The Walking Dead

MEGAforce tried Mantic Game's 'The Walking Dead' miniatures game recently. As there were only three of us, and it's been a very long time since any of us tried it (back in 2016, during the beta testing), T'Other One graciously offered to act as referee for Grim and myself.

We played through the intro game. Rick and Carl were facing off against Derek, Sandra and Patrick in an attempt to scavenge as many supplies as possible, while avoiding the Walkers, of course.

Starting positions; it's quiet, but there's a Walker near every potential supply point (the round tokens).

As the game progresses, Derek's mob have cleared out most of the supplies, though these included a lurker, a booby trap and an empty cardboard box. Meanwhile, Rick and Carl have only managed to find an old gun and some bandages, and at the cost of Rick being bitten.

Rick and Carl head towards the opposition. If they can't find supplies themselves, perhaps they can take them from Derek and Co?

They attempt to gang up on Patrick and draw more Walkers on to Derek and Sandra in the commotion.

However, despite using the bandages he found earlier, Rick succumbs to the bite.

As the tension rises, Patrick loses his nerve, but in his panic he goes berserk.

Carl doesn't last long on his own against Sandra and Patrick, though he probably gained some satisfaction from seeing Derek ripped apart by Walkers.

Rick regains his feet, but there's a clumsiness to his movements, and an unholy hunger in his eyes. With Patrick already feverish from a bite he took earlier, Sandra had better get out quick.

Aftermath

That was a fun game. I didn't do well with Rick and Carl, holding just two supply tokens, and, well, just actually losing both my characters. Even Carl's Lucky Hat failed to save him from the opposition. Grim split his three to collect as many tokens as possible, Sneaking to avoid Walker notice. I ran in the first turn, which got both Rick and Carl stuck in protracted encounters with Walkers, which resulted in Rick's eventually fatal bite. Grim even played a 'car alarm' event to draw more in against them.

Final Thoughts

The game really gives the feel of the graphic novels (and TV series). Lots of sneaking around to avoid notice, and plenty of flavourful events. There's a mechanism for increasing tension throughout the game as well, with many event cards getting progressively nastier with the rising tension.

I think the only negative I'd say (apart from our lack of familiarity with the rules, which is bound to improve), is the nature of the scenarios. If they are all just scraps over supplies, they could get a bit samey. 

However, there are a whole series of story packs, introducing characters and situations from the comics, and I suspect that these will provide more interest. 

So thanks to T'Other One for generously stepping back and watching us play. I wonder how well the game would work with three or more players?