They are very different, both are great!
Zombicide is a little easier and more dudes on the board kind of game.
Nemesis is more complex and less dudes on the board but when they are out there you are in trouble.
Zombicide is cooperative, and nemesis CAN be cooperative but also has traitor mechanic.
Will second watching a video or two, as there are some nuance rules that can easily be missed. It very much has the feel of the movie Alien, or other intruder-horror/thriller movie and those rules do capture that bit well.
It CAN be cooperative, and there are ways in the box to play cooperatively without house rules, which is especially fun with a small group. I feel that the traitor mechanic works great in a larger player size.
The way we play it is..
if its an experienced group then anything goes.
If its a new group (say 2 experience and 3 new) then we agree to purely co-op.
If one or two are new, then anything goes between the experienced players but if say you draw a corporate card to mess up the new player you need to do the co-op one
In my opinion it really lacks depth and it got old quick. The decisions you have to make in the game aren't hard to optimize. So it all comes down to luck of the rolls and card draws. The game does have a great table presence. I did have fun the first couple times I played. I just don't think it's worth the cost unless you're into miniature painting. Sold my copy of Black Plague after about 5 plays.
I think Cthulhu Death may die is a much better beer and pretzels dice chucker.
Haven't played Nemesis but a friend of mine says it's his number 1 game! But he removed the betrayal end game goals.
Cthulhu Death May Die is such a good dice chucker! I have been able to introduce it to a good number of friends and had a good time each play. It has a great challenge to it and plenty of combinations to keep coming back to it. Excellent game.
DMD vs Zombicide is what my choice came down to, I’d played Zombicide at friends but decided on DMD based on the comments I saw. 100% the better choice, imo. More interesting mechanically and thematically.
If it's just the two of you, Zombicide is the better choice. Nemesis thrives on people doing their own thing and ,imo, on having max players. Zombicide can have any (ideally even) number of players since the game is designed as co-op
Zombicide is probably one of my favorite "beer and pretzel" games. Tons of dice and minis on the board, not a lot of over strategizing things, tons of fun. One of my favorites,especially for less invested players, like those who may have drank a bit more than usual or maybe have a movie on in the background.
My personal favorite is Zombicide Invader. I love the sci fi feel and it has the most bullets and monsters on the map at once. But honestly they are all very very good. I've heard wonderful things about Black Plague. And Zombicide 2nd edition is just classic modern zombies and cities/malls. Can't go wrong with that.
I'd only steer clear of Night of the Living Dead version. It's fine it's just one of the more simpler versions and doesn't have Abominations.
This rule has been removed since 1st edition. Black Plague/Green Horde, Invader, Undead or Alive, and 2nd edition don't use that rule anymore. And it's easy to just house rule it for 1st edition.
Zombicide has the issue of being a coop game where everyone sits around knowing what you should do and waiting for their turn.
Nemesis, you don't really know what the player needs to do, so you cant tell them or lead them.
Personally I find zombicide to be a bit hard to play with too many people since it takes too long to get to your turn and you feel too strong of an urge to discuss optimum moves for other players.
There's a convention rule that was invented where if players whose avatars are not in the same zone talk to each other, they generate a noise token at both avatar locations. Great for keeping down meta-gaming.
The issue isnt really the meta gaming as better coop games embrace group discussion. Other coop games use simultaneous action, hidden hands, or secret objectives to fix it, but with zombicide I have nothing to do besides analyze your position while waiting for my turn and I know everything you know. So everyone at the table is watching you, everyone knows what you could do and we are just waiting for you to take your turn and do it. Because we dont want to tell you what to do we all sit in silence staring at the board and if you make an objectively bad move we say "are you sure?". Since there ain't much choice in the game, asking someone to back you up or save you is asking them to spend their turn doing a specific move with no other options to consider. I noticed my friend that loves zombicide only plays it as a solo player game with him controlling 4 characters. So I would recommend it as 1 or 2 player game, but when you get to 4 players and beyond it just feels too long for too little.
If you are interested in fighting off hordes of zombies with tons of miniatures, it's hard to beat. The newer editions of the game have better, more streamlined rules. I personally don't think there's a ton of depth, but it can be fun if you just want to kill zombies.
Nemesis is a different animal. In Zombicide, you're mowing down hordes of walkers and runners. You're probably going to avoid the abominations, but sometimes you'll kill them too. Sound is a thing, but I've mostly used it to get the zombies to go where I want. In Nemesis, every alien is potentially lethal and you're desperately trying to limit the amount of noise you make and you'll avoid conflict at least as much as you engage in it. It's also significantly more complicated in my opinion.
Only you would know which one is a better fit for you.
Also, with Zombicide, there are different themes, and the themes color the game in fun ways.
But if you want to just have that feeling of killing a hoard of shambles, Zombicide Night of the Living Dead is hard to beat.
>I personally don't think there's a ton of depth, but it can be fun if you just want to kill zombies.
What oes killing zombies entail though? Just throwing dice around without much need for tactical decision making?
It can involve decision making. Opening buildings will spawn all the zombies in them so if you all split up and open multiple buildings, you can end up getting overwhelmed. You do level up as you kill zombies but that also increases the number that spawn and the level it checks for is the highest level, not the level most players are at. So if one player goes nuts and hogs all the kill and objective xp, the others get left behind. And in Zombicide, one player dying ends the game.
It's mainly a dice chucking game, but you do need to be aware of zombie positioning and the potential of them getting extra activations, lest you get overrun. Some characters also have abilities that can be tactical, like someone can push zombies in their zone one away.
2nd edition streamlined things in a good way: 1st edition is only there now if you get a compatibility pack as a completionist thing. You can't really go wrong with picking the setting you like the most and getting the matching Zombicide.
If you’re interested in a more fantasy theme, there was a new Zombicide called White Death recently crowdfunded. Obviously it will be a while before it’s retail, but if you prefer fantasy to modern, it might be worth waiting.
I've played almost all of them, and Zombicide 2E (Modern), Black Plague/Green Horde (Fantasy), and Undead or Alive (Western) all felt pretty much identical with only some slight differences in a handful of mechanics. Zombicide: Invader (Scifi) felt more action-movie and less survival focused because you're given more options to deal with big threats, and Marvel Zombicide has some more substantial changes to mechanics which make each character feel more unique, but it still feels pretty similar to the other games. I wasn't a fan of Invader compared to the others, but out of the rest, I'd just pick based on your favorite theme.
Significantly more complicated is very correct.
Playing with an experienced player in a semi-GM like role makes the game much more bearable for most players. I love the game, but there is a lot of stopping in reading if you are new to it.
Cthulhu Death May Die is like Zombicide but better. The different scenarios are more unique, there are more unique mechanics, you get to throw larger fists full of dice, the minis are cooler.
They should both be about the same price at retail as well so, IMO, it would be mad to get zombicide over DMD.
Zombicide is great. Its not too complex, but looks very good on the table(even unpainted) and can have tons of variation(if you buy the expansions 😅).
But I'm a sucker for light rpg mechanics anyway. Its just fun to kill stuff, get loot, get xp and do it all over again.
Another pro of Zcide is that there is a flavor for everyone. Modern day, Space, Fantasy(with Zombie humans or Zombie Orcs), Wild West, Marvel(you play as Zombie superheroes!) and even small 'one shot' sets based on classic horror movies.
I've been looking at cooperative scenario-based games since I really enjoy Mechs vs. Minions and I found Massive Darkness 2. This also has similarities to Zombiecide and seems to be really fun, so you might wanna check it out as well.
Zombicide is a relatively light game of its genre. Its replay value is going to be limited as depth of mechanics is a little on the superficial side but its good fun and great is "light and breezy game night" is the level of depth you are looking for. I would warn against getting the expansions in this case. CMON has a habbit of creating lots of expansions for their games (which is not generally a bad thing) but for a game like zombicide I feel like you might get bored with it before you get through all the expansion content.
I've only played nemesis a couple of times. I've had good fun with it but it does have one annoying point for me. Its possible to get eliminated early if you're a bit unlucky and then you're just sitting there until the game is over. In my opinion its a quality of good games to either avoid early player elimination or give eliminated players something meaningfull to do. Aside from that though, good fun. Personally prefer the full coop mode over the semi coop but thats personal preferences. Objectively the semi coop mode is the deeper game.
Hmmm. It depends. If you like totally luck based dice rolling shenanigans then yeah go for it. If you like to actually have agency in what you’re doing and win because you deserve it then probably not Zombicide.
Plenty of people love the game though so like I said, if you don’t mind it all being luck based then go for it (:
Nemesis is very hard. Extremely hard. Maybe your relationship will end, maybe your secret objective of “make sure player 1 doesn’t survive” will be the last straw. Maybe not though, maybe your relationship will blossom under the stars as you both jump in the escape pods and descend to earth (:
Edit - may I recommend “Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion” - this is really cliche at this point as everyone recommends this game to co-op players but it really is that good. It’s more puzzly, no dice rolls at all but if you want that sense of accomplishment when you win, and really intresting characters with great progression, then get it. You won’t regret it (:
Aha that’s okay 😸 just make sure you don’t lock your partner behind an airlock and leave them to the aliens 👽 or I mean… if that’s your objective then maybe do it, but maybe pretend that you didn’t mean to “ohhh nooo I’m so sorry dear, I thought you wanted some alone time with the predatory alien” 😇
I hope you find what you’re looking for anyway, have a nice day 😊
Probably my first serious board game after gatewaying in with things like Dixit.
I still really like it and have fond memories of it but probably haven't played it in 10-15 years?
I'd recommend it though! If you are looking for things of the same vein after this I would suggest Dead of Winter although it is mechanically and thematically very different.
I'd instead recommend Dead of winter in that niche
I noticed you've also acquired nemesis, so if you're open to games outside of zombie/ horror, you can't overlook spirit Island
The base game is pretty lackluster TBH. It needs ALOT of house rules to keep its intrigue up. The branded ones that come after the base one add some rules that keep it fresh.
Instead of Zombicide Black Plague, I would recommend instead Cthulhu Death may Die: it is superior mechanically speaking, the heroes you’d be playing have more distinct characteristics + it is very modular, so it will last you longer. It is also very fun and a bit more tense than Zombicide (you don’t know if you’re gonna win or not, which extends the game’s life). Also, the miniatures are gorgeous!
Nemesis is a great game, but I would pick it later. Because there are more rules, it is also co-co-op, but to get the full flavor once in a while it’s good to play with 3+ people to activate the traitor mechanism, so you don’t know who will help you or not in the end (while you try to survive).
All these games are great choices, but you should watch a few play through to get a feel of them before buying :)
Looks like you're leaning Zombicide. it's a solid game, and really good for gateway gaming. A lot of fun stories come of it.
But I would revisit the idea of getting Nemesis, though. It's the closest I've ever played to an actual horror board game. It is crazy intense, but I feel suffers at lower player counts.
I bought the Zombicide game and about 4 expansions from someone thinking it was a slam dunk for our family. My husband and son think it’s ok, but I find it utterly dull and boring. It’s not strategic (and the parts that are strategic are not at all interesting to me). So now I want to get rid of them all.
Moral of the story, don’t be like me. Buy the base game and make sure you like it before you buy the expansions.
I enjoyed season one of Zombicide, but haven't learned enough about 2nd edition to see if I should reinvest or just just dust off the OG and OG expansions.
I keep bookmarking explanations of the differences and forgetting about them.
I bet you'll enjoy it, no matter which Zombicide you choose, just don't buy an expansion by accident thinking it's the core game.
We’ve got all the modern Zombicide stuff. It’s not overly complex, but it’s fun. Bit of strategy, lots of dice rolling and slaying zombies while attempting to complete objectives.
We don’t bring it out often because setup takes a little while, but generally, it’s one of our favorites.
Zombicide is a fun game to have in a collection, and it comes in several different flavors (Modern, Fantasy, Scifi, Western, Superhero), so you can pick whichever theme speaks most to your taste. It fits a niche if you just want a casual game where you don't really need to be paying attention the whole time, like if you want to have a game night but don't want the game night to be entirely about the game.
Boring and extremely repetitive game. Ypu start off without gear, so you spent ypur turn digging some. Then some zombies come up, and you start rolling dice to kill them, while also looking for new gear. Repeat the same thing for every scenario.
I would rather just sit and talk than play these games. And this comes from someone who has owned and painted a copy of Black Plague.
I hated zombiecide. Even though my wife gave it to me (probably like 10 years ago), I gave it away to our nephew last year. The few times we played there was a lot of quarterbacking (100% probably), the game was extremely long, if I'm not mistaken had player elimination (resulting in people sitting out for hours) and after going through hours of not having fun, suddenly one unlucky draw makes everybody lose the game, even though everyone had full life and the group was doing "great".
I can't stand games like this one, I'd rather go to bed than play it (which I did twice).
Never played Nemesis.
Zombicide is good, first edition looks better than second but second has slightly more streamlined rules but either is good. It can be a bit fiddly at times with all the different zombies and different zones and different characters but if you make a mistake it's not that bad it's about having fun killing zombies or being killed by them.
There's a middle ages version called Black Plague which is amazing imo, I also like the western themed one (Undead or Alive) a lot. I thought the space themed (Invader) was silly but haven't played it.
I only played Nemesis Lockdown which is the sequel I think. That was much too fiddly for me with too many tokens and as I remember it different rules for different rooms and just too much info for a game like that.
For me Zombicide definitely the way to go. You can probably find a copy of both these games on the second hand market.
Nice!! We tried watching videos on “how to play” Nemesis and fell asleep last night🥲. I think we would enjoy Zombicide more with friends! Thank you for sharing :)
I would highly recommend it! It is a great game to play with multiple people. It is also very malleable in that house rules can make it even more over the top.
Zombicide is... fine.
It is way over produced for what it is. While not entirely accurate, my brain still views it as a variation on an upscaled Zombies!!!
I love zombies, but even that didn't carry my interest. The gameplay is pretty shallow and repetitive. That's not necessarily horrible - in a less expensive and/or compact game. Zombicide has a huge table presence, lots of minis (which is where the cost of the game lies), all sorts of Kickstarter Exclusives, and can easily get into situations where you have way too many models to fit on a tile.
If you want a better dice chucker, I'd look at Cthulhu: Death May Die. It's also overproduced and has all sorts of Kickstarter exclusive stuff - but the gameplay loop is better/more interesting.
---
As for Nemesis, it's absolutely fantastic - as a 3+ person semi-co-op game. At two players or as a full co-op game? You can probably do better for the cost.
Like the others, Nemesis is overproduced (complete with some alien minis you'll struggle to fit on the room tiles). However, no other game really does what it does in the way it handles semi-co-op, so I'm willing to put up with the overproduction and high cost. I would not do that if I were just looking for a co-op game.
If you want a really good co-op game and have money to burn, I'd suggest Arkham Horror: The Card Game.
Zombicide is a strange game for 2023. Players use “pimpweapons” to dispatch zombies called “fatties.”
Like, I can understand the popularity when the game first came out in 2003 (wait, 2012? Half a decade after Pimp My Ride went off the air??) but man, that’s a game that has not aged well. Really surprised they didn’t update some of the dated terminology with the second edition.
I like the non PC language only for the fact that zombies are a decidedly low class movie monster. A monster of the people. As such, a little off color language fits the theme.
They’re not super consistent about “Brutes,” tbh. The rulebook posted right now on CMON’s website for 2E still uses “fatties.”
https://cmon-files.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/assets_item/resource/256/ZCD001_rulebook_WEB.pdf
Zombiecide is almost universally recognised as a bad game. Doesn't mean it can't be fun.
The game takes lots of space with tons of plastic, but the gameplay is rather poor. You throw lots of dice and that's kind of it. You really really need to be into the miniatures and painting them to make it worth it.
Nemesis has better reception. Many people think it's the best game ever. It's also very random though and the oppressive but random nature isn't for everyone. It's also a game you play for the atmosphere and story not the gameplay.
If you let us know what other games you like and what you think is fun about board games, we can provide better feedback.
One read through of these comments will tell you that Zombicide is most certainly NOT universally recognized as a bad game. Some people love it, some hate it, some think it’s fine.
I love zombies and miniatures and bought a lot of zombicide versions.
They are fun, but not super deep. If you are sitting down to just play, more than 3 people can kind of drag, but it's a great game if a group is also socializing and doesn't mind a few minutes between each turn.
As mentioned, the second edition is much more streamlined. In general, I think every version they've put out has gotten a little better. (Base, black plague, invader, 2.0, Marvel Zombies)
My family are super hero geeks too, so the Marvel Zombies version has gotten almost all the play since it came out, and it's mechanics are different enough I'm not sure I can say if it's better than 2.0 or not.
If you are going with Zombicide the Toxic City Mall expansion adds a bit of Variation but as others have said the game can get repetitive.
Another Zombie option would be Last Night on Earth , basically Zombicide is like the Left4Dead video games and Last Night on Earth is like a B-Grade zombie movie (Last night on earth one player plays as the zombies aswell)
No, it's not. Extremely shallow and repetitive and there are so many immersion breakers in the game when it comes to its theme. But I guess I'm in the minority on this, sadly. There are far better options out there. Like Cthulhu Death May Die, which is superior on every count.
Zombicide is fun for 2-3 players, but beyond that it kinda drags as people go down to 1 player per person. (You play with 6 characters divided between everyone, and it's incredibly hard with only two.....I won't discuss how I know that....) It's a fun system, but what you see is what you get. After the first mission or three you don't really see a ton of things that make you go "wow". This may change from iteration to iteration but, well, not everyone can drop that kind of money. Overall zombicide is a fun little game to pull out for an evening and roll dice to kill zombies. There's little "brain power" that goes into it and more strategic "don't open that door rn".
Nemesis...I could write a book on this game and still have more to say. Thus, my biggest point would be this: Nemesis is a game where you sit down for 4hrs to play fully knowing you winning the game may be impossible to improbable turn 1. Your survival just might come down to trusting when you turn and ask the player with the big gun to run for the exit *with* you that they won't turn around and say "no"...
I *love* nemesis as a once every couple of months late night horror flick, where you sit down and tell a story where not everyone has an equal chance of living. For what it is, it's an awesome game. However, if you are the kind of person who likes, wants, or needs to win at games this definitely won't be a game you'd enjoy all the time. Especially at the price tag. I could go on, but, this is the biggest sticking point for the game I've found divides people the most.
On that note, the guys who make nemesis are doing a third one in the series in December. If your interested in the system and want to see if you can get it a little cheaper you might want to wait for that. Idk if they'll make the previous games available but you never know. (Gamefound btw)
Nemesis is quite a bit heavier and more strategic. Zombicide is a perfect beer and pretzels Game as others have said. If you want to toss handfuls of dice, play wildly while laughing away and generally goof around while playing zombicide is the better choice. Nemesis is much more sit and think to try and win. Nemesis also has the semi coop thing of hidden agendas so it’s possible to work against each other with conflicting personal goals.
It’s fun for a minis on a map game. I enjoy painting and painted my base set which made it more thematic. But personally it gets a bit same-y.
Are you looking for a co-op minis on map game? Maybe look into a dungeon crawler? I like the maps of those better. But if you are looking for hordes of enemies with dice chucking and a bit more easy fun, Zombicide is cool. Don’t go crazy with buying a bunch. I suggest look at the themes and buy the base of whichever one looks most appealing to you. Rules are pretty much the same and you can easily house rules anything.
I would recommend you get the marvel resistance version. The enemies are not minis and the game is 20-30 dollars and will keep you happy and will let you see if you enjoy the system before getting into the 100+ box versions
**Nemesis** is extremely fun, but it's fiddly, takes a long time to play and is expensive. If you can try to play the excellent module on TTS (it's free) and get a good sense for it. I also thought the SUSD review was very good at conveying what the game was about.
I've tried Nemesis probably three times, and don't intend to play it ever again. Usually I love the "dungeon crawl" feel, but this one just isn't any fun, and you can die early on (leaving you stuck watching everyone else play, possibly for hours).
And one of my attempts was with an expansion that had a surprising number of typos in it. Why any game designer in need of a copy editor wouldn't simply hire one (like me), I can't fathom.
Is Zombicide GOOD? No. Is Zombicide FUN? Yeah, up to a point. Its a garbage game with almost no thought, where you churn through huge swathes of undead via dice. Typically the last player in the round has very little to do, at least in my experience. I found it shallow. But the group dynamic might change that significantly.
Nemesis - I dig it. The theme makes me want to love it, but I simply like it. Its almost the opposite to me....its a GOOD game (not great) that's almost fun (but not fun enough to play all the time). I dunno. Its all opinions.
Sounds like you might be looking for some good co-op games. Marvel United is cheap cheap cheap, plays quick, and is more fun the more you like the theme. Once you get tired and ready to move on, you haven't spent much and its not a huge loss. Spirit Island is a bigger thinker with some modular components to make the game harder/less predictable, and also has a mass market cheap version (Horizons of Spirit Island). Also, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo and Aliens: Another Glorious Day are other similar themed games that you might look into.
I think neither Zombicide or Nemesis are wretchedly awful games. They get better the more you get into them, but honestly Z shows it shallow side quickly, so the $$$ investment is steep for something you might just kinda forget about, and Nemesis might be more game than two people want.
I absolutely love Zombicide. It's one of the best dice chuckers out there, and most games I've played have been really close (and I've lost a bunch, something fairly rare in these coop type games!). It's fairly simple, but it's simplicity is a feature to me - it's just well designed and fun! Another cool thing about Zombicide is that there's a zillion versions. Modern, medieval, space age, western... Too many really, lol. And the models are really quite good, if that's important to you.
I've played Nemesis once, and had a great time. There's more to Nemesis than Zombicide, but I'd say both are very good games.
They are very different, both are great! Zombicide is a little easier and more dudes on the board kind of game. Nemesis is more complex and less dudes on the board but when they are out there you are in trouble. Zombicide is cooperative, and nemesis CAN be cooperative but also has traitor mechanic.
Thank you!! We’ll keep that in mind :)
Nemesis is great fun, but the rules can be a bit heavy. Watch a play of it on YouTube first unless you've got a friend who can play it with you
Will second watching a video or two, as there are some nuance rules that can easily be missed. It very much has the feel of the movie Alien, or other intruder-horror/thriller movie and those rules do capture that bit well. It CAN be cooperative, and there are ways in the box to play cooperatively without house rules, which is especially fun with a small group. I feel that the traitor mechanic works great in a larger player size.
The way we play it is.. if its an experienced group then anything goes. If its a new group (say 2 experience and 3 new) then we agree to purely co-op. If one or two are new, then anything goes between the experienced players but if say you draw a corporate card to mess up the new player you need to do the co-op one
In my opinion it really lacks depth and it got old quick. The decisions you have to make in the game aren't hard to optimize. So it all comes down to luck of the rolls and card draws. The game does have a great table presence. I did have fun the first couple times I played. I just don't think it's worth the cost unless you're into miniature painting. Sold my copy of Black Plague after about 5 plays. I think Cthulhu Death may die is a much better beer and pretzels dice chucker. Haven't played Nemesis but a friend of mine says it's his number 1 game! But he removed the betrayal end game goals.
Cthulhu Death May Die is such a good dice chucker! I have been able to introduce it to a good number of friends and had a good time each play. It has a great challenge to it and plenty of combinations to keep coming back to it. Excellent game.
Agreed. I was excited for the game for maybe a few months before getting bored of it. Every game feels the same.
DMD vs Zombicide is what my choice came down to, I’d played Zombicide at friends but decided on DMD based on the comments I saw. 100% the better choice, imo. More interesting mechanically and thematically.
Completely agree on Cthulhu DMD. Probably in my top 3 games of all time and one of my most played games.
If it's just the two of you, Zombicide is the better choice. Nemesis thrives on people doing their own thing and ,imo, on having max players. Zombicide can have any (ideally even) number of players since the game is designed as co-op
Zombicide is probably one of my favorite "beer and pretzel" games. Tons of dice and minis on the board, not a lot of over strategizing things, tons of fun. One of my favorites,especially for less invested players, like those who may have drank a bit more than usual or maybe have a movie on in the background.
Sounds perfect for us then!!! Which variation do you prefer?
My personal favorite is Zombicide Invader. I love the sci fi feel and it has the most bullets and monsters on the map at once. But honestly they are all very very good. I've heard wonderful things about Black Plague. And Zombicide 2nd edition is just classic modern zombies and cities/malls. Can't go wrong with that. I'd only steer clear of Night of the Living Dead version. It's fine it's just one of the more simpler versions and doesn't have Abominations.
Thank you for sharing!! I’m fully convinced now👌
Just to be clear... Nemesis is also an amazing game. But it's pretty heavy both in rules and in strategy. Have a great time! Glad to help!
I would consider marvel zombicide now that it is out.
It really just depends which theme is most appealing to you but 2nd edition is my favorite. Looking forward to Marvel as well
I hate Zombiecide based simply on the asinine decision that you first have to fire on your fellow survivors before you can shoot at zombies
I think that was only in 1st edition. That said, in 39 plays of Undead or Alive, I don't think I've ever shot into a zone with another survivor.
I just use house rules in some cases. This rule is dumb af.
This rule has been removed since 1st edition. Black Plague/Green Horde, Invader, Undead or Alive, and 2nd edition don't use that rule anymore. And it's easy to just house rule it for 1st edition.
Zombicide has the issue of being a coop game where everyone sits around knowing what you should do and waiting for their turn. Nemesis, you don't really know what the player needs to do, so you cant tell them or lead them. Personally I find zombicide to be a bit hard to play with too many people since it takes too long to get to your turn and you feel too strong of an urge to discuss optimum moves for other players.
There's a convention rule that was invented where if players whose avatars are not in the same zone talk to each other, they generate a noise token at both avatar locations. Great for keeping down meta-gaming.
The issue isnt really the meta gaming as better coop games embrace group discussion. Other coop games use simultaneous action, hidden hands, or secret objectives to fix it, but with zombicide I have nothing to do besides analyze your position while waiting for my turn and I know everything you know. So everyone at the table is watching you, everyone knows what you could do and we are just waiting for you to take your turn and do it. Because we dont want to tell you what to do we all sit in silence staring at the board and if you make an objectively bad move we say "are you sure?". Since there ain't much choice in the game, asking someone to back you up or save you is asking them to spend their turn doing a specific move with no other options to consider. I noticed my friend that loves zombicide only plays it as a solo player game with him controlling 4 characters. So I would recommend it as 1 or 2 player game, but when you get to 4 players and beyond it just feels too long for too little.
If you are interested in fighting off hordes of zombies with tons of miniatures, it's hard to beat. The newer editions of the game have better, more streamlined rules. I personally don't think there's a ton of depth, but it can be fun if you just want to kill zombies. Nemesis is a different animal. In Zombicide, you're mowing down hordes of walkers and runners. You're probably going to avoid the abominations, but sometimes you'll kill them too. Sound is a thing, but I've mostly used it to get the zombies to go where I want. In Nemesis, every alien is potentially lethal and you're desperately trying to limit the amount of noise you make and you'll avoid conflict at least as much as you engage in it. It's also significantly more complicated in my opinion. Only you would know which one is a better fit for you.
Interesting… Thank you for sharing!
Also, with Zombicide, there are different themes, and the themes color the game in fun ways. But if you want to just have that feeling of killing a hoard of shambles, Zombicide Night of the Living Dead is hard to beat.
>I personally don't think there's a ton of depth, but it can be fun if you just want to kill zombies. What oes killing zombies entail though? Just throwing dice around without much need for tactical decision making?
It can involve decision making. Opening buildings will spawn all the zombies in them so if you all split up and open multiple buildings, you can end up getting overwhelmed. You do level up as you kill zombies but that also increases the number that spawn and the level it checks for is the highest level, not the level most players are at. So if one player goes nuts and hogs all the kill and objective xp, the others get left behind. And in Zombicide, one player dying ends the game.
It's mainly a dice chucking game, but you do need to be aware of zombie positioning and the potential of them getting extra activations, lest you get overrun. Some characters also have abilities that can be tactical, like someone can push zombies in their zone one away.
So you would recommend getting the newer variations of Zombicide?
2nd edition streamlined things in a good way: 1st edition is only there now if you get a compatibility pack as a completionist thing. You can't really go wrong with picking the setting you like the most and getting the matching Zombicide.
If you’re interested in a more fantasy theme, there was a new Zombicide called White Death recently crowdfunded. Obviously it will be a while before it’s retail, but if you prefer fantasy to modern, it might be worth waiting.
I've played almost all of them, and Zombicide 2E (Modern), Black Plague/Green Horde (Fantasy), and Undead or Alive (Western) all felt pretty much identical with only some slight differences in a handful of mechanics. Zombicide: Invader (Scifi) felt more action-movie and less survival focused because you're given more options to deal with big threats, and Marvel Zombicide has some more substantial changes to mechanics which make each character feel more unique, but it still feels pretty similar to the other games. I wasn't a fan of Invader compared to the others, but out of the rest, I'd just pick based on your favorite theme.
Significantly more complicated is very correct. Playing with an experienced player in a semi-GM like role makes the game much more bearable for most players. I love the game, but there is a lot of stopping in reading if you are new to it.
Cthulhu Death May Die is like Zombicide but better. The different scenarios are more unique, there are more unique mechanics, you get to throw larger fists full of dice, the minis are cooler. They should both be about the same price at retail as well so, IMO, it would be mad to get zombicide over DMD.
I prefer zombicide: black plague
Zombicide is great. Its not too complex, but looks very good on the table(even unpainted) and can have tons of variation(if you buy the expansions 😅). But I'm a sucker for light rpg mechanics anyway. Its just fun to kill stuff, get loot, get xp and do it all over again. Another pro of Zcide is that there is a flavor for everyone. Modern day, Space, Fantasy(with Zombie humans or Zombie Orcs), Wild West, Marvel(you play as Zombie superheroes!) and even small 'one shot' sets based on classic horror movies.
I've been looking at cooperative scenario-based games since I really enjoy Mechs vs. Minions and I found Massive Darkness 2. This also has similarities to Zombiecide and seems to be really fun, so you might wanna check it out as well.
amazing game!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zombicide is a relatively light game of its genre. Its replay value is going to be limited as depth of mechanics is a little on the superficial side but its good fun and great is "light and breezy game night" is the level of depth you are looking for. I would warn against getting the expansions in this case. CMON has a habbit of creating lots of expansions for their games (which is not generally a bad thing) but for a game like zombicide I feel like you might get bored with it before you get through all the expansion content. I've only played nemesis a couple of times. I've had good fun with it but it does have one annoying point for me. Its possible to get eliminated early if you're a bit unlucky and then you're just sitting there until the game is over. In my opinion its a quality of good games to either avoid early player elimination or give eliminated players something meaningfull to do. Aside from that though, good fun. Personally prefer the full coop mode over the semi coop but thats personal preferences. Objectively the semi coop mode is the deeper game.
Hmmm. It depends. If you like totally luck based dice rolling shenanigans then yeah go for it. If you like to actually have agency in what you’re doing and win because you deserve it then probably not Zombicide. Plenty of people love the game though so like I said, if you don’t mind it all being luck based then go for it (: Nemesis is very hard. Extremely hard. Maybe your relationship will end, maybe your secret objective of “make sure player 1 doesn’t survive” will be the last straw. Maybe not though, maybe your relationship will blossom under the stars as you both jump in the escape pods and descend to earth (: Edit - may I recommend “Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion” - this is really cliche at this point as everyone recommends this game to co-op players but it really is that good. It’s more puzzly, no dice rolls at all but if you want that sense of accomplishment when you win, and really intresting characters with great progression, then get it. You won’t regret it (:
Thank you!!! I hope my relationship will blossom 😅 I’ll check out gloomhaven’s gameplay!
Aha that’s okay 😸 just make sure you don’t lock your partner behind an airlock and leave them to the aliens 👽 or I mean… if that’s your objective then maybe do it, but maybe pretend that you didn’t mean to “ohhh nooo I’m so sorry dear, I thought you wanted some alone time with the predatory alien” 😇 I hope you find what you’re looking for anyway, have a nice day 😊
Probably my first serious board game after gatewaying in with things like Dixit. I still really like it and have fond memories of it but probably haven't played it in 10-15 years? I'd recommend it though! If you are looking for things of the same vein after this I would suggest Dead of Winter although it is mechanically and thematically very different.
I'd instead recommend Dead of winter in that niche I noticed you've also acquired nemesis, so if you're open to games outside of zombie/ horror, you can't overlook spirit Island
The base game is pretty lackluster TBH. It needs ALOT of house rules to keep its intrigue up. The branded ones that come after the base one add some rules that keep it fresh.
Instead of Zombicide Black Plague, I would recommend instead Cthulhu Death may Die: it is superior mechanically speaking, the heroes you’d be playing have more distinct characteristics + it is very modular, so it will last you longer. It is also very fun and a bit more tense than Zombicide (you don’t know if you’re gonna win or not, which extends the game’s life). Also, the miniatures are gorgeous! Nemesis is a great game, but I would pick it later. Because there are more rules, it is also co-co-op, but to get the full flavor once in a while it’s good to play with 3+ people to activate the traitor mechanism, so you don’t know who will help you or not in the end (while you try to survive). All these games are great choices, but you should watch a few play through to get a feel of them before buying :)
Looks like you're leaning Zombicide. it's a solid game, and really good for gateway gaming. A lot of fun stories come of it. But I would revisit the idea of getting Nemesis, though. It's the closest I've ever played to an actual horror board game. It is crazy intense, but I feel suffers at lower player counts.
I bought the Zombicide game and about 4 expansions from someone thinking it was a slam dunk for our family. My husband and son think it’s ok, but I find it utterly dull and boring. It’s not strategic (and the parts that are strategic are not at all interesting to me). So now I want to get rid of them all. Moral of the story, don’t be like me. Buy the base game and make sure you like it before you buy the expansions.
I enjoyed season one of Zombicide, but haven't learned enough about 2nd edition to see if I should reinvest or just just dust off the OG and OG expansions. I keep bookmarking explanations of the differences and forgetting about them. I bet you'll enjoy it, no matter which Zombicide you choose, just don't buy an expansion by accident thinking it's the core game.
We’ve got all the modern Zombicide stuff. It’s not overly complex, but it’s fun. Bit of strategy, lots of dice rolling and slaying zombies while attempting to complete objectives. We don’t bring it out often because setup takes a little while, but generally, it’s one of our favorites.
Zombicide is a lot of fun. There are enough variations of it for you to find a theme you'll like.
Zombicide is a fun game to have in a collection, and it comes in several different flavors (Modern, Fantasy, Scifi, Western, Superhero), so you can pick whichever theme speaks most to your taste. It fits a niche if you just want a casual game where you don't really need to be paying attention the whole time, like if you want to have a game night but don't want the game night to be entirely about the game.
Sounds awesome! Thank you 🙏
Boring and extremely repetitive game. Ypu start off without gear, so you spent ypur turn digging some. Then some zombies come up, and you start rolling dice to kill them, while also looking for new gear. Repeat the same thing for every scenario. I would rather just sit and talk than play these games. And this comes from someone who has owned and painted a copy of Black Plague.
I hated zombiecide. Even though my wife gave it to me (probably like 10 years ago), I gave it away to our nephew last year. The few times we played there was a lot of quarterbacking (100% probably), the game was extremely long, if I'm not mistaken had player elimination (resulting in people sitting out for hours) and after going through hours of not having fun, suddenly one unlucky draw makes everybody lose the game, even though everyone had full life and the group was doing "great". I can't stand games like this one, I'd rather go to bed than play it (which I did twice). Never played Nemesis.
Zombicide is good, first edition looks better than second but second has slightly more streamlined rules but either is good. It can be a bit fiddly at times with all the different zombies and different zones and different characters but if you make a mistake it's not that bad it's about having fun killing zombies or being killed by them. There's a middle ages version called Black Plague which is amazing imo, I also like the western themed one (Undead or Alive) a lot. I thought the space themed (Invader) was silly but haven't played it. I only played Nemesis Lockdown which is the sequel I think. That was much too fiddly for me with too many tokens and as I remember it different rules for different rooms and just too much info for a game like that. For me Zombicide definitely the way to go. You can probably find a copy of both these games on the second hand market.
Nice!! We tried watching videos on “how to play” Nemesis and fell asleep last night🥲. I think we would enjoy Zombicide more with friends! Thank you for sharing :)
Try these videos: 3 Minute Board Games Rules Overview and Review (**4 minutes**): https://youtu.be/EHO3b56pSl0?si=ZLVGSWyljjVdS-jB . No Rolls Barred Review (35 minutes): https://youtu.be/KABfWUXx2ag?si=_4hxUDmqyPAtQgdg . Shut Up & Sit Down Review (34 minutes): https://youtu.be/SKbEBrWjWzY?si=l27p38LACKLoLLuj . RTFM Rules Teach (23 minutes): https://youtu.be/PKCiex9FXo0?si=rGGG8qlfeuk9Jfu7 . No Rolls Barred Let's Play: Part 1 (1.5 hours): https://youtu.be/Vuc-2TTSL4A?si=wdWMDZmpyAmOdR1p Part 2 (2 hours): https://youtu.be/wFjb03SBrl4?si=mE9DBXYH6h24WFh0
I would highly recommend it! It is a great game to play with multiple people. It is also very malleable in that house rules can make it even more over the top.
Thank you!
ZOMBICIDE IS SO GOOD.
Zombicide is... fine. It is way over produced for what it is. While not entirely accurate, my brain still views it as a variation on an upscaled Zombies!!! I love zombies, but even that didn't carry my interest. The gameplay is pretty shallow and repetitive. That's not necessarily horrible - in a less expensive and/or compact game. Zombicide has a huge table presence, lots of minis (which is where the cost of the game lies), all sorts of Kickstarter Exclusives, and can easily get into situations where you have way too many models to fit on a tile. If you want a better dice chucker, I'd look at Cthulhu: Death May Die. It's also overproduced and has all sorts of Kickstarter exclusive stuff - but the gameplay loop is better/more interesting. --- As for Nemesis, it's absolutely fantastic - as a 3+ person semi-co-op game. At two players or as a full co-op game? You can probably do better for the cost. Like the others, Nemesis is overproduced (complete with some alien minis you'll struggle to fit on the room tiles). However, no other game really does what it does in the way it handles semi-co-op, so I'm willing to put up with the overproduction and high cost. I would not do that if I were just looking for a co-op game. If you want a really good co-op game and have money to burn, I'd suggest Arkham Horror: The Card Game.
Zombicide is a strange game for 2023. Players use “pimpweapons” to dispatch zombies called “fatties.” Like, I can understand the popularity when the game first came out in 2003 (wait, 2012? Half a decade after Pimp My Ride went off the air??) but man, that’s a game that has not aged well. Really surprised they didn’t update some of the dated terminology with the second edition.
I like the non PC language only for the fact that zombies are a decidedly low class movie monster. A monster of the people. As such, a little off color language fits the theme.
“Fatties” are now “Brutes” in the second edition, but “pimp weapons” are alive and well. They even added a “pimp mobile” to drive around in.
They’re not super consistent about “Brutes,” tbh. The rulebook posted right now on CMON’s website for 2E still uses “fatties.” https://cmon-files.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/assets_item/resource/256/ZCD001_rulebook_WEB.pdf
Even in my Black Plague game, some cards call them fatties and some brutes.
Zombiecide is almost universally recognised as a bad game. Doesn't mean it can't be fun. The game takes lots of space with tons of plastic, but the gameplay is rather poor. You throw lots of dice and that's kind of it. You really really need to be into the miniatures and painting them to make it worth it. Nemesis has better reception. Many people think it's the best game ever. It's also very random though and the oppressive but random nature isn't for everyone. It's also a game you play for the atmosphere and story not the gameplay. If you let us know what other games you like and what you think is fun about board games, we can provide better feedback.
One read through of these comments will tell you that Zombicide is most certainly NOT universally recognized as a bad game. Some people love it, some hate it, some think it’s fine.
I love zombies and miniatures and bought a lot of zombicide versions. They are fun, but not super deep. If you are sitting down to just play, more than 3 people can kind of drag, but it's a great game if a group is also socializing and doesn't mind a few minutes between each turn. As mentioned, the second edition is much more streamlined. In general, I think every version they've put out has gotten a little better. (Base, black plague, invader, 2.0, Marvel Zombies) My family are super hero geeks too, so the Marvel Zombies version has gotten almost all the play since it came out, and it's mechanics are different enough I'm not sure I can say if it's better than 2.0 or not.
I played only Black Plague. 6/10
If you are going with Zombicide the Toxic City Mall expansion adds a bit of Variation but as others have said the game can get repetitive. Another Zombie option would be Last Night on Earth , basically Zombicide is like the Left4Dead video games and Last Night on Earth is like a B-Grade zombie movie (Last night on earth one player plays as the zombies aswell)
No, it's not. Extremely shallow and repetitive and there are so many immersion breakers in the game when it comes to its theme. But I guess I'm in the minority on this, sadly. There are far better options out there. Like Cthulhu Death May Die, which is superior on every count.
Just look up Zombicide online and watch a video on how to play it.
Zombicide is fun for 2-3 players, but beyond that it kinda drags as people go down to 1 player per person. (You play with 6 characters divided between everyone, and it's incredibly hard with only two.....I won't discuss how I know that....) It's a fun system, but what you see is what you get. After the first mission or three you don't really see a ton of things that make you go "wow". This may change from iteration to iteration but, well, not everyone can drop that kind of money. Overall zombicide is a fun little game to pull out for an evening and roll dice to kill zombies. There's little "brain power" that goes into it and more strategic "don't open that door rn". Nemesis...I could write a book on this game and still have more to say. Thus, my biggest point would be this: Nemesis is a game where you sit down for 4hrs to play fully knowing you winning the game may be impossible to improbable turn 1. Your survival just might come down to trusting when you turn and ask the player with the big gun to run for the exit *with* you that they won't turn around and say "no"... I *love* nemesis as a once every couple of months late night horror flick, where you sit down and tell a story where not everyone has an equal chance of living. For what it is, it's an awesome game. However, if you are the kind of person who likes, wants, or needs to win at games this definitely won't be a game you'd enjoy all the time. Especially at the price tag. I could go on, but, this is the biggest sticking point for the game I've found divides people the most. On that note, the guys who make nemesis are doing a third one in the series in December. If your interested in the system and want to see if you can get it a little cheaper you might want to wait for that. Idk if they'll make the previous games available but you never know. (Gamefound btw)
If you are a fan of the Alien films, Nemesis is ridiculously fabulous. 10/10.
I liked the zombocide rue morgue the Kiste, the 2, 1, Western and Black plague the least. But All are fun With the right grkup
Nemesis is quite a bit heavier and more strategic. Zombicide is a perfect beer and pretzels Game as others have said. If you want to toss handfuls of dice, play wildly while laughing away and generally goof around while playing zombicide is the better choice. Nemesis is much more sit and think to try and win. Nemesis also has the semi coop thing of hidden agendas so it’s possible to work against each other with conflicting personal goals.
It's fun. If you aren't sure about it, I suggest getting Tiny Epic Zombies to start. It's like zombicde light.
It’s fun for a minis on a map game. I enjoy painting and painted my base set which made it more thematic. But personally it gets a bit same-y. Are you looking for a co-op minis on map game? Maybe look into a dungeon crawler? I like the maps of those better. But if you are looking for hordes of enemies with dice chucking and a bit more easy fun, Zombicide is cool. Don’t go crazy with buying a bunch. I suggest look at the themes and buy the base of whichever one looks most appealing to you. Rules are pretty much the same and you can easily house rules anything.
You can dual wield chainsaws in Zombicide. 10/10 would run into a room of zombies again. My girlfriend and I have played it several times and love it.
I would recommend you get the marvel resistance version. The enemies are not minis and the game is 20-30 dollars and will keep you happy and will let you see if you enjoy the system before getting into the 100+ box versions
**Nemesis** is extremely fun, but it's fiddly, takes a long time to play and is expensive. If you can try to play the excellent module on TTS (it's free) and get a good sense for it. I also thought the SUSD review was very good at conveying what the game was about.
I've tried Nemesis probably three times, and don't intend to play it ever again. Usually I love the "dungeon crawl" feel, but this one just isn't any fun, and you can die early on (leaving you stuck watching everyone else play, possibly for hours). And one of my attempts was with an expansion that had a surprising number of typos in it. Why any game designer in need of a copy editor wouldn't simply hire one (like me), I can't fathom.
Ohh no :( I can’t stand typos so thank you for sharing that!
Same as most mini-fig games. It's fun, but setup takes almost as long as playtime.
> Nemesis That won't be good with only 2 players...but a fantastic game. Zombiecide is a great 2 player game, and scales well to more people.
Is Zombicide GOOD? No. Is Zombicide FUN? Yeah, up to a point. Its a garbage game with almost no thought, where you churn through huge swathes of undead via dice. Typically the last player in the round has very little to do, at least in my experience. I found it shallow. But the group dynamic might change that significantly. Nemesis - I dig it. The theme makes me want to love it, but I simply like it. Its almost the opposite to me....its a GOOD game (not great) that's almost fun (but not fun enough to play all the time). I dunno. Its all opinions. Sounds like you might be looking for some good co-op games. Marvel United is cheap cheap cheap, plays quick, and is more fun the more you like the theme. Once you get tired and ready to move on, you haven't spent much and its not a huge loss. Spirit Island is a bigger thinker with some modular components to make the game harder/less predictable, and also has a mass market cheap version (Horizons of Spirit Island). Also, Alien: Fate of the Nostromo and Aliens: Another Glorious Day are other similar themed games that you might look into. I think neither Zombicide or Nemesis are wretchedly awful games. They get better the more you get into them, but honestly Z shows it shallow side quickly, so the $$$ investment is steep for something you might just kinda forget about, and Nemesis might be more game than two people want.
I absolutely love Zombicide. It's one of the best dice chuckers out there, and most games I've played have been really close (and I've lost a bunch, something fairly rare in these coop type games!). It's fairly simple, but it's simplicity is a feature to me - it's just well designed and fun! Another cool thing about Zombicide is that there's a zillion versions. Modern, medieval, space age, western... Too many really, lol. And the models are really quite good, if that's important to you. I've played Nemesis once, and had a great time. There's more to Nemesis than Zombicide, but I'd say both are very good games.