Tabletop game research - Zombie Dice
Tabletop game research - Zombie Dice
This is the game to research for Mechanics Games, for intro-gd courses, finish by the group. Here are some brief points by me during reading rules and playing the game.
Keywords: Luck, Decision, Gambling
Rules:
1 A bag or cup containing 13 dice, including six green dice, four yellow dice, and three red dice. The dice represent the victim.
Green dice - 3 brains, 1 shotgun and 2 runners
Yellow dice - 2 of each
Red dice - 1 brain, 3 shotguns and 2 runners
The object of the game is to roll 13 brains.
2 At the start of rounds, the player draws three dice from the cup and places them on the table. The number of brains and shotguns will be recorded. If a player rolls 3 shotguns, their turn ends and they lose the brains they have accumulated so far that turn.
3 Players may roll 3 blasts in one roll, but if only one or two blasts are rolled, the player will have to decide if it is worth risking rolling again or “storing” the brains gained so far and passing the game to the next player.
4 If the player chooses to roll again, the player will place the brains and shotgun next to each other for the turn and touch all three dice.
Analysis:
Easy & Fast To Play
1 The game is very simple to play. There aren’t lots of rules that players need to remember, thus you can simply get started with the game.
2 The set-up is also very simple and can be replaced, all you need in the base game is 13 dice.
3 Finally, the whole game is very fast, taking only 10-20 minutes, so it is ideal for play during some short free time and thus can be easily spread.
Interesting point: Gambling & Fast Decision
1 The key interesting point of the game is the combination of luck and calculation. Players need to quickly assess the situation and make decisions. Should I keep chasing humans when I’ve already accumulated two brains? Should I continue when I’ve already taken two shots from the shotgun? I have already caught two red humans, what is the probability that I will touch the most dangerous red human again next? With a quick assessment, players can make rational or irrational decisions and control the flow of the game to some extent.
Drawbacks & Improvements
1 Zombie Dice’s main drawback is that it is too simple and therefore cannot hold the player’s attention long.
2 Steve Jackson Games has since released several expansion packs, including more types of humans and dice with multiple sides, which representing multiple people in a school bus. These made up for the shortcomings of the base content to some extent, but also made the game more complex.