Dice games

Zombie Dice

Eat 13 brains before the other zombies, rerolling your dice as long as you dare, without taking three shotgun blasts in the same turn.

You’ll need the game box. Marquoir sums up the rules and keeps score.

Setup

The box holds 13 dice and a cup; you need something to keep score with.
The dice come in three colours: green ones are the easiest victims, yellow ones a little harder, red ones the toughest.
Each die shows three symbols: brain, shotgun and footprints.
Two or more can play, with no upper limit.
The winner of the previous game starts, or whoever calls for brains in the most convincing voice.

When your turn comes, give the cup a shake, draw three dice blind and throw them on the table.
A brain goes to your left: a victim devoured. A shotgun goes to your right: that one shot back. Footprints stay in front of you: the prey got away.
After each roll, decide: bank your brains, or push on.
To push on, take back your Footprints dice and top them up with random dice from the cup, so that exactly three are rolled. Taking dice from the cup commits you: they must be rolled.
Brains and shotguns rolled are added to the ones already set aside.
When the cup can no longer make up three dice, jot down your brain count, return those brain dice to the cup (shotguns stay out) and keep going.
As soon as you have three or more shotguns, your turn ends and scores nothing.

When you choose to stop, you score one point per brain set aside during the turn.
With three shotguns, the turn scores nothing, even if you had already eaten many brains.
In Marquoir, enter each round the brains each player scored, and 0 for anyone who took three shotguns.

The first zombie to reach 13 brains hasn't won yet: the round is completed, so that everyone has had the same number of turns.
The highest total takes the game; if several players are tied for the lead, they alone play another round.

According to the publisher's FAQ, a red die you reroll because it shows footprints has an even chance of turning up a shotgun: that is what makes rerolling risky.
Marquoir's counter extends the game as long as two players are tied for the lead.

How do you score in Zombie Dice?

One point per brain, but only when you decide to stop. If you collect three shotguns during your turn, you score nothing for that turn.

What happens when the cup runs out of dice?

Note the brains already won, return those dice to the cup, and the turn goes on. Your shotguns stay out: they still count for the current turn.

Can the other players catch up with whoever reached 13 brains?

Yes: the game only ends at the end of the round. Those who haven't played yet get one last turn to match or beat that score.

Can you stop after taking new dice?

No: as soon as you have drawn new dice from the cup, rolling them is compulsory.

Released: 2010
Designer: Steve Jackson
Artwork: Alex Fernandez
Mechanics: Dice RollingPush Your Luck
Contents: 13 green, yellow and red dice with three symbols: brain, shotgun, footprints
1 cup