A nonrelated Zombie Board Game Idea.

[Cheesegrater28]

Nightmare Neighborhood

Working Title

 

Long board game idea I've had. If you do read it, let me know if its interesting or sounds boring. Would love one day to finish it, even though I probably never will. But discussing it might motivate me to work on it again.

 

 

Quick Background

 

Slow day at work so figured I’d share an idea I’ve had for many years for a zombie board game. Been thinking about the idea again recently. Something I’d like to play and wish I had the skill and determination to finish. Getting feedback on it usually motivates me to try my luck with it again. The original idea for the game started maybe 10 years ago and led me to enjoy such board games as the Zombies series and Last Night on Earth. Both are really good games but weren’t exactly what I had in mind, which to be honest, is something that changes frequently. Mostly because if I did ever finish it, it would come with multiple game modes to accommodate different players and different games to suit the desired situation, like a quick fast paced version, simple game, hardcore mode, or drinking game. Even a younger version. And also have Coop Versions.

 

Anyway, the idea for the game started out as a zombie survival style game with a Monster Squad like element to it. Kind of like Zombies Ate My Neighbors. ideally I would use actual movie monsters, but I’ve also worked on some original monsters for fun and in case it ever got off the ground, since I couldn’t use the copyrighted stuff. But mostly I like working with the real thing since I'm mostly making the game for myself. Then 4 or 5 years ago I had the idea to incorporate smart devices into the game to enhance the gameplay. This could be seen as a gimmick but I think it would allow for a lot more experience playing a board game. Allows for options only available in video games but brings them to the dinner table for groups to enjoy. Kind of like DVD games like Scene it.

 

I personally enjoy all forms of entertainment, and board games are something that’s always been simple and fun to get friends together around a room and shoot the sh!t while enjoying a game. So I like the idea of utilizing the App and physical board game together to make a fun and random experience for everyone. Unfortunately, the smart device idea is what kills me every time I try working on the game since my App creating skills are non existent. But once or twice a year I get motivated to try messing around with different ideas toward making it. I purposely bought a Samsung phone since it gave me more options to work on an App over an IPhone, but really haven't tried anything in at least a year and looking to get back into it. Just talking about it and sharing the idea makes me want to work on it again.

 

One Example of what a Smart Device can offer.

 

The smart device, let’s just say the players are using an IPad, would allow for a lot more randomness to the game then cards or dice would. Let’s say I want to sneak attack another player. On my turn, I would be handed the IPad, select my turn and do a quick code to open my window if players aren’t trustworthy. Then I would see the list of items I have along with options. Say at some point in the game I learned that a certain player has an item I need. And while searching in the game world I found a group of survivors where one of them was a thief of a certain rank. I could save that survivortill the end of the game, since survivors are worth points, or I could use that survivor’s talents. During my turn, I pick my Thief from my inventory and send them after the other player specifically to get the item I want.

 

Once my turn ends, I hand the next person the IPad. When it comes to the player I am attacking’s turn, depending on my Thief’s skill and chance, a few things could happen. If they were lower ranked, the chance for failure would be high. So during the other player’s turn, they might start the turn on the IPad and be given a message I’m attacking them with my Thief who has been caught. In most cases they will simply have the option to just kill the Thief. If the Thief was ranked really low or just bad luck, then other things might be available, like finding out what the Thief was after, keeping the Thief for themselves, finding out info about what the attacking player has in their inventory, and in even rarer occasions, depending on what the attacked player has in his inventory, he might be able to send the thief back with a fake replica item that has a chance to fool the other player upon return.

 

And if the Thief was highly ranked or with some good luck, the attacked player might never even be alerted about the whole thing and lose the item, never knowing who took it or never even knowing it’s gone unless they check. And in case the player got rid of that item since I found out they had it, a high ranked thief could come back with info about when and where the player lost the item, like if someone else stole it or its stored at their house. The benefit though of the IPad was that no one needs to know any of this is going on between these two players, unless the players have poor poker faces. I’ll get into other things the smart device allows after I go over the summary of the game.

 

Objective of the Game

 

So the premise of the game would be to survive either for a duration of time or till a goal is met. Reputation, Currency, and Survivors are the main things that add to a player’s Worth, which is their final score. The formula for Worth varies each game. One game, Survivors might be more valuable than the other factors, making it the main focus for players. Another game, Currency is more important. Currency wouldn’t just be money. This all depends on the VIP of the game, which is determined by the App. The VIP is the person in charge of the rescuing of the town. The game would start with an EVENT. The EVENT is chosen at random by the App. Its an intro video to set up the situation of the game. An example of an EVENT might be that the center square was a horror movie convention, during which some kid comes across a gold coin and jokingly wishes real life was just like the convention so they could be a hero like in the movies. Not knowing it’s the Leprechaun’s Gold Coin, the convention becomes real and the monsters come to life. Now the town is blocked off and is going to be bombed the next day, which is the amount of turns the game lasts selected by the players. The Mayor is in charge of getting people out but only has one chopper to send in.

 

So this EVENT sets up the VIP as the Mayor and would show the players that Reputation and Survivors are the key factors to Worth which determines the player that escapes and wins at the end of the selected turns, possibly 40 depending on how long players want to play.  Other things that will come into play because of this EVENT is that some survivors are going to be very valuable, like finding the Mayor’s wife. Currency can be increased by finding incriminating documents against the Mayor. If a player has a low Worth value towards the end of the game, there is always a small chance to find an Assassin survivor. Usually these are used to hurt other players, but in a desperate attempt to change the game a player can send them after the VIP. Even high ranked Assassins will have a small chance to kill a VIP, but if they do, that player’s next turn will indicate the VIP is dead and a new VIP will take their place, like a Corrupt Senator who wants a lot of money, changing the formula for Worth.

 

Along with Worth, players can win the game by fixing the EVENT. In the one above, players can seek out information and the kid who found the coin. Eventually they would need to find the coin and a four leaf clover to stop the Leprechaun. Whoever does kill him the wins the game. These main quests will be hard to complete and force players to possibly work together, quietly through the App, or against each other. Only one can win in the end.

 

How to Play

 

Players will be able to make their own base to protect and store items. They will also go out into the world to find items, survivors, weapons, and forms of currency like money or information. And completing quests would increase a player’s reputation. The board would be set up kind of like this.

 

Art wise I haven’t really worked on the board much. More concerned about the layout and how it will work when the game is working.

 

Players would move physical pieces on the board by rolling dice and also select their location on the board in the App. The beginning of the game would start with players in the blue center. They would branch out in any direction to the darker brown squares. Players would move physical pieces on the board by rolling dice and also select their location on the board in the App. These would be houses that they can claim to be their base. Once they enter a house they will be shown what the house contains. List of survivors, weapons, and other items. The player can claim that house as their own or attempt to find another house. Once they leave though, they can’t come back. Once a house is chosen, the player can then take any items from the house or leave anything they want. Leaving survivors and items increase the house’s defense and makes losing these things harder. The player will also be given information or quests once they claim a house. Players can then go anywhere on the map to find things, do quests, or kill monsters. They can also attack other players’ houses or empty ones if they want.

 

The lighter rectangles would be generic item spots. Gun shop, Pharmacy, Grocery Store, and General Store. Players could grab random Loot there, like going to the Gun Shop and be given a random weapon, but usually need to hit one up when a quest tells them there is a special item there. The roads will have some locations with cars that players have a chance to use for quick movement. Land on a car and attempt to roll a 5 or 6. If so, then next turn the player can start from any other road spot.

 

While away from their house, the player or their house can be attacked at any given time by zombies roaming the town, some monsters, or other players.  Zombies can usually be dealt with easily unless attacked by a large group. These attacks would be determined by the App. Every victory in battle increase a player’s Reputation. Players’ would also have to deal with monsters when entering the larger search areas. For instance, while searching Camp Crystal Lake they can still get attacked by zombies at any time, but can also get attacked by Jason, who is much harder to defeat. If a player does defeat Jason, they don’t kill him but rather just fend him off. Killing a boss monster involves mini quests where the player needs to find a certain item to defeat the boss at a certain spot. To kill Jason, players might need to find chains tied to a weight and defeat him on the Lake. The way the boss works is once you land in a boss’ area the player then has a 15% chance of being attacked. If they stay in that area, the next turn would give them a 15% chance of being attacked. And third would be 45% and so on. Beating them in battle resets the chance to 15% again next turn and gives the player Reputation. It also might reward the player with special items, quests info, or survivors.

 

A player can be attacked once they start their turn on the IPad even before they roll, but usually it will happen at the end of their turn as they search an area. Once they roll and move their piece, they will select the location on the App map. If they are in an indoor location, like the High School, they will then begin a search scene. The way this works would be that if it’s just regular items and survivors they will be taken to a Loot like window to take whatever they want from the spot. And when indoors, there is always a small chance to also have to fight zombies before getting the Loot. In some cases the player will be shown a Resident Evil Door Opening style animation for that spot. This animation either means that’s they are about to find a key piece of Loot or be attacked by a boss. If it is a boss, a quick movie clip might occur, like searching the Farm will give you the door opening clip followed by Leatherface running with the chainsaw, meaning you are about to fight him in front of everyone. 

 

Whenever a player is attacked, the App will make a loud sound letting people know the attack is happening. At that point, the player must put down the IPad for everyone to see. If it’s a zombie fight, the player will simply roll die and need to hit a number depending on weapons and items the player has vs the amount of zombies. Certain onetime items can be selected at the beginning of a fight to help the player’s chances. If the Zombies win the player loses random loot and stays in place. If it’s a Boss fight the player has the same options to help their chances. They pick items to increase their chances and then put the IPad down. Instead of rolling, the select the fight option. If they win, a quick clip shows someone running away, but if they lose, a clip pops up of leatherface chainsawing someone to death and then they will lose a lot more loot and have to return their piece to their house. Any key items can be reclaimed by defeating the boss in that area, by any player who does.

 

Upside to using the App

• Random situation chosen for each game to make each play through feel different.
• Videos and other visuals to bring the game alive.
• Multiple Game Modes with easy directions the App provides.
• New abilities to interact with other players without everyone being involved
• It keeps track of players’ scores for them so they don’t have to worry about the formula for scores.
• Allows for quick descriptions of anything someone is confused about. Not sure what this survivor or item can do? Click on its description on the IPad when you get it for easy info without letting others know what you have.
• Coop game mode where players work together and fight against the App.
• Ability to make custom options to the game, like increasing or decreasing attacks and quests.
• Game can always be updated and fixed without having to go buy new versions.
• Options can be added to help players falling really far behind in the game, like giving them side quests to take a player out for more points, keeping things interesting till the end, unlike monopoly. 
• Players can even make profiles to keep track of who has the most wins between friends.

Downside to the App

• The Biggest downside is that each player’s turn can last for longer than most games. And most of their turn will be spent quietly on the device going through their options. And other players will not have access to their info since its in someone else’ hands. Ways to try and fix this problem would be to supply inventory sheets for players to keep track of their loot and quests and plan things while it’s not their turn. Not sure if possible, but would also be nice to allow them to keep track of their stuff on another device if possible, that links to the game.  A Coop mode and simpler VS mode would be better for players wanting to avoid those kinds of games. Another feature that might help would be to sync the App to Smart TVs to show certain moment events and boss fights, but again that might not be possible and is available to a very limited group.
• The other major downside is not everyone has a smart device. They are becoming more and more common, but it is still limiting the amount of people that can play.

[Black Hand Smith]

Very well written post. Detailed and interesting.  Definitely worth brains and 5 stars.