The zombie genre of, well, just about everything, has run its course in my house. So when I slapped Zombie Teenz Evolution down on the table, it was met with groans of “Not another zombie game dad! We have soooo many zombie games!” But once the rather tiny box was cracked open and all the hidden treasures inside revealed, the kids were interested. Is there enough in this tiny box to make this zombie themed game stand out from the pack?

Zombie Teenz Evolution is a light co-op legacy game for 2-4 players designed by Annick Lobet and published by Le Scorpion Masque. In the game, players work together to deliver supplies to their school from around the board. Standing in the way of these deliveries are the constant hordes of zombies that if not kept in check, can overrun buildings, forcing a quick end to the game.

Zombie Teenz Evolution is a light legacy game. Legacy games have several hidden game components that will unlock as the players progress in the game. These components are often permanent additions to the game that alter the way the game is played. In Zombie Teenz, these unlocks come in the form of sealed envelopes with number and letters on them. It was these envelopes that quickly had the kids reaching in and guessing at their contents while I was setting up.

Game Overview

The main objective of Zombie Teenz is straightforward. Work together to deliver 4 supply crates from around the board to the school located in the middle. If the 4 buildings around the map get overrun by zombies then it is game over and your team loses. Teamwork is a must to accomplish your goals!

All players start the game out in the school at the center of the board. The crates are then dispersed to each of the 4 buildings at the corners of the board. The 4 zombie cards are place in a row outside the game board and the mystery cards are shuffled and placed face down.

A player’s turn consists of the following:

1. Roll the white die and take its action then perform any 2 of the following actions.
   1. Move your character
   2. Attack a zombie
   3. Transfer a crate to or take a crate from another player

This is a very simple rule set that was easy to grasp. It really only took a few turns for the kids to understand the rules and start strategizing with everyone at the table, slaying zombies and delivering supplies. But that white die can really throw a wrench into the best laid plans. When that die is rolled you will either be spawning zombie hordes on the board, moving them towards a building, or revealing a mystery card. Those mystery cards have a range of effects from doing nothing to activating all 4 zombie hordes at once. To complicate things a bit more, a player cannot move a crate on their own. They must pass the crate to another player in order to move it closer to the school.

Impressions

I am going to remain spoiler free when giving our impressions of this game. It only took one play for us to be totally hooked. The adults were just as engaged as the kids were through the course of the game. The fact that everyone needs to participate to achieve victory really helps all players feel like their decisions are important. Over the course of our games some up us were setting up a chain to funnel supplies to the school while others were on zombie slaying duty. Both tasks were equally important.

Artwork in the game has a light hearted feel to it and is great for a family game. Player character illustrations are unique and the zombies are very G rated. The games move at a brisk pace and in our first sit down we played 5 games straight.

There was great incentive to keep playing. As you play, win or lose, you progress towards unlocking a secret envelope. Completing challenges that are in the rulebook will have you opening even more envelopes. In our first play we opened 3 of them. These envelopes contain game altering items and rules that had us wanting to play even more with the new components we just unlocked. It is a wonderful system that keeps all players invested.

It is rare that a game appeals to such a wide audience in our house. Between the high engagement, light strategy, and legacy content, this is a gem of a game that will stay on our shelves for a long time. It could be possible that the game might get stale once we get through unlocking all the content, but hey, it’s all about the journey.

Final Verdict

I am going to keep this simple. Zombie Teenz Evolution is one of the best co-op family games we have played.