The History of Zombicide Part 1: The Early Years

With the Kickstarter campaign for the 2^nd edition of Zombicide coming up, we wanted to take a look back through the years, pulling out the photo albums and reliving the memories of the game that really made an impact on the gaming community. In this series, we’ll stroll through the different stages of the game, starting with the original three Seasons, then moving on to the fantasy realm of Black Plague, all the way up to the most-recent release with Invader. But first, let’s start at the beginning…

The original Zombicide game had its initial launch on Kickstarter in 2012. By the time the campaign ended, it raised a record (for the time) $781,597.

Thinking on this time, Thiago Aranha, Senior Producer at CMON, recalled, “Suddenly the campaign blew up beyond our wildest expectations. That campaign made CMON what it is today. The interaction with the backers from then on helped shape our image, what we do, and how we do it.”

Fans loved the cooperative aspect of the game, with the zombies being commanded by the game itself. Due to the highly modular nature of the game due to the different boards and the multitude of Survivors, players were quick to create their own scenarios and expand the game in all new ways. This engagement from the players was promoted and helped to build a real community. As such, players were thrilled when the next set was announced. Zombicide Season 2 consisted of the standalone expansion Prison Outbreak, and the companion box, Toxic City Mall. Along with adding more tiles, more scenarios, and more survivors, this Season introduced a new enemy: Berserker zombies. These slavering beasts were immune to ranged attacks, forcing the Survivors get up close and personal if they wanted to destroy them. Also introduced in Season 2 were the Zombivors. These zombified-versions of the regular Survivors were tough and still held on a little bit to their humanity, helping to take on the zombie hordes even in their undeath. With more zombies and Zombivors also came Ultrared Mode, where players could gain even more experience from blasting zombies and get new gear to help them even further along.