How to Play: Zombie Dice – Brains, Blasts, and Push-Your-Luck Fun

Zombie Dice does exactly what it promises: you’re a zombie, you want brains, and you’re going to keep rolling until you either feast… or get blasted.

It’s a light, fast push-your-luck dice game that shines as a warm-up, a cool down, or something to toss on the table between bigger boxes. Easy to teach, quick to play, and just chaotic enough to get the whole table laughing.

At my game store in Phoenix, Arizona, this one lives in the “breath mint” category. I wouldn’t play it all night, but as a quick hit of tension, jokes, and dice-chucking? It absolutely earns its spot in a game library—even if it hasn’t been front and center on the shelf in a while.

Stats at a Glance

Players: 2+ (really best at 3–6)
Time: About 10–20 minutes
Type: Push-your-luck dice game
Theme: You’re zombies chasing humans for their delicious brains

If you want the official stats and full rules, you can also check out Zombie Dice on BoardGameGeek.

What Is Zombie Dice?

At its core, Zombie Dice is a press-your-luck game. On your turn, you roll custom dice, hoping to collect as many brain symbols as possible. You can keep rolling to scoop up more points, but every shotgun blast pushes you closer to losing everything you’ve earned that turn.

The symbols are simple:

• Brains – Your points.
• Shotguns – The danger. Three in one turn and you bust.
• Footprints – Your victim ran away… for now.

Most people “get it” after watching a single turn, even if they’re not big gamers. The tension is real, but the vibe is silly and low-commitment—perfect for mixed groups, families, and anyone who enjoys a bit of table banter.

What’s in the Tube? (Components)

Zombie Dice comes in a compact tube with a bunch of custom dice and a simple rules slip. That’s it. No board, no cards, no tokens.

Inside, you’ll find 13 custom dice:

• 6 green dice – “Easy” victims: more brains, fewer shotguns
• 4 yellow dice – Balanced: brains and shotguns are about even
• 3 red dice – Dangerous: more shotguns, fewer brains

Each die shows the same three possible symbols:

• Brain
• Shotgun
• Footprints

The coloured dice matter because they tell you how risky your next roll is going to be. Green is generally safe, red is spicy, and yellow sits awkwardly in the middle daring you to roll again.

Setting Up the Game

Setup is gloriously simple and is one of the reasons this works so well as an in-between game on heavier game nights.

1. Put all 13 dice in the cup.
   That’s your pool of potential victims.
2. Choose a starting player.
   Youngest player, most recent person to eat something, whoever is most eager to shout “braaains!”—go with whatever gets a laugh.
3. Set the goal: 13 brains.
   Officially, the first zombie to collect 13 brains or more triggers the endgame. For me, 13 isn’t negotiable. As someone with a lucky 13 tattooed on me, I genuinely love that the game leans into that number.

That’s it. You’re ready to start rolling.

How a Turn Works (Step by Step)

The heart of the game is a simple loop: draw dice → roll → resolve → decide whether to roll again. Here’s how to walk someone through it clearly.

1. Draw 3 Dice

On your turn:

• Shake the cup or tube.
• Draw 3 dice at random without looking.

These are the humans you’re chasing right now.

2. Roll the Dice

Roll your 3 dice in front of everyone, then separate them into three areas:

• Brains – These sit in front of you as your potential points for this turn.
• Shotguns – These are your hits; they stack up as you push your luck.
• Footprints – These are the runners that might come back if you keep chasing.

Remember: brains = points, shotguns = danger, footprints = runners.

3. Check for a Bust

Any time you add shotguns, immediately check:

• If you have 3 or more shotguns collected this turn → you bust.

Busting means:

• You score 0 brains for this turn (you lose all the brains you rolled this turn).
• Your turn ends immediately.
• All dice go back into the cup, and play passes to the next player.

Important: busting never takes away brains you’ve already banked on previous turns. New players often worry about losing their whole score; emphasize it’s only this turn’s brains that are at risk.

4. Decide: Stop or Keep Going

If you haven’t busted, you face the real choice:

Stop now and bank your brains

• Count how many brain dice you have in front of you from this turn.
• Add that number to your total score.
• End your turn and pass the cup.

Or keep going for more

• You’re risking the brains you’ve already rolled this turn.
• If you bust later this turn, you lose all of them.

This is where the fun table talk happens: people chanting “One more roll!”, begging you to push your luck, or reminding you how many red dice are still in the cup.

I’ve had someone look at two shotguns and a pile of brains, grin, and say, “If I’m going down, I’m going down loud,” roll anyway, and flip that third shotgun. They lost horribly and still called it their favorite moment of the night.

5. If You Keep Going, Reroll Footprints

If you choose to carry on:

• Take all your footprint dice from the “runners” area.
• Draw enough new dice from the cup so that you have 3 dice total in your hand again.

Example: if you had 2 footprint dice, you draw 1 new die to get back up to 3.

Roll those 3 dice and repeat the process:

• Separate brains, shotguns, and footprints.
• Check if you’ve hit 3 shotguns (bust).
• Decide whether to stop or keep going.

You can keep doing this until you either bust or choose to stop.

What If You Run Out of Dice?

Very occasionally, you’ll hit a turn where there aren’t enough dice left in the cup for you to draw back up to three. If that happens:

• Make a note of how many brains you’ve collected this turn.
• Put those brain dice back into the cup.
• Keep your shotguns in front of you.
• Then keep going as normal.

You’re still at the same risk of busting—you’ve just refreshed the victim pool.

End & Scoring (Winning the Game)

The endgame kicks in as soon as someone proves they’re the hungriest brain-muncher at the table… with one last twist.

The 13-Brain Threshold

Play continues with players taking turns as normal until someone finishes a turn with 13 or more brains total. That player has now set the number to beat.

Because turn order matters, you don’t stop immediately. Instead:

• Finish the current round so that everyone has had the same number of turns.
• Every other player gets one last chance to beat the leading score.

I think this is important. Fair is fair, and I don’t love it when a game just ends instantly the moment someone crosses a line and a few players never get that extra turn. Letting the round finish keeps the salt down and makes the win feel earned.

If someone manages to end their turn with more brains than the current leader, they become the new top zombie. When the round ends, whoever has the most brains wins.

Ties and Close Calls

If there’s a tie for most brains at the end of the round, the official rule is that the tied players play one extra tiebreaker round between them. After that tiebreaker round, whoever has the most brains is the winner.

If your group prefers something even lighter, you can house-rule it instead—maybe you share the victory, or do a single sudden-death roll-off—but out of the box, the game breaks ties with that one more quick round for the leaders only.

Personally, in a zombie apocalypse we all end up undead anyway… so I’ll usually take solace in being the last one standing, even if it’s just off the back of one ridiculous roll.

Tips for Teaching New Players

Zombie Dice is very easy to teach. Most people figure it out after watching a single turn, but having a simple teaching script helps—especially if you’re running a game night or quick demo.

A Quick Teaching Script

Here’s a teaching order that tends to work smoothly:

1. Theme first:
   “You’re all zombies chasing humans. You want to eat their brains, but if they blast you with shotguns three times in one turn, you’re done.”
2. Show the dice and symbols:
• “Brain = points.”
• “Shotgun = danger.”
• “Footprints = they ran away and might show up again if you chase them.”
3. Explain the goal:
   “First zombie to reach 13 brains or more triggers the final round. After that, whoever has the most brains wins.”
4. Walk through one sample turn out loud:
• Draw 3 dice, roll.
• Separate brains, shotguns, footprints.
• Check for 3 shotguns.
• Decide whether to stop and bank brains or reroll footprints plus new dice.
5. Clarify what busting does and doesn’t do:
   “If you hit 3 shotguns in one turn, you lose the brains from this turn only, not your whole score.”

After that, let the first player take a real turn and talk through their choices as they go. One live example is usually all the table needs.

Common Confusion Points

• Footprints and rerolls:
  Footprints stay in front of the player and are rerolled if they choose to continue. You don’t put them back in the cup until the turn is over.

Shotguns only affect this turn’s brains:
Total scores are safe between turns. Players only risk new brains each time they push their luck.

Keeping the Game Fast and Fun

Zombie Dice works best when it keeps moving. A couple of small habits help:

• Encourage players to decide quickly whether to roll again—no need to overthink it.
• Lean into the theme a little: light commentary like “That tourist just sprinted away,” or “That red die looks like trouble,” goes a long way.
• With kids, you can gently steer them: “If you roll again, you might bust… but you might snag more brains too.”

Who Will Enjoy Zombie Dice?

This is very much a crowd-pleaser if you bring it to the right crowd.

Families and Kids

Zombie Dice is a strong pick for families because:

• There’s no reading required once someone teaches the symbols.
• Turns are short, and a full game is over in about 10–20 minutes.
• The rules are simple enough for younger players who might be itching to get back to a tablet.

Theme-wise, it’s zombies eating brains, so every family will feel a little differently about it. Mechanically though, it’s very approachable for kids.

Gamers Who Play Heavier Stuff

For hobby gamers used to big, crunchy games, Zombie Dice is not a main event. It’s the light game you pull out when everyone’s brain is fried:

• A warm-up before something heavier.
• A quick closer once you’ve wrapped a two-hour rules beast.
• A palate cleanser between more thinky titles.

You’re not here for strategy; you’re here for tension and the cheering that happens when someone pushes far too hard and busts spectacularly.

Party / Beer-and-Pretzels Groups

If the table vibe is more “chat and chill” than “deep focus,” Zombie Dice slots in very nicely:

• It’s light enough that no one has to take it seriously.
• You can play while talking about other things and still follow what’s going on.
• It’s a great low-commitment option when people want to roll some dice without caring too much about who wins.

It’s also compact and durable enough to treat as a bar game or toss in a bag for a night out.

Who Probably Won’t Love It

Zombie Dice is pure luck with a tiny bit of risk judgment. There’s no engine-building, no combos, no long-term planning. That’s the point.

If someone at your table:

• Hates randomness,
• Wants deep strategy even in short games, or
• Gets frustrated when they lose to bad rolls,

then this one probably won’t be their favourite. It’s not meant to hold attention for hours—more of an in-betweener or “bar game” than an all-night headliner.

Final Wrap-Up

Zombie Dice is a fast, silly push-your-luck dice game that knows exactly what it wants to be. It shines as:

• An opener or closer for a game night,
• A between-games filler when you need a quick reset, and
• A low-stress option for families, mixed-experience groups, and party tables.

From my perspective as a game store owner in Phoenix, AZ, it’s the kind of title I like to have in the library even if it’s not always front and center on the shelf. It’s easy to teach, takes almost no table space, and almost always delivers at least one “Oh no, I shouldn’t have rolled again!” moment.

If you’re looking for a compact, no-fuss dice game that delivers laughs and tension in equal measure, Zombie Dice is well worth a spot in your bag—right next to whatever big box is actually doing the heavy lifting for the night.

Call to action: Next time you’re planning a game night, toss Zombie Dice in alongside your favourite big-box game—use it as your opener, your closer, or the little “one more round” filler that keeps everyone at the table just a bit longer.