Goblins vs Zombies
Goblins vs Zombies Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1. Overview
The Zombies will move towards your Village. If a Zombie passes through the Village Gate, you lose! You must coordinate the Goblins to defend your beloved Village. The Village Gate has space for only 3 Goblins at a time, so choose your Goblins carefully!
2. Components (106 cards)
A Goblin Deck (54 cards), a Zombie Deck (36 cards), 3 Guardian Cards, 3 Turn Reminder Cards, 2 Token Cards, and 8 red bordered cards (2 Event: The Boss!! Cards and 6 Boss Cards).
2.1. Components: Guardian Cards and Turn Reminder Cards
Each Player will have a Field and will be defending his/her own Village. At the beginning of a game each Player will get one Guardian Card and one Turn Reminder Card to make his/her Field.
Each Field consists of 3 Areas (Graveyard, Trees and Village Area) and the Village Gate. The Zombies will appear on the Graveyard then move towards the Village Gate on the same Field. Each Area in a Field can contain any number of Zombies.
Setup diagram (2 Player SETUP DIAGRAM for Mode A: The Training): each Player's Field has, from top to bottom, the Graveyard Area, the Trees Area, the Village Area and the Village Gate (max 3 Goblins here). The Zombie Deck, Zombie Discard Pile, Goblin Discard Pile and Goblin Deck are placed beside the Fields. The Turn Reminder Card and the Guardian Card are placed beside the Field. The Guardian Card is the last defense against the Zombies.
To fight the Zombies, you can place up to 3 Goblins on the Village Gate in your Field. If you want to place more Goblins, you must destroy one or more of your Goblins first. You may destroy any of your Goblins anytime (destroy = put the Goblin Card from your Field face up on the Goblin Discard Pile).
2.2. Components: Goblin Deck
The Goblin Deck consists of 54 face down Goblin Cards (Flag-bearer side up). There are 24 kinds of Goblins you can place on your Village Gate to help you fight the Zombies.
All Goblins, except Wall, have 1 HP (Hit Points) so 1 damage is enough to destroy a Goblin. Wall is the only Goblin with 3 HP.
A discarded or destroyed Goblin Card shall be placed face up on the Goblin Discard Pile. No Player may check the contents of the Goblin Discard Pile.
If you are about to draw a card from the Goblin Deck and the Goblin Deck is empty, shuffle the Goblin Discard Pile to make the new Goblin Deck.
Goblin card example: the number at the left is the Goblin's cost. To play Slingshot you must discard 2 other Goblin Cards from your hand. Meanwhile, Flag-bearer is free! There are four Slingshots in the Goblin Deck. The Goblin's name is at the top of the card. The Goblin's Action has a "➤" symbol. The back side of a Goblin Card is always a Flag-bearer. This means that with this card, you can play a Slingshot or a Flag-bearer.
2.3. Components: Zombie Deck
The Zombie Deck consists of 36 face down cards (Basic Zombie side up). The Zombie Deck consists of 5 Event Cards and 31 Zombie Cards. There are 17 kinds of Zombies in 3 types: G Ground, F Flying and I Invisible. Some Zombies have traits: Quick, Steel, Leaf, and/or B Boss.
When a Zombie is dealt any damage, put Damage Token(s) on that Zombie card. If a Zombie's HP = 0 or less, that Zombie is destroyed, discard all Tokens on that Zombie and put that Zombie face up on the Zombie Discard Pile. No Players may check the contents of the Zombie Discard Pile.
If a Player is about to draw a card from the Zombie Deck and the Zombie Deck is empty, shuffle the Zombie Discard Pile to make the new Zombie Deck.
Zombie card example (Knight Zombie): the card shows the Zombie's name, its HP, its Type (G), its traits (this Zombie has Steel and Quick traits), a Dice for Randomizer, and the Action List (Graveyard/Trees: {MOVE}; Village: {ATTACK} / {ENTER}). The back side of a Zombie/Event Card is always a Basic Zombie.
Some Goblins (Iceshot and Icethrower) can slow down a quick Zombie. So if a Zombie with Quick is dealt damage by one of those Goblins, put a Slow Token on that Zombie and ignore the Quick attribute.
Set aside the red bordered cards (Boss Cards and Event: The Boss!! Cards), they will only be used in certain Modes of Play.
2.4. Components: Token Cards and red bordered cards
Cut the Token Cards to make 3 Slow Tokens and 15 Damage Tokens. The Damage Tokens are used to mark the damage on Zombie/Goblin Cards.
3. Mode A: Training
A co-op introduction game for 1-3 Players to learn how to play the game. All Players must work together to win the game!
If there are one or more new Players, it is recommended to try Mode A: Training first before trying other Modes of Play (see 5. Modes of Play for other Modes of Play).
Play the game as normal (see 4. Setup & Gameplay) but at the beginning of Setup remove all Black Goblin Cards from the Goblin Deck. These 16 Black Goblin Cards will not be used in Mode A: Training (these cards will be used as normal in other Modes of Play).
How to win: At the end of a Player's Turn (after THE SUN PHASE) if there are at least [1/2/3 Players = 8/16/24] cards in the Zombie Discard Pile, all Players have survived the Training and won the game! Example: in a 2 Players game, if the Zombie Discard Pile has 16 or more cards, all the Players win the game!
How to lose: If a Zombie ENTERS a Player's Village and that Player doesn't have a Guardian anymore, all Players lose the game!
TIP: On your first Turn, it is recommended to play some Flag-bearers.
4. Setup & Gameplay
4.1. Setup
- Give each Player one Guardian Card and one Turn Reminder Card. Each Player makes their own Field, please see SETUP DIAGRAM example on page 1 in this Manual.
- Shuffle the Goblin Deck then give 4 Goblin Cards to each Player as their starting hands. During the game each Player may not show his hand to other Players, but all Players may discuss their hands freely with each other.
- Shuffle the Zombie Deck and place it face down near the Goblin Deck.
- The Player who can say "Zombiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiies!!!" the longest in a single breath plays first. Or just determine the first Player at random.
4.2. Gameplay
On each Player's Turn follow these 5 Phases in order (see the Turn Reminder Card). After that play continues clockwise to the next player.
I. GOBLIN ARRIVAL II. GOBLIN ACTION III. ZOMBIE ACTION IV. ZOMBIE ARRIVAL V. THE SUN
4.2.1. Gameplay: I. Goblin Arrival
In this Phase you may place any number of Goblin Cards from your hand on your Village Gate, then you must pay the cost by discarding cards from your hand equal to the cost of each Goblin. You can have up to 3 (three) Goblins on your Village Gate. If you want to play more, you must destroy one or more of your Goblins first.
Example: To play Bomb put that card from your hand on your Village Gate, then you must discard 6 cards from your hand to the Goblin Discard Pile to pay the cost.
When you play Black Goblins (Screamer, Slinger, Shaman, Assassin, Ball & Chain), after you pay the cost they will immediately sleep (turn the card up side down). Sleeping Black Goblins can do nothing until you discard a Pepper Card from your hand to wake up all sleeping Black Goblins in your Field. Wake up = turn the card 180 degrees so the Black Goblin is ready for Action!
About Shield: Since this Goblin is placed below another Goblin, this Goblin doesn't count against the '3 Goblins max on your Village Gate' limit. This means on a given time you may have 3 Goblins and any number of Shields in your Field!
(Illustrated example: in this example you have Ball & Chain, a sleeping Shaman with Shield, and Flag-bearer with Shield.)
In this Phase you may discard 2 Goblin Cards from your hand (place in the Goblin Discard Pile) to do one of the following: give 1 Goblin Card from your hand to another Player, or make a Player of your choice draw 1 card from the Goblin Deck. You may repeat this process as long as you have enough cards to do that.
4.2.2. Gameplay: II. Goblin Action
Each Goblin on your Village Gate may take one Action each (an Action has a '➤' symbol). The Player chooses which Goblin will act first. Remember: A sleeping Black Goblin can not take any Action.
Some Goblins (Slingshot, Iceshot, Bigshot, Archer, Twin Xbows, Slinger) have the nearest keyword: choose the nearest Area that contains the said Zombie. If there are two or more valid targets, you can choose the target.
Example: in A3: Zombie A (Ground); in A2: Zombie B (Ground), Zombie C (Ground); in A1: Zombie D (Invisible), Zombie E (Flying)
Slingshot (deals 1 damage to a nearest Ground Zombie) can shoot Zombie B or C, but cannot shoot Zombie A, D or E.
4.2.3. Gameplay: III. Zombie Action
Each Zombie in your Field will take one Action. It's your choice which Zombie will act first. If a Zombie has Quick then you must give that Zombie two Actions in a row. Zombies that appear in your Field this Turn (because of BACKUP or other effect) will take no Action at all this Turn.
For each Action, check the Action List on that Zombie Card from top to bottom. If the requirement for that Action is fulfilled then the Zombie performs that Action.
A Zombie Action is written between curly brackets { }, and sometimes connected with another Zombie Action with ' + ' (means 'then') or ' / ' (means 'if cannot then').
Example: Graveyard / Trees : {AMBUSH + FLEE} / {WAIT} means this is the Zombie Action if this Zombie is on Graveyard or Trees Area. It will AMBUSH then FLEE, but if this Zombie cannot AMBUSH because there is no Goblin on the Village Gate then this Zombie will WAIT.
These are keywords for Zombie Action:
ATTACK: This Zombie deals 1 damage to one of your Goblins. You choose which Goblin will take the damage (you may target Shield if you have it in your Field). All Goblins, except Wall, have 1 HP each and will be destroyed with one ATTACK from a Zombie. Wall is the only Goblin with 3HP. If there's no Goblins in your Field then this Zombie cannot ATTACK.
ATTACK WALL: This Zombie deals 1 damage to Wall (and only to Wall) in your Field. If you have no Wall in your Field then this Zombie cannot ATTACK WALL.
AMBUSH: The same as ATTACK, but this Zombie attacks your Goblin with the highest cost. If there is a tie, you decide which Goblin this Zombie will attack. If you have no Goblin in your Field then this Zombie cannot AMBUSH.
Example: you have Slinger (cost=0), Flag-bearer (0) and Shot Idol (1) with Shield (1). If Knight Zombie ATTACKS, you can choose to destroy any Goblin. But if Ninja Zombie AMBUSH, you must choose to destroy Shot Idol or Shield (if you choose Shot Idol, Shield will be destroyed too).
BACKUP (X): Take the top X cards from the Zombie Discard Pile and put them face down (Basic Zombie side up) on the same Area in the same Field as the card that calls for backup. If there are not enough cards in the Zombie Discard Pile to satisfy X, use all the cards in the Zombie Discard Pile. If there's no card on the Zombie Discard Pile, no Basic Zombies will appear.
BACKUP (1 on each Field): The same as BACKUP (1) but the backup is on each Field. If there are not enough cards in the Zombie Discard Pile, the Active Player may choose where to put the Basic Zombies.
Example: There are 3 Players: AA, BB, CC. Warlock Zombie is on Trees in AA's Field and gets an Action: {BACKUP (1 on each Field) +MOVE}. There are only 2 cards in the Zombie Discard Pile, then the active Player (AA) chooses to put the Basic Zombies on BB's Graveyard and CC's Graveyard Area. Then Warlock Zombie moves to Village.
ENTER: This Zombie enters your Village! If you still have the Guardian, activate it now (see the Guardian card). If not, too bad, it's Game Over for you!
EXPLODE: Destroy all Goblins in your Field and the Wrestler Zombie. If you have no Goblin in your Field then this Zombie cannot EXPLODE.
FLEE: Put this Zombie face up on the Zombie Discard Pile, discard any Tokens on it.
FLIP: Discard any tokens on this Zombie then flip the Zombie Card so the card shows the Basic Zombie side. From now on, this Zombie becomes a Basic Zombie.
MOVE: This Zombie moves one Area closer to your Village (from Graveyard to Trees, or from Trees to Village). Remember: An Area may contain any number of Zombies.
REINFORCEMENT: Draw 1 card from the Zombie Deck, put it face up on Graveyard in this Field. If it is an Event, resolve it and then destroy it.
WAIT: Lucky you, this Zombie does nothing at all this Turn.
Example (Zombie Squad and Wrestler Zombie; Zombie Squad: Graveyard: {MOVE}, Trees: {BACKUP (4) + FLEE}; Wrestler Zombie: Graveyard/Trees: {MOVE}, Village: {EXPLODE} / {ENTER}): You have 1 Slingshot in your Field and these Zombies are on Trees. You still have the Guardian. It's the beginning of ZOMBIE ACTION PHASE. Two of the possible results are:
A) Give Action to Zombie Squad first, it will bring 4 Basic Zombies on Trees then FLEE. The Basic Zombies will not have any Action this Turn because they appear in your Field this Turn. Wrestler Zombie will MOVE then EXPLODE, destroying itself & Slingshot.
B) Destroy your Slingshot, then give Action to Wrestler Zombie first, it will MOVE then ENTER. Your Guardian will destroy it and then destroy Zombie Squad.
4.2.4. Gameplay: IV. Zombie Arrival
Take the top card of the Zombie Deck and place it face up on Graveyard in your Field. If it's Ninja Zombie or Pirate Zombie, resolve its 'Comes into play' ability. If it's an Event, resolve it then destroy it (put face up on Zombie Discard Pile).
Explanation for 'What's that smell?' and 'Wait, what?' Event Cards: if there's only one Player in play, the Player to the right is you.
4.2.5. Gameplay: V. The Sun
Draw 1 card from the Goblin Deck. Then draw 1 card from Goblin Deck for each Flag-bearer you have in your Field. If you have more than 9 Goblin Cards in hand, discard the excess cards.
Example: You have 8 cards in hand. Flag-bearer, Rockthrower, and Slingshot are in your Field. In THE SUN PHASE you draw 2 cards from the Goblin Deck, so you have 10 cards. Then you must then discard 1 card.
4.3. Winning and Losing
You lose the game if a Zombie ENTERS your Village and you have no Guardian. You win the game if you satisfy the victory condition of the chosen Mode of Play.
5. Modes of Play
There are 5 Modes of Play you can play in this game:
- Mode A: Training (a co-op intro game for 1-3 Players, see 3. Mode A: Training)
- Mode B: Last Stand (a struggling solo game)
- Mode C: Survival (a competitive game for 2-3 Players)
- Mode D: The Boss (a co-op game for 1-3 Players)
- Mode E: Goblins vs Zombies (a head to head game for 2 Players)
5.1. Mode B: Last Stand
A struggling solo game. Double the Zombies, double the fun!
Play the game as normal (see 4. Setup & Gameplay) with these exceptions:
- At SETUP you draw not 4, but 9 Goblin Cards as your starting hand.
- Each Turn execute ZOMBIE ARRIVAL PHASE twice in a row.
If you lose the game (a Zombie ENTERS and you don't have a Guardian) count the number of cards on the Zombie Discard Pile, that's your final score. Your Rank: Score 0-8: SLINGER; 9-16: SLINGSHOT; 17-24: ICESHOT; 25+: BIGSHOT.
You win the game immediately when the Zombie Deck is empty!
5.2. Mode C: Survival
A competitive game for 2 or 3 Players. Do your best to send the Zombies in your Field to the other Players Fields, and be the last Player standing to win the game!
Play the game as normal (see 4. Setup & Gameplay) but when a Zombie is about to be put on the Zombie Discard Pile from a Field, that Zombie immediately comes to play again: put it on Graveyard in the Field of the Player to the right. Note: an Event is not a Zombie, so put an Event on the Zombie Discard Pile as usual.
Example condition: in clockwise order AA, BB and CC are playing the game.
Example 1: AA uses Shaman to FLIP Knight Zombie (becomes Basic Zombie) then uses Slingshot to destroy that Zombie, then AA puts that Basic Zombie on Graveyard in CC's Field.
Example 2: This is CC's GOBLIN ACTION PHASE. CC uses Wind Mage to destroy Wizard Zombie in her Field, then she puts that Zombie on Graveyard in BB's Field. But AA has Sorcerer Zombie in his Field and Wind Mage affects all Fields, so AA puts Sorcerer Zombie on Graveyard in CC's Field. Note that the new Sorcerer Zombie in CC's Field will not take any Action in CC's ZOMBIE ACTION PHASE this Turn because it has just appeared in CC's Field this Turn.
When a Zombie successfully ENTERS a Player's Village, that Player loses the game. The last Player still in the game wins!
In a 3 Player game: when a Player loses the game, put all Zombies in that Players' Field on the Zombie Discard Pile (this is the only time Zombie Cards are placed on the Zombie Discard Pile in this Mode of Play). Continue the game with the remaining two Players, play continues clockwise to the next player.
5.3. Mode D: The Boss
A co-op game for 1-3 Players. All Players must work together to destroy the Boss!
Play the game as normal (see 4. Setup & Gameplay) with these exceptions:
- Prepare one red bordered 'Event:The Boss!!' Card. You can use normal level or Expert Level (for a harder game).
- At the end of SETUP you must adjust the Zombie Deck: Take [1/2/3 Players = 8/16/24] face down cards from the Zombie Deck, this is Pack I. Take another 4 face down cards, add 'Event: The Boss!!' Card of your choice then shuffle to make Pack II. The rest of the Zombie Deck is Pack III. The Zombie Deck is Pack I (top) + II + III (bottom). This means if there are two Players, the 'Event: The Boss!!' Card will be somewhere on the 17th-21st cards in the Zombie Deck.
- When 'The Boss!!' Event Card is put on Graveyard in a Field, look at the top of the Zombie Discard Deck to determine which Boss you meet this time (normal mode will bring normal Boss, Expert Level will bring Expert Level Boss). All Bosses are red bordered and have the Boss (B) trait. You can read the explanation for each Boss below.
5.3.1. Boss: Paladin Zombie
Paladin Zombie gathers more and more Power over time. You must destroy the Paladin Zombie before it's too late!
Replace 'The Boss!!' Event Card with Paladin Zombie Card, remove 'The Boss!!' Event Card from the game, then continue playing. Now it's THE SUN PHASE.
Treat Paladin Zombie as a regular Zombie, but Bomb/Rocket cannot damage Paladin Zombie.
When Paladin Zombie gets an Action, put the top card from the Goblin Deck under it. If Paladin Zombie has 9 cards under it or a Zombie ENTERS a Player's Village (and that Player has no Guardian), all Players immediately lose the game!
If Paladin Zombie is destroyed, all the Players win the game!
5.3.2. Boss: Elf Hero Zombie
Elf Hero Zombie has a strong attack, but drains it's own own HP. All you have to do is stay alive for a while and then it will destroy itself!
Replace 'The Boss!!' Event Card with Elf Hero Zombie Card, remove 'The Boss!!' Event Card from the game, then continue playing (now it's THE SUN PHASE).
Treat Elf Hero Zombie as a regular Zombie, but it has a strong defensive aura so no Goblin can damage Elf Hero Zombie. When Elf Hero Zombie takes Action ('➤'), it deals 1 damage to itself, then Elf Hero Zombie will unleash its attack (read the card).
AMBUSH on each Field: Each Player who has any Goblin in his/her Field must deal 1 damage to the Goblin with the highest cost in his/her Field.
If Elf Hero Zombie is destroyed, all the Players win the game!
If a Zombie ENTERS a Player's Village (and that Player has no Guardian) all Players immediately lose the game!
5.3.3. Dwarf Hero Zombie
A Dwarf Hero Zombie enters each Field. Destroy them all!
Remove 'The Boss!!' Event Card from the game, then put 1 Dwarf Hero Zombie Card on Graveyard in each Player's Field. If any Fields still has a Guardian, FLIP it, no Guardians now! Continue playing after that. Now it's THE SUN PHASE.
Dwarf Hero Zombie is the stronger version of Dwarf Zombie.
DESTROY WALL: If there are one or more Walls in this Field, destroy one of them. If there's no Wall in this Field, Dwarf Hero Zombie cannot DESTROY WALL.
If a Dwarf Hero Zombie is destroyed, all Players continue the game until all Dwarf Hero Zombies in play are destroyed. When the last Dwarf Hero Zombie in play is destroyed, all Players win the game!
If a Zombie ENTERS a Player's Village then all Players immediately lose the game!
5.4. Mode E: Goblins vs Zombies
A head to head game for 2 Players. Who will win, Goblins or Zombies?
At the beginning of the game determine who will be the Goblin Player and the Zombie Player. In this Manual and cards, the Goblin Player is referred to as just 'Player', and the Zombie Player is always referred to as 'Zombie Player'.
Play the game as normal (see 4. Setup & Gameplay) with these exceptions:
- The Zombie Player will have no Field, so there's only one Field in play.
- At the end of SETUP the Zombie Player puts the red bordered Victor, the Zombie King on Graveyard, then draws 3 cards from the Zombie Deck as his/her starting hands.
- Change the ZOMBIE ARRIVAL PHASE to: the Zombie Player chooses between {DRAW 2} or {PLAY 1 + DRAW 1} or {PLAY 2}.
Treat Victor the Zombie King as a regular Zombie although it will do nothing in the ZOMBIE ACTION PHASE because it has no Action ('➤'). When Victor, the Zombie King is hit by Bomb/Rocket: reduce the damage from Bomb/Rocket to Victor, Zombie King to 0 then the Zombie Player discards all cards in hand and places them in the Zombie Discard Pile.
Keywords on Victor, the Zombie King:
DRAW X: The Zombie Player draws up to X cards from the Zombie Deck and add it to his/her hand.
PLAY X: The Zombie Player puts up to X cards from his/her hand face down or face up on Graveyard.
In this Mode of Play the Zombie Player only makes decisions during the ZOMBIE ARRIVAL PHASE. All other decisions (which Zombies to move first in ZOMBIE ACTION PHASE, which Goblin to take a damage if a Zombie ATTACK, etc) are chosen by the (Goblin) Player as usual.
The (Goblin) Player wins immediately if Victor, the Zombie King is destroyed.
The Zombie Player wins immediately when a Zombie can ENTER the Village succesfully or the Zombie Deck is empty or the Goblin Deck is empty.
6. FAQ
- Can I use Potapult to move a Zombie on Village to Graveyard in my Field? Yes. You may put that Zombie on Graveyard in any Field, including yours.
- Shaman is 'reusable', right? You need to wake up him to give him an Action. After you give him an Action, he will sleep. If you use another Pepper, Shaman will wake up again.
- Can I use Twin Xbows to shoot no Zombies in my Field and a Ground Zombie in another Field? Yes.
- Ninja Zombie AMBUSH+FLIP on Village. After FLIP, will this Basic Zombie take an Action again? No. It's still the same Ninja Zombie Card. After AMBUSH+FLIP it will become a Basic Zombie and will do nothing again this Turn.