The Zombie Lover's Guide to Game Night

A zombie-themed game night can offer an important boost to your apocalypse preparedeness routine. All work and no play makes Jack too stressed and tired to face the zombie apocalypse. It's true that zombie survival is serious business, but incorporating zombie awareness into your game night can provide some much needed fun without detracting from your zombie-ready mindset.

The Zombie Apocalypse is Not a Game.
Photo by Cassandra Gregg

We live in a golden pre-zombie utopia, and you should enjoy that while you can! The fun evenings you spend with friends now will be sweet wellsprings of strength when it's time to put away childish things. By all means, play. Just try to do so without becoming dangerously complacent.

Zombie-themed games are a great way to enjoy a relaxing night with friends without letting your attention stray too far from the impending apocalypse. Many of these games even offer valuable tips for zombie survival, or help you to hone skills that will prove valuable when Z-Day arrives.

On this page, I have collected the zombie games that I believe offer the best balance between Friday night fun and effective zombie preparedness training. I hope that you enjoy them, and that they help you host a great game night while building a safer, more zombie-aware community.

Between the modular board and the use of various scenarios for game play, Last Night on Earth stays fresh and entertaining through many, many nights of play. Toss in an expansion pack or two, and the game becomes a bottomless well of zombie entertainment.

Players can take on the role of human survivors or flesh-hungry zombies. The photographic art and included soundtrack CD cultivate a classic zombie movie look and feel. Last Night on Earth takes 2 to 6 players, and a game lasts about 60 to 90 minutes.

Kaja Sadowski and Joanna Gaskell of Starlit Citadel provide a great introduction to Last Night on Earth. They cover the rules of the game, it's strong and weak points, and offer a look at what's inside the box.

Fluxx is a great card game. It's been a household favorite of ours for many years. Hearing that there was now a version of Fluxx featuring zombies inspired in me the kind of excitement that causes me to make undignified motions and noises.

Fluxx is appropriately named, as the rules of the game are always in flux. Cards played during the game can change the rules of play. This, I think, is especially appropriate for zombie preparedness training. The rules of the zombie apocalypse are certain to be in a constant state of flux. A game of Zombie Fluxx takes 2 to 6 players and lasts 10 to 60 minutes.

Spooky Bill is a man who knows his zombies. And his games. His engaging crash course provides a great overview of the ever-changing rules of Zombie Fluxx. Be warned: the game can seem much more confusing while watching than it is while playing. Watch a hand or two, read the rules, and just dive in. It's actually very simple to play, but the ever-changing rules make it tricky to understand as an observer.

Fans of The Walking Dead television series will enjoy this zombie board game. Rick and his band of humans struggle for survival in an Atlanta plagued with walkers. Game play starts off cooperative, but watch out! Fallen players rise as walkers, attacking the remaining survivors.

Player "resources" are strictly limited, making encounters with zombies, and sometimes with other human players, feel as high-stakes as if the zombie apocalypse were unfolding on your coffee table. Can you make it through the walkers and reach the camp alive? The Walking Dead is a 2 to 4 player game, and play lasts about an hour.

Skully is an avid gamer. RWG (Reluctant Wife Gamer) is not. They both love the AMC series, and here they review The Walking Dead Board Game and give you a look at the game.

Zombies!!! is a great zombie game with straightforward rules and sweet zombie action. The board is built with tiles during gameplay, and so is quite different from one game to the next. The little zombie figures are gruesomely charming.

The coolest thing about this game, though, is its grand assortment of expansion packs, which are a great tool for improving your flexibility as a zombie survivalist. If you'd like to prepare for the possibility of zombie clowns, the "Send in the Clowns" expansion pack is just the ticket. Curious about the sewers as a possible escape route or hidey-hole? Try the "Six Feet Under" expansion pack.

A game of Zombies!!! can occupy 2 to 6 players for most of an evening. It's not unusual for games to reach or pass the two hour mark.

Zombies!!! expansion packs add new settings, cards, and zombies to the original game, and enable the creation of a truly nightmarish game board to suit the tastes of any zombie preparedness enthusiast. Some packs provide a fresh "start," and can be used alone or in conjunction with other expansion packs, but most require the original game.

The vast majority of zombie games focus almost exclusively on fighting zombies. What about all the other challenges sure to accompany the zombie apocalypse? Enter Zombie Survival: The Board Game.

Are you prepared to lose your electricity? Do you have plans to secure a clean water supply when the zombie apocalypse begins? Zombie survival is more than just killing zombies, and Zombie Survival: The Board Game addresses these oft-overlooked issues admirably.

Zombie Survival: The Board Game can be played by 1 to 4 players, and is really the most fun with 4. A game generally lasts about an hour.

Watch as a group of friends experiences Zombie Survival: The Board Game for the first time. A good look at the game from the perspective of new players! The camera work's a little shaky, but we're all probably going to be a little shaky when the zombie apocalypse arrives.

Eaten by Zombies is a zombie deck-building game. Players use their cards to fight or flee from the zombies they encounter at every turn. With hordes of zombies all around, there's little hope of lasting survival. The winner is the player who postpones his or her grisly demise the longest.

Though the goal of the game is outliving your comrades in the zombie apocalypse, and some of the artwork is quite bloody, the classic comic look and feel of the game makes it feel more quirky than scary. A game of Eaten by Zombies takes 2 to 4 players and 30 to 60 minutes.

Stephen Keller of Reviews Without Pants gives a very thorough introduction to the Eaten by Zombies and a good look at the cards, along with some thoughts on the pros and cons of this zombie game.

A zombie game night needn't feature an exotic game. A zombie theme can bring your important message of apocalypse preparedness to any familiar card game. If your buddies enjoy a wee nip of the spirits, serve the famous zombie cocktail. Be sure to tuck a deck of cards into your zombie preparedness kit. Card games will be a great way to pass long hours in hiding when the zombies arrive.

One of the world's most popular and oldest board games receives a zombie makeover! Hand-painted resin zombies on one side of the board, slayers on the other. The perfect conversation piece, and an awesome gift for the zombie slayer who has everything.

Know of a great zombie game I haven't mentioned here? I'd love to hear about it! Tell us about your favorite zombie-themed recreational activity, share a game night story, ask a question, or just say Hi!