Welcome to the Mall of Horror!

Get ready for a gripping board game experience where survival is everything. In this game, you and your friends find yourselves stranded in a mall, surrounded by hordes of zombies. Your goal is simple but crucial – survive until the end.

Here’s how it works:

• Characters: Each player gets to choose a character to play as. Each character has their own unique abilities that you can use to your advantage in the game.
• Rooms: The mall is divided into different rooms. Each room has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. You’ll need to move strategically through the mall to stay safe.
• Zombies: The mall is overrun with zombies! Throughout the game, zombies will continuously invade the mall. You’ll need to fight them off and escape their clutches.
• Survival: The main objective of the game is to survive until the end. This means avoiding getting bitten by zombies and managing your resources wisely.
• Voting: At certain points in the game, you and your friends will need to vote on who gets kicked out of the group. Choose wisely, as this can affect your chances of survival.

Remember, in the Mall of Horror, every decision you make can mean the difference between life and death. Work together with your friends, but always be cautious – anyone could turn on you at any time. Stay alert, plan your moves carefully, and survive the onslaught of the undead.

Are you ready to face the Mall of Horror?

• 1 gameboard
• 5 closed markers
• 21 character tokens
• 30 zombie figures
• 6 voting wheels
• 4 dice
• 1 dice box
• 21 action cards
• 1 chief of security badge
• Rulebook

Setting It Up

Pick Your Characters

Meet the Chief of Security

Shut Down Locations

Position the Characters

Deploy the Zombies

Alright, here’s how the game works. The Chief rolls 4 dice and puts a zombie in front of each location that the dice show.

Voting

Now let’s talk about voting. Before we vote, each player gets a chance to play one or more cards. The Chief of Security starts, and each player can play as many cards as they want. We go around the table once.

During the voting, we use the Voting Wheel and everyone reveals their choices at the same time. You can only vote for characters at the location. And yes, you can vote for yourself.

If you have multiple characters in the same spot, you get that many votes. If your color gets chosen, you can pick from your characters who should be selected.

If there’s a tie, we’ll have a re-vote. Players without characters in the location can also vote, but only for characters who are tied.

Gunmen

Did you know that gunmen have an advantage in voting when they’re physically present? It’s true.

Danger Cards

When you’re playing the game, you have the option to get rid of any Threat cards you have before a vote. And the cool thing is, for each card you discard, you’ll get an extra vote. So the more cards you get rid of, the more power you have to sway the outcome. But remember, once you discard a card, you can’t play another one until after the second vote.

Let’s Negotiate!

During the game, you’re not allowed to show your cards or the dice to other players. But that doesn’t mean you can’t share information. You can tell other players what you got when rolling the dice, but keep in mind that you can also lie if it helps your negotiation strategy.

Another thing to keep in mind is that, except for when you’re searching the truck, you can’t give cards to other players. However, the player who gets to draw three action cards from the truck can use the one card they have to give away as part of their negotiation. So even though you can’t directly pass cards to someone, you can still use the cards you draw to your advantage.

It’s Game Time!

A. Let’s Search the Truck

When you’re at the Parking Lot (Location 4), it’s time to decide who gets to search the truck. Everyone in the Parking Lot gets to vote and choose who they think should do the searching.

Alright, folks, here’s the deal: we’ve reached a crucial moment in the game, and now it’s time to make a move. Take a look at the cards that are up for play:

When it’s time to determine the winner, I carefully study the top three Action cards. I have the option to keep one for myself and give another to any other player. The third card is then placed at the bottom of the deck.

If there happens to be a tie in the second vote, no cards are distributed. This phase is skipped if there are no cards left.

Now, let’s move on to the next step:

All the characters in the Security HQ, which is Location 5, gather to vote and decide who will serve as the Chief of Security for this round.

During this stage, certain card(s) can be played:

When there’s a tie in the second vote, no one becomes the Chief of Security, and the current Chief remains in power. The same happens when the Security Center becomes condemned.

If the Chief player is eliminated and dies, the next player in clockwise order becomes the new Chief.

C. Zombies Arrive

The Chief rolls four dice, keeping the result secret.

Only a Chief of Security who was elected this round (not including the initial Chief, the eldest player) can see the dice rolls for the zombie arrival. They cannot be viewed by anyone else.

Now, in clockwise order, all players (whether they have a character in the Security HQ or not) can use a Security Camera card to see the dice.

At this point, players can play the following card(s):

Step 1: Choose Your Destination

So, you’ve been elected as the Chief of Security for this round. That means you get to choose your destination first. Just let the other players know where you’re headed. But if you weren’t elected, don’t worry! All players will choose their destinations at the same time.

Now, here’s the catch: you can’t choose a closed location. However, you can choose a location that’s already full. Why would you do that? Well, you might want to head back to the parking spot, or maybe you’re hoping that someone else will leave that location before it’s your turn.

Oh, and one more thing. Each location has a limit on how many people it can hold. No pushing past those limits!

Step 2: Move Your Characters

It’s time to reveal the destinations! All players will do this at the same time.

As the Chief of Security, it’s up to you to place the zombies on the board based on the roll of the dice. But here’s a special rule: if the dice says to place the zombies at location 2 in a game with 3 or 4 players, or at any closed location, that die doesn’t count.

When a place becomes filled with 8 or more zombies, it is deemed unfit for living and marked as “Closed.” All zombies are removed from the location, and it remains sealed for the entire game.

However, the Parking Lot (Location 4) is an exception and can never be condemned.

The game begins with the Chief and proceeds in a clockwise direction. Each player takes turns moving their chosen character to their desired destination.

If a character is moved to a location that is already full, they must be redirected to the Parking Lot (Location 4). Although a player is required to move a character, they have the option of using a Sprint card to change the character’s destination, even allowing them to return to the location they just left.

Now, it’s time to consider which card(s) can be played:

F. Attack Of The Zombies

The undead. The walking dead. Zombies. They have become a fixture in popular culture, captivating us with their relentless pursuit and insatiable hunger for human flesh.

Zombies, for those who may not be familiar, are creatures that have been reanimated after death. They are often portrayed as mindless, slow-moving beings, driven solely by their desire to feed on the living. Movies, television shows, and books have all contributed to the mythos surrounding zombies, making them a prevalent force in entertainment.

But zombies aren’t just fictional characters. They serve as a powerful metaphor for the fears and anxieties that haunt us. The idea of the dead coming back to life strikes at the core of our deepest fears of mortality and the unknown. Zombies, in a way, represent the unstoppable force of death, a reminder of our own mortality.

However, the fascination with zombies isn’t limited to their thematic symbolism. There is something uniquely terrifying about the prospect of being pursued by an unrelenting horde of the undead. The slow, methodical approach of a zombie, combined with their sheer numbers, can create a sense of overwhelming dread. In this way, zombies tap into our primal fears of being hunted and overwhelmed.

The popularity of zombies has also given rise to an entire genre of entertainment: the zombie apocalypse. This post-apocalyptic setting, in which humanity is on the brink of extinction, has become a staple of movies, TV shows, and video games. The idea of surviving in a world overrun by zombies, where every decision could mean life or death, provides a thrilling and terrifying adrenaline rush.

So, why are we so captivated by zombies? Perhaps it’s because they represent a morbid curiosity about death and the afterlife. Maybe it’s the thrill of vicariously experiencing the adrenaline of a life-or-death struggle. Or perhaps it’s simply a way to explore our deepest fears in a safe and controlled environment.

Whatever the reason, there’s no denying the enduring popularity of zombies in popular culture. Whether we view them as a reflection of our own mortality or simply enjoy the adrenaline rush they provide, zombies continue to captivate and terrify us. So, the next time you find yourself watching a zombie movie or playing a zombie video game, take a moment to reflect on why these creatures have such a powerful hold on our imaginations.

Hey there! Let’s talk about a cool game rule. So, I’m gonna place an extra zombie on the location that has the most characters. And guess what? If a bunch of locations have the same number of characters, none of them get an extra zombie. Bummer, right?

Now, get this: we’re gonna resolve those Zombie attacks, starting from Location 1 and going all the way up to Location 6. It’s gonna be intense!

But hold on a second. If the number of zombies is the same as or more than the number of characters at a location, I gotta let those zombies in. I mean, they’re just too many!

If you have a character at the Tough Guy location, they count as two characters.

If at least one of your characters is at a location with zombies, everyone at that location will vote to decide which player loses a character to the zombies.

If there’s a tie in the second vote, a random color will be chosen, regardless of the number of characters each player has. For example, in a 2-player game, each color has a 50% chance of being chosen, while in a 3-player game, each color has a 33.3% chance.

In the Supermarket (Location 6), it only takes 4 zombies to enter, regardless of how many characters are there.

Before the vote, each player at this location can discard one or more Action cards to reduce the number of zombies. This can help prevent them from entering.

At this point, you can play the following card(s):

If zombies come into a place and munch on a character, they’re taken off the board at the end of the attack. If not, they hang around outside.

But there’s a special rule just for the parking lot. Even if the zombies haven’t eaten anyone, they leave at the end of the round. At Location 4, every single zombie gets a meal. A vote is taken for each zombie, one by one.

And after that, all the zombies are cleared out of the parking lot.

Now let’s talk about cards.

Here’s an image for you to check out:

Oh, and we’ve got something called hardware too. Pretty cool, right?

When I found this extra weapon, it gave me an edge against those relentless zombies. I couldn’t help but wonder, what if I could use it to hold off even more? It turns out, I discovered a loophole. You see, this amazing weapon can’t be used in the Parking Lot (Location 4), where I thought it would come in handy. But it did serve me well in the Supermarket (Location 6), where I managed to stop a horde of four or more zombies. That’s pretty impressive, don’t you think?

Tactic

In this game, I have the power to instantly eliminate either one or two zombies, depending on how many shadows are on the card. It’s a powerful ability that can quickly turn the tide of the game.

There’s a Catch

Whenever I play a card, it’s immediately removed from the game. It’s a one-time use, so I have to choose wisely when to play it.

But What If I Become a Zombie?

If, during the Attack phase, I lose all of my characters and don’t have any more to play, I become a Zombie. I can’t play any more cards, but I can still participate in group votes, like the second round of voting in a tie. Then, in the next round, I have a chance to come back as a Zombie. During the Choose Destinations phase, I can place a Zombie at any location of my choice.

The Game’s End

The game comes to an end in two ways. First, if all remaining characters are at the same location, except for the Parking Lot. Second, if there are only four characters left, regardless of their location. In a six-player game, it would take six characters to trigger this ending.

Hey, did you know the game actually ends when certain conditions are met? Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It’s not like it ends right away, but rather when the round is finished and one of these conditions is fulfilled. Neat, huh?

So, here’s the deal: the person with the most Victory Points at the end is declared the winner. Those Victory Points come from adding up the numbers on the character tokens that made it through the game. Simple, right?

Now, what happens when there’s a tie? Well, they break it by looking at the number of unused cards. Makes sense, you gotta make use of those cards to come out on top.