MonopoZombie

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A board game where a zombie apocolypse overruns a Monopoly game, saving it from traditional end-game tedium

Playable with a regular monopoly set with minimal (or no?) additional stuff.

"Zombies care not for your mindless capitalism"

Gameplay

The game is divided into three distinct stages.

Stage One: Capitalism

  • This is played as per normal monopoly rules. Basically a capitalism microcosm.
  • Players tactics may differ due to knowledge of later Outbreak and Apocalypse stages, but the game *mechanism* at this stage remains unchanged. House rules (once around board before purchase, tax->free parking, and so on) are discouraged in favour of genuine Monopoly rules.
  • There is only one rule added to original Monopoly at this stage, and that is:
    • After their first time around the board, should a player roll a double-1 (ie, total "2"), they have moved too slowly, and are caught by a zombie of which players were previously unaware of.

Stage Two: Outbreak

  • For the purpose of interpreting the way zombie players interact with normal "human" players, and the board, it is considered that they become a zombie during their two-square move. ie, they leave as a human, they arrive as a zombie. * Stage two is still largely played as per normal monopoly rules (and with the 'double-1' rule from Stage One), but new behaviour for zombie players, and with an increased chance that a human player may become a zombie.
  • Zombie's continue to take their turn as before, however, their operate under new movement principles:
    • Instead of 2 D6 dice, zombies move according to two D4 dice (simulate from D6 with re-rolls as needed)
    • Zombies may move in either direction around the board, as per the players choosing.
  • Human players continue to do commerce with each other and the bank as per usual, but the zombie cares not for your mindless capitalism and do not participate in any normal commerse. In addition, the following apply:
    • Zombies check chance/chest cards, but ignore them
    • Zombies do not follow "teleport" movement (go to nearest railway, go to jail, etc)
    • Zombies do not get another go on a double dice result
    • If a zombie lands on an unowned property it immediately goes to auction
    • Properties owned by zombies are considered infection grounds - ie, should a human player land on a zombie property with no improvement
    • However, if the zombie property has improvement, the human survives, but at the expense of one level of improvement - so over time zombie properties will reduce to being unsafe. If multiple players occupy the same property at once, then only one demolition occurs, when the property is vacated.
    • If zombies share a space with humans, then the humans will turn into zombies if the number of zombies is equal or higher than the number of humans.
      • exception: "free parking" remains as a rest space - humans can never be turned to zombie there
      • also note: "in jail" and "just visiting jail" are separate. (Zombies cannot go "in jail")
    • If a zombie lands on an improved player property even when no player is on there, then one level of improvement is demolished when the zombie (or last zombie if multiple) leaves. (note: this was not playtested)

Stage Three: Apocalypse

  • Once zombies equal or outnumber human players, the economy collapses, and remaining humans move to survival mode.
  • All commerce and economic-based activity halds. This includes the building of properties (or demolishing for monopoly-rule reasons. Demolition now only occurs for zombie-rule reasons)
  • Zombies continue as before.
  • Humans now move with increased agility, by rolling three D6, and choosing two according to their tactical needs
    • this increases the chances that a human can 'choose' a double and get a second roll
    • this also allows for increased chance for a human to 'choose' a double-1 and become zombie
    • humans no longer follow monopoly 'teleport' rules either, and doubles = another go can continue without penalty for as long as doubles are rolled.
  • Winning conditions for a human: be the last human alive, then land on your own property with a house, and have no zombies also on that location
  • Winning conditions for zombies: all players are zombies, and be the first to land in 'jail' (justification: the last source of human brains, zombies finally break in)

To consider

These are post-testing ideas, and need testing before considered good or not

  • In apocalypse mode: humans that land on their own multi-house property, may then "carry" a house with them, and deposit it on the first empty zombie-land they encounter - the player then claims that property (with the house), meaning it can no longer 'turn' a human. It will nonetheless get demolished should a zombie visit it.
    • Justification: provides a reason for players to build multiple houses in capitalism mode - however the 'demolition' rules added should also provide that motive, so this may just be unneeded complexity
  • In Outbreak mode: vaccines - the idea that once "bitten" (double-1), you pay for a vaccine and continue operating as human. The argument is that this holds to the capitalism ideas of monopoly. However for the sake of avoiding monopoly end-game, there has to be a certain inevitability to a player turning zombie (so: increase cost of vaccine per turn? eg: cost of vaccine per turn = $50 × {turns since bitten} ?), which means the tactics of a player inevitably turning zombie would be... to demolish houses but keep properties and then suicide out to zombie? it's unclear... I like the idea from a capitalism point of view, but not sure it'll hold to playability.
  • Should stations/utilities by default provide safe shelter?

The following original ideas were not playtested

  • Once there is a zombie on the board, remaining humans can choose to team up. They can only do this IF they happen to share a space. They do this by pooling their dice rolls (2 players = 4 dice, 3 players = 6 dice) for the round, and then sharing out the accumulated positional moves between team-members (however, each human must still move a minimum of 2 squares, just like regular two-dice rolls). Totals that do not divide evenly will result in a team getting split up, or they may deliberately split up to achieve shelter, or target properties to purchase (oooh, tactics!)
  • There may be cards that modify any existing rules/behaviours? (eg "get out one zombie bite free")
  • Should houses/hotels be fortified as an enhancement beyond the standard monopoly building code?

Changelog

  • 2016 Aug 23 - First play testing
  • 2014 Jul 02 - Initial writeup

Trivia

  • Let the record show that the very first roll in the very first playtest was a double-1 and so the game inventor became a zombie. (and so the second game introduced the "once around before zombie possible" rule)


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