We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more There are many ways to be a part of the zombie apocalypse. You may survive it, or you may become an easy snack for a shuffling horde or flesh-eaters. The best zombie board games allow you to be either!
Whatever your playstyle, board games about zombies are a fun way to experience the cooperative and survivalist genre, and generally have a blast. The zombie board games franchise has been around for many years now, but the best zombie board games we have covered here have managed to reimagine it in new and exciting ways.
If you are a fan of board games and zombies, there is no better way to enjoy both of your passions other than picking a game from our list. Before you do, you should remember that all it takes is a scratch and you will suddenly be in a difficult spot with your teammates.
List of Best Zombie Board Games
- Zombicide (Second Edition)
- Tiny Epic Zombies
- Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)
- Zombie Dice
- Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
- Last Night on Earth
- Hit Z Road
- Zombie Kidz Evolution
- The Walking Dead: All Out War
- City of Horror
- Dark Darker Darkest
- Escape: Zombie City
- Zombie State: Diplomacy of the Dead
- Zpocalypse
- Zombie 15′
- Zombie Fluxx
- Rise of the Zombies
- Zpocalypse 2: Defend the Burbs
- Dead Panic
- Zombies!!! (Third Edition)
1. Zombicide (Second Edition)
Zombicide is the self-styled progenitor of the entire zombie board game franchise. Well, at least its more modern and polsihed look. The original was released back in 2012 and was part of the first massive Kickstarter campaign that made it possible for board game developers to turn to crowdfund to realize their projects.
Ever since the first Zombicide, there have been countless reinterpretations and expansions of the original. The franchise has grown so quickly and not least owing to its unique miniatures albeit fairly simplistic gameplay. This has made it possible for players to plunge right into some zombie-slaying action without too much ado. Zombicide also appeals to players because of its distinctly cooperative nature.
This game will have you cooperate to survive in a world that has been overrun by the flesh-eating undead who are getting hungrier by the minute. The 2nd edition of the game has introduced some components upgrades and rule clarifications, along with 25 different scenarios to experience and enjoy a branching storyline where you have the final say in what happens next.
There are countless ways to expand on the introductory experience once you have had your fill of the base game, with more expansions, scenarios, and other miscellaneous zombie horrors in the pipeline! If you are looking for the ultimate zombie board game experience, Zombicide may as well be it!
Buy Zombicide on Amazon US / Amazon UK
2. Tiny Epic Zombies
Tiny Epic Zombies is one of the coolest board games about zombies where the suspense is real and the danger, is mortal. The scaled-down terrain will only add to the tension as you and your team are attempting to secure objectives and leave the overrun shopping center that is infested with zombies.
Before you go, you will need to make sure that the zombies cannot follow you or disrupt your plans. You will barricade some rooms against the oncoming hordes of zombies which are trying to tear down doors and makeshift barricades as your teammates scurry across the facility and shoot down the undead.
The game allows you to branch out and pick from a co-op, competitive and one vs. many scenarios with something for each player. To beat the game, you will nevertheless have to make your way to safety somewhere beyond the shopping center, because no matter how many zombies you manage to kill – new ones will take their place!
Buy Tiny Epic Zombies on Amazon US / Amazon UK
3. Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)
Behold, the lovely town of Farmingdale, a city that would not make much of a lasting impression other than its pleasant quaintness and beautiful scenery. Or, it would not have made much of an impression were it not for the hordes of undead that are now flocking into town and wish to snack on the local… locals.
Dawn of the Zeds is a highly-thematic board game about zombies where you and potentially four more players are faced with the end of peaceful life in Farmingdale as a virus is spreading across town and turning people into vicious, flesh-eating undead. You now have to contain the virus and… survive! The good news is that the National Guard is on its way, and the infection seems to be localized.
The bad news? The cavalry may take days if not weeks to arrive which means it’s down to you to organize the defense of Farmingdale, and there is hardly any time to lose. This is hands down one of the most thematic zombie apocalypse adventures you will experience and worth your while.
Buy Dawn of the Zeds on Amazon US / Amazon UK
4. Zombie Dice
Zombie Dice is one of the first board games about zombies in our hobby and a fun filler if you are short on time. The game can be played by anything between 2 and 99 players, and it takes 10-20 minutes to complete.
The premise of the title is very simple. You are a zombie, you are hungry, and you wouldn’t mind snacking on some tasty human brain. The game has straightforward Yahtzee gameplay where you will roll the 13 custom dice of your victims and try to be the flesh-eater to consumer 13 brains.
But watch out, because if you get carried away and keep rolling the dice, you may roll a shotgun that will blast your head off! A fun little filler, this 2010 release is still a great game that will have you satiate your thirst for human flesh. For now.
Buy Zombie Dice on Amazon US / Amazon UK
5. Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Dead of Winter is another zombie franchise in the board games hobby that has proven to have a lasting impact on the community. The game bucks the trend where survivalist games have to be about the group’s well-being and pose an interesting dilemma where you have to consider selfish choices or act for the greater good.
You don’t have much time for a moral dilemma, however, as the hordes of flesh-eaters continue to pile on at the door. You and the other survivors in the game will have to work together to survive, but you will also be in charge of your faction, which means that while cooperation can make things easier in some aspects of the game – it’s not obligatory.
Dead Winter is a psychological survivalist thriller in which you cannot take anyone at their word and have to question their motives and advance your agenda, subtle as it may be. The game is challenging, heavily thematic, and visceral in every sense of the word and before long, you will not be able to tell whether you are sitting in a dimly lit room or facing the undead horrors yourself!
One of the best zombie board games you will ever experience, Dead of Winter is a timeless classic. If you don’t like the subtle psychological struggle, you may eliminate it and try the pure cooperative mode instead.
Buy Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game on Amazon US / Amazon UK
6. Last Night on Earth
The end is nigh and it’s going to be accompanied by bad acting, ridiculous cinematography and poor lighting. Last Night on Earth is a game where there is not much of a plot except – kill or be killed. You and your friends get to play four human characters who will try to survive the horrors of the night, with one or two zombie players marshalling the hordes of the undead who are trying to… well, do what zombies do and eat the survivors!
The humans will band together and try to assist each other as they fend off the zombies which seem to be closing in all the time no matter what the human players do. Barricading yourself in a building is hardly the best idea as the undead know how to break in. The game reeks of a poor movie plot, but despite its cheesiness, it’s hands down one of the best games about zombies that you will ever get to enjoy, and one of the best board games about zombies of all time.
Buy Last Night on Earth on Amazon US / Amazon UK
7. Hit Z Road
Route 66 is one of the most famous roads in the world, immortalized in movies and songs. Now, it’s infested with zombies, and you will have to keep chucking dice in the hopes of not getting bogged down in the sea of rotten flesh that can bite!
Hit Z Road is a lightweight board game about zombies where you and three other players will have the opportunity to enjoy surviving in a world that has been taken over by the undead. A game session usually lasts 30-60 minutes and a lot can happen during that time!
Survivors will have to scavenge this apocalyptic world for gas and bullets as they make their way down to the sunny Californian coast. The game will have you believe you are in the midst of the true zombie apocalypse as not all players are meant to survive, and you will have to navigate the treacherous world carefully to make it to safety.
All that lies between you and getting out of this alive are millions of shuffling undead who are getting angrier as they are hungrier.
Buy Hit Z Road on Amazon US / Amazon UK
8. Zombie Kidz Evolution
If you don’t like your zombies grim or don’t take the franchise too seriously, here is a cartoonish reimagination of the undead end of times instead! This game is so lightweight that your seven-year-old can play it, and the theme is very appropriate, too.
2-4 players will step into the role of school kids who are determined to save their school from a zombie horde. This is a legacy-style game designed for younger players who would have a blast trying out the hobby.
Players start at a school when a zombie attack suddenly breaks out. Nobody knows where the zombies came from, but it’s now down to four brave kids who have had their fair share of cinematic experience to protect their classmates and save their school from the zombie apocalypse.
The players will have to barricade the doors and lock every entrance before the zombies manage to get in and completely overwhelm the premises. This highly-thematic fun for children and the entire family will help you introduce your kids to the board games hobby, and possibly feel cool enough for the more “serious” gamers, given that there are zombies involved.
Buy Zombie Kidz Evolution on Amazon US / Amazon UK
9. The Walking Dead: All Out War
Inspired by the Walking Dead TV series, Walking Dead: All Out War is an interesting take on the zombie board games franchise. For one, it’s a wargame where two players will draft characters and lead two groups of survivalists in a fight against each other while trying to keep the hordes at bay.
It seems that even the apocalypse has not satiated man’s bloodthirst for their fellow man and this is more or less the plot of the tactical head-to-head game inspired by the TV series. Set in the Georgian countryside, the two groups will fight against each other for supplies, slay walkers, and try to emerge victorious.
Each group of survivors will be faced with different choices and branching storylines. Individual players will follow more or less the events of the original show but be able to rewrite the story as they see fit.
All the same, each player will plan an attack on the other camp, trying to secure an advantage and guarantee their own faction’s survival in a world that seems to be beyond saving. Mankind is gone – only tribalism remains.
The Walking Dead: All Out War is not currently available on Amazon US / Amazon UK
10. City of Horror
Many zombie board games focus on the end of civilization as we know it and frankly very few tell us what comes next. City of Horror is a nice exception as the game’s premise is not so much – or at least not only about survival – but also about rebuilding society and yes, slaying some zombies in the process.
Don’t expect a well-coordinated effort though. City of Horror is more so a story of a pell-mell band of survivors who have no idea what is going on or how they survive the apocalypse. They just know that there are vaccines scattered across the game’s board and they need to retrieve them becoming easy prey to the zombies in the process.
The emphasis is on negotiating with your fellow players but if this fails, you can resort to a few well-timed detonations around the city and steering some players in the murderous claws of the undead. Ideal for anything between 3-6 players, City of Horror is a refreshing addition to the franchise.
Buy City of Horror on Amazon US / Amazon UK
11. Dark Darker Darkest
If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s probably very dim and barely a light! Dark Darker Darkest is a cooperative survivalist game played by 2-5 players and stretching over 120 gory minutes. The title draws a little more generously on the franchise’s pillars, but it’s set in the house of Doctor Mortimer who has the antidote to stop the virus that has been turning people into brain-craving yet mindless stuff of nightmares.
Zombies, man! They are everywhere and they are hellbent on slaughtering your party and sucking the marrow with a straw if they could use a straw that is. The game is not so much about players taking down zombies as it is about staying clear out of their way. Dark Darker Darkest is refreshing in another way.
Players use a shared inventory and unique stealth movement mechanic, but no matter how cautious you are, nightmares are waiting for you in the shadows and you will become a happy meal for some zombie before long.
Don’t worry, though, as you can restart and take on the same adventure or a different one owing to the modular board setup. This is one of our favorite zombie board games and we recommend it heartily.
Buy Dark Darker Darkest on Amazon US / Amazon UK
12. Escape: Zombie City
It’s all kinds of hell in Zombie City and the zombies are coming! In this game of 2-4 players, you will need to cooperate to get out of a city that is running out of humans to eat and you who is very much alive and probably great on the rotten palette. Held out in a church, you and your fellow players have to scavenge for resources, load your bus and be on your way.
Of course, pulling this one off would mean that you first need to comb the streets of Dodge City and find everything you need. The VW Microbus you have at your disposal is not the most reliable ride, but if you find what you need to fix it up, you have a pretty good chance of making it out alive – perhaps.
This dice-rolling real-time game will recreate the zombie apocalypse such as you have always expected it to be – gory, filled with the screams of survivors who were very much alive when you last saw them before the hordes buried them and probably fed on them…
Oh, and you also need to probably hurry up, because the zombie hordes are getting bigger and bigger, and there seems to be nothing you can do to stop their spreading across Doge. The only thing for you is to hightail it out of town right now!
Escape: Zombie City is not currently avaialble on Amazon US / Amazon UK
13. Zombie State: Diplomacy of the Dead
Zombie State: Diplomacy of the Dead will have you approach the zombie apocalypse from yet another angle. Forget the civilians caught in the midst of it all. You are the government, and you will be calling the shots. Do you rush to discover a cure or do you nuke the whole place in a desperate attempt to limit the spread of the infection?
In this zombie board game, 2-5 players will rely on all sorts of societal pillars to avert (an even bigger) calamity as they muster military and scientific strength to limit the zombie virus from taking over the world. Leaders will need to make difficult choices as zombies spread across their territory every turn and infect or diminish the remaining people who can help them stop the further collapse of everything around them. Fail and the entire world will be one walking, shuffling graveyard!
Zombie State: Diplomacy of the Dead is not currently available Amazon US / Amazon UK
14. Zpocalypse
Zpocalypse is an interesting pick from the list and it has invested heavily in the production quality of its components. The game has branching plots and offers variety and replayability while honing in on the core tenets of the zombie survivalist franchise.
Your job is to make it alive out of the game. You will need to collect ammo and guns, food, and other supplies that can help you see the light of another day. All the while zombies will be swarming around you left and right and trying to tear you to shreds – as is fitting.
1-4 players get to experience some different characters who are caught in the midst of it all and trying to see it through. The solo play is similarly solid and while we do not see ourselves as solo zombie board game players, we can appreciate the lone wolf scenario incorporated into the core gameplay.
Buy Zpocalypse on Amazon US / Amazon UK
15. Zombie 15’
Teenagers moody as they are will have to come to their senses once the world turns on its head and suddenly – it’s the end of days plus zombies ripping apart everyone in sight! This is the base premise of Zombie 15’, a board game that will see 2-4 players try to survive in a world where anyone over the age of 18 is suddenly a flesh-eating undead.
Can your team of survivors find the answer to what has turned most of the adult population into zombies? Well, you will have to give it your best shot as your team of 15-year-olds tries to find new teens who know anything helpful about the virus and who can help revert it or at least stop it from happening again.
Zombie 15’ is a fresh addition to the zombie franchise and one that has a refreshing theme, gameplay, and a strong narrative that will pull you into the story and help you enjoy it more.
Buy Zombie 15’ on Amazon US / Amazon UK
16. Zombie Fluxx
Zombie Fluxx is one of the oldest games on this list and conversely, one of the most popular and played zombie-themed titles. This zombie uprising card game has its peculiarities as its rules are changing all the time through the use of special Fluxx cards that will alter how to play the game.
Players can use their Fluxx cards to steer the gameplay in a direction they are happy with. You can alter the winning conditions, how certain cards are played or even – how to draw the cards. The game is very easy to teach and it still has a great theme owing to its brilliant art.
Of course, the Fluxx series is a bit of a blanket franchise, and you will have lots and lots of titles in this series, but Zombie Fluxx is one of the most fun options to play. It’s a fantastic lightweight zombie-themed game that you can bring along with you and play in anything between 10-40 minutes and with 2-6 players.
Buy Zombie Fluxx on Amazon US / Amazon UK
17. Rise of the Zombies
Ah, yes. The undead has risen – again, and it’s down to you and seven other players to stop them. This fast-paced card game plays over 30-90 minutes and will have you believing that you are in the midst of the zombie apocalypse.
For a card game, we must admit that Rise of the Zombies is very evocative, making the survival action one filled with thrilling split-second decisions where you have to try and avoid being gobbled up by the ever-hungry undead.
To get away scratch free, you will need to keep shooting, leveraging your resources and making sure you manage to complete the objectives set before you ahead of time. The goal of the game is simple – “get to the chopper” as a popular Hollywood line has it, and this is it.
You need to be extracted from the hot zone that is now swarming with zombies and you don’t want to become a zombie – or lunch. Every turn will see the survivors advance towards the helicopter site while zombies prepare to attack. You will need to balance your pace of advancement but also keep in mind that at the end of all players’ turns the zombies will get to attack and you must survive to fight another day.
Funnily enough, you can choose to help others or leave them behind so that you can move ahead but who knows what awaits – and perhaps you should help your fellow survivors after all.
Rise of the Zombies is not currently avaialble on Amazon US / Amazon UK
18. Zpocalypse 2: Defend the Burbs
Four years after the original release of Zpocalypse, a brand new iteration of the game arrived. In Zpocalypse 2: Defend the Burbs 2-5 survivors will once again work together to try and stop the zombies from overrunning the city.
The game offers a brand tower defense-style mechanic which breaks away from the traditional zombie board game genre and offers a touch of innovation to the overall experience. Secure the high ground, focus on important choke points and make sure your rain down hail and fury on the shuffling hordes of the undead – it’s all this game comes down to.
While you can still help each other with other players, remember that you are the leader of your squad of survivors and you have to see your people to safety first. This comes with the territory, as you comb the streets for resources and useful provisions to help you survive the zombie apocalypse.
Buy Zpocalypse 2: Defend the Burbs on Amazon US / Amazon UK
19. Dead Panic
Dead Panic is a game about survival and cooperation set in a zombie dystopia. The plot focuses on 2-6 players who should probably work together to survive against the ever-pressing-on hordes of zombies who tirelessly try to rip you all apart!
The good news is that help is on its way. The bad news is that help might take a while to get to you. In a family-friendly zombie game, all players get to be in charge of a unique character and try their luck against the undead.
But it’s not just luck as you can make strategic choices together and help influence your game for the better. Roll the die, work together as a team and hope that the cavalry gets on time to help you make it out alive!
Dead Panic is not currently available on Amazon US / Amazon UK
20. Zombies!!! (Third Edition)
Zombies!!! has a title that is a bit on the nose – or would have been on the nose had it not been for the process of decomposition that has left quite a few zombies walking around without their noses, to begin with.
Zombies!!! is an old-timer game but it is essential for the entire zombie board games genre as it has helped set up some interesting gameplay and terrain mechanics that were later picked up by other games in the genre, including Zombicide.
In a game of Zombies!!! 2-6 players move through the zombie-infested streets and try to shoot a total of 25 undead to win. The movement and shooting are determined with the roll of the dice, and players can’t turn into zombies, but being eaten by the undead means they will lose a good deal of their current progress!
Since 2001, when the original game has been released, there have been a few more iterations throughout the years, but perhaps none as successful and popular as the original.
Buy Zombies!!! on Amazon US / Amazon UK
Disclaimer: The list was compiled with the help of and combines the mixed experience of Meeples Herald’s editorial team, BoardGameGeek ranking, and online search volumes.