pages) and printed it along with the turn summary from the rulebook. Extremely nice of him to do so, imho, but it only fed the fires. We ended up getting further along, (turn four this time!) but finally gave up due to lack of time and interest at this point. No winner but the zombies presumably.

Some observations:
1. If somebody sat down and thoroughly read the rules it would not have been nearly as bad as it was. of course, they would still have been missing the pages of errata, but it would have helped... somewhat. This game needed blind testing really, really, really bad.

2. Why does drawing from the "Action" deck produce items and events and companions? This seemed clunky.

3. Why is there no text on the item cards like, for example, the firework card to indicate that "No zombies can move toward this house until end of next turn"?

4. Where are the summary cards? Did we have a shorted box or what? There are several things you can do in a turn and it would have helped A LOT.

Summary: it was one of the best times I had at the con. We had a lot of fun just laughing at the craziness of the whole thing. Would I play Zombie Town again? maaaaybe. Would I play with that pick-up group again? You bet!

For reference: here is the confused group attempting to play. Zombies both on and around the board:

]]>

Image

TheCollector — 2007-08-13T18:02:46+00:00

At Dragonflight, life is confusing in Zombie Town.

Thread: Re: What's my motive?

steiness — 2007-08-07T21:27:45+00:00

I agree with your review, Peter. I too was somewhat disappointed about ZT, perhaps mainly because I carefully chose this game to be THE zombie game for my group, only to find it flawed... it has a few good ideas, though (like the piling up of zombies to breach the barricades - very zombie movie-like!), but not enough to really appeal to my group, I'm afraid. But I haven't given up on it yet - house rules can still do some good to this game

I must add two things I found pretty annoying in a commercial game (i.e. something I spend time and money on, instead of inventing myself!):

Why are there only guns (pistols) in the game? Where is the shotgun and chainsaw, not to mention the baseball bat? Isn't this a zombie themed game? The designers could at least have changed the "Draw 2" gun to be a shotgun instead. This annoys me a lot, for some reason...

Secondly, the traps-almost-hidden-to-other-players on barricades is a design flaw I can't forgive. They even state in the rules that "some players might be able to peek and see the traps on your barricades, but they shouldn't overdo it"... What is this?? Either you hide som info for every opponent, or you show it. You don't accidentally show it to your neighbor just because the game is poorly designed. Hmmm... this also annoys me a lot.

I think we will try out DoN now (or at least when it's available again in one way or the other!) - thanks everyone for the recommendations.

Image

Tegre — 2007-04-21T03:29:50+00:00

Charlie (blue) sending the zombie horde after me while Jake (with barely seen custom mini) chills and watch us duke it out!

Image

lastalchemist — 2007-03-21T02:39:44+00:00

99 down, 1 to go.

Image

lastalchemist — 2007-03-21T02:28:20+00:00

Detail of cemetary on the game board

Image

lastalchemist — 2007-03-21T02:26:46+00:00

Game contents spread out on board

Image

lastalchemist — 2007-03-21T02:25:43+00:00

Freshly opened box

Image

lastalchemist — 2007-03-21T02:24:42+00:00

Back of box

Image

maynard77 — 2007-03-17T05:08:37+00:00

Fresh from the box.