F@%& This Game: Last Night On Earth

Last Night on Earth is a zombie game. Normally this would be a non-starter for me, because I really do not like zombies.* But I am new in town and I needed to bond with new nerdlingers and make friends so they would invite me back. And, despite the zombie theme, this game is pretty fun and re-playable.

Last Night on Earth is a team game with a group of players vs the zombies, controlled by another player (or two). We played with four on the team vs. Jeremy, the zombie controller. The team drew randomly from the character pile, each character has different abilities. The

board was generated randomly, with different buildings in the town having different materials/equipment available. Even our scenario was randomly chosen, with each scenario having different victory conditions for the team and different advantages for the zombies.

We drew the "Plague Zombie" scenario, which meant we had to eliminate (note I didn't say 'kill') 7 plague-infected zombies before something happened. That "something" could have been any of a number of things, to add pressure to the players. Team failure conditions included:

• All team members are dead
• Clock runs out (there is a time marker, with total time determined by the scenario)
• No more hero cards (the pile of cards of weapons, equipment, and bonus actions that the living players get to choose from)

The four of us left to defend the town from the zombie plague were:

• Sheriff Anderson, white man with gun and the ability to reclaim his gun if lost (me)
• Johnny, white high school quarterback with the ability to move and attack and keep moving (Zac)
• Jake the white drifter with the ability to take extra cards and keep what he likes (Dan S.)
• Raylenne (?) the black detective with a gun and flashlight and an ability I don't think she ever used (Scott)

I mention race and sex because it's important and it led me to notice that all of the other characters were white, and all of the other women were high school age. All of the "professional" people in town were white men. Whatever.

Essentially the game is designed to play like a horror movie.

Game Play

Players start at the center of the board, and roll dice to move and attack. Players get two cards to start with, which gives them extra options or equipment, in addition to whatever they get to start with based on their character.

Zombies start at spawning points around the board, and replenish EVERY TURN. This was crazy, surprising, and another reason why I don't like zombies. Zombies have no ranged attacks, but fight hand-to-hand with extra dice. Ties go to the zombies.

Team coordination of tactics and strategy is strongly encouraged, and definitely necessary. The only drawback to good communication is that the zombie controller hears everything you say and can try to counteract your plans. This can make the game more interesting or not fun at all, depending on how "smart" the zombies act.

Players with weapons have a clear advantage, especially ranged weapons. But weapons can run out of fuel/ammo, be knocked away, or otherwise lost during play. Hand-to-hand combat with zombies is bad and should be avoided...if you want to live.

So, lots of random elements, but also strategy on an ever-changing chess board of dangers. For the 90 minutes or so we played, I was not bored at all. There is a lot to focus on, and you are involved in everything, potentially.

We lucked out with a great combo of characters and starting equipment for this scenario. Two players had pistols, one started with a chain saw, and we had access to flare guns throughout the game. With four unarmed characters, this would have been a much different and harder game. It is easy to imagine an "impossible" scenario, where all the odds seemed stacked against you.

Advice:

1. Make whoever plays act like their character. Zac was brilliant in the role of football jock ("All right, bro!"). Dan S. was creepy in a lot of ways as the drifter, but he was probably definitely acting I think.
2. Feel free to abandon characters or scenarios that aren't fun or are impossible. There are lots of possibilities, don't let bad luck throw the evening.
3. A good zombie controller can enhance or ruin this game. Just like a good DM. Pick someone who isn't trying to prove they are a master strategist, or pick someone like Jeremy who will have the zombies act "realistically" (meaning they wander aimlessly until they smell or hear something). Zombies should not act like coordinated soldiers, IMHO.

I would definitely recommend this game for a board game night. It is well designed, has great game elements in the right combination, and encourages teamwork. I give it four brains out of five.

*I will avoid zombie movies, TV shows, books, and costumes. It is a source of constant annoyance that zombies and zombie-like creatures are everywhere in computer games. I also have no sense of humor about it. Which should tell you how enjoyable this game was.