Zombies vs Cheerleaders

Zombies vs Cheerleaders Rulebook

Table of Contents

Aim of the Game

One player leads the cheerleading squad into battle and he can win by destroying all the zombies.

The other player controls the zombie horde and he can win if one of their zombies eats a cheerleader (that is if they can place a zombie card on top of a knocked-out cheerleader).

Principle of the Game

On their turn, players will have three actions to move their cards, attack, and/or play a special action.

Components

30 zombie cards
6 zombie Boss cards
6 cheerleader cards
12 barricades cards
26 Energy tokens
1 card to flip the zombie cards over
6 teacher tokens. On each token put a sticker 1 on one side and a sticker 2 on the other.
4 Marker cards
1 Prom Queen card
2 player aids

Zombie cards show a Strength, a Stamina and a special ability. Cheerleader cards show Energy, Strength and a special ability. Barricade and Boss cards have a special action (for use by the Cheerleaders player for Boss cards, by the Zombies player for barricade cards).

3 Game Modes

You can choose your game duration by selecting one of the 3 following modes:

Friendly slaughter (15 min, for beginners): game played on 4 columns with unmarked cards.
Student council (20-25 min): game played on 5 columns with unmarked cards and those with a V marking.
The Prom (35 min, for experts): game on 6 columns with all of the cards (those with a VI marking included).

Game Setup

The Cheerleaders player shuffles the barricade cards and places them in a row in front of themself, face down (light side up) in piles of two cards (depending on the chosen game mode, this will create between 4 and 6 piles).
The Cheerleaders player will then place the Cheerleader cards face up behind the barricades piles. This placement is not done randomly, as the Cheerleader player chooses which card goes where. A number of Energy tokens corresponding to the energy value written on the card (blue circle) is placed on each cheerleader.
The Zombies player leaves one empty row in front of the barricade cards and creates columns of 6 zombie cards in front of each cheerleader. The player chooses how the cards are placed but does not reveal the cards to the Cheerleaders player. All zombie cards are placed face down.
The 4 marker cards are placed as depicted in the setup image: Marker 1 (top row marker), Marker 2 - Zombies discard pile (except Zombie Boss), Marker 3 - Zombies Boss discard pile, Marker 4 - Barricades discard pile.

A space is the position a card occupies on the table (it is an intersection between a row and a column). Columns are defined by the cheerleaders cards and rows by the marker cards as shown on the image.

Flow of the Game

The zombies start the game. Each player has 3 actions on a turn.

For one action, the Zombies player can:

Advance an entire column or row
Attack
Play a special action (from a barricade card)

Play then continues to the Cheerleaders player. For one action that player can:

Swap the positions of two cheerleaders
Move part or an entire pile of barricade cards
Shoot
Use Clover's or Sandy's ability
Play a special action (from a boss card)

Play then goes back to the Zombies player and so on.

Detailed Description of the Zombie Actions

1. Advance an entire column or row closer to the cheerleaders

Barricades and active cheerleaders prevent zombies from advancing. However, a knocked-out cheerleader (red face up) is vulnerable. If a zombie moves on top, the Cheerleaders player has lost the game.

As the zombies move, empty spaces that might exist between cards must be kept.

If not all zombies from a row or a column can move (because they are blocked by other zombies, by a cheerleader or by a barricade), only those that can are moved.

A row or a column can be moved several times during the same turn.

Revealing a zombie: zombies start the game face down. When a zombie is revealed, it stays revealed until the end of the game. Revealing a zombie does not count as an action. The Zombies player can do it at any time for free.

Special case: If no zombies in any column can advance any further, the Zombies player can for one action move a zombie horizontally from one column to another adjacent column, keeping the zombie in the same row.

2. Attack a barricade or a cheerleader

In order to be able to attack, a zombie must be revealed (see above). Each zombie has a Strength characteristic that represents the number of hits it can deal.

A zombie can attack a barricade or a cheerleader located in front of it (that is on a space adjacent to its own, in the same column).

Important:

A zombie cannot attack if it moved during the same turn. If a zombie has attacked, zombies on the same line or column as him will be moved without him. If a zombie is moved (even with a special action) he cannot attack.
A zombie cannot attack more than once per turn.

Attacking a barricade: each hit damages the barricade. If it is intact, the barricade becomes damaged and the card is flipped over to its other side. If it is already damaged (already flipped over), it is destroyed and discarded.

Some barricades, when flipped over show a special action. When such a barricade is destroyed, the Zombies player can keep the card and will be able to use that special action later on during the game.

Example: A zombie with a Strength of 2 attacks a pile of barricade cards made of a damaged barricade card placed on top of an intact barricade card. The damaged barricade is destroyed (by the first Strength point) and the intact barricade becomes damaged (by the second Strength point).

Attacking a cheerleader: each hit decreases the Energy of the cheerleader. Remove as many energy tokens as the Strength of the attacking zombie. If the Strength of the zombie is higher than the number of energy tokens the cheerleader has on her card, she is knocked-out and her card is flipped over to the red side.

Example: A zombie with a Strength of 2 attacks a cheerleader located in front of him. The cheerleader must lose 2 Energy tokens. Since she has 3 tokens left, she does not get knocked-out and her card stays on the same side.

3. Play a special action

Some barricade cards provide a special action when they are destroyed. By spending one action the Zombies player can use such a special action. The barricade card is then discarded.

Special Actions from the Barricades

Sniper: Perform a ranged attack of Strength 2 on a barricade with a baseball player.
Ziiiiip: Advance a whole column as close as possible to a barricade or a cheerleader.
Fresh meat: Choose a column. Revealed zombie cards, except injured teachers (with a strength of 1) are turned face down again. You can then reorganize the cards of that column freely. This does not count as a movement.
Classes begin: Move each column up to 2 spaces forward, when it is possible.
Return of the Zombies 3: Shuffle all discarded Zombies except the bosses and draw three of them. Place each one of them behind the last zombie card of a different column.
Return of the Zombies 4: Shuffle all discarded Zombies except the bosses and draw four of them. Place them behind the last zombie card of a column of your choice.
Prom Queen: Take the Prom Queen card and place it on any free space behind a zombie. The Prom Queen is a special zombie. It is invincible as long as the other bosses have not been defeated. When all 6 of them have been discarded, the Prom Queen's Stamina drops to 1.

The Zombies

Each Zombie has two characteristics: its Strength and its Stamina as well as a special ability.

The football player (Strength 1, Stamina 1): When this card gets revealed, it automatically advances until it meets an obstacle (another zombie, a barricade or a cheerleader). This free move prevents it from attacking in the same turn.
The baseball player (Strength 1, Stamina 1): The baseball player can perform a ranged attack on the barricade of its column (this ranged attack does not work on cheerleaders). In case of a normal (melee) attack, it can target either a barricade or a cheerleader.
The nerds (Strength 1, Stamina 1): The nerds can climb on barricades. When they are moved, their card can be placed on top of a barricade pile located in front of them. In the next round, they will be able to attack the cheerleader located in front of them. When the nerds are on a barricade pile, that pile cannot be moved or repaired.
The teacher (Strength 2 then 1, Stamina 0): When a teacher is revealed, place a Teacher token on side 2 on its Strength icon. The first time this zombie is hit, it is not killed but its Strength drops down to 1 (flip the token). If it is hit a second time, it is destroyed. If it is targeted by a skull attack, it is destroyed regardless of its Strength.
The bass drum player (Strength 1, Stamina 0): What a useless zombie! When it is killed, the Cheerleaders player can keep the card and play it for free immediately or later during the game to gain an additional 2 actions.
The lunch lady (Strength 3, Stamina 1): The lunch lady can attack only once. After its attack it is automatically destroyed.

The Boss Zombies

Bosses don't have any special ability, but they are strong and tough. There are six of them: the coach, the nurse, the security guard, the principal, the janitor and the teacher's pet. Cheerleaders will try to kill them in order to benefit from their special action.

Detailed Description of the Cheerleaders Actions

1. Swap the positions of two cheerleaders

The two cheerleaders do not have to be adjacent. As a cheerleader is moved, she keeps the Energy tokens that were on her card. A knocked-out cheerleader can still be moved.

Example: The Cheerleaders player swaps Samantha, who is knocked-out and under direct threat from a zombie, with Gloria who still has Energy tokens to avoid losing the game.

2. Move a barricade

Move all or part of a barricade pile either on a free space of the barricades row, or on top of an existing barricade pile. If you decide to move only part of a pile, only the top card can be moved. A damaged barricade stays damaged when moved. A barricade can be made of more than two cards.

3. Shoot

A cheerleader can attack any zombie located in the same column as hers.

If the targeted zombie is not already revealed, flip it face up.

To perform an attack, a cheerleader has to spend an Energy token. A cheerleader who has spent all her energy cannot attack anymore.

Each cheerleader has a Strength characteristic (except for Samantha who cannot attack). This characteristic is represented either by a number or by a skull. A skull means that the targeted zombie is killed, regardless of its Stamina.

If the Strength is represented by a number, it must be strictly higher than the targeted zombie's Stamina to kill it. If it is not, the zombie stays where it is, face up.

Example: Clover has a Strength of 2. Then she can eliminate a Football player (Stamina of 1) but not a Zombie Boss (Stamina of 2).

If a Boss Zombie is killed, the Cheerleaders player can keep the card and use its special action later on during the game.

4. Use Clover's or Sandy's ability

Clover's slingshot can be recharged and Sandy can sacrifice herself in order to kill the zombie in front of her (see the cheerleaders below).

5. Play a special action

When Boss Zombies are killed, they provide a special action. By spending one action the Cheerleaders player can use the special action. The card is then discarded.

Special Actions from the Boss Zombies

Cheerleaders will try to kill the Boss Zombies in order to benefit from their special action. Once a card has been used, it is discarded on the "Boss Discard" marker card.

The coach: Freely reorganize the cheerleaders and each of the barricade cards.
The nurse: One of the cheerleaders receives one Energy token (a knocked-out cheerleader cannot benefit from this special action).
The security guard: Look at 5 face down zombies and put them back where they were, face down.
The principal: Move back 3 columns or rows of zombies (i.e.: 3 columns, or 3 rows, or 2 columns and 1 row, and so on). The same column/row can be moved several times.
The janitor: You can spend 3 "barricade points". For one "barricade point" you can repair a damaged barricade (flip the barricade card back on its light side) or create a new damaged barricade taken from the discard.
The teacher's pet: Increases the Strength of a cheerleader by +1 for one attack.

The Cheerleaders

The Cheerleader cards show three characteristics: the cheerleader's starting Energy pool, her attack Strength and, when specified, her weapon's ability.

Gloria and her Molotov cocktails

The targeted zombie is killed and the four adjacent cards are revealed. The four adjacent zombies suffer the blast of the explosion and are hit by an attack equal to the Strength of the central zombie.

Example: A Boss is killed at the center of the explosion. The blast generates an attack of 2 (the Strength of the Boss) on the four neighboring zombies: a football player and nerds are killed, a teacher is only hurt (its Strength drops down to 1) and another boss is unhurt.

Pam and her flaming hair spray

Unlike other cheerleaders, Pam does not target a specific zombie but fires in a straight line in front of her. The first zombie she hits suffers from an attack of Strength 3. The next zombie is then hit with an attack of 3 minus the Stamina of the previous zombie. The attack then continues to the next zombies for as long as the attack strength is higher than 0.

Example: The first zombie is the bass drum player. It is killed by the attack Strength of 3. The second card in the column is then also hit by an attack of Strength 3 (3-0). Since it is a Boss with a Stamina of 2, it is killed. The third zombie in the column is hit with an attack of Strength 1 (3-2). Since it is a football player, it is not killed but simply revealed (and advanced!)

Clover and her slingshot

Clover has only one Energy token but she can use an action to get it back.

Vanessa and her razor-blades-frisbee

The frisbee can kill a zombie with only one hit.

Samantha and her barricades

Samantha cannot attack, but she has 7 Energy tokens that will help her sustain a lot of attacks!

Sandy and her acid-filled test tubes

At any time, even if she has run out of energy, Sandy can sacrifice herself (she becomes knocked-out and her card is flipped on the red side) to kill the zombie located on the space in front of her. This requires an action.

End of the Game

The Cheerleaders player wins immediately if all the zombies are destroyed. The Zombies player wins immediately if one zombie is moved on top of a knocked-out cheerleader.

If Clover is KO and no other cheerleader has Energy tokens, the Cheerleaders player cannot attack anymore and the Zombies player wins the game.