/pic3937056.jpg)
GENERAL INFO: 1-5 players, 30 minutes, 5 play modes including competitive and cooperative play.
Cooperative team-play with game controlled Zombies.
Cooperative team-play with Zombies controlled by a non-team player.
Competitive free-for-all with game controlled Zombies.
Competitive free-for-all with Zombies controlled by a player.
Solo.
THEME: Modern day Zombie outbreak at the Echo Ridge Mall.
HOOK: Fast paced, portable, and tons of replayability. Play as the survivors or the Zombies. Plus ITEMeeples!
WIN: Survivors must complete 3 objectives - Zombies must kill all the Survivors or gain control of the Mall's Courtyard.
OVERVIEW: In Tiny Epic Zombies, survivors are always on the run, collecting weapons, killing Zombies and working toward completing objectives. Completing 3 objectives can win you the game but if you're too focused on the objectives, the Zombies will overrun the mall and that will be the end of you.
Based on the mode of play, you will either play as one of the Survivors or as the Zombies.
As a Survivor, your turn will consist of moving 3 times. Then based on where you move, you'll be able to do additional things. For instance, if you move into a room with a Zombie, you'll have to fight it by rolling the Zombie die. Or if you move into a room adjacent to a Zombie, you can spend ammo to shoot it. Killing a Zombie is actually pretty easy... but they just keep coming. Keeping them from overrunning the entire mall, while trying to accomplish your objectives, that is hard!
After you've taken your 3 moves, you'll search the room. This is done by revealing the Search Card you are holding. Most of the time, you find something useful, like awesome items you can later pickup and equip to your ITEMeeples. Sometimes though, you may find a Zombie lurking in the corner. So be prepared.
After you search the room, more Zombies flood into the Mall. Then it's the next player's turn. Simple as that.
Note: If your ammo and wound tokens ever meet, you're dead meat! So, keep your wounds low and your ammo high.
If you die, that character will turn into a Zombie and you'll have to draw a new character to play. If that happens too many times, you lose the game.
As a Zombie player, not only will you control unique Zombies with special abilities, you will control ALL the Zombies! With your help, the Zombies will have a brain in addition to eating brains. Your game will be to overwhelm the players with clever placement and movement of the Zombies. Smother them with your Zombie horde and prevent them from completing their objectives. If you kill enough players or overrun the mall courtyard, you win.
Tiny Epic Zombies - How To Play
- Multiple ways to play including cooperative, competitive, and solo.
- Variable setup with different mall cards and objective cards.
- Engaging gameplay loop of moving, fighting, and interacting with the environment.
- Can be difficult to manage health and ammunition.
- Player death can lead to the loss of items.
- survivors versus the undead
- zombie apocalypse
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Point Allowance System — Players must move three times on their turn, and after each move, they can kill a zombie, use room abilities, interact with tokens, or collect items, allowing for multiple actions per turn.
- bag building — When a player is eaten alive, their old character card is passed to the zombie player, who flips it over and adds a horde token, giving them access to new abilities in future rounds.
- Competitive play — There are rules for competitive play where humans are trying to win independently while facing a zombie player, and a full competitive mode where survivors play for themselves without a zombie player.
- cooperative play — Players can play as survivors teaming up against one player controlling the zombie horde, or a fully cooperative mode where zombies are controlled by the game.
- Dice rolling — Melee attacks against zombies are performed by rolling a die. No matter the result, the zombie is killed, but rolling overkill allows for a free move, while other results can cause wounds.
- Hidden movement — The zombie player secretly places a facedown search card in front of each human player, which is not revealed until the end of the human player's turn.
- player elimination — If a player's wound and ammo tokens meet or cross, that character is eaten alive, immediately dropping any cards and items they have equipped. If this happens in the courtyard, items are dropped in an adjacent mall section.
- set collection — One of the objectives involves finding hidden ingredients in the correct sequence to create a cure.
- Variable player powers — Each character has a special ability that may affect their melee attack or other actions. Players draw and choose character cards at the start of the game.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- hi welcome to watch it played my name is Rodney Smith and in this video we're going to learn the 1 to 5 player game tiny epic zombies
- there are 5 different ways you can play ranging from competitive to cooperative modes and there's even solo play
- so join me at the table and let's learn how to play
- now as mentioned after you move a space you can kill one zombie
- managing both your health and your ammunition is important in this game because if a player's wound and ammo token would ever meet or cross then that character is eaten alive
- if your character dies while it's in the courtyard then you will pick any one of these form all sections directly adjacent to the courtyard to drop your items into
- if there are no survivors left and then the barricade hits zero the humans lose and the zombie player wins
- completing the objectives immediately wins the game for the humans and that's how you play the cooperative versus zombie game mode
- if you have any questions but anything you saw here feel free to put them in the comments below and I'll gladly answer them as soon as I get a chance
References (from this video)
- Great cooperative design with lots of flavor and touches
- Mall-zombie theme with memorable props and units
- Some players may want deeper combat beyond co-op format
- Can rely on expansions for additional depth
- Cooperative vs. undead with diverse character roster
- Zombie apocalypse in a mall
- Cooperative campaign feel with zombie bosses
- Dungeons & Dragons themed coop games
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play with location-based actions — Different locations provide distinct actions and boss encounters.
- quasi-sandbox objectives with replayability — Quests and missions feel varied across playthroughs.
- villains as many as players — Each character can be mirrored by a zombie villain variant.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "I found it a bit tricky because it went a bit quick my people got killed off too fast before I really got a sense of how to use them"
- "there are a bunch of cool options with the characters and I did find them interesting"
- "it's a 4X game all in a small box"
- "the expansion apparently it adds a ton of this a ton a ton more to this game"
- "two-player viability with added pieces"
- "two-player play works surprisingly well"
- "the follow mechanic ... keeps you invested every turn"
- "Man the box fits the minis in that box... tardis-like"
- "this is a Zelda vibe... Zelda e as you can get"
- "the divisive part comes from this poker hand mechanic"
- "the bullet dice are pretty cool"
- "it's the best one"
References (from this video)
- thematic cohesion with the zombie motif
- compact and accessible
- some balance questions across many characters
- survival and heroism in bite-sized playgroups
- zombie-themed micro-epic with character roster
- lighthearted with a zombie twist
- Tiny Epic Galaxies
- Tiny Epic Kingdoms
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Character-driven abilities — A wide roster of characters with unique powers affects strategy.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Tiny Epic Galaxies is by far my favorite tiny epic game
- it's so good, I can't wait to play it
- worldwide six games with the game hall bag—worldwide, anybody can win
- the art is amazing
- this game has no right to be as good as it is
- I'll play this game anytime
References (from this video)
- family-friendly entry in the Tiny Epic line
- no detailed discussion in transcript
- survival and action
- Zombie apocalypse
- fast-paced, family-friendly
- Tiny Epic Dinosaurs
- Tiny Epic Galaxy
- Tiny Epic Pirates
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- unknown — not described in transcript
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's the season it's the season
- three incredible voices coming on
- a gift card from a friendly local game store
- Tiny Epic Dinosaurs, Tiny Epic Galaxy, Tiny Epic Zombies, Tiny Epic Pirates
References (from this video)
- High variety and replayability from diverse missions and character abilities
- Portable big-box zombie apocalypse experience
- Asymmetric zombie-master mechanic adds tension
- Multiple play modes including solo and cooperative play
- Rulebook is unclear and requires external clarification
- Zombies' power can skew balance in certain plays
- Learning curve can be steep due to ambiguous rules and phrasing
- team survival with mixed cooperative/competitive play
- Zombie apocalypse mall
- scenario-based with variable missions and asymmetric play (Zombie Master vs survivors)
- Zombicide
- Zombie Side
- Dead of Winter
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cooperative and competitive play modes — The game supports solo, co-op, 4v1, and human-vs-zombie modes, with cross-over features.
- Cooperative Game — The game supports solo, co-op, 4v1, and human-vs-zombie modes, with cross-over features.
- Mission-based objectives with tokens — Players must complete three randomly selected missions using tokens earned or found during play.
- Modular board — The mall layout is generated randomly, shaping access to stores and strategic options each game.
- Modular/randomized board layout — The mall layout is generated randomly, shaping access to stores and strategic options each game.
- Unique character abilities with zombie sides — Each survivor has a unique ability; when killed, they can become a zombie with its own powers.
- Unique player powers — Each survivor has a unique ability; when killed, they can become a zombie with its own powers.
- Weapon/meeple inventory system — Meeples hold weapons; small weapon tokens and cards augment survivor capabilities.
- Zombie Master control (AI or player) and search-card manipulation — A zombie master can influence zombie placement and special abilities; in player-controlled modes, they still threaten survivors via card effects.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- by far my favorite part of tiny epic zombies is just how much variety you get in this tiny little box
- it's the game that keeps on giving
- fiveish different modes of play
- the only game that offers a big box zombie apocalypse experience and a portable format
- I absolutely got this until I didn't
- to survive this zombie apocalypse you'll have to accomplish three randomly selected missions every time you play
- meeples how awesome are these guys they can hold their own weapons regular old wooden meeples don't stand a chance
- and if your party's not getting along there's also a competitive human versus zombie mode