Tell Me! Does Zombies!!! suck?

[thebitterguy]

I've been wondering this for a while, but I thought I'd put it to the teeming masses.

I'm no boardgame snob. No hardcore gamer, who has learned German so he could play Cataan before Mayfair got the English version out. I enjoy the Euro games, but I also enjoy simpler things, games whose main reaction is "well isn't that clever", like a good game of Fluxx or some Cheapass things.

So, how to explain my dissatisfaction with Zombies!!!? I've played it a few times, but I've noticed that it seems to take way too long to play, and in the end the winner is usually determined by a play of cards (alternate food source and skateboard, in one case, which are a great combo). A decent gameplay would be nice, I guess. But the endgame is just kinda annoying for some reason. Maybe it's because it's just a matter of squirming towards the final card or something, but the game just leaves me with a sense of dissatisfaction.

But it's obviously very popular. And people can't be playing a 3 hour game they don't enjoy, right?

We're gonna hopefully get to play Mall of Horror tonight

Comments

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

who has learned German so he could play Cataan before Mayfair...

I simply don't know who you're talking about...

it seems to take way too long to play, and in the end the winner is usually determined by a play of cards

The problem is that "Zombies" is quite simply not a very good game. "Mall Of Horror" is a much better game; however, it's much more of the sort of game that's "when do you throw your co-player to the zombies, and how do you avoid being the one thrown" than it is "hey! find that cool shotgun and blow away some undead ass".

So if you don't like so-called "nasty games" then your mileage with "Mall Of Horror" may vary; you have been warned.

[rbowspryte.livejournal.com]

See when I play Zonmbies!!! It widely varies. Games have lasted one hour or three or four. I like to play it so that you die only once however.

[adamjury.livejournal.com]

I played Last Night on Earth a few times after Gen Con, and although it's sorta similar to Zombies!!! I prefer it. Personally, the times I played Zombies!!!, I found the play to be too slow and clunky, especially with the tile-placing each turn.

Popular != Good. Just look at Munchkin.

[thebitterguy]

I wonder what percentage of SJG sales Munchkin takes up. It's just crazy.

[adamjury.livejournal.com]

55% of their sales in 2006, although they don't specify whether that's gross or profit or what; I think it's gross.

That works out, based on very rough math, to roughly 52,800 units in 2006, although that's based on the price of the core set, and the expansions are cheaper. If you do the math using just the price of the expansion, it's roughly 73,333 units in 2006; so the actual number of units sold is somewhere between there, divided amongst the various expansions.

http://www.sjgames.com/general/stakeholders/report07.html

[thebitterguy]

I did not know he released that. Thanks for the heads up.

Hopefully the bubble doesn't burst out from under them. It's a nice B&P game.

[adamjury.livejournal.com]

It's a nice B&P game.

You're a funny man, Mr. Mohareb.

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

I'm shocked.

A game about zombies and the play is slow?

Shocked.

[thebitterguy]

That is a bad thing, since the players are not actually playing zombies.

[creativedv8tion.livejournal.com]

I was just amused at the irony, 's all.

[lowercaseem.livejournal.com]

Zombies!!! is not good.
Disliking Zombies!!! is not an indication that you don't like Good.

I don't play it at all if I can help it (and I usually can). Too long, too boring.

[circus13.livejournal.com]

I bought Zombies after playing it for about 45 minutes with the game store owner and my wife (then girlfriend). After buying it, we played a big group (6 people, actually 8 when one player switched out twice) and it took like 5 hours and we had to FORCE someone to win.

I've noticed that it all depends on who you play with. That group was worried more about screwing the other players than trying to win. I ultimately got sick of it and haven't played it since. But since I no longer see most of those people, I might try it again.

Now we play Battle Cattle the card game most often :D but are about to break out some Robo Rally.

[thebitterguy]

Ouch. Five hours is a long game. Even if all the players are playing competitively, theoretically the game should be played through quicker than that.

Robo rally is fun. WotC released another game, something Money, in their early days that my wife and I also enjoyed.

[ghostwes.livejournal.com]

I own Zombies, but am never bored enough to actually play it. There are so many other things I would rather do.