Front Page

Content

Authors

Game Index

Forums

Site Tools

Submissions

About

You May Also Like...

T
thegiantbrain
September 13, 2021
M
mezike
September 17, 2020
Hot
M
mezike
September 11, 2020
Hot
T
thegiantbrain
January 28, 2020
Hot
M
Msample
January 22, 2020
Hot
JL
Josh Look
December 12, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
August 30, 2019
Hot
V
Vysetron
August 16, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
August 09, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
August 02, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
July 26, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
July 12, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
July 05, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
June 28, 2019
Hot
M
MasonSokol
June 07, 2019
Hot

ZOMBIE STATE Five Second Review

Hot
MB Updated December 13, 2019
 
0.0
 
0.0 (0)
14567 0
ZOMBIE STATE

Game Information

Game Name
Designer
There Will Be Games

Pictured is the best zombie you will ever see in a movie, or in any other media for that matter. Note that it is not cute, funny, and it is not wearing a chef hat or other article to signify to the viewer what he was before the zombie apocalpyse. No. It is a maggot-eyed, decayed, rotten, and grim visage that represents everything the living dead should. But I digress.

This week I've got John Werner's ZOMBIE STATE on the slab, and although I absolutely love that it is a DIY production, it has an original gameplay concept, and it's at a reasonable price point, I also don't think it's really all that great. The success and good will that this game will enjoy is strictly because of its scope and subject matter, not its design quality.  I think Mr. Werner's ambition sort of went a little further than his design ability because it simply doesn't work quite right in some places and is a little sloppy in others. I like the effort, and I'd much rather see a game like this stumble than one that plays it safe with tried and true mechanics and play concepts. But it's much too easy to wind up out of the game early on, and it's one of those things where you're still playing for two hours after you've crossed the threshold of certain doom. 

But worse, I think the game is a thematic failure. There is no "Diplomacy of the Dead", and reports that it is mostly a mulitplayer solitaire game are true. This is unfortunate, because what the game _really_ needed was an impetus for nations to work together much more so than to compete. It should have been co-op, or at least co-op with some friction. If we take it that WORLD WAR Z is its primary inspiration, one of the key themes there was that the nations of the world wind up having to work together or face annihilation. In this game, you simply watch what other countries are doing, sometimes getting a reseach bonus from them if they have a tech you want, and maybe even nuking them.

Finally, can somebody tell me what the deal is with the "raised/razed borders" thing? That makes no sense!


ZOMBIE STATE
Michael Barnes (He/Him)
Senior Board Game Reviews Editor

Sometime in the early 1980s, MichaelBarnes’ parents thought it would be a good idea to buy him a board game to keep him busy with some friends during one of those high-pressure, “free” timeshare vacations. It turned out to be a terrible idea, because the game was TSR’s Dungeon! - and the rest, as they say, is history. Michael has been involved with writing professionally about games since 2002, when he busked for store credit writing for Boulder Games’ newsletter. He has written for a number of international hobby gaming periodicals and popular Web sites. From 2004-2008, he was the co-owner of Atlanta Game Factory, a brick-and-mortar retail store. He is currently the co-founder of FortressAT.com and Nohighscores.com as well as the Editor-in-Chief of Miniature Market’s Review Corner feature. He is married with two childen and when he’s not playing some kind of game he enjoys stockpiling trivial information about music, comics and film.

Articles by Michael

ZOMBIE STATE
Michael Barnes
Senior Board Game Reviews Editor

Articles by Michael

User reviews

There are no user reviews for this listing.
Already have an account? or Create an account
Log in to comment