Looking for more ways to play Zombily?
Below, we've included a few more ways to utilize your Zombily deck including a speed option, a way to play together, and a few twists on some classics!
Enjoy!
Zombily: Speed
Objective: Be the player with the most points at the end of the game by completing zombies.
Ages: 8+ | 2-6 Players
Setting up the game: Take all the zombie body part cards and give them a good shuffle, so they are all mixed together. Make sure to remove all the actions cards from the deck. Place the deck face down in a pile on the playing surface.
Have each player draw 5 cards from the shuffled pile of cards.
How to Play: Choose one person to start as the Drawer. The Drawer begins by taking a card from the draw pile. They then choose a card from their hand to pass to the player on their left. You may only ever have 5 cards in your hand at once.
All players continue passing cards from their hand to the player on their left. This continues quickly and simultaneously, with the last player in the circle discarding an unwanted card from their hand to the discard pile.
At any point, if a player has assembled a full zombie in their hand, they shout "Zombily!" and place their completed zombie in front of them. This ends the current round.
The player who completed the zombie becomes the new Drawer for the next round. The game continues in this manner.
Winning the game: Points are earned based on the type of zombies in front of each player. The scoring system is the same as in the original Zombily:
- You earn 1 point if you have a mismatched zombie.
- You earn 3 points if you have a mismatched zombie with all the same colored background.
- You earn 5 points if you have a complete zombie of the same zombie type played in front of you.
The game ends when one player has created three zombies. The player with the most points when the game ends wins.
Please note: In this version of the game, the speed of passing and assembling zombies is critical. Players need to be swift and observant to succeed.
Go Zombily
Objective: Be the player with the most points at the end of the game by completing zombies.
Ages: 8+ | 2-6 Players
Setting up the game: Take all the zombie body part cards and give them a good shuffle, so they are all mixed together. Make sure to remove all the actions cards from the deck. Place the deck face down in a pile on the playing surface.
Each player draws 5 cards from the shuffled pile.
How to Play: Players take turns asking a specific player if they have a card that matches either a body part or color, but not both. For example, a player may ask, "Do you have a left arm?" or "Do you have a pink card?"
If the asked player has a card or cards matching the query, they must hand over one card that matches the asked criteria to the asking player.
If the asked player does not have a matching card, they say, "Go Zombily," and the asking player draws a card from the center pile. The turn then passes to the next player.
If a player collects all the necessary cards to assemble a complete zombie, they can lay the zombie out on their turn, and shout "Zombily!" Then, they draw five more cards to fill their hand and play continues.
Winning the game: Points are earned based on the type of zombies each player has in front of them. The scoring system is the same as in the original Zombily:
- You earn 1 point if you have a mismatched zombie.
- You earn 3 points if you have a mismatched zombie with all the same colored background.
- You earn 5 points if you have a complete zombie of the same zombie type played in front of you.
The game ends when one player has created three zombies. The player with the most points when the game ends wins.
Zombily Swap!
Objective: In this cooperative mode, players work together to create the maximum possible number of complete zombies.
Ages: 8+ | 5 Players
Setting up the game: Remove the action cards from the deck and shuffle the remaining zombie body part cards. Deal the entire deck evenly among all players.
Each player reviews their hand and plays any full, complete zombies in front of them by matching the codes on the cards.
How to Play: The objective is to swap cards with other players in order to complete zombies. Each round, every player selects a card from their hand and places it face down in the center of the table. Once all cards are on the table, players take turns (in any order) to grab one card from the center. All players must take a card, even if it doesn't immediately help them to complete a zombie.
Before selecting your card, each player has the opportunity to say one word to give other players clues on what they are looking for. It could be "pink" or "arm" or "coffee". The only rule is that you cannot say word that describes the character type - so words like "robot", "pirate", or "vampire" are off limits.
Players are not allowed to communicate once the cards are played on the table.
Once all players have taken a card, the round ends. If a player can complete a zombie with their new card, they play it in front of them and the game continues to the next round.
Winning the game: The game continues until the last zombie is played. This cooperative version of the game does not have a single winner; instead, players work together to complete all of the zombies.
If all cards are distributed correctly, all players should end the game with a complete zombie from their last hand.
Special Note: In this cooperative version of Zombily, communication and strategy are key. While players cannot specifically communicate their needs, observing other players' zombies and making strategic choices about what card to contribute or pick up, and what word to say, can greatly improve the team's performance.
Zombily - Parts Only
Objective: Be the player with the most points at the end of the game by collecting groups of the same body parts.
Ages: 8+ | 2-6 Players
Setting up the game: Take all the zombie body part cards and action cards and give them a good shuffle, so they are all mixed together. Place them face down in a pile on the playing surface.
Each player draws 5 cards from the shuffled pile.
How to Play: Choose one person to go first. On their turn, they can do one of five options:
- Draw one new card from the pile, discarding one card from their hand (if over 5 cards), face up, to the discard pile.
- Take the top card of the discard (if there are any), discarding one card from their hand, face up, to the discard pile.
- Play an action card. Action cards are shuffled back into the pile once completed.
- Play a group of the same body part in front of them (yelling out, “Zombily!”)
- If they have a group played in front of them, they can swap or replace parts with one from their hand.
Once one of the options above has been performed, their turn ends and the player to their left goes next.
Your objective is to collect five of the same zombie body part card to play it in front of you. If a player places a full group in front of them, they must yell out “Zombily!” and all the cards in the discard pile are reshuffled into the draw pile.
The game ends when one player has completed three full groups.
Winning the game: Players earn points based on the types of groups in front of them.
- You earn 1 point if you have a mismatched group.
- You earn 4 points if you have a group with all the same colored background.
This means that one group of the same color beats three mismatched groups, so be strategic when playing groups. You may not want the game to end if you are behind in the score.
The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
Please note: This game variation focuses on body part groups rather than assembling whole zombies. The gameplay is the same as the original game, but the strategic focus changes to collecting certain body parts.
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