Zombergeek Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Object of the Game
• Game Components
• Tiles
  • Characters
  • Weapons
  • Items
  • Monsters
• Setup
• Movement
• Combat
• If You Have Been Eaten
• Attacking Other Players
• Overcoming Barricades
• Victory
• Frequently Asked Questions

Object of the Game

You must escape from a house full of zombies. See that red truck? The one parked right on the other side of the house? You'll need to start it up if you want to get away. You'll need the keys — you can find them somewhere in or near the house. You must also find a can of gasoline. Once you have the keys and the gas, you can drive away and leave those nasty zombies in the dust.

You'll have to investigate the abandoned house and fight zombies with the help of any weapons you can get your hands on, all while finding and using various helpful items.

Game Components

• Big game board, divided into 144 squares.
• 28 monster tiles:
  • 17 zombies.
  • 5 hell hounds.
  • 5 mutant spiders.
  • Boss: Swamp Horror.
• 11 weapon tiles:
  • 4 grenades.
  • Knife.
  • Crossbow.
  • Axe.
  • Handgun.
  • Assault rifle.
  • Shotgun.
  • RPG.
• 16 item tiles:
  • 6 first aid kits.
  • 8 boards.
  • Gasoline can.
  • Keys.
• 5 player tiles (Alex, Anita, Mary, Max, Johnny).
• 40 heart counters.
• Spinner.
• Game rules.

Tiles

Characters

Character	Hit Points	Abilities
Alex	3	Alex is really into martial arts: he never goes anywhere without his trusty knife. You may use it at any time, as if Alex had the knife tile.
Anita	3	Anita is a skilled nurse: when she uses a first aid kit, it restores 2 hit points instead of 1.
Max	3	Max is the youngest in the group, but also the fastest. He may, if needed, add +1 square to his movement speed every turn.
Mary	3	Mary is a police officer: she starts the game with a handgun. You may use it at any time, as if Mary had the handgun tile.
Johnny	5	Johnny is incredibly tough: he starts the game with 2 more hit points than anyone else.

Weapons

• Melee weapons (knife, axe, crossbow): can kill a monster when the spinner lands on the "crossed swords" space.
• Firearms (handgun, assault rifle, shotgun): can kill a monster when the spinner lands on the "crosshairs" space.
• Grenades: can instantly blow up any monster other than the boss (the Swamp Horror).
• RPG: this is the only way to get rid of the Swamp Horror. It cannot be used against any other enemies.

Items

• First aid kit: Restores 1 hit point. When Anita uses it, it restores 2 instead.
  • Important! Every player starts out with a certain number of hit points at the beginning of the game, but you can use first aid kits to increase your total hit points beyond this number with no restrictions. That is to say, you may have more hit points than you started out with.
• Boards: You can use one of these to block up a door or window. In order to do this, you must lay a boards tile on a square with a door or window on it. This can only be accomplished after you pass through the door or window in question, and only if you have a boards tile in your possession.
• Gasoline can: You need this to refuel and start the truck.
• Keys: You need this to start the truck.

Players may trade and share weapons and items when they end up on neighboring squares at the end of a turn. Trading and sharing does not use up a turn action.

Monsters

• Zombie: Attacks and bites the player if the spinner lands on the "teeth" space.
• Hell Hound: Attacks and bites the player if the spinner lands on the "teeth" space.
• Mutant Spider: Attacks and bites the player if the spinner lands on the "teeth" space.
• Swamp Horror: Attacks and bites the player if the spinner lands on the "teeth" space. This is the boss monster. It can only be defeated with the help of the RPG.

Setup

1. Randomly distribute the character tiles, or just decide together which character each player will get to control.
2. Distribute the heart counters (3 each for Alex, Anita, Max, and Mary; 5 for Johnny). These represent each character's hit points. During the course of the game, players will have to discard these counters when their characters are bitten by zombies and other monsters. Players will also acquire additional heart counters when they use first aid kits. Any character who loses their last heart counter dies.
3. Game board setup:
   • Place every player's character tile on the "start" position, which is represented by the broken down yellow car in the bottom left corner of the board.
   • Shuffle all of the monster, weapon, and item tiles, as well as any unclaimed character tiles (see FAQ for details) together. Distribute them randomly (and in face-down position) around the game board in any order that you like. You may only place one tile on each square. Remember: each tile is a surprise, and there are many more squares on the board than there are tiles. So try to put the tiles in interesting places; the sorts of places where you can imagine finding something useful, or something dangerous. The closet, the bed, and the bathtub are all excellent hiding places. What's that behind the curtain? What's that thing sticking out of the sandbox? What is that strange smell coming out of the trashcan? Is it treasure — or is it terror?

You can start playing your first game right now! Just don't forget to check the rules from time to time.

Movement

The turn order proceeds clockwise, beginning with the bravest player.

On your turn:

1. Spin the spinner and move your character tile. The number that the arrow lands on is the number of squares that you will move this round.
   • You may move in any direction, and you do not have to move in a straight line, but you may only move to squares that are adjacent to you. You may not move diagonally.
   • You may not move through walls. You must either walk through doors or climb through windows.
   • If there is a face-down tile in your way, then you must either stop to flip it over, or else move around its square. Whenever you flip over a tile, your move ends.
   • You may move through other players' character tiles, but you may not stop on a square occupied by another player.
   • You may not move through face-up monster tiles. When you enter the monster's square, you must stop and fight the monster.
2. If you enter a square with a face-down tile on it, you must flip it over:
   • If it is an item, pick it up.
   • If it is a monster, fight it (see "Combat" for details).
3. Your turn is over, and it is now the next player's turn.

Combat

If you flip over a monster tile, it will immediately attack you! Give the spinner a whirl and see where the arrow falls:

• Crossed Swords: If you have a melee weapon (knife, axe, crossbow), you destroy the monster.
• Crosshairs: If you have a firearm (handgun, assault rifle, shotgun), you destroy the monster.
• Teeth: You've been bitten! You lose 1 hit point.
• Runner: You managed to run away. The monster tile remains on the board in the face-up position. You must now give the spinner another go in order to see how many spaces you will move. If this move takes you to a face-down tile, you must flip the tile over.
  • If the arrow lands on "crosshairs" or "crossed swords", and you lack the appropriate weapon, then you must give the spinner another try. Combat continues until you either defeat your enemy, run away, or die.
  • If you have a grenade and you decide to use it, just say: "I'm using a grenade!" The monster is immediately destroyed, and you discard the grenade tile. The RPG works in the same way, except that it can only be used against the Swamp Horror.

Each monster only has 1 hit point. But remember: the Swamp Horror is impervious to every weapon except the RPG.

Defeated monster tiles are immediately discarded. If a character dies, their tile is also immediately discarded. All of the weapons and items that the character was carrying remain on the square on which the character was "eaten". Another player's character may stop on that square to pick up all of a deceased character's things. Once these objects (keys, gas can, weapons, first aid kits, boards) have been picked up, they can be used as per the usual rules. The monster who killed the character may also remain on the square, and attack anyone who enters it. In this situation, the monster must be defeated before the objects can be recovered.

If You Have Been Eaten

Don't despair — you're still in the game! The first player to be eaten now controls the revealed monsters. Zombies, their boss, hellhounds, and even mutant spiders are now at your command. You are now playing against your former teammates. If several players die, then they will all play for the "zombie" side against the remaining protagonists.

Attacking Other Players

When a player who is playing for the zombies takes their turn, they use the spinner as usual. But now, they move 1 of the revealed monsters on the board and try to eat the remaining player characters. Monsters move much like player characters: they may move in any direction to adjacent squares, but may not move diagonally. They may pass through face-down tiles, however. They may also stop in squares occupied by face-down tiles, but they cannot flip them over. Some monsters move slowly, but others are extra-fast. A monster cannot end its turn on a square occupied by another monster, but it may pass through these squares.

Monster movement:

• Zombie: -1 to spinner result.
• Swamp Horror: Unmodified spinner result.
• Mutant Spider: Unmodified spinner result.
• Hellhound: +1 to spinner result.

In order to attack a character, you must chase them down and place the monster tile on top of the character tile. Even if the spinner says that you must move more spaces than you need to enter a character's square, a monster always ends its movement when it enters a character's square, and attacks. Combat proceeds according to the usual rules.

Important! If there is more than one "eaten" player in the game, then multiple "eaten" players must make sure not to use the same monster tile on consecutive turns.

Overcoming Barricades

A player fleeing from moving zombies may use any boards tiles that they have to barricade doors and windows to keep the monsters out. To do this, a player must simply place a previously acquired boards tile on top of a door or window square that they are passing through. The door or window is now blocked.

In order to break through the boards, the player who is controlling the zombies must move a monster onto the square with the boards on it and give the spinner a whirl:

• If it comes up "teeth", the barricade is destroyed and the boards tile on the square is discarded.
• If the arrow lands on any other space, the barricade remains standing and the player may attempt to break it down again on their next turn.

Victory

In order to come out on top in this desperate struggle against the ravenous dead, you must survive and drive off into the night in the red truck that is parked on the other side of the house. But first, you'll need to find the "keys" and "gas can" tiles and bring them to the truck. These items may be brought to the truck by either one or two players. If one of the players finds both items, they may drive away from the house, leaving their friends behind. They may also wait for their friends, or even run back into the house to help the rest of the group. It is entirely up to the player.

If a face-down tile was placed in the truck during the setup phase, it must be flipped over by any character who enters the vehicle. If it turns out to be a monster, then it must be defeated.

You can make the game easier or more difficult by changing the number of hit points that characters start the game with.

Frequently Asked Questions

I just flipped over a tile, and it turned out to be a character tile. What do I do with it?

When you start a game with less than 5 players, you shuffle any unselected character tiles in with the monsters, weapons, and items, and randomly lay them out on the board in a face-down position. Should you "rescue" an unclaimed character, treat their tile as you would an item. Should your character die with a "rescued" character in their possession, discard your character tile and replace it with the "rescued" character on the same square. Instead of playing as the monsters, you will take control of the "rescued" character on your next turn. Your new character retains all of your old character's items. You lose access to your old character's special ability, which is of course replaced by the special ability (see Tiles: Characters) belonging to the "rescued" character. Every time a character enters play in this way, they start with only 1 hit point, with the exception of Johnny who (thanks to his special ability) starts with 3.

Can player characters pass through barricades created with boards tiles?

No, they cannot. They must either break through them using a firearm or melee weapon that is in their possession (using the spinner), or else they must use up a grenade to instantly destroy the barricade.

If a player dies while carrying the keys, gas can, or RPG, are these cards discarded?

No. All weapons and items that were carried by the dead character remain on the square on which that character was killed. Any other character who enters that square immediately picks everything up (or if there is a monster on the square, picks everything up immediately after having defeated the monster). This includes the keys, gas can, and RPG. When a character dies, the players with living characters on the board will try to get to the items before the monsters do, while the monsters will attempt to position themselves on and near items in order to trap the characters into fighting them.

Can a character move through a square occupied by another character?

Yes. You may not however end your turn on the same square as another character. You may trade and share items when you are standing on neighboring squares.

Can more than 1 character ever occupy the same square?

The only squares that can ever be occupied by more than 1 character are the squares that make up the red truck, i.e. the "finish line."

What if the players have managed to get to the truck with the keys and gas can, but there is a mutant spider in the truck?

Any monsters in the truck must be defeated before you can make your getaway. It's especially fun when the Swamp Horror gets in there.

Can you just drive off, leaving your friends behind?

You may wait for your friends in the truck, or you may even actively help them get to it safely; but if you choose, you may drive off by yourself and abandon them to their fates.

What happens if a zombie moves into a square containing a face-down tile?

Zombies and other monsters can move through squares containing face-down tiles, and they can end their turns on them, but they cannot flip them over. Monsters cannot use weapons and items, but they can end their movement on the same square as these, in order to keep any character from getting at a pile of goodies without a fight. A monster occupying the same square as an item or weapon will have to be defeated before the objects can be picked up by any character.