Dead Apocalypse Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Setup
• Game Play
  • General Rules
  • Turn Order
  • Turn Sequence
  • Playing Cards from your Hand
  • Occupying Locations
  • Combating Zombies
  • Call for Help
  • After Combat effects
  • Undefeated Zombies
  • Ending your Turn
  • Game Ends
• Special Conditions
  • Repeat
  • Zombie Immunities
  • Center for Disease Control (CDC)
• Game Play Variations
  • For a more difficult game
  • For a more competitive game
  • For an easy game
  • For an easier game
  • For the easiest game
• Troubleshooting and/or strategy tips (if any)

Game Setup

Each player has a personal deck consisting of 7 Survivor, 1 Base Camp, 1 Weapons Cache, and 1 Medicine Cabinet cards.

Each player shuffles his/her deck and draws 5 cards (leaving 5 cards in the deck).

Take the Adept Survivor and Infection cards and place them aside in their own stacks. Call for Help and various card abilities will allow players to acquire Adept Survivor cards. Combating Zombies will require players to gain Infections.

Shuffle together all Zombie and Event cards face down to form the Zombie Stack.

Take 10 cards face down from the bottom of the Zombie Stack and shuffle in the Center for Disease Control (CDC) card. Return the cards to the bottom of the Zombie Stack.

From the Zombie Stack, flip over 5 cards face up in a row in front of both players to form the Zombie Row.

Place the Zombie Stack to one side of the Zombie Row.

Shuffle together all other cards face down to form the Resource Stack.

From the Resource Stack, flip over 5 cards face up in a row above the Zombie Row. This forms the Resource Row.

Place the Resource Stack to one side of the Resource Row.

Reserve space to the other side of the Resource Stack for the Ditch Pile. When a Zombie from the Zombie Row is defeated and any other card is Ditched, it goes to the Ditch Pile.

Game Play

General Rules

• At any time, if you have no personal deck and you are required to draw a card or reveal a card from your deck, shuffle the discard pile to reform your deck.
• Location cards remain in play at the end of your turn while Humans and Equipment cards typically go into your discard pile. If you are required to draw a card and you have no deck, you do not include cards currently in play when shuffling your discard pile.
• If a card mentions "in/from play", it always refers to a card(s) that has been used and is currently in the active player's possession, not the opposing players (unless otherwise specified on the card).
• If a card mentions “gain”, you always add the acquired card(s) to your discard pile (unless otherwise specified on the card).
• You are not required to play every card in your hand. There may be times it is more beneficial to keep a card in your hand.
• Many cards will have abilities and attributes that will contradict rules in this book. If so, follow the card text instead.

Turn Order

• Randomly determine which player goes first.
• Play proceeds back and forth between both players.

Turn Sequence

• Refill the Resource Row
• Refill the Zombie Row
  • Set aside all Event cards revealed until 5 Zombies fill the Zombie Row.
• Turn any Human cards placed beneath Location cards last turn right side up.
• Zombie Attack (Only if Event cards are revealed)
  • A Zombie Faction will be imprinted on each Event card to determine which Zombies in the Zombie Row will attack the active player. Zombies attack the active player all at once.
• Play cards from your hand to gain damage, to draw cards and to ditch cards. Defeating Zombies allows you to acquire cards for future turns. All cards with Repeat abilities in your possession and in play, or in the Zombie Row, also activate during this time. See Repeat abilities on page…
• Call for Help (Only if the Active Player is attacked)
  • During Call for Help scenarios, if the opposing player (ally) chooses to respond to Call for Help, he/she is then added to the turn order. See Call for Help on page…
• Place any cards you played and any cards remaining in your hand this turn directly into your discard pile after you are finished combating Zombies and/or acquiring cards.
• Draw 5 cards from your personal deck

Playing Cards from your Hand

• To play a Human or an Equipment from your hand, simply place the card face up in front of you, announce its ability, and follow the instructions on the card. The moment a Human or Equipment is played, it remains in front of the active player until the end of the turn. During that time before the end of the turn, it is considered to be "in play".
• Locations play the same as Human and Equipment cards, except Locations remain in play and can be utilized every turn. Once a Location is played, it remains in front of the active player and is considered to be "in play".
• Infection cards remain in player’s hands and cannot be used, so they are never considered to be “in play”.

Occupying Locations

• The active player may instead decide to place a Human from his/her hand beneath a Location card to generate damage each following turn.
• Any Human placed beneath a Location is turned on its side. Humans turned to their side do not generate any damage. At the beginning of your next turn, turn all Humans right side up.
• The Attack power of each right side up Human occupying a Location is then generated each turn while the Location remains in play.
• A Human placed beneath a Location is not considered to be "in play" but instead considered to be "occupying" that Location.
• Each Location has a maximum Occupancy number which limits the number of Humans allowed to occupy it.
• While a Human is occupying a Location, all of its card Abilities, Attributes, Card Types and Factions are ignored (unless otherwise specified on the card).
• If a Location is discarded or Ditched from play while occupied by Humans, the player must discard all Humans occupying the Location.

Combating Zombies

• To defeat a Zombie, the active player must generate enough damage equal to a Zombie’s Hit Points (HP).
• Zombie abilities and After Combat effects always target the active player (unless otherwise specified on the card).
• Some card abilities only resolve under certain circumstances. For Example: Construction Worker gains +1 Damage if another Armory card is in play.

Call for Help

• If the cards in your hand and/or in play will not gain enough damage for you to defeat any or all of the attacking Zombies, you may Call for Help.
• If the active player Calls for Help, the opposing player (ally) may then choose to assist in combat by taking a turn to play cards from his/her hand. Once the opposing player (ally) is finished, the active player adds the remaining damage he/she gained with the opposing player’s damage he/she gained. The active player may then use the total accumulated damage for the remainder of his/her turn but only to defeat attacking Zombies.
  • Note: Zombie immunities and other abilities resolve as normal and may affect the total accumulated damage dealt. See Zombie Immunities on page…
• You may choose to Call for Help at any time during the attack. For Example: If you’ve gained enough damage to defeat at least one attacking Zombie, you may choose to combat that Zombie beforehand.
• If more than 2 players, the opposing players choose to assist one at a time from left to right. Any number of players can assist in an attack, even if enough damage has already been accumulated.

After Combat effects

• "After Combat" is an effect that always resolves directly following combat with a Zombie. After Combat effects are not Zombie abilities.
• When a Zombie is successfully defeated in combat, the active player then gains the adjacent card in the Resource Row and adds it to his/her discard pile.
• If the opposing player (ally) assists in combat after responding to Call for Help, both players receive After Combat effects.
• If the opposing player (ally) assists in combat after responding to Call for Help and a Zombie is successfully defeated in combat, the opposing player (ally) has the choice to take the adjacent card in the Resource Row for each defeated Zombie, or to take an Adept Survivor instead. The active player then takes the Resource Row card (if not chosen) or an Adept Survivor.
• If more than 2 players, the opposing players choose either 1 card in the Resource Row or an Adept Survivor instead, one at a time from left to right. The player to his/her right then takes the Resource Row card (if not chosen) or an Adept Survivor.

Undefeated Zombies

• On a turn when the active player does not defeat an attacking Zombie, Ditch the adjacent card in the Resource Row and Ditch a card from the top of the Resource Stack. Refill the Resource Row afterward. Do this for each undefeated Zombie. All undefeated Zombies remain in the Zombie Row.

Ending your Turn

• After you are done playing cards from your hand, using Repeat abilities, and combating Zombies, place any remaining cards in your hand and any cards you played this turn into your discard pile. Note: Locations and Humans occupying Locations will remain in play.
• Draw 5 cards to replenish your hand. If you run out of cards and need to draw more, simply shuffle the discard pile and turn it face down to reform your deck. Play then resumes with the opposing player (ally).
• If no Zombies were defeated from the Resource Row during your turn, Ditch a card from the top of the Resource Stack for each player.

Game Ends

• Players win when a player gains the Center for Disease Control (CDC) card.
• Players lose when there are no cards left in the Resource Stack.

Special Conditions

Repeat

• If a card has Repeat prior to an ability, this means each turn that card resolves its ability including the turn its played (if possible).
• Note that all card abilities are still limited to once per turn but the active player decides when to resolve a Repeat ability during their turn. Typically Zombie Repeat abilities should be resolved at the beginning of the turn.

Zombie Immunities

• Some Zombies have immunities to certain Card Types and Card Factions.
• "Immunity" means "a Card Type, Card Faction or even a specific card title is ineffective and deals no damage". Note: If a Zombie is “Immune to Survivors”, this includes Survivors and Adept Survivors.
• When adding up your total accumulated damage, simply don’t apply any damage from a card that shares a Card Type or Card Faction with a Zombie Immunity.

Center for Disease Control (CDC)

• When Revealed from the Zombie Stack, replace with the card in the adjacent Resource Row space and Ditch the remaining card.
• CDC remains in the Resource Row until acquired. Once a Zombie adjacent to this card is defeated, the game ends.
• Abilities, After Combat effects and all rules that would remove this card from play are ineffective and ignored.

Game Play Variations

For a more difficult game

• On a turn when the active player does not defeat any Zombies, increase the number of cards Ditched from the top of the Resource Stack to 2 or 3.
• On a turn when the active player does not defeat an attacking Zombie, Ditch cards from the top of the Resource Stack equal to half of the Zombie’s HP rounded up.

For a more competitive game

• When a player gains the Center for Disease Control card and the game ends, both players then add up the number of Humans in their individual decks. The player with the most wins.
• In the case of a tie, both players then add up the number of Infection in their individual decks. The player with the least wins.
• In the rare instance of a third tie, the player with the Center for Disease Control card wins.

For an easy game

• On a turn when the active player does not defeat any Zombies, do not Ditch any cards from the Resource Stack.
• On a turn when the active player does not defeat an attacking Zombie, do not Ditch any cards from the Resource Row or the Resource Stack.

For an easier game

• The same rules apply for an easy game mentioned above
• Additionally remove all Event cards from the Zombie Stack. This will remove all aspects of attacking Zombies and Call for Help scenarios.

For the easiest game

• The same rules apply for an easier game mentioned above
• Additionally ignore all After Combat abilities from Zombies.
• If the Resource Stack ever runs out of cards, remove all Zombies from the Ditch Pile and shuffle the remaining cards to reform the Resource Stack. This will prevent the game from ending thus preventing players from losing.

Troubleshooting and/or strategy tips (if any)

• You are not required to play every card in your hand. There may be cases that it is actually more beneficial to keep a card in your hand.