Stats:
No. of players: 1-8
Amount of time to play: 5-30 min
Age requirements: 11+
Set-up time: minimal

Zombie in My Pocket Rules Description:

In this semi-cooperative game you must find the cursed totem and bury it before midnight. Of course there are zombies (and possibly your friends) in the way. Can you save the world from the zombie apocalypse?

You start Zombie in My Pocket in the foyer of a house with some health and a flashlight. The player with the flashlight is the leader for the current turn. They determine if you will move, cower or use a room’s ability.

If you move you draw an event card and resolve the event. Usually this means dealing with zombies, but it might mean you find a cool item like a chainsaw, golf club or rake. If the event involves zombies then all players must decide whether they will fight or flee. If you fight you could die. You take damage based on the number of zombies attacking minus the group’s total fight score. The leader determines how damage is distributed but it must be as even as possible. If you run while others fight, you gain one health. If everyone flees you must leave the room and you all lose one health.

Cowering gets everyone health and although you flip an event card it is ignored. You can use room abilities that might find items or get you extra health. But this still causes an event. Each turn the leader card is passed to the left.

The game starts at 9 PM and each time you go through the event deck an hour has passed. If the clock strikes midnight you lose.

To win you must find the cursed totem in the house and then read the evil etching. Next get outside and find the graveyard where you must bury the totem.

Quick Review of Zombie in My Pocket:

One thing I really like about this game, is it allows up to eight players and scales pretty well. You definitely feel the tension of trying to survive, especially early in the game before you get any items.

The game plays pretty quickly. It is easy to teach and not too complicated. The components are durable, but the art is hit and miss.

Being eliminated kind of stinks but the game is not too long. So you should not have to wait too long if the group wants to play again.

There is not a ton of strategy and you’ll mostly have to deal with what the deck drops on you. But once you see what events are turned over you can react as you like. How exactly it plays will depend on your group. Will you discuss your intentions to fight or flee? Will everyone stick to the group consensus? As the leader will players only try to help themselves of the group?

The theme is pretty neutral for me, but if you like zombies and zombie-themed games you should try this one out. It can even be played solo.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 2 out of 6
Luck 5 out of 6
Player Interaction 4 out of 6
Replay Value 3 out of 6
Complexity 4 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6