Last Night on Earth (game)

Lore & Background

The game was first published in 2006. Players set up a modular board using a double-sided center square and four randomly chosen L-shaped outer boards. Scenarios are chosen randomly or by vote, each with turn limits and winning conditions. The Hero team consists of up to four players controlling randomly chosen Hero characters, while up to two Zombie players control the undead. The Zombie team wins by killing four Heroes or causing the last Hero Deck card to be discarded; the Hero team wins by completing scenario objectives.

Gameplay alternates between Zombie and Hero turns. Zombies move up to one square per turn, ignoring building walls, and automatically engage adjacent Heroes. Combat uses dice rolls: Zombies roll one die (winning ties), Heroes roll two dice using the higher number; doubles kill a Zombie. Heroes can move, search, exchange items, and use ranged weapons. The Hero Deck contains Events and Items; the Zombie Deck contains Zombie Events. Each Hero can hold four Items, two of which can be Weapons.

Six supplements have been released for the base game, including expansions like Growing Hunger (2008), which introduced a modular 'Dots' system and new scenarios, and Survival of the Fittest (2010), which added Unique Items, Survival Tactics, and Grave Weapons. Timber Peak (2012) is a standalone expansion set in a logging town. Blood in the Forest (2013) introduced the Feral Dead and the Zombie Brute. Hero Packs and smaller supplements added new characters, scenarios, and mechanics such as Sacrifice and Pillage.

Reader's Guide

Last Night on Earth is significant as a survival horror board game that deliberately emulates the atmosphere of zombie films through its photographic art and original soundtrack. Its modular board and multiple scenarios provide replayability, while the team-based gameplay (Heroes vs. Zombies) offers asymmetric strategy. The game's seven supplements expanded its mechanics and content, introducing systems like the modular 'Dots' system, which allowed integration of new rules across scenarios. The game's legacy lies in its successful fusion of horror movie tropes with board game mechanics, influencing later zombie-themed games. It remains a notable entry in the survival horror board game genre, with expansions that added depth through new characters, weapons, and zombie types, such as Plague Carriers and Zombie Champions. The game's design, including the use of photographic art and a CD soundtrack, set it apart from many contemporary board games.

Did You Know?

• The game includes a CD soundtrack of original music to achieve a horror movie feel.
• All art for the game is photographic, borrowing from horror film stereotypes and zombie film plots.
• The Growing Hunger expansion introduced a modular 'Dots' system to incorporate different rules into any existing scenario.
• Survival of the Fittest (2010) introduced the Zombie Behemoth, while Blood in the Forest (2013) introduced the Feral Dead and the Zombie Brute.