Dawn of the Zeds (Third Edition)
- Players
- 1-5
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 1 player
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 120 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 14+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 3.8 / 5
- Year
- 2016
About the game
Dawn of the Zeds drops you into the besieged town of Farmingdale, where an unexplained plague is turning ordinary citizens into ravenous Zeds. Playing solo or cooperatively with up to five, you coordinate militia, heroes, and scarce resources to hold back the horde while racing to find a cure. Built on designer Hermann Luttmann's card-driven States of Siege engine, the game escalates pressure round after round as the zombie tide creeps closer to town. Dice-driven combat and a deck of event cards keep every campaign attempt tense and different. It's a lean, thematic survival-horror wargame built for repeated solo sessions.
Hobbli's Notes
This is exactly the kind of tight, card-driven solo wargame we love recommending to players who want tension without a huge table footprint. The States of Siege system does a lot with a little, and the zombie theme gives it an extra layer of dread missing from some of Luttmann's other historical titles. It rewards careful resource triage more than raw luck, which keeps repeat plays feeling earned rather than random. Just know going in that this is a wargame at heart, not a story-driven adventure.
What we like
- Plays great as a true solo experience.
- Card-driven States of Siege system creates mounting tension every round.
- Scales smoothly from one player up to five.
- Strong zombie-survival theme woven into every mechanic.
- High replayability thanks to randomized event decks.
Keep in mind
- Rules and combat tables take real effort to learn.
- Long playtime for a game with this footprint.
- Wargame presentation may feel dry to non-wargamers.
Who it's for
Best suited to solo gamers and small groups who enjoy tense, card-driven survival wargames and don't mind a fair amount of rules overhead.
