Tiny Epic Zombies

Who would have thought that going to the mall would be so stressful?

The crowds, the queues, the heat and the paid toilets. These were the only dangers that awaited us at the supermarket. In Tiny Epic Zombies we’ll wrestle with a horde of undead who want to spoil our shopping experience. As we go along, we will be exploring the shopping mall trying to survive and fulfill all the missions. What we are to achieve will depend on the chosen gameplay mode and the composition of our team.

A player’s turn consists of moving, punching, collecting and repeating that 2 more times. Occasionally we will do something more interesting but I will come back to that. Later, we reveal a card that we weren’t supposed to peek at and someone repeated it 6 times for us not to do it… This will tell us where to put the new zombies and give out items to the stores. By the way, we will be able to tell our fellow players, „and I told you so” when undead customers overwhelm us in the changing room….

Why was it worth going on this crazy shopping spree?

Let me start right away with the best thing, which is that the game has 5 modes of gameplay. So that we would not get bored. In co-op, we work together to achieve 3 goals and later we blame each other for our failure. In competitive mode there can be only one winner and it will be the one who fulfilled all the missions first. Tasks in competitive and cooperative modes are subtly different but the core gameplay is the same.

We can join any of these modes as a zombie, and this is where things get interesting but not without a few downsides. Then the zombie player can strategically deploy his friends to make life even more difficult for the players. The best part is that we decide for ourselves what card will go to the heroes. When we manage to predict where they will end their move it’s just a phenomenal feeling. Especially as the board gets even tighter.

The last way to play is a solo mode. Then we play in co-op and control two survivors at the same time. Handling a player’s turn is quite simple and Tiny Epic Zombies as a solo is great. I already have a few solo games under my belt and I’m eager to take it on solo holidays along with Tiny Epic Dungeons. The small box is also a huge asset.

The fabulousness of the weapons

The fact that we can squeeze weapons into our ITEMmeeple is cool but I could somehow live/not live without it too. Although if I equip a crossbow I can feel like Daryl from the Walking Dead. Ok I officially changed my mind. It’s a cool feature. But the most fun I had was when I went on a ride with a meeplecar or meeplecycle. They are just awesome.

Because all heroes are one…

I also like how many heroes we have to choose from and the fact that each of them has a different skill. Because some move faster, others shoot more economically, and others heal. We can play as Taylor Swift, Officer Blart, a rebellious teenage girl taking selfies, a Killer dressed as Michael Jackson, and a Photographer who looks like my wife. Overall, there is something for everyone. All the heroes also have a zombie version, played by an automa or our undead friend. The skills that these heroes had when they were alive are twisted in a very cool way. Generally who we play doesn’t change the gameplay that much, but it does affect its replayability.

Undead way to the top

There are quite a lot of missions. Because there are 9 of them, and in each of our games we’ll have to fulfill 3 of them to complete our shopping successfully. Sometimes we need to find parts for the helicopter, occasionally we need to complete the alphabet and there will also be times when we have to smash some zombies with a tank. A real zombiegeddon. The objectives are quite diverse but mostly it’s a pick up combined with delivery.

Zombie hard

Tiny Epic Zombies can sometimes be difficult but I think the gameplay is well balanced. You can feel that pressure as the deck shrinks. All of this, of course, depends on the targets we draw. Because when the aforementioned letters and the helicopter appear, we really have to coordinate our movements perfectly to make it in time. Just like your wife sends you to the store 10 minutes before closing time because she forgot to buy flour for the cake. Life writes really stressful scenarios….

Quick snack

Recently I was looking at my shelf for a quick co-op game that I can play at my board game club. Generally it’s hard to find such games and it’s cool that Tiny Epic Zombies is so 30-40 mins of gameplay. Because it’s a game perfect for the end of the evening as we could reconcile after area control games or as a filler between something bigger.

Cons

Passing through walls

What I don’t like exactly is the layout of the stores. Because in this market we can walk through walls. This speeds up our shopping considerably, but it is also terribly unintuitive. Especially when we move the map a little and after a while the players don’t know whether they can pass this way or not. Maybe it doesn’t ruin the gameplay for me but I would prefer some other solution.
Being that zombie

I don’t know why but somehow I like playing villains in games. That’s why I’m happy to play as a zombie. Although sometimes I feel like I have no control over what my friends do. Because my turn mainly consists of dealing cards and then trying to strategically place the zombies somehow. I would like to somehow manage this better as a corpse.

Summary

Tiny Epic Zombies is another big game in a small package. Simple rules, fast gameplay, and all varied by different missions, heroes, zombies, and store layout. I, of course, left the best for last. Because we have a dice that we roll with our melee attack. If a crit comes in, we can make an extra move. This exploding dice provides a ton of fun. Especially since it was already such a tricky situation, and suddenly someone cleared all the rooms and we won the game.

Final verdict: A little game, a lot of excitement without losing my brain

What’s your favourite Tiny Epic series game?

Pros

• Quick coop
• Holiday size box
• Fabulous weapons
• Balanced difficulty level
• Various missions, heroes and zombies
• Exploding dice

Cons

• Invisible passages
• Zombies only dealing cards

[Game provided by Galakta]