Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)

2016

Take on the role of a hero in Farmingdale, coordinating defenses, seeking a cure, and battling the Zombie Epidemic Disease. Survival rests in your hands!

120
minutes

1 - 5
player(s)

14+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition) is a thrilling and immersive board game that places you and your team in the heart of a terrifying zombie apocalypse. With the quaint town of Farmingdale and its desperate inhabitants depending on you for their survival, every decision carries weight, and every action can mean the difference between life and death.

Theme and Setting

Game components Unboxing the fun!

The board game, ‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’ is a cooperative game where players struggle to defend the town of Farmingdale and its surrounding villages from an onslaught of Zombies, also known as “Zeds”.

The game comes with a variety of components, each with its own purpose and interaction within the game:

Game Board: The game board represents the town of Farmingdale and its surrounding areas. It is divided into tracks, each leading towards the town center. The Zeds move along these tracks towards the town center, and players must stop them.
Rulebook: The rulebook contains all the rules and guidelines for setting up and playing the game. It also includes the various scenarios you can play.
Event Cards: Event cards drive the game’s narrative and determine the Zeds’ actions. At the start of the game, players draw an event card and perform the actions listed on it. This could include moving the Zeds, spawning new Zeds, or causing other special events to occur.
Player Action Cards: Each player receives a set of action cards. These cards allow players to perform special actions that can help them in their fight against the Zeds.
Hero Cards: The hero cards represent unique characters with special abilities that can greatly aid in the defense of the town. Each hero has a unique set of abilities listed on their card.
Zeds Units: These are the miniatures that represent the Zeds. They move along the tracks towards the town center and players must fight them off to survive.
Player Units: These are the miniatures that represent the players and their forces. They can move along the tracks, fight the Zeds, and perform other actions to help defend the town.
Tokens: The game includes a variety of tokens that represent different items and statuses in the game. These can include ammunition, supplies, infection levels, and more. They are used to keep track of resources and the state of the game.
Dice: Dice are used to resolve combat and certain other actions. The outcome of many actions in the game is determined by a dice roll.
Fate Cards: Fate cards add an element of the unknown to the game. When a player draws a fate card, they must resolve the event listed on the card. This can be beneficial or harmful, depending on the card.

All these components interact to create a tense and challenging experience where players must work together to survive. The Zeds, driven by the event cards, relentlessly attack the town, and players must use their action cards, hero abilities, and unit movements strategically to defend it. The state of the game, as well as the players’ resources, are tracked with the tokens, adding another layer of strategy to the game.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition) is an exciting game where players must defend their town against a horde of zombies. Before you can get into the action, the game needs to be properly set up. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do just that.

Step 1: Board Placement

Unfold the game board and place it in the centre of the playing area. Ensure it’s within reach of all players. The board consists of various tracks and spaces, each serving a unique purpose during the game.

Step 2: Player Roles

Each player selects a role to play. Roles include the Sheriff, the Farmer, the Woodsman, and others. Each role has unique abilities that can aid in the defense of the town. Once you’ve chosen your role, take the corresponding character card and place it in front of you.

Step 3: Initial Resources

At the beginning of the game, the town starts with certain resources. These include Supplies, Ammunition, and Survivors. The number of each resource is indicated on the board. Place the corresponding tokens on the respective spots.

Step 4: Placement of Zeds

Zeds (zombies) are the primary antagonists of the game. At the start, place a certain number of Zeds on each of the four tracks leading into the town. The number of Zeds is determined by the game level you’ve chosen to play.

Step 5: Event Deck Preparation

Dawn of the Zeds features a deck of Event cards that dictate the flow of the game. Shuffle the Event deck and place it face down near the board. When the game starts, you’ll draw from this deck to see what challenges the town faces.

Step 6: Random Elements

There are several random elements in Dawn of the Zeds. For example, the placement of Zeds and the drawing of Event cards. These random events add unpredictability to the game, making each playthrough unique.

Now that you’ve set up the game, you’re ready to play. Remember, the goal of Dawn of the Zeds is to defend the town from the zombie invasion. Good luck!

Game flow Round and round we go

Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition) is a thrilling board game, set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, known as “Zeds”. The game is played in a series of rounds, each consisting of multiple phases where players must defend their town from the Zeds. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the game structure:

1. Draw Event Card Phase: At the beginning of each round, an Event Card is drawn from the deck. This card determines the events for the current turn, including Zeds movement, the activation of any special abilities, and the availability of any resources or actions for the players.

2. Action Phase: Actions are taken by players in this phase. Based on the Event Card drawn, players may perform various actions such as moving their units, fighting the Zeds, or searching for supplies. Actions are limited and strategic use of them is crucial to survival.

Move Action: Players can move their units to different areas on the board to better defend their town or to attack Zeds.
Fight Action: Players may choose to engage Zeds in combat, attempting to eliminate them from the board.
Search Action: Players can search for supplies in an attempt to find useful items or allies that can aid in their defense.

3. Zeds Phase: After players have taken their actions, the Zeds make their move. The Event Card drawn at the start of the round determines how and where the Zeds move. Zeds can attack player units, invade the town, or even convert player units into more Zeds.

4. Housekeeping Phase: This is the final phase of the round. During this phase, players replenish their used resources, check the game’s victory conditions, and prepare for the next round. It is also during this phase when any ongoing effects from the Event Card are resolved.

The game continues in this manner, with players drawing Event Cards, taking actions, contending with the Zeds, and performing housekeeping until either the players are victorious by fulfilling the conditions stated on the chosen scenario card or the town falls to the Zeds.

Note: Gameplay can be adjusted to increase or decrease difficulty by changing the game setup or using variant rules, making Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition) a truly versatile and replayable game.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

The game of ‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’ is an intense, strategic board game where players must work together to defend their town from a horde of zombies. During a player’s turn, there are various actions and strategic choices they can make. Here is a detailed breakdown:

1. Draw and Resolve Fate Card:

At the start of each turn, the player must draw a Fate Card. This card will outline events, effects, and zombie movements that the player must resolve. The events can range from helpful to harmful, and the zombie movements dictate where new zombies will appear on the board.

2. Perform Actions:

Once the Fate Card has been resolved, the player can perform two actions. These can include:

Movement: The player may move their hero or any civilians in their location to an adjacent space. This can be useful for avoiding zombies, reaching objectives, or aiding other players.
Search: The player can search their location for useful items. This can result in finding weapons, food, or other resources that can aid in the defense of the town.
Combat: The player can choose to fight zombies in their location. Combat is resolved through dice rolls and can result in the elimination of zombies, but also potentially harm to the player’s character.
Heal: If the player’s character or another character in the same location has been injured, the player can choose to spend an action to heal them.
Repair: The player can repair damaged barricades in their location, strengthening the town’s defenses.
Reinforce: The player can spend an action to increase the defense of their location, making it harder for zombies to break through.

3. End of Turn:

At the end of the turn, any unresolved events or effects from the Fate Card are resolved. If there are zombies in the same location as the player, a combat phase begins. The player must roll the dice to determine the outcome of the combat. After all end-of-turn steps are completed, play passes to the next player.

The strategic choices made during a player’s turn significantly affect the gameplay in ‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’. The correct use of actions can mean the difference between holding back the zombie horde or letting them overrun the town. Players must work together, utilizing their actions wisely and strategically, to ensure the survival of the town.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’ ends when one of the following conditions is met:

The Zeds units have taken over the Town Center.
All of the Heroes have been eliminated.
The players have successfully held off the Zeds until the end of the Event Deck.

Victory or defeat in ‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’ is determined entirely by these conditions. The players win if they manage to survive until the end of the Event Deck, with at least one Hero still alive and the Town Center still in player control. On the other hand, they lose if all Heroes are eliminated or if the Zeds take control of the Town Center.

Before final scoring, players must perform the following actions:

Ensure all Zeds units’ movements and combat are fully resolved.

Calculate the total number of Zeds units in the Town Center. If there are any, players lose.

Check if any Heroes are alive. If all Heroes are eliminated, players lose.

If the Event Deck has been exhausted, and there is at least one Hero alive and the Town Center is still in player control, players win.

Scoring in ‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’ is binary, in that you either win or lose based on the aforementioned conditions. There are no points to tally or compare between players because it is a cooperative game. The primary objective is survival, not competition.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

In Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition), scoring is not done on a traditional points system. Instead, the game is based on surviving and protecting the town center. The end of the game is determined by various conditions, and the player’s success is rated on a scale depending on how well they managed to survive.

The game ends immediately when any of the following conditions occur:

The “Brains!” Event card is drawn and resolved.
All Zeds units on the Start space of any track are at Level III.
The Town Center is lost (there are any Zeds units there).

After the game ends, players then calculate their final score:

Victory Points (VPs): If the players have managed to keep the Town Center safe, they earn Victory Points (VPs) equal to the current infection level. The lower the infection level, the better.
Defeat Points (DPs): If the Town Center is lost, players calculate Defeat Points (DPs) instead of VPs, with the final score being the infection level at the moment the Town Center was lost.

Note that this game is cooperative, so players are working together against the game itself. Therefore, there’s no need for a traditional tie-breaking rule. However, to gauge how well the players performed, they can compare their score to the following scale:

1-5: You barely survived, but a win is a win!
6-10: Things got pretty tough, but you’ve pulled through.
11-15: You’ve done a good job of keeping the infection under control.
16-20: Excellent work, your town is safe and secure.
21+: You’ve mastered the game, time to increase the difficulty!

So, in ‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’, the aim is not to accumulate points, but rather to survive for as long as possible and maintain a low infection level.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

‘Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)’ is a cooperative board game that pits players against a zombie apocalypse. While the gameplay is generally straightforward, there are a few special rules and rule clarifications that players should keep in mind:

1. Zeds Units:

Zeds Units are unique in that they are the only units that can move into a space with other units without initiating combat. The zombies simply push the other units back, causing panic and chaos without actually fighting.

2. The ‘Forced Retreat’ rule:

In most cases, if a player’s unit is defeated in combat, it must retreat. However, if the unit is in a space with a barricade, it can choose to stay and fight again during the next combat phase. This is the ‘Forced Retreat’ rule, which can be a game-changer in desperate situations.

3. The ‘Super Zeds’ rule:

If a Zeds unit ever reaches the center of the game board (the Town Center), it transforms into a ‘Super Zeds’ unit. These units are much harder to kill and can only be defeated with a combination of gunfire and hand-to-hand combat.

4. The ‘Last Stand’ rule:

If all of the players’ units are wiped out, the game isn’t instantly over. Instead, players get one last chance to fight off the Zeds with the ‘Last Stand’ rule. The surviving Zeds units will attack the Town Center, and surviving players must defeat them using only the resources in the Town Center.

5. The ‘Heroic Sacrifice’ rule:

One unique rule is the ‘Heroic Sacrifice’ rule. If a player’s Hero unit is in the same space as a Zeds unit and the player has no other units to defend with, the Hero can choose to sacrifice themselves to defeat the Zeds unit instantly. However, this also means the Hero is removed from the game, so this should only be done as a last resort.

Rule Clarifications:

Even though the Zeds units do not initiate combat when moving into a space with other units, they will still fight if they are attacked by player units during the player’s turn.
The ‘Forced Retreat’ rule can only be used once per combat phase. If the unit is defeated again, it must retreat.
‘Super Zeds’ units cannot be created if the Zeds unit reached the Town Center due to being pushed back by other Zeds units. They can only transform if they moved into the Town Center on their own.
The ‘Last Stand’ rule only comes into effect if all player units have been wiped out. If there are any surviving units, even if they are not in the Town Center, the rule does not apply.
The ‘Heroic Sacrifice’ rule only applies to Hero units. Regular units cannot make a ‘Heroic Sacrifice’.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition) is an exciting and strategic cooperative game. Here, we will discuss advanced strategies, beginner tips, common mistakes to avoid, and ways to optimize gameplay.

Advanced strategies:

Be prepared to adjust your strategy based on the Zeds’ movements. The best defense is a flexible one.
Utilize the Super Weapon research as much as possible. Though it may seem time-consuming, the payoff can be huge.
Don’t forget to use your hero characters strategically. Each one has a unique ability that can drastically change the course of the game.
Remember to use the terrain to your advantage. Barricading and fortifying can slow down the Zeds and buy you some time.

Beginner tips:

Start with the introductory scenario. It’s simpler and will help you understand the basic mechanics of the game.
Always have a back-up plan. The game can be unpredictable, and Zeds can appear where you least expect them.
Don’t be afraid to take risks. Sometimes, a bold move can save your town.
Make sure to manage your resources wisely. They are limited and crucial for survival.

Common mistakes to avoid:

Don’t neglect the research track. It may seem less urgent than fighting Zeds, but it’s essential for victory.
Avoid using all your resources at once. It’s better to save some for emergencies.
Don’t focus only on one area of the board. The Zeds can come from anywhere, and you need to be prepared.
Avoid keeping all your heroes in the same place. Their abilities are more effective when used across the board.

Ways to optimize gameplay:

Communicate with your fellow players. Sharing information and planning together can make a big difference.
Try to balance your actions. Fighting Zeds, researching, and fortifying should all be part of your strategy.
Take advantage of the event cards. They can provide unexpected aid if used correctly.
Remember to rest your characters. They can’t be effective if they’re exhausted.