Hmmm… I’m not sure where that name came from…
From Dawn of the Zeds designer, Hermann Lutmann:
Well, the newly re-titled first expansion to Dawn of the Zeds is shuffling along at a gingerly pace (which can be quite fast for zombies, actually) and is currently occupying the front-burner of my game design kitchen table.
I introduced you in the last VPG column to the new Super Zeds (sorry, I just gag a little when I think of them) who make their terrifying appearance in The Walking Zeds. Now, I’d like to briefly explain the new fifth track of death … I mean, fifth track of opportunity – the Tunnel Track.
Underneath beautiful Farmingdale is a labyrinth of tunnels, caves and chambers. How they go there and why they exist is for you to find out. Suffice it to say, this is another avenue to your destruction, but can also provide some unique and powerful opportunities. The Tunnel Track is located on a rectangular mat placed adjacent to the main game board. It has seven spaces (like the other tracks) that lead to the Laboratory basement and a Zed unit that makes it into that basement will lose the game for you.
How do you get into the tunnel? Well, three entrances are known: the Mine, the Laboratory and the University. In addition to these three entrances, two secret entrances can be discovered through Event and Fate cards, and these can appear almost anywhere. Each entrance leads to a different numbered space on the Tunnel Track. Zeds can wander into the tunnel by accident (except for the Super Zeds who want to go there) and only Green Diamond and Blue Spiral player units can, themselves, go into the catacombs (that’s right, those mysterious symbols on the Hero cards have a purpose!).
In addition to those eligible units, you will have two new Green Diamond Security Guard Civilian units – one that begins deployed underground and the other that shows up if they decide to come back from their lunch break. “Hey, Hermann,” you ask, “how the heck are units going to move on the Tunnel Track with the current crop of Event Cards?”
Aha! Each of the 12 new Event cards will have a “T”number on them and this T number regulates Zed movement on the Tunnel Track. However, since the tunnels are extremely serpentine and confusing, movement down there is problematic for the Zeds. Player units can move normally (remembering that only qualified units are even allowed there), but for the Zeds it’s a little more exciting. Without going into all the details, Zed units can end up in almost any space in the tunnels as they get lost in the maze or luckily stumble through the right door. They can even end up leaving the Tunnel Track and emerging back onto the main map through one of the entrances!
Another interesting aspect of the Tunnel Track is that it is also the home of the Chromotechnics Lab and Dr. Marteuse‘s Office. Both these spaces can have a significant effect on gameplay – especially if the good doctor is “in.” Deep dark secrets in that labyrinth can provide insights into what the heck is going on now – and what might happen in the next chapter of our Zeds story. You may even find out how Pickles got his name and why is Noelle “Hell” Razer is so angry.
All this and more is to be revealed in The Walking Zeds.
