Geme Review: Card of the Dead

While none can take away my love for tabletop role-playing games (TRPGs), there are some games that I came to like because they simulate certain aspects of TRPGs. Munchkin is one of them, Bang! is another. A third, easy to play game came our way via Gaming Library: Card of the Dead.

AEG's Card of the Dead is a fast, easy-to-play card game set in the zombie apocalypse. Zombies are on the attack and you only have a handful of weapons available, if you have any at all. Object of the game, as with other zombie-themed games, is to survive. In game terms, that means having the most survival points after three rounds.  In a round, each player take turns drawing from the deck. If the player draws a Zombie, Zombies! (counts as two zombies), or Zombies!! (counts as three zombies) card, he places it in front of him, simulating zombies in the vicinity. If he draws an Event card, it happens automatically. If he draws an action card, he can opt to use it as either an action to kill or divert zombies, or as movement to inch his way out of the city. If a certain number of zombies are in front of a player (based on how many players), that player is surrounded and cannot add any more movement cards. If a little more zombies are added, that player is considered eaten by the zombies and is out of that round.

Game round ends when the deck runs out of cards, a player has put down enough movement points to get out of the city, or only one player is left not eaten. Survival points are awarded after every round to players succeeded in running out of the city, or not eaten, and another round starts.

This is a fun game that can last for 30 minutes or so. Artwork is cute and quirky, similar to the artwork on Smash Up! Game play is easy to learn. I enjoyed playing it with some of our guests, and I can't wait to introduce it to our friends on the next Game Day.