Stats:
No. of players: 1
Amount of time to play: 60 min
Age requirements: 13+
Set-up time: 10 minutes

Dawn of the Zeds Rules Description:

Dawn of the Zeds is zombie-themed solitaire board game. You must protect the town of Farmingdale from the incoming zombie hordes.

Dawn of the Zeds is another game in the States of Siege series from Victory Point Games. Event cards drive much of the decisions by the game. You’ll react to the ever changing board with your heroes.

Each round you’ll draw an event card which will tell you if new Zeds are added to the board and how they move. The card also tells you if you’ve used supplies and how many actions you get for the turn. The events are very thematic and help to create a story of survival (or not).

You start the game with four heroes that consist of the usual suspects. From the mayor and sheriff to the sniper and scientist, they are all present. There is even a dog. Each hero excels in one area which will help you win.

You also control civilians who will help you fight the Zeds. But some refugees from surrounding villages merely seek shelter in the Town Center.

In order to survive you must forage for supplies and ammo, research and obtain the antidote and keep the Zeds at bay. You can fight the Zeds with guns or hand-to-hand combat. Gunfighting requires ammo but keeps your units at a safe distance. Attacking the Zeds face-to-face can do more damage but will help spread the infection.

The game ends when the “National Guard” Event card is drawn or if the Zeds enter the Town Center. Winning is different each time as it will depend on the state of the board and how successful you’ve been at controlling the Zeds. There are even different epilogues to read that are based on your results.

A Quick Dawn of the Zeds Review:

Dawn of the Zeds is full of theme. Each time you play, you are creating a story. Many times it is a story of death and destruction as Dawn of the Zeds is challenging. There is a lot going on and you’ll have to manage Farmingdale’s survival as best you can.

I have only played two other games in the States of Siege series and this is by far the most complex. You will have to refer to the rules often when playing the first few times. This complexity adds to the depth and theme of the game.

The component quality is better than some other Victory Point Games. The map seems sturdier and the art is great. The cards are of typical quality but since you aren’t shuffling them often it is fine.

Dawn of the Zeds is hard and you will get to a point where you are surviving on a turn-by-turn basis. You just never seem to have enough supplies or you should be researching more. Whatever you are doing it feels like there is more to do. You will definitely get to practice your multi-tasking skills.

If you like zombies and play solitaire board games then you’ll definitely enjoy Dawn of the Zeds. Even if you just are looking for a solid solo play board game that has some depth and a lot of theme you should pick up Dawn of the Zeds.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 4 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction n/a
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6 (If you are a zombie fan this will easily be a 5.)