Area Z

You drop into the red zone. You're immediately surrounded by enemies. Are they human or something else? It doesn't matter. You've brought along enough firepower to secure this area... once and for all.

Take control of a faction of humans battling in an apocalyptic landscape — one overrun with zombies. Can you fend off your opponent's forces while avoiding the roaming hordes of undead? You better hope so, or you'll be just another casualty of Area Z.

If you can’t get enough of area control games with clever action selection, you won’t want to miss this little gem. Playing 2-3 players, you’re not only vying for control of areas of the map against your foes, but you are also fending off masses of zombies who will pick you off if left unchecked. Each card has two sides, and every card will be used twice per round (one on each side) before moving to the zombie phase - and the order in which the cards get used will determine how the zombies react and interact on the map.

—description from the publisher


This 9-card game published by Button Shy pits you and one or two other players in an area control game against each other... and zombies. Lay out the three map cards in any formation, choose one of the three colors and begin play!

Play consists of three rounds with each including a Survivor Phase, Zombie Phase, and Scoring Phase. Players select an action card for their team, then the zombies act according to the back side of the selected cards, and then area control points are divvied. Players also gain points for killing zombies.


Released in the April 2019 Board Game of the Month Club $10+ package.