Dean Longo
United States
Bayville
New Jersey
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Okay. I just played my first 3 player game of Zombietown tonight and one situation came up where we needed clarification.
Here was the situation:
Player 2 was in a house and he had played a survivor on that house (except the survivor did not yet have a gun...since player 2 ran out of actions). Player 3 (feeling aggressive) then entered that house on his turn with his free move.
Per the instructions and the FAQ, Player 2 decides whether or not to attack Player 3 first...and if he does, Player 3 does not use an action for the combat (since the defense is a reaction).
So in our game, Player 2 (the owner of the house) attacked Player 3 and Player 3 won. Player 2 did not want to lose control of the house or for his survivor to die (since he had a gun for him) so he chose not to retreat (the rules state that the player "may" retreat one space).
The question became...what happened then? Player 3 wanted to search the cards in the house and to kill the survivor. Player 2 wanted to stop Player 3. So we played that Player 2 could continue to attack Player 3 (in defense of his house) since no one had retreated and that Player 3 did not use any actions for these battles since they were a defensive reaction.
What are everyone's thoughts on this?
Thanks!
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Brad "What do you mean "Double Skulls" again?!" Redfield
United Kingdom
Under a DVD Collection, Scarborough
North Yorkshire
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Hmmm... Not sure I ever found a rule that says defeated players move only one space away from a combat- only that if a player loses a fight he takes a wound and must be moved 3 spaces away (could be wrong though, I unfortunately don't have the rule book in hand).
For this kind of situation our gaming group would play as if the defeated player 2 had lost to a zombie -ie, he would lose a life (or sacrifices a survivor that is with him) and move three spaces away. This would leave the invading player 3 free to raid the house. As stated in the rules, if there is ever an enemy model in the same building as an un-armed survivor, that survivor is immediately killed and removed from the game (player 2 would also lose posession of the house too).
This means tough luck for player 2, but he should have been watching his neighbour more closely and shouldn't have put an unarmed survivor in a building! This is Zombietown after all, you must watch your opponents more then zombies if you want to win! We have someone who will (without doubt) always go postal on everyone at some point, running from house to house tearing down barricades and shooting surviviors and players alike. This is all in the spirit of the game and perfectly legal (in Zombietown anyway). The idea is to then charge back in in your turn and shoot the player back out again, or optionally go and get in one of his houses!  
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Todd Breitenstein
United States
Campbell County
Kentucky
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Hi Dean,
Not to be contradictory to the person who already answered (I appreciate the help.), but you played it exactly right. As the owner, you get to decide if you want to stay and defend your property or retreat. This does not count against the active player's actions for the turn.
Let me know if you have any more questions,
Todd
Twilight Creations, Inc.
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Dean Longo
United States
Bayville
New Jersey
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Great!!! Thank you for the help! I always love when official answers are given by game designers! That shows a great amount of support for the game.
Off to kill some more zombies....(but wait, they just...keep....coming.....!!!)
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Brad "What do you mean "Double Skulls" again?!" Redfield
United Kingdom
Under a DVD Collection, Scarborough
North Yorkshire
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Really!? Damn, I better go and have a look at the rules! Oh well, you can't get them all... Still seems a little over the top though. Making retreat optional in our game group will mean multiple players going out of the game each time we play because they stubbonly got killed refusing to retreat from a fight! There's enough back stabbing and stuff already without regular showdowns too!
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Bryan Guy
United Kingdom
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
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Hello.In response to the header question,further rounds of combat would be fought until one player took damage,after which there does seem to be some confusion. While it is of course great to have the designer of the game give a definite answer on this subject,i'm afraid it still is none too clear to me.The rules DO state that either player may choose to retreat one space after any round of combat,but the example on the back page shows a player taking one damage after losing a shootout and then being forced to retreat 3 squares,which seems to contradict this.Players are explicitly required to take one damage(or sacrifice a 'survivor') when losing a fight with a zombie,giving them the chance to get the hell out of Dodge;it would seem logical that they would move 3 spaces away from a pistol-toting former buddy gone loco.As combat only ends with one combatant or the other being hurt and losing a life the distance you can move afterwards could have a major impact on your survivability (particularly if you get stranded outside or you just attacked the person who is about to take their move next).I'm sorry it just doesn't seem clear to me,and as i am the postal player Brad referred to in his above post,it has suddenly become hyper-critical to my in-game lifespan!Love the game,by the way.
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Todd Breitenstein
United States
Campbell County
Kentucky
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Hi Bryan,
Thanks for the question. Actually the example doesn't contradict the rules at all. If you take damage (regardless of the source) you are forced to retreat three squares. If, while in combat, you choose to retreat, you only move one space.
Let me know if you have any further questions,
Todd
Twilight Creations, Inc.
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Bryan Guy
United Kingdom
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
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Thank you for your reply.Nice to get an answer straight from the horses mouth!The confusion stems from the fact that if both players choose to fight,a combat card is drawn,but if it is tied another card is drawn until there is a clear winner,thus causing one player or another to take damage.Does this mean that one player can disengage and retreat one square before a redraw?Otherwise,a player could only retreat if someone entered his or her house wanting to fight and its occupant was unwilling to defend it?I'm sure it's just me not getting my head round it,but my gaming group likes this game and we play it a lot.And i am very aggressive(in game)!The ability to back out of a fight one square only is of limited use in my view (in fact it's a liability in most cases) but it's a question that crops up regularly in our sessions.
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Todd Breitenstein
United States
Campbell County
Kentucky
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Hey Bryan,
I see the problem. You can only retreat BEFORE you actively engage in combat. Once combat has begun, it must continue until one player is damaged. Retreat during combat is not an option.
I hope that clears it up for you.
Todd
Twilight Creations, Inc.
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Bryan Guy
United Kingdom
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
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Phew.Yes,thank you,that would seem to be it.The rules imply that you can retreat BETWEEN rounds of combat,and this is where our confusion stems from.Very grateful for your time and patience.
Now...to war!
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Mark Mitchell
United States
California
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It seems Todd's answers contradict the basic rules and the answers given by Kerry on the Zombie Town Yahoo Group. The basic rules don't say a player must retreat 3 spaces whenever he takes damage (for instance, no mention that a player must retreat if he takes damage from a barricade trap?). The basic rules say a player can retreat 1 space AFTER a round of combat, not before. Since every round of player vs player combat can only end with a player taking damage, the option to retreat 1 space after combat can only occur if the injured player is not required to retreat 3 spaces. The rules do imply that the 3 space retreat only applies if a player looses a combat to a zombie, or is unarmed and attacked by another player or a survivor. On the Yahoo Group, Kerry said:
Question-When initiating a combat with a zombie (one
action), the rules say you can fire multiple times (if you can/want),
all as part of one action. Cool. What about when fighting another
player? Is each subsequent shot an Action, or can you basically go in
with two loaded guns and muscle someone out after several shots on one
action?
>
KERRY-You are not required to move away from combat if you take a damage like you do in combat with a zombie. We actually made this change because we had some playtesters abusing the rule to get free movements.
Question-Focusing on player vrs player, if a player charges into a house and attacks another player, we were playing they kept drawing cards to find out who injures who (redrawing in the case of a draw). Between each injury each player was offered the choice of retreating one square to end the conflict. Is this right, or should an injury from a player cause you to move three squares away as well ? It seems to me the only time player v player combat causes the 3 square retreat is when the defender was unarmed.
KERRY-You're right. They don't automatically retreat after a damage in player vs player combat.
OK, I played my first game last night, and followed the answers given on the Yahoo Group. Am I misinterpeting Kerry's answers, or Todd's anawers, or both?
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Bryan Guy
United Kingdom
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
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Hmmm.No,you're right the rules don't say you must retreat 3 spaces every time you take damage.Trouble is,the way i read them,it does seem to imply that.
It's quite frustrating that the combat rules are vague and contradictary,given that combat plays a major part in the core heart of the game.
I guess the only solution is to agree amongst your own group which ruling to implement,as suits your style,and just run with it.After all you paid for the game,it's yours.
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Mark Mitchell
United States
California
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I thought the rules were fairly clear, and Kerry's answer on the Yahoo Group seemed very clear. But, now, I'm not so sure. The game seemed to work quite well using the Yahoo answers. I think I'll stick with those.
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Mark Mitchell
United States
California
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I took my own advice and follow the FAQ. The only thing we do differently from the FAQ is that we do not allow players accompanied by a survivor to initiate combat with the survivor. That seems too easy and would change the focus of the game to combat with survivors, instead of players fighting for survival.
We are very comfortable with the rules, and really enjoy the game.
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suPUR DUEper
United States
Villa Hills
Kentucky
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The rules to this game are not very well written and could use a serious overhaul. This is very unfortunate. I have tried this game on a couple of occasions. We had to refer to the rules so often that it really slowed the game down. By the end, most players were annoyed with the tedium so much so that they are unlikely to play again.
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Posted Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:10 am
