Updating a Classic

With the Zombicide 2nd Edition Kickstarter campaign coming next week, we wanted to show off just what has changed in this new-classic board game.

At its core, Zombicide 2nd Edition is still the game players have come to know and love. It is still 100% cooperative, with players taking on the role of Survivors during the zombie apocalypse. Play takes place on modular map tiles, and the players must complete different objectives in order to win the different scenarios. During their turn, players can search areas for new gear, move around the board, or blast zombies with all manner of different weapons. As players defeat zombies, they growin power, gaining skills as they go. However the zombies are also drawn to the activity, spawning in greater and greater numbers. It’s a race to finish the objectives before the Survivors become overwhelmed.

So, if all that is the same, then what has changed? The changes can be broken down into a couple categories: changes taken from other versions of Zombicide and new changes for the 2nd Edition base box set. Let’s take a deeper look at each.

Zombicide is in a unique place in that many new editions have, in a way, already been released. With three original Seasons, two games taking place in the Black Plague universe, and the sci-fi Invader set, the developers have continually found new things to test and update. Now, they’ll be bringing those innovations back home to the original. For example, the plastic dashboards have been a huge hit eversince their inception, and now they’re making their way to the original game. Survivors will use colored bases, instead of their miniature being a different color, letting players pick which color they want to be in the game. Splitting zombie hordes is easier, with one group simply getting the extra zombie instead of an extra zombie being added. The design of the equipment cards has gotten an upgrade, with clearer information so players know everything they need to know with a quick glance. Spawning zombies is also faster, as each card only has a single type of zombie on it. No more having to dig after multiple types of zombies from a single spawn card. All of these were innovations made in previous sets that are now being able to be added to the original setting.