Zombies!!! Variant

I realize that Zombies!!! is unpopular here. But the game has always had some merits that attracted enough of a fanbase to support several expansions and one spin-off. Every gamer I know has always been initially impressed by the game. Zombies!!! is inexpensive, includes an impressive quantity of minis, and has a different map tile layout every game. It's also a flawed game that always outstays its welcome and offers limited tactical and strategic options.

My innovation for Zombies!!! consists of just two major tweaks:

1. Divide the players into 2 teams. Or 3 or even 4 teams could work for a larger group. The base game comes with just six shotgun dudes, but The End expansion includes six more shotgun dudes. It's okay if one team has one more player than another team, because...
2. Each team uses its own turn marker.

In effect, each team is playing its own game of Zombies!!!, except that all teams are playing on the same set of map tiles and against the same zombies. In the normal game, you move zombies each turn to harass other players or get out of your way. In this version, you are trying to harass the other team or help your own team with the zombie movement. You play until either one team racks up 25 kills or one team member escapes via a helipad.

The game plays a lot faster for a couple of reasons. First, the turn markers for each group function completely independently, so the team that plays more quickly will possibly get more turns. Second, with fewer players sharing each turn marker, there is less downtime for each player.

For my setup, I mix the basegame tiles and cards with the Six Feet Under expansion that adds in sewer tunnels and subway stations. I also mix in the cards-only 3.5 expansion. Both the sewers and subways can speed up the game by giving players a possible way to bypass sections of the table that are overrun by zombies. I also put the entry map tiles for my other expansions (the military base, the mall, the university, and the wilderness) in the base game deck, but we just use the first two expansions that show up in play. That gives players up to 3 different helipads and plenty of zombies to kill.

To be honest, I have only played this variant once, but it went perfectly. One team had three players and the other had four, but it felt even because the three player group played a little faster than the four. The teams competed to get to the food and ammo and moved zombies against each other, and sometimes played take-that cards on each other. A helipad eventually showed up and the teams both hammered away at the zombies to clear a path. Counting teaching the rules, the whole game took 70 minutes to play, and everybody was happy with the game play. I look forward to playing again this Saturday.

When you say each team has their own turn marker, do you mean each team is playing simultaneously based on the speed of their own players? So if I am stuck with Doug who takes 20 minutes to read through his cards every turn, my team might get crushed by a team that moves more quickly.

Yes, each team is playing simultaneously at the speed of their own players. In theory, Doug could really slow your team down. But Doug will only have a hand size of 3 cards, and most Zombies!!! cards are very simple to understand. Also, Doug can show his cards to his teammates, who will be eager to help him figure out which card to play.

Usually what slows down Zombies!!! players is the decision of which 1d6 zombies to move (one space per zombie) at the end of the turn. The presence of an opposing team makes it easier to pick where to send the zombies, and the presence of teammates will create peer pressure to make faster decisions.

This sounds really intriguing.

Doug shouldn't have too much trouble with his cards, because after setup, he is only drawing one card per turn. That should be a manageable amount of information for all but the worst Analysis Paralysis Guy.