Overview

Zombicide is a cooperative game in which players move around a map, complete mission objectives, and escape without dying or being overwhelmed by Zombies. Each mission has its own win condition, shown in the top right.

Game Mechanics

Zones

The board/map consists of square Zones that are either outside or inside. Inside a building, a Zone is a room. On a street, a Zone is the area between crosswalk markings and/or building walls (or the board's edge).

Survivors have line-of-sight in any non-diagonal direction to any other street Zones up to the board's edge as long as they aren't blocked. However, a Survivor can only see as far as one Zone into a building with an open door (and must be directly adjacent to the Zone). From an inside Zone, a Survivor can only see as far as one Zone to any adjacent room through an open door, but can see into the street with no limit.

Survivors

Unless the mission states otherwise, players take control of six Survivor characters (players may control more than one, depending on the number of players). Adults have 3 HP and kids (identified by a yellow emoji icon have 2 HP. Kids have 1 less HP than adults, but start with the Slippery skill (ignore Zombies when moving, do not spend extra actions). (Click the yellow triangle on the right side of a character card to see definitions for their skills.)

Survivor Skills

• Ambidextrous: All weapons are treated as if they had the Dual symbol .
• Charge: Move up to 2 Zones to a Zone containing at least 1 Zombie. Entering a Zone containing Zombies ends the Move Action. Free action. Can only be used once per turn.
• Jump: Move 2 Zones, ignoring everything except walls and closed doors. Costs 1 action. Can only be used once per turn. Ignores movement-related skills (like +1 Zone or Slippery).
• Lucky: For each action, you may re-roll all dice once.
• Matching Set: If you find a weapon with the Dual symbol , you immediately receive a second card of the same type.
• Medic: You and all Survivors in the same Zone may heal 1 HP. You earn 1 AP per wound healed this way. Free action. Can only be used at the end of a round.
• Shove: All Zombies standing in the Survivor's Zone are pushed to an adjacent Zone chosen by you. Free Action. Can only be used once per turn.
• Slippery: The Survivor ignores Zombies when performing Move Actions and does not spend extra Actions when performing a Move Action out of a Zone with Zombies.
• Sniper: Choose targets when performing Ranged actions and ignore Friendly Fire.
• Sprint: You may move 2 or 3 zones instead of 1. Costs 1 Move action. Can only be used once per turn.
• Tough: The Survivor ignores the first Wound received during each Zombie Attack or Friendly Fire incident.

Equipment

Cards can be either a weapon or equipment. Any card can be stored in either a Survivor's hand (they have two) or their backpack (three inventory spaces). Extra items must be discarded.

Weapons

Weapons are indicated by a knife or pistol symbol. Starting weapons are gray. Basic weapons found during the game are blue. "Pimpweapons" (special strong found in yellow crates) are red.

Each weapon has four numbers at the bottom.

Other Symbols

Name	Icon	Definition
Melee		Indicates a melee weapon, which means the user must be in the same zone as a Zombie to use it in combat. (i.e. range = 0)
Ranged		A pistol indicates a ranged weapon, which can be used from a distance.
Dual		If you have 2 identical weapons with this symbol in each hand, you can use both weapons with one action. Both weapons must target the same zone.
Bullets		This weapon uses bullets for ammo. (Certain equipment cards can affect weapons that use bullets, but you don't run out of ammo.)
Shells		This weapon uses shotgun shells for ammo. (Certain equipment cards can affect weapons that use shells, but you don't run out of ammo.)
Noise		Using this weapon generates a Noise token in your zone, which attracts Zombies.
Silent		Using this weapon does not generate noise.
Door Opener		This weapon can be used to open doors. A Noise or Silent icon indicates whether opening the door with this weapon produces a Noise token.

Ranged weapons cannot select a target. Zombies will be hit in the following order: Brutes/Abominations (player choice), Walkers, then Runners. For example, if you attack a zone with 4 Walkers and 1 Runner, the Walkers will be hit first until all are defeated, then the Runner.

Watch out for friendly fire! If a zone contains a mix of Zombies and Survivors, any unsuccessful hits on a ranged attack will hit a Survivor of the player's choice. Multiple failed hits can be distributed among multiple Survivors.

Adrenaline Points (AP) and Danger Level

Each time a character kills a Zombie, that character gains Adrenaline Points (AP). Gaining enough AP allows that character to advance in Danger Level (from blue to yellow to orange to red). Each increase in level grants 1 ability to the Survivor. Some offer multiple options, but you can only choose one.

But this has a trade-off. When Zombies spawn, the highest Danger Level of any Survivor determines which and how many Zombies spawn. For example, if one Survivor is in blue, four Survivors are in yellows, and one is in orange, the Zombie spawn will be at the orange level. Therefore, staying around the same level as your fellow Survivors is a smart strategy.

Zombies

Zombies do not "retain" HP as in an RPG. To kill a Zombie, you have to deal all your damage at once. Therefore, weapons that only do 1 damage are useless against Brutes and Abominations, and BGA will not allow the combat action if they are the only available targets.

All Zombies (Walkers, Brutes, etc.) do 1 wound each.

Zombies can spawn from the following events:

1. Beginning of the game (as part of the setup)
2. When a door is opened
3. During the Zombie Phase
4. When searching a room

Caption text

Type	Icon	HP	AP Reward	Total	Notes
Walker		1	1	40
Runner		1	1	16	Runners get 2 actions instead of 1.
Brute (a.k.a. Fatty)		2	1	16	Only a Damage 2+ weapon or Molotov can kill them.
Abomination		3	5	4	Abominations require 3 damage to kill. However, no weapon can do more than 2 damage. Some skill cards or special mission rules allow you to reach 3 damage.

Abominations

There can only be one Abomination on the board at a time. If a second Abomination would spawn, the existing Abomination takes an extra action instead. There are four possible types of Abomination:

Name	Icon	Special Rules
HOBOMINATION		A Survivor cannot take the Combat action if in the same zone as this Abomination (i.e., must be killed with a ranged weapon)
ABOMINACOP		Takes precedence in priority order when resolving successful attacks (i.e., protects other Zombies in its zone)
ABOMINAWILD		Molotovs thrown into its zone only affect the Abomination (i.e., no other Zombies besides the Abominawild are killed)
PATIENT 0		None

Gameplay

Player Turn

When controlling multiple characters, you must choose which character to perform the actions for. You must complete that character's turn before any others. You cannot alternate turns between characters.

Each character starts with 3 Actions per turn. However, leveling up can increase this number. When all players have had a turn, the first player token is passed to the next player. The previous first player becomes the last player in the next round.

Caption text

Action	Description	Limitations	Notes
Move	Move your character to an adjacent Zone	For each Zombie in your current zone, you must spend 1 extra Action. This means if you have 3 Actions (the standard number) and there are 3 Zombies in your zone, you cannot move. If movement takes a Survivor into a Zone with Zombies, all movement ends (even if the Survivor has enough actions to progress).
Search	Draw an equipment card. You may put it in your hand, backpack, or discard it.	A Survivor can perform only 1 Search per turn. You must be inside a building Zone with no Zombies.	You may redistribute your inventory cards when the item is received. If you have no space, you can discard a different item during redistribution.
Open Door	Open a door adjacent to the Survivor's Zone	The character must have an item (in hand) that can open a door ()	Some doors may require a mission-based objective to be met before they can be opened. If the door was the first door to be opened for that building, spawn Zombies in each Dark Zone of that building. If a Rush card was drawn, the Zombie will both spawn and take an action, which may mean they move into a outside Zone.
Trade	Trade items with one other Survivor or redistribute your items between your Backpack and Hand.	To trade with another Survivor, you must both be in the same Zone.	Any number of items can be traded between players. The other character in the trade gets a free redistribution.
Make Noise	Place a Noise token in the Survivor's Zone		This action can be used to attract Zombies to a location.
Combat	Use a weapon against a Zone with Zombies	Combat may be limited by the type and range of weapons in your hand.	If you satisfy the condition for Dual Wield, you can use both weapons in a single action.
Interact with Objective	Take or interact with a mission-based objective	Varies based on mission.	Typically gives 5AP to the Survivor (unless otherwise stated).
Wait	Do nothing

Zombie Turn

After all players have had their turn, the Zombies activate.

Zombies Activate

Each Zombie has essentially one Action to either attack or move. They never do both.

First, Zombies attack any Survivors in their Zone. If the Zone has multiple characters, the First Player chooses the characters that are hit. Each attack deals 1 Wound.

Second, Zombies move towards the Zone with Survivors in Line of Sight with the most Noise tokens. (Each Survivor counts as a Noise token.) If no Survivors are in Line of Sight, they go towards the zone with the most Noise tokens (distance doesn't matter). If the Zombies' path towards its target is blocked, the Zombie does not move at all. Zombies split up if the path has multiple routes of equal distance.

Note: Runners have 2 actions. They can attack twice, move twice, or move then attack. If they move twice, their target might change in the middle of their activation if they see a juicier target.

Spawn

For each red Zombie Spawn location, a card is drawn. Each Spawn card has a Zombie type and a line that corresponds to the Danger Level (the highest Adrenaline of any Survivor) that indicates the number of Zombies that spawn. If there are not enough Zombies of a type to spawn what is needed, those Zombies are activated instead.

Some Missions feature a blue and/or green Zombie Spawn location. These Zones don't spawn Zombies until a specific event happens. Then they immediately activate and will spawn on the next Zombie Phase.

Types of Zombie spawns are:

• Normal: Zombies spawn but do not move/attack
• Rush: Zombies spawn and move/attack
• Extra Activation: Zombies of the indicated type take a second move/attack

Game End

The players win when all Mission Objectives are complete.

The players lose if...

• ...any Survivor dies.
• ...a Mission Objective becomes impossible to complete.
• ...a mission-specific loss criteria is met.