If zombies are the new black in terms of fashionable gaming subjects, mini-games are the cutting edge of boardgaming these days.  Of course there has always been room in gaming circles for fast-paced tabletop games – SlapJack comes to mind. But in the last few years as we’ve seen the Information Age fast forward into overdrive, it seems that fast-paced games on the tabletop have become more prevalent. 

Reasonably fast-paced skirmish minis games like Malifaux and Warmachine are great, but to augment those even faster-paced games like Kung Fu Fighting.

Steve Jackson Games has always focused on quirky and fun games that were typically simple to learn and play.  Their most recent offering:  Zombie Dice.  There’s nothing complicated about this game, which can be learned in under a minute and played in about five. 

What makes it attractive is not just the zombie theme, but the clever gameplay, inexpensive pricepoint, and quick resolution.  The game comes in a small cardboard can about five inches high and a diameter of about two inches.  Inside is a small single page, full-color rule sheet and 13 dice (yeah, it’s hard not to overlook the lucky number 13).

Gameplay is simple.  The player takes on the roll of a zombie.  The object of the game is to be the first zombie to collect 13 brains.  The first player selects (without looking) three dice from the can and rolls them. There are only three results:  a brain, footsteps, and a shotgun blast.  Upon rolling the dice the player reserves any brains he has rolled and sets those dice aside.  Shotgun blasts are also set aside – three blasts and the player’s turn is over; blasts are set aside, too.  There are always three dice rolled, so if the player chooses to continue, he draws however many dice it takes to get back to three, and rolls again.

Simple?  Yes.  But there is a strategy.  There are three colors of dice:  green, yellow, and red. Green dice only have a single side with a shotgun blast, meaning they are the most likely to produce a positive outcome for the player.  Yellow dice have two shotgun blasts, red dice three. 

A roll of footsteps means your victim has escaped.  If the player’s turn ends due to three blasts being accumulated, he loses all brains he rolled for the turn.  So there’s an element of strategy – how many red dice have been rolled?  Do I feel lucky and think I won’t roll more blasts?  Or should I take my brains now and pass the turn?

This demo does a great job of encapsulating the game.

When your turn is over you return all dice to the can and pass it to the next zombie…err…player. 

Games take between ten and twenty minutes to play depending on the number of players, and effectively any number of players over two who can fit around a table can play.  Although the game suggests it is for players 10 and up, my seven year old nephew had no trouble learning the rules. 

Zombie Dice is a great filler game to break out between heavier gaming sessions.  I like to pull it out in the evenings when the kids are sitting around waiting for dinner, too.  Nothing complicated, easy, fast, fun, and cheap, it’s worth having Zombie Dice on your shelf for a dispute resolution, spontaneous gaming sessions, and those late-night cravings of brains, too.