Rise of the Zombies!

Backstory
My name is Gordon.

If you are capable of reading these words, then all hope has not been lost. Within this sketchbook you will find my recounting of The Last Year.

Did it start in the water? The food? As a bio weapon? I never found out. I was touring Washington D.C. when the President declared a national emergency and the Army barricaded the streets. Trapped in my hotel room, I watched Apache attack helicopters salvoing rockets into the shambling masses surging up Pennsylvania Avenue. For two days, the helicopters came, and my towering hotel vibrated from the ever approaching blasts. The third day was worse. I awoke from a troubled sleep to silence. When flames engulfed the White House, I knew it was over.

I raided the hotel’s kitchen for food and supplies and begin my trek out of the city. For six days, I slept in sewers, slunk down alleys, and peered out of garbage bins. They were everywhere. Swarming. Searching with mindless eyes and rending with outstretched hands. They never sleep. They never stop feeding.

They hunt the living. That’s all they do.

On the seventh day, I found this house, I call it my Safe House, and I fortified it as best I could by boarding the windows and stringing some salvaged barbed-wire around front yard.

There are more of them every day, and it is dangerous to sneak out for food and water. I don’t know how much longer I can stay here. I saw an Army helicopter circling the park on the other side of town yesterday. If I see another one, I’m making a run for it.

Cherish this book; it’s all that’s left of my life. Maybe it’s all that’s left of any of our lives.

-Gordon

 

Game Play

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All players play cards during a common "Survivor Turn". At the start of the Survivor Turn, all players can discard and draw until the number of cards in their hands is equal to their Hand Sizes. There are no player turns. Declare what you are doing, which card you are playing, and which zombie you are attacking, and roll dice. This simulates the chaos of combat. Most cards can be used to perform more than 1 function. You can perform as many actions during the Survivor Turn as your cards can support. You can even trade weapons and items with other Survivors in your Location. Once all players have resolved their actions, the Zombies get to attack.

It then starts again with the common Survivor Turn. You'll need to not only act like a hero, but also work well as part of your team if you hope to survive. If you go running off ahead and no one else has the cards to follow, you'll be fighting a herd of Zombies on your own - and probably dying.

On the other hand, if you can't keep up with the other Survivors, you'll soon hear words like, "You wait right here, we'll come back for you." Um, yeah.

 

Combat

• Combat is fast and easy.
• Roll a 6-sided die, add your bonuses and check your Weapon card to see how many Wounds you inflicted. The higher you roll, the more Wounds you inflict.
• If you inflict the killing attack on a Zombie card, you claim the card and its Experience value.

Experience

• Turn in your Zombie cards to upgrade weapons, buy items, and purchase skills.
• You can also give weapons and items to another Survivor to help them out of a tough situation.

Co-Op... ish (smile)

• How you play the game is up to you. You don't gain anything by having other Survivors die, but if you spend too much time trying to help others, it might cost you your own survival.
• Help them? Leave them behind? It's all up to you.

 

Contents

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• 168 Game Cards
• 2 6-sided dice
• 8 Plastic Stands for Survivor Characters
• 1 Sheet of Counters
• 1 Digital Timer
• Rulebook
• Game Box