Julian and I played another game of this about 10 days ago. I took quite a few pictures and will add some commentary but to be honest, this sort of board game does not strike me as the most interesting thing to read about - so I possibly won't bother doing an AAR on any future games - unless it's a few months break between now and the next one....
This was the playing area for our game.
As it was only Julian and I, we had three characters each.
Julian again had Samson the dwarf - the only figure who STARTS the game with the ability to inflict 2 damage points.
Zombies enter, stage right - two of my three figures are in the near distance.
Once again, I managed to discover this spell in the dungeon/cellar. Roll 4 x D6 per action causing 2 kills on a 4+!
The first building I searched revealed one "runner" - who was quickly dispatched!
A couple of general views of the table after the first few turns.
Zombies, zombies everywhere....
But wait, there are more.....!!
Nelly the barmaid found, and quickly destroyed, the Necromancer!
Nelly smashed in another door - and behind it lay - MORE Zombies!
Meanwhile, Samson the dwarf spent the remainder of the game as a decoy for the majority of the zombies in play, including an Abomination, by hiding in one of the cellars and creating a great racket banging pipes with his enormous tool (the war hammer!) - Zombies MUST head towards the nearest noise, so this was a good way to corral a lot of them in a dead-end passageway.
Surrounded by Zombies one minute ....
.... and next one, they are all gone! The game does seem to be designed to make things relatively easy for the player characters!
Above - the large herd of zombies congregating in a dead-end tunnel, thanks to Samson the dwarf and his noise making routine!
Zombies come on in the same old way ......
..... and my characters dispatch them in the same old way!
Late in the game, Ann the Nun got her psychopathic hands on this death dealing weapon.
All my characters also had useful spells they could use.
Eventually, we managed to locate both a gourd of Dragon Bile AND a torch with which to ignite it.
And the large herd of zombies, including the Abomination, were soon no more!
Samson the dwarf, down in his cellar, making lots of noise, banging away with his large hammer.
A few final gratuitous shots of the nicely painted figures.
One thing I do quite like about this game (and the fantasy games with Andrew) is the use of nicely printed boards/tiles for the playing surface. I managed to find quite a few of the tiles online at the manufacturers web site and have downloaded them and printed them off in colour, as I think I might be able to adapt the Zombicide rules and mechanisms to fight some Three Musketeer scenarios .... more of that in a future post!
Thanks for your visit and extra special thanks to anyone who takes the time and effort to leave a comment!
The quality of paint and sculpts is very nice and I imagine helps with the immersive side of the game. The increasing presence of 3D printers amongst gamers is likely going to see many of these types of games become more dimensional - things like Space Hulk especially spring to mind.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree norm! My friend Andrew has a load of beautiful scenery that comes primarily from Kick Starter game box sets he has backed. He was telling me recently that the Polish company he often gets these from, is doing a whole range of scenery only and the latest offering is pre painted scenery, which will be done by computer controlled robotic spray-painting machines - amazing really - that it is cost effective, apart from anything else!
DeleteSlight correction (FWIW), my scenery is mostly Games Workshop plastic rather than Kickstarter stuff, except for where I have scratchbuilt some, such as the stairway pieces on the recent dungeoncrawl game. Some of the tile pieces are from the odd kickstarted board game (I haven't got any Polish stuff yet:))
DeleteThe Zombicide games are good fun. The rules have some interesting and simple mechanisms which can be replicated. Do you intend to have the Cardinal's henchman and Guard chase down the Musketeers?
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter - yes, if I take this idea to fruition, I see the Cardinals men being auto generated, in the same way Zombies are - I might make them a bit harder to kill though, or else I will need to buy an awful lot of them!
DeleteZombicide games are normally fun. Great for a quick pick up and play game
ReplyDeleteYes, they are Scotty - along the same lines as the likes of Wings of Glory, but, like that game, Zombicide isn't something I would want to play too often - it becomes a bit "samey"!
DeleteI don't do boardgames but that one looks like it was fun, figures are lovely and I must admit they do make a difference from the visual aspect of things.
ReplyDeleteThanks Donnie - I don't usually do boardgames either - Julians place is generally the only time I come across them! Of the two played in the last few months, I might actually prefer the Viking Mythology "Blood Rage" game to this - but this is good fun occasionally.
DeleteThe characters are good looking models. The zombie hordes are, well, zombie hordes. Some clever mechanics and pretty terrain boards round out a pleasant game. What is the Polish company that is making scenery? Overall the effect reminds me of Mansions of Madness using figures and printed boards.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe, I agree with all your thoughts on the game, I just think, despite a lot of different boards and scenarios, most games are fundamentally the same thing.
DeleteSorry, I don't know the name of the 3d printing company in Poland
The Polish company is Archon Studios. It is injection moulded plastic (like Games Workshop or Renedra), rather than 3D printed, as the latter is too slow a process for commercial production.
DeleteSweet - thanks for the info and correction Andrew!
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ReplyDeleteZombicide is quite good for a bit of, um, mindless fun... I hadn't seen Black Plague before. Please keep the AARs coming [typo corrected].
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement to keep on posting the AAR's, Aaron!
DeleteAs everyone else has said - lovely figures. I have the original zombicide set but became bored with it after a while. This one looks interesting though I suspect the game play is broadly the same.
ReplyDeleteCheers JBM! It is a fun game for every now and again but not sure I would want to play a 6 or 8 week campaign!
DeleteI am sure you are correct that the Black Plague version is pretty similar to previous iterations.
Another fine-looking, apocalyptic gaming diversion. As others have noted, the figures really look great both in sculpting and brushwork. Not a game or theme I have tried.
ReplyDeleteThank Jon....Julian has really embraced the "speed paints " method and what he is now able to produce certainly attests to what is achievable with this system!
DeletePlayed once and was really awesome so great to see another Zombicide game report!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal ....glad you enjoy the report
DeleteI think I would enjoy playing this for something light and different. It looks fun and I enjoy reading AARs like this Keith as it is a glimpse into other forms of gaming.
ReplyDeleteGreat feedback thanks Lawrence!
DeleteYes, it's a fun game now and then, just not week after week perhaps!
Well I for one would like to see more of these games, if only a few eye candy type shots, as the figures and printed tiles are excellent. Certainly not the sort of game to play for weeks on end, but perfect for something quick and fun at the end of the week:).
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Steve....seems like most readers share your opinions!
DeleteThis time around it didn’t seem much of a challenge, or you just are that good. Usually in a players vs game set up the game gives a turn or two of tense ‘I think we’re gonna lose’ moments.
ReplyDeleteThanks Stew! According to Julian, he has played the game with his adult daughter....and they DID lose.....but to me, it seems that would be quite hard to do, unless you were very unlucky with the extra spells etc you found....
DeleteGreat and fun looking game Keith. I guess there is often a way to "break" these games where one side must follow a set of rules. Although banging on pipes to distract zombies into a dead end space seems like a reasonable strategy.
ReplyDeleteExactly so Ben....if you had a GM, he might overrule that strategy, but as the written rules are at present, this is completely legit!
DeleteFunny you should conclude with a note about the tiles. I was going to ask about those--and the thought also crossed my mind of other systems and/or eras that could be played using them (like Three Musketeers).
ReplyDeleteGreat minds and all that Ed......I won't complete the quotation, though!!
DeleteBP always makes for a fun encounter and some tight spots to wriggle out of. Nice paint job on the characters.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Stu
Cheers Stu....a good game, every so often! The Speed paints have worked well on the figures, for sure!
DeleteExcellent sounding and looking game!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you Iain 😊
DeleteAn entertaining sounding game… The figures are particularly nice…
ReplyDeleteAll the best. Aly
Thanks Aly, they are pretty good figures for a board game!
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