Stats:
No. of players: 1
Amount of time to play: 20-30 min
Age requirements: 12+
Set-up time: 5 min

Zulus on the Ramparts! is a solitaire game from the States of Siege series. You must defend Mission Station at all cost.

Zulus on the Ramparts Second Edition Description:

Zulus on the Ramparts simulates the battle at Rorke’s Drift. The British defended against 4,000 Zulu warriors with just 140 troops.

Each turn you draw a chit for the Zulu armies. Many of these chits advance the Zulu armies. Other chits set buildings on fire, allow the Zulus to recover or cause your rifles to overheat.

After resolving the Zulus’ action you may take yours. You may do one of the following actions, place a hero on the tableau, form a reserve platoon, construct a barricade, fight a fire, distribute ammo or fire a volley. Most of these actions require you to commit a hero from your tableau to the task and help you to enhance your defense. But you also have volley cards in your deck that allow you to shoot oncoming Zulus.

When firing a volley you roll a dice according to the volley card you play and the range of your target. On a five the unit retreats one space. On a six you have hit the unit and they lose one health marker. If it is their last they are eliminated.

Next you draw a card. And then you may place a hero from your hand onto the tableau for free. At this point if you have more than five cards you must discard down to five and the next turn begins.

You win if you eliminate all the Zulu units or survive until reinforcements arrive. Surviving is considered a win but you must calculate VPs to see just how successful your game was.

Quick Review of Zulus on the Ramparts Second Edition:

Zulus on the Ramparts is a fun, solitaire game that plays fast. Your decisions are meaningful and this game is tense.

The components for the 2nd Edition are very nice. The artwork, chits and standees all look great. Like the other Victory Point Games in the Gold Box Series you do need to clean the laser cut pieces. And though this is annoying while you do it, it is over quickly and a mere memory once you start to play the game. The rules are thick, thorough and might be a bit intimating. You might need to read them a couple times to get the gist of the game and reference them the first few times you play.

This game is great for trips when you have no one to game with. It is highly portable and plays in a half hour or less. The design and theme immerse you in the narrative it writes.

The expansion is included in this edition. The added content helps add to the replay value of this game. You can add different items from the expansion to adjust the game’s difficulty to your liking.

If you enjoy solitaire board games, you should pick up Zulus on the Ramparts. Or if you have been thinking of adding a solitaire game to your collection this is a good one. Especially if you want something to play on solo trips in the hotel. It is very portable and fun.

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