Playing In Minature

Plastic figures on a whiteboard map

The ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE RPG was designed to be simple enough that it can be played with nothing more than a group of friends and a single six-side die, but that does not mean you have to limit yourself. Many gamers - myself included - enjoy using miniatures for the added tactility and better spatial awareness it allows them. Using miniatures, both players and game master can achieve a better understanding of the relative positioning of Monsters and Player Characters. A better certainty of how each stood in relation to the other allowed the players to craft more cunning strategies, which did much to prevent battles from stagnating into two opposing lines that whacked at one another until one side or another prevailed.  Plus, having a physical artifact to represent a character helps some player become more attached to their in-game avatar, turning a dull collection of stats into something more real for them.  And most modern miniatures tend to be nicely sculpted and are fun to play with even outside the game.

Of course, miniatures do have a downside; not only are they an added expense but they are another thing for a game-master to keep track of (they can also be an unwanted distraction for some undisciplined players). I personally believe the advantages of using miniatures more than balance out the potential for distraction, and as for cost, even an army of undead does not necessarily have to challenge even the most modest of budgets. Below I offer a handful of inexpensive alternatives.

Using coins as tokens on a vinyl mat

A quick and easy way of representing the armies of the undead is to use the change in your pocket. Each denomination can be used to represent a different type of character; pennies for the zombies, nickles take the role of any living survivors, and quarters for the Player Characters. Dimes can be used as Injury Markers; simply place one on top of a character every time he gets Injured. The face of the coin can represent its status; head's up for when everything is okay, while face down ("tails") when the creature is staggered. Larger denominations can be used for "special" zombies, and dollar bills for things like cars or small structures. For the few dollars in your pocket, you can create a whole world. And nothing is more terrifying to players when you pull out the penny-jar that most households have tucked away in some corner...

Paper tokens played on a whiteboard map

Paper tokens can perform a similar role, and for no more than the cost of a few sheets of color printing and the few minutes of time necessary to cut out the tokens. You can either create your own or use the Official ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE RP Game Tokens you can find here. It is recommended that if you do use these, you print them out on 40lb card stock or heavier to keep them from flying away. There are five types of tokens; green figures that represent the Player Characters, yellow figures for any Living Monsters, and dire red for the undead monsters hunting them. There are also two other types of tokens: Injury Markers and Stagger Markers. An Injury Marker is placed on a character everytime it gets Injured and is used to keep track of how many times he has been hurt. They can only be removed with the use of a medkit. The larger Stagger markers are overlain on characters or Monsters that are Staggered; these tokens are automatically removed after one round.

Finally, you can purchase small bags of plastic miniatures from most gaming stores. I personally like to use the figurines from the Zombies!!! games as these have both monsters and heroes but there are many alternatives you can find. Barring that, cheap plastic Army Men toy soldiers can take the same role; just use different colors to represent the different factions (for instance, green soldiers for zombies and tan for the Player Characters).

The primary purpose of miniatures is to help players better envision how they are positioned with regard to each other and any monsters. As such, neither game mats nor boards are required. A game mat with a pre-printed hex grid can be useful to help determine the distance between the various creatures, but many Game Masters find they can manage without this sort of aid. I personally like to use an dry-erase whiteboard so I can quickly sketch any nearby landmarks such as buildings, vehicles or vegetation. Vinyl mats are available for about $30 dollars, either from your favorite online retailer or your local gamestore; dry-erase boards can be had for anywhere from $10 to $50, depending on the size, from any office supply store.

Cheaters Always Prosper

The ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE RPG is designed to be easy to learn but even so, it has its fair share of tables and charts. It can be tiresome thumbing through the rulebook looking for exactly what Damage bonus an automatic rifle gets, or how many extra Hex of splash damage is caused by the rocket launcher. This is even more pronounced with beginner players, who are still trying to wrap their heads around the whole concept of role-playing without worrying about what numbers they need to roll on the dice.

So, for those who need it, let me present the ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE RPG Player's Cheat Sheet (also useful for GameMasters!). It has all the most commonly-looked up information, all on one handy sheet.

Download it here.

Steve Jackson Games - Zombie Dice

Much as I love role-playing games, they aren't suited for every occasion. You need a certain number of players, and a certain amount of time to have a successful session; a good location is necessary too. So when something like the ZOMBIEPOCALYPSE RPG just won't suffice, you need an alternative. One such option is Zombie Dice, from the venerable Steve Jackson Games.

Nominally this is a "party game", although I can't imagine anyone playing this at any of the parties I go to. It does make for a convenient "pick-me-up" game, for when you and a few friends have a half hour to kill. Involving nothing more than a handful of dice and the included dice cup, all you need is a flat area to roll the bones.

The rules are fairly simple; roll the dice and keep track of the results. You take on the roll of a hungry zombie chasing after the Living, and the dice you roll decide the outcome of your chase. Each die has a three symbols on it, indicating whether you caught somebody (a brain), if they outran you (feet), or if you took a bullet (shotgun blast). The idea is to roll as many brains as you can while avoiding the shotgun blasts; take three shots and your turn is over. The dice are differently colored; the red dice have more shotgun blasts, while the green more brains (the yellows dice are neutral). Each turn, you roll three die at random; you keep going until you chose to stop or you get 3 shotgun blasts (at which point you lose all the brains you accumulated that turn, adding to the risk). The game is over once a player collects thirteen brains.

The game is largely luck-based, and most strategy boils down to ending your turn after you roll your second shotgun blast. You can choose to press your luck, but that rarely ends well (more often you just get three shotguns and lose any brains you rolled that turn) so is only a tactic worth using at the very beginning or very end of the game. The game is not particularly deep and so does not have much longevity, but on the other hand it is very easy to learn, the rounds are fairly quick and it's a fun  way to pass a few minutes.

Steve Jackson Games also offers two expansions, which add special dice to the pool (including a 12-side "school bus" die), but the added complexity does little to better the game. The dice are decently made and the dice-cup is a nice addition to any gamer's collection, even if it isn't used to play Zombie Dice. You can also download the game as an app for the iPhone or a Windows phone, and there is a demo version available on the web using Flash. These give you an idea as to the mechanics of the game work, but it isn't the same as playing it with a bunch of friends.

Zombie Dice isn't the greatest of games, but it is quick, easy-to-learn and fun in short bursts. It includes 13 dice and a dice cup, and has a suggested price of $13.13 (notice the recurring 13 motif). Personally I think it is just a bit overpriced for what you get, but barring that problem, it's a decent enough title and worth picking up by any zombie-loving gamer.