Harvey O’Brien, Playing with Dead Things IV

A key element of many of these kinds of games is the sense of discovery that comes with the joy of postapocalyptic looting, and there are many classic calculations of risk versus reward in how you choose to expend energy and resources in other to gather more of both through food and supplies. Tiny Epic Zombies (2018), designed by Scott Almes, is a kind of summative game in this mould, as are all the entries in the ‘Tiny Epic’ line by Gamelyn Games, which present popular themes and game systems in small boxes at a comparatively low price, designed to be portable and accessible. Part of the fun in Tiny Epic Zombies is the plastic ‘meeples’ (a gaming term for playing pieces that are roughly people shaped – mini-people, you see), which you can actually equip with weapons (tiny plastic ones) or even mount on a motorbike as you zoom around the mall pinging zeds and collecting items. A considerably more exotic setting is found is the independently published Carnival Zombie (2013), designed by Matteo Santus, set in Venice during the titular event, which adds a piquancy of a Bakhtinian society turned upside down and players embody kinky medieval archetypes including a Harlequin or a masked Plague Doctor. Read more