Zpocalypse, the original, is an epic game and quite some big shoes to fill. Although Z2: Defend the Burbs has some popular added attributes, the original Zpocalypse seems to have a little more character and charm. The real-time component of Rise of the Zombies gives this game a nice edge, as it’s completed in 90 mins or less, which isn’t that long of a time when you factor in strategic planning. Also, the “survivor sketchbook” and art add a nice touch to the look and feel of the game. What Could Be Better: The board in Escape: Zombie City is also procedural. As players explore, more sections of the board will be placed so you never truly know what you’re going to find.

There’s so much in this box and once you get into it, you can start to mix and match to create your own perfect apocalypse. It’ll get players into the ruleset without too much trouble, but as you go up in difficulty more and more components, rules, victory/end conditions, events, locations, and zombies come out.

Where does the diplomacy come in? The name seems like a bit of false advertising but that’s my only real complaint, so let’s look at the actual game. The thematic elements in Dead of Winter are top-notch. Not only do you have to contend with the flesh-eating zombies but the unforgiving elements of winter as well. There’s a reason Resident Evil coined the term “Survival Horror”. With this terrifying board game, you’re in for a real treat.

Technology will vastly improve your outlook on the zombie apocalypse. With the help of technology, your region can start to build zombie-proof walls, and entrench soldiers, or you can even start to manipulate the flow of zombies by preventing them from showing up on the board at all. The game scales in difficulty from Basic to Director’s Cut. The basic game is what you expect from a low-budget zombie movie. The zombies shamble along and the survivors mow them down. In Dark Darker Darkest, the players are on the offensive. It’s a nice change of pace for zombie-themed board games. There’s a collaboration mechanism that gives the game an interesting dynamic. What Could Be Better:

At first glance, it can seem like the humans have all the advantages, and to a certain degree, they do. Zombies move slowly and are easy to kill, whereas the humans have all kinds of fun weapons and toys. Players are survivors hiding in a cabin in the woods and must use everything at their disposal to defend the cabin before the zombies rip through the walls and eat their tasty brains. But this game's not done. Your dwindling options and your desperate dialogues are drawn out by a final pit-stop. Every survivor card is actually double-sided, and you can flip it - once - to use that character's power. The kid can hide. The burglar can break into a building that's full. The pregnant woman gives birth, giving her two votes. But if you do use these, those survivors are worth fewer points at the end of the game. If you get a bum hand of elderly survivors, it just means more points if you can get them through the night. Also, nobody suspects gramps has a holdout pistol. Last Night on Earth lets you experience (and star in) your own crappy B horror movie and it’s a hell of a lot of fun. The locations themselves determine the difficulty you’ll face at each one. Each location has a value on it that determines how many zombie cards are drawn.