Become a brain-hungry zombie in Zombie Dice, the fast-paced, push-your-luck dice game where you roll dice, feast on brains, and try to avoid getting blasted by shotguns. This thrilling game is a fantastic option if you are looking for fun dice game for adults and dice games for kids. The objective is to be the first player to reach 13 Brains. Using 13 custom dice and a dice cup, 2 or more players can enjoy a complete game in just 10 – 20 minutes. Ready to learn how to play? Then keep reading… or shambling… to discover the rules and strategies to conquer this thrilling game of risk and reward.
Game Components
To play Zombie Dice, you’ll need the following components:
- 13 Dice: These aren’t your average dice! Zombie Dice features custom dice in three colors, each representing a different level of risk:
- Green Dice (x6): The easiest targets, with three Brain sides, one Shotgun side, and two Footprint sides.
- Yellow Dice (x4): Moderate difficulty, with two Brain sides, two Shotgun sides, and two Footprint sides.
- Red Dice (x3): The toughest nuts to crack, with one Brain side, three Shotgun sides, and two Footprint sides.
- Dice Cup/Bag: The regular edition includes a plastic dice cup for shaking and rolling. The deluxe edition upgrades this to a dice bag, often made of cloth, adding a tactile element to the game.
- Scorekeeping: While you can use any pen and paper, the deluxe edition comes with convenient pre-printed scoreboards made of cardboard.
- (Optional) Rule Sheet: Most editions contain a rules sheet printed on cardboard or paper, providing a quick reference for gameplay.
Each die face shows one of three symbols:
- Brains: You successfully munch on some gray matter!
- Shotguns: The human fights back!
- Footprints: Your victim escapes. You’ll have to reroll these if you continue your turn.
By understanding the different components and the varying probabilities represented by the dice colors, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a master of Zombie Dice!
How to Play Zombie Dice
Starting the Game:
Decide who goes first randomly, or, for added fun, have players compete with their best zombie groans! The groans help set the mood.
Taking a Turn: Zombie Dice is a push-your-luck game, meaning you’ll constantly weigh the risk of rolling again versus the reward of accumulating more brains. Each turn follows these steps:
- Draw Dice: Take three dice from the cup or bag without looking. The mystery is half the fun (or terror!).
- Roll Dice: Roll all three dice. Unleash those dice onto the table!
- Interpret Results: Check the symbols on the dice:
- Brains: You feasted! Set these dice aside. Each Brain symbol is worth one point toward your turn total. A tasty treat!
- Shotguns: Uh oh! You’ve been shot. Set these aside. Accumulate three Shotguns, and your turn ends, losing all Brains from that turn. Ouch!
- Footprints: The victim escaped! Keep these dice. You’ll reroll them if you choose to continue. They got away…this time.
- Continue or Stop: This is where the strategic decision-making comes in.
- Stop: If you decide the risk of rolling again is too high, stop your turn. Add the Brains you’ve rolled this turn to your overall score, and return all dice to the cup/bag. Live to eat another brain another day!
- Continue: Feeling lucky? Keep the Footprint dice, draw new dice from the cup/bag until you have three dice, and roll again. You must roll again after drawing new dice – no backing out! You’re committed to the carnage.
Example 1: A Basic Turn
You roll one brain, one shotgun, and one footprint. You can stop and score one point or reroll the footprint die along with two new dice.
Example 2: Rolling Again
You choose to reroll. You now roll two brains and one shotgun. You have a total of two shotguns accumulated. You can stop and score the three brains you’ve rolled so far this turn, or risk rolling again. Are those extra brains worth the risk?
Example 3: Three Shotguns
You bravely, or foolishly, choose to roll again, picking up one die from the cup. Now you have two shotguns… and another shotgun! That’s three shotguns total – your turn ends, and you score zero for the turn. All those potential brains are now splattered on the pavement. Better luck next time, zombie pal.
Scoring:
Each Brain you roll is worth one point. If you stop before accumulating three Shotguns, add the Brains from that turn to your total score. Use a pen and paper, or the scoreboards provided with the deluxe edition, to keep track.
Ending the Game:
The first player to reach 13 Brains triggers the end of the game. Every other player gets one final turn. The player with the most Brains at the end wins! It’s a zombie-eat-zombie world out there.
Tiebreaker:
If two or more players are tied with the highest score, those players play additional turns until the tie is broken. Each tied player takes a full turn, and the highest score among those players at the end of the tiebreaker round wins.
Advanced Rules and Scenarios: Handling a Dice Shortage
Sometimes, your insatiable hunger for brains will lead to a shortage of dice in the dice cup (or dice bag in the deluxe edition). Here’s what to do when you want to roll again, but there are fewer than three dice remaining:
- Record Current Brains: Note the number of Brain symbols you’ve rolled on your current turn.
- Return Brain Dice: Place only the Brain dice from your current turn back into the dice cup. Do not return any Shotgun or Footprint dice. Those stay on the table!
- Draw Dice: Draw dice from the now-replenished dice cup until you have three dice in hand.
- Roll and Continue: Roll the three dice and continue your turn as usual. Important Note: Returning only the Brain dice and drawing new dice can shift the probabilities of rolling specific symbols. For example, if you return two Brain dice, there are fewer Brain dice remaining in the cup, slightly increasing the odds of rolling Shotguns or Footprints on your next roll.
Example: A Dice Shortage
Imagine you’ve scored eight Brains so far in the game. On your current turn, you’ve rolled two Brains, but there are only two dice left in the dice cup. You would:
- Note that you have two Brains rolled this turn.
- Place those two Brain dice back into the dice cup. The Shotgun and/or Footprint dice from this turn (and any previous rolls this turn) remain on the table.
- Draw three dice from the now-replenished dice cup.
- Roll the dice and continue your turn, remembering that you have two Brains already set aside from earlier rolls this turn. If you roll three Shotguns on this roll, you lose the two Brains rolled this turn, but you keep the eight Brains you had previously banked. Tough break! But hey, that’s the risk you take when you’re craving brains!
Expanding the Zombie Horde: Dice Game Expansions
Want to add some fresh meat – or rather, fresh brains – to your Zombie Dice games? Several expansions introduce exciting new dice, abilities, and strategic twists to the gameplay:
Zombie Dice 2: Double Feature: Released in 2012, this expansion introduces three new dice, each with game-changing abilities:
- The Hunk: This die features sides with two Shotguns and sides with two Brains, creating delicious high-risk, high-reward opportunities.
- The Hottie: This elusive die is loaded with Footprints, making those victims harder to catch.
- Santa Claus: This festive die features sides with double Brains, a helmet (allowing you to survive an extra Shotgun blast), and an energy drink (allowing you to convert a Footprint into a Brain).
Zombie Dice 3: School Bus: This expansion adds a single 12-sided die – a school bus brimming with potential Brains! This die features various sides depicting different combinations of Brains and Shotguns, including a side with three Brains! Watch out for those pesky shotgun blasts, though.
Zombie Dice: Horde Edition: This boxed set combines the original game with both the Double Feature and School Bus expansions, providing everything you need for a true zombie feast. It also includes a handy dice bag for easy storage and rolling.
These expansions offer exciting new strategic possibilities and increased variety, giving you even more ways to satisfy your zombie cravings.
Tips and Strategies for Zombie Domination
Becoming a master brain-muncher requires more than just luck; it takes strategic thinking informed by the probabilities at play. Here’s how to maximize your brain-eating potential:
- The Two Shotgun Rule: Stopping your turn when you have two Shotguns is a solid general guideline. However, understanding the underlying probabilities of the remaining dice in the dice cup can refine your decision-making. With two Shotguns, your odds of rolling a third vary greatly depending on the remaining dice. If many green dice remain, the risk might be acceptable. If mostly red dice remain, pushing your luck is far more dangerous. Calculating the expected value (EV) can help you make informed decisions.
- Dice Color Probabilities: Here’s a breakdown of the probabilities for each die color:
- Green: 50% chance of brains, 16.7% chance of shotguns, 33.3% chance of footprints.
- Yellow: 33.3% chance of brains, 33.3% chance of shotguns, 33.3% chance of footprints.
- Red: 16.7% chance of brains, 50% chance of shotguns, 33.3% chance of footprints.
Use these probabilities to assess the risk of each roll. For example, holding two red dice and one green die gives you a 44.4% chance of rolling at least one Shotgun and ending your turn.
- Footprint Management: Footprints aren’t just a neutral result; they offer future possibilities. Keeping Footprints, especially from green dice, can be advantageous in subsequent rolls. Rerolling green Footprints gives you another 50% chance at a Brain.
- Opponent Awareness: Pay close attention to your opponents’ scores. If an opponent is nearing 13 Brains, you may need to accept greater risks to catch up, even if it means pushing your luck with two Shotguns. Conversely, a more conservative approach is often wiser if you’re in the lead. Optimal strategies also change depending on the number of players. In a two-player game, taking calculated risks is more crucial because you’re directly competing with one opponent. With three or more players, the “push your luck” element is magnified. A more conservative strategy in earlier rounds, followed by increased risk-taking later, can be effective.
- Late Game Strategy: As the game progresses, the probabilities shift as the number of dice in the dice cup dwindles. For instance, if all three red dice are out of the dice cup, your odds of rolling a Shotgun decrease dramatically, making riskier plays more appealing. This information can be crucial for optimal late-game decision-making. For example, late in the game, if all three red dice have been rolled and mostly green dice remain, even holding two shotguns might be an acceptable risk because your odds of rolling a third are significantly diminished.
- Risk Tolerance, Expected Value, and Adapting Your Strategy: Your strategy should align with your risk tolerance and understanding of expected value (EV). EV is the average outcome of a roll, considering the probabilities. A simplified example: Imagine you have one brain and two footprints. With primarily green dice remaining, each die has an EV of roughly 0.33 (50% x 1 point + 33.3% x 0 + 16.7% x -1 point). Since you’re rolling three dice, your total EV for rerolling is approximately 1 (3 x 0.33), which is greater than your current one brain, suggesting that rerolling is statistically favorable. While precise EV calculations during a game are complex, a general sense of EV can inform your decisions. Combine this with an awareness of the remaining dice and your opponents’ scores to dynamically adapt your strategy. Do you favor high-risk, high-reward plays, or a steadier approach? Find the balance that suits your playing style and the evolving game state.
By understanding these probabilities and adapting your gameplay to the specific game situation, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a true Zombie Dice master. Remember, Brains are the ultimate goal, but survival is key to feasting on those delicious gray matters!
FAQs
Can you stop rolling after drawing dice?
Nope! Once you’ve grabbed those dice, you’re committed. No backing out! You must roll. Think before you grab!
What happens if you roll more than 13 brains?
You’re one hungry zombie! You just keep track of your total. The player with the most Brains at the end of the game wins, even if it’s more than 13 Brains.
Can you choose which dice to reroll?
You must reroll any Footprint dice. You can’t choose to keep them and roll other dice. You pick new dice only if you don’t already have three from Footprints and whatever remaining shotguns you have.
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
