Zombicide: Black Plague rules – how to play and how to win

Zombicide: Black Plague quick rules

The goal

You all play together against zombies run by the game. Each game is a quest from the booklet, with its own map and objectives: search, find keys, slay a monster, escape. You win as soon as all objectives are met. You lose if all your Survivors die, or if a Necromancer escapes when there are already six Spawn Zones.

A round

First, each player in turn activates their Survivors one by one. Next, the zombies all play together: they attack or move, then new zombies spawn. Finally, remove the Noise tokens and the First Player token passes left.

Actions

Each Survivor has three actions: move one zone (leaving a zone with zombies costs one extra action per zombie), search a room with no zombies (one search per turn), open a door with the right weapon, trade equipment, attack in melee, at range or with a spell, take an Objective, or make Noise to draw zombies elsewhere.

Fighting

Roll as many dice as the weapon shows; each die reaching its accuracy is a hit, which kills a zombie if the damage is enough. A Walker or a Runner dies from one damage, a Fatty from two, the Abomination from three (in the base box, only Dragon Fire can handle it). At range, Walkers are hit first, then Fatties, Runners and the Necromancer, and each missed die hits a friend in the zone.

Noise and zombies

Zombies hunt by noise: each Survivor counts as one noise, and each attack or door opened with noisy equipment leaves a Noise token. Zombies in your zone attack: one wound per attack, and a Survivor dies at three wounds. The others move toward the Survivors they can see, otherwise toward the noisiest zone. Runners act twice.

Experience and spawning

Each zombie killed earns experience: a Survivor goes from blue to yellow, orange, then red, gaining a fourth action, then new skills. But when zombies spawn, you read the card line matching the most advanced Survivor: the stronger you are, the more come.

The Necromancers

A Necromancer arrives with a new Spawn Zone, then tries to flee toward another. Kill it first: you then remove a Spawn Zone. If it escapes, its zone becomes a normal Spawn Zone, and if there are then six or more, the game is lost.

Beginner traps

Spreading out, when a lone Survivor is quickly surrounded; forgetting friendly fire before aiming at a zone with a comrade; pushing a single Survivor up the levels too fast, since the waves follow their level; skimming the objectives: you often have to leave with everyone.

How to win Zombicide: Black Plague

Victory

The whole team wins as soon as all the quest’s objectives are met.

Defeat

The team loses if all Survivors die, or if a Necromancer escapes when there are already six Spawn Zones.

Quest

The sheet records the quest played: Quest 0 (Danse Macabre, the tutorial) to Quest 10, or “Other quest.”

Survivors in play and eliminated

For the record: 6 Survivors in a standard game; a Survivor is eliminated at three wounds.

Danger Level reached

The highest reached by a Survivor: blue, yellow, orange or red.

Example ending

Emma, Jake and Alex play Quest 0 with 6 Survivors. One of Jake’s Survivors, already wounded twice, takes an attack: 2 + 1 = 3 wounds, and he’s eliminated. The other five meet the objectives: a victory, recorded as Quest 0, 6 Survivors in play, 1 eliminated, Danger Level orange.

Common mistakes

• Looking for a winner among the players: the team wins or loses together.
• Thinking one Survivor’s death loses the game: you only lose if they all die, or through the Necromancers.
• Forgetting that an escaping Necromancer only loses the game if there are then six or more Spawn Zones.
• Reading the Zombie card at the least advanced Survivor’s level: it’s always the most advanced one.

How to set up Zombicide: Black Plague

All of setup depends on the quest you choose. For a first game, play Quest 0, Danse Macabre, the tutorial.