In another of our regular board game spotlights, Zatu Games expertly funnels visual stimula directly into its brain by way of a rudimentary pulley system, allowing it to fully appreciate Zombicide Black Plague, the 2015 release from publisher Guillotine Games and designers Raphaël Guiton, Jean-Baptiste Lullien and Nicolas Raoult.
The Game
Much like its spiritual father, the original Zombicide, Zombicide: Black Plague is all about shooting zombies. This version, however, takes that modern concept and throws it back into a medieval fantasy setting, like tasing someone at a LARP.
Now we find ourselves in a world of swords, sandals, dwarves and zombies. Once again, 1-6 players must co-operate to tackle the zombie horde, and once again they may play as one of six survivors: Ann, a bladed nun; Baldric, a man with more hair than face; Clovis, which sounds like a halved loaf; Nelly, wearing the expression of someone who’s just seen their nemesis trip over; Samson, a dwarf so muscular he looks like he’s made of grapes; and Silas, an elf or something.
The rules themselves are a revamp of original Zombicide, adding in new thematic elements and mechanics. On top of the hordes themselves, players must chase Necromancers, the source of the infection, to stop them from spawning more shufflers.
Basic principles remain. Players have a limited number of actions each turn, which they may use in a variety of ways. Black Plague expands that variety, introducing magic spells, artifacts and special secret vaults that allow players to travel between points on the map.
The Publisher
Guillotine Games is a board game publisher originally founded in 2011 by members of the art department from Rakham entertainment. Zombicide was their first release, and has been a huge success spawning sequels (like Black Plague), and expansions.
The Designers
Guiton, Lullian and Raoult are said art department from Rackham. When Rackham closed, they decided they liked their team too much to go down with it, and thus Guillotine Games and Zombicide were born.
If you like zombies but hate everything about modern society, buy this game from Zatu now. In the lead up to Halloween 2016, all Zombicide titles are 15% off.
