Zombie Kidz Game Review

ZOMBIE KIDZ GAME REVIEW

 In Zombie Kidz , players go to the scariest part of the cemetery to lock the gates and stop the zombie horde from spreading through the city. Work together to lock all the gates or destroy all the zombies in the graveyard to win.

PREPARATION FOR THE GAME

 Preparing Zombie Kidz is very easy. Place the field in the center of the playing area. For a two-player game, use the side of the field with diagonal paths between the tombstones. For a 3-4 player game, use the side without diagonal paths. Place one zombie on each goal in the corners of the field, and place the remaining zombies within reach of all players. Place all 4 castle tokens on the side of the field. Have each player choose a character token and a plastic base, then place all of the character tokens on the red tombstone in the middle of the field. Select the first player and you are ready to go.

GAME PROCESS

 The player's move consists of 4 possible actions, which are performed in the following order:

PLACEMENT OF ZOMBIES

 At the beginning of his turn, the player must roll a die and determine if and where he will place the zombie. If the face of the die is black, red, blue, yellow, or green, place the zombie on the corresponding tombstone. If the face of the die is white, the players are lucky and no zombies are placed in that round.

 Jeopardy : Any time a player should put a zombie on the field but can't, it's game over and the zombies have won. If placing a zombie causes the character token to take up the same amount of space as 3 zombies, then the zombies have won.

MOVING

 Players can move along one path segment at a time. Players can also stay in their current location. The player could move from the red gravestone area to the green gravestone area in one move. If players use a board with diagonal paths, players can also move from a yellow tombstone to a green tombstone in one turn.

 If a tombstone is occupied by 3 or more zombies, players cannot move to it.

ELIMINATE THE ZOMBIES

 Once the player has moved to the tombstone of their choice, they can destroy all the zombies that are there.

CLOSE THE GATE

 If at any time 2 players are near the same gate, you can lock them by placing one of the lock tokens on the gate. Congratulations, you're that much closer to fending off the zombie onslaught.

 Note: When a player has eliminated a zombie or locked a gate, they cannot move their piece.

 Close all 4 gates or destroy all zombies on the field and you win!

WHAT I WONDERED ABOUT THE GAME

 I bought this game on a whim. I didn't really know anything about it, and no one I knew had ever played it. But I am very glad I made this purchase. It is quite small, about the size of a paperback book. The illustrations are great…definitely kid-friendly and cartoony, with just a slight hint of grit that kids love. All characters are taken from different movies. The character of Simon Pegg from Shaun of the Dead, The Bride from Kill Bill, Lara Croft from Tomb Raider and a combination of Luke Skywalker from Star Wars and Neo from The Matrix. Component quality is good, with plastic bases for character parts. Unfortunately, the zombie pieces are lying flat on the board, but it's not that bad.

 The game is quite fast; in a 10-minute range with simple solutions for players. You roll a die and place a zombie on that color. The hardest part is deciding where to move when it's your turn. Do you try to eliminate all the zombies on the field or go for the goal? Offer options to your young players and see what they think. For younger kids like my 5 year old, he just wants to get rid of zombies. In several cases, he chose to defeat the zombies rather than go into a space with another player; losing the opportunity to close the gate...and that's absolutely cool. The game is so fast that even if you lose, it will only take you a few minutes. Prepare her and get back into battle!

 While the game is easy, there's enough of a balance between killing zombies and placing new zombies that you're constantly watching your remaining zombie tokens to make sure you don't run out. You can also make the game more difficult by removing 1 or more zombies from the stack.

WHICH DISAPPOINTED ME

 The game really relies on luck through the dice roll, and in many cases your younger kids will make choices that you wouldn't. But that's fine… that's the nature of co-op games, right? Let your kids see the results of their choices by letting zombies eat their brains.

 The rules are a sheet of glossy paper folded several times. They could also use some TLC in the form of better graphic design and proofreading. Usable, but they could be better.

FINAL IMPRESSIONS

 Zombie Kidz is an ultra-light co-op game that's perfect for teaching your kids how to work together. It's small, portable, low-cost, and fits easily in a suitcase or travel bag. Zombie Kidz is a fun family game that deserves to be in your collection.