The Walking Dead Board Game: The Best Defense

About this board game

The Walking Dead Board Game: The Best Defense is a cooperative board game for 1–4 players that takes about 60 minutes to play. Players take on the roles of survivors such as Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and Michonne as they defend four key locations from Walkers.

Each game begins with a randomly assembled board, creating variety in the locations. A 25-card resource deck containing Equipment, Allies, Food, and Ammunition is also placed at random on one location. Players must protect these resources while responding to the dangers that emerge throughout the game.

At the start of each round, an Event card triggers Walkers or another calamity at a location. Every card in the 48-card Event deck is unique, so players must continually assess the situation and decide how to limit the damage. Dice resolve combat and determine the outcomes of some events.

• Work together to combine combat abilities or split up to cover more ground.
• Keep Walkers away from locations to prevent the loss of valuable resources.
• Avoid exhausting any resource deck, or the group loses the game.
• Choose a leader whose character provides a unique leadership bonus.

The Walking Dead Board Game: The Best Defense includes Beginner and Expert modes. In Beginner mode, players share all information on their Event cards. In Expert mode, cards remain private, allowing leaders to make decisions with incomplete information while other players may defy them at a cost.

Advanced players can add secret Ulterior Motive cards, giving each survivor a personal mission and the chance to earn a partial victory even if the group loses. This optional feature introduces an element of conflict to the cooperative struggle for survival.