Zombicide: Black Plague

Edition, players, and objective: This entry covers the 1–6 player cooperative rules for the Zombicide: Black Plague base box, using the official base rulebook. Wulfsburg, Green Horde, expansion Survivors, extra missions, and cross-box combinations are excluded. Choose a Quest first and set up its tiles, doors, objectives, and spawn zones exactly as shown. Each mission determines the map and special conditions, so one mission’s evacuation point, number of objectives, or loss condition is not universal.

Round and Players’ Phase: A game round has a Players’ Phase, Zombies’ Phase, and End Phase. The player with the first-player token starts, activating their Survivors one at a time; players may choose the order in which their Survivors act. At Blue Danger Level, each Survivor normally has three actions. Skills may provide free or extra actions as the game progresses. After all players finish, zombies act; at the end of the round, remove Noise tokens and pass the first-player token to the player on the left.

Movement, searching, and doors: Survivors move between Zones that share an edge and cannot move diagonally. Rooms connect through openings, and moving between a building and the street requires a door or opening. To leave a Zone containing zombies, a Survivor spends one additional Move Action per zombie; entering a Zone with zombies ends that movement. Searching is normally allowed only in a building Zone with no zombies, and each Survivor may search only once per turn. Opening a door costs an action and may spawn zombies in the rooms of a previously closed building according to the Quest and spawn rules; an already open building does not repeat the first-open spawn.

Equipment, Noise, and action choices: Survivors have limited slots for hands, body equipment, and a backpack. Cards specify weapon type, range, dice, accuracy, and damage. Players can reorganize or trade equipment, attack, cast magic, activate Quest objects, or spend an action to make Noise. Noise affects zombie movement choices, while opening a new building can add pressure. With a limited action budget, the group must coordinate high-damage weapons, searching, and objective routes instead of judging safety only by the zombies currently in sight.

Zombies’ Phase and enemy types: Zombies activate and attack Survivors in their Zone. If they cannot attack, they move according to line of sight, Noise, and the rules for choosing a destination. Walkers, Fatties, Runners, Abominations, and Necromancers differ in actions and durability; Runners receive two actions each activation. Spawn cards add zombies at each active Spawn Zone, using the line for the highest Danger Level Survivor still in play. Extra Activation and Double Spawn cards can change the threat sharply.

Experience and Danger Levels: A Survivor gains experience for each zombie killed; a Quest objective or special enemy may also award experience. At 7 experience the Survivor reaches Yellow, at 19 Orange, and at 43 Red. Level-ups provide new skills, and Yellow adds an action. Spawn cards also use the highest Danger Level among Survivors still in play, so experience has a cost: as the team approaches stronger skills, cards generally call for more zombies. Resolve the actual skill text instead of guessing from its name.

Combat, hits, and friendly fire: Equipment determines how many dice to roll, the result needed for a hit, and damage per hit. Assign each successful ranged hit by priority: Walkers first; then the shooter chooses between Fatties and Abominations; then Runners; finally Necromancers. The player chooses among remaining targets in a shared priority tier as the rules allow. If a ranged or Magic Action targets a Zone with Survivors, misses can become friendly-fire hits; armor can cancel damage. Melee does not cause friendly fire. A Fatty normally requires two damage to kill and an Abomination three or a specified special effect.

Necromancers, wins, and losses: A Necromancer adds its own Spawn token and immediately spawns zombies; that Spawn Zone stays active. A Necromancer Zombie card may also give every other Necromancer on the board an extra activation. If it cannot attack a Survivor, a Necromancer moves toward the nearest other Spawn Zone to escape. The rulebook makes escape a loss once the board has six Spawn tokens. The team wins immediately when all objectives in the current Quest are complete. The team can lose if every Survivor is eliminated, a Necromancer escapes under the loss condition, or a mission-specific condition is triggered. Clearing every zombie is not the general victory requirement.