Is "Last Night on Earth" any good?

Question

I received this board game for my birthday present and now is the point of no return - literally. Do I open it up and play, or take it back? Have any of you tried it, I know it's fairly new. It sounds a little like "Hero Quest", which is why it was purchased for me - but I want to make sure.

Answer 1

It's the best!

Answer 2

Best way to learn about something, and whether it's good or not, is to try it. I'd open it and check it out myself. There you go.

Answer 3

If you liked HeroQuest at all, there's a good chance you like 'Last Night on Earth' (or LNoE, for short).  If you like zombie movies or B-grade horror, there's a good chance you'll like LNoE.  I do not happen to be a fan of bad horror movies, at all, but I like fun adventure games, and I really enjoy this game.

The players are in two teams; one team controls the heroes, the poor townspeople trying desperately to survive in the face of the zombie horde.  The other team controls the zombies, attempting to eat the heroes.

The game features 5 different scenarios, each with slightly different goals; in one scenario, for example, the heroes are trying to find the gas and keys they need to get an old truck running to escape from town.  In another, they are trying to blow up the spawning pits that the zombies are coming from.

The rules are quite simple; the bulk of the interesting gameplay comes from cards drawn during play.  Zombies just get cards every turn, but heroes need to spend turns 'searching' to find their cards.  Hero cards contain a host of useful items, from chainsaws to shotguns to first aid kits and are vital to winning; but spending time searching gives the zombies a chance to close in.

The game plays will with anywhere from 2 to 6 people.  Its easy to learn and reasonably quick to play.

As a side note, the game recommends playing the 'Die Zombie, Die!' scenario with only the 'basic' decks of hero and zombie cards first.  While this is a very trimmed down way to play the game, I don't think it makes for all that great an experience.  I recommend either planning up front to play two games in a row; one intro and one with the full rules, or, if you have much game playing experience, just skill straight to the full rules.

You can find out more about the game on boardgamegeek at:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/29368

I wrote a few session reports about my experience with the game (I got it last Christmas).  They start here:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2687...

Happy gaming!