Barnes on Games- Zimby Mojo in Review

I added a link to the post as suggested. I didn't originally because I didn't think it was appropriate since I'm the publisher.

Thanks! My pre-order is now placed. And I can understand why you'd feel a bit odd about linking it, so here's my own link. deviousweasel.com/buy-zm/

How many promo cards are there?

edit- Also the whole reason I was befuddled at all was that I was originally reading your site on an iPad, and the 'buy zm' link is in a javascript menu that either didn't open up or I didn't tap on it at all. So the page simply appears as info about the game with no actual link to purchase. I would consider adding a link directly in the page content.

hotseatgames wrote: How many promo cards are there?

There are 10 playable promo cards. I'll post them on BGG in the next couple of days. I'll post here to let you know when that happens.

hotseatgames wrote: I would consider adding a link directly in the page content.

Great suggestion! I'll work on that as well.

Ordered my copy.
Looks like a game that will go over well with the sons and nephews this holiday season.

At risk of sounding like a shitheel, which isn't my intent, I'd really like to know how this is different than Dungeon Run.

In that game, players basically help(ish) one another to beat the big baddie, fighting through minions and whatnot, until a player does so, at which point he gains the super power that the big baddie had, and then he runs to the exit ASAP while the remaining players attack.

I get that each faction has a bunch of Zimbies rather than one avatar, which seems to be a main differentiator. Is there a gameplay video or something?

I love Dungeon Run (I may be one of five people on the planet that would say so, I suspect) so this is right up my alley, but I'd like some more detail.

Thx!

SuperflyTNT wrote: I'd really like to know how this is different than Dungeon Run.

I wish I could answer this, but I have never before heard of Dungeon Run. Perhaps Charlie or Michael can answer this question.

SuperflyTNT wrote: Is there a gameplay video or something?

The best I can offer at the moment is some animated PowerPoint videos posted on the Zimby Mojo page on BGG, in the videos section.

Pete, even though I haven't played Dungeon Run in a couple years, I can try to answer that.

There are certainly some similarities. In both Dungeon Run and Zimby Mojo, everyone is cooperating for the first act, and upon slaying the big bad it gets all heist-gone-greedy and everyone's out for themselves. Both contain lots of dice-chucking, both revel in the tension of the impending betrayal, and both offer plenty of ways to screw with allies and enemies alike.

Despite those similarities, however, they don't feel very alike at all. To me, there are two major differences:

1) In Dungeon Run, you're leveling up a single hero by gaining abilities and equipment. You know, traditional dungeon-diving stuff. In Zimby Mojo, you're in control of an entire tribe of cannibals, which means you can have a pack of guys cooperating with another shaman's cannibals — by stacking them together — while somewhere else you have a couple guys patrolling around some portals, and elsewhere you've transformed a couple cannibals into zombies, which are slower and dumber (so dumb that they might pursue your own people if you don't store some mojo to tell them off) but really tough to kill. Your guys also represent the bulk of your resources, so you're managing an entire tribe of guys as they chase down the king's crown, play defense, act as currency back at home, and do everything from casting spells, cannibalizing your other guys, and chanting to create bonuses. When every player has two to four groups running around, the map is bonkers.

2) In Zimby Mojo, the second act is way meatier. Most of my plays of Dungeon Run were at least 75% exploring, leveling up, and then beating the big bad, with the backstabbing conclusion usually playing out pretty briskly. Zimby Mojo, by contrast, was usually the other way around. Getting to the king, killing him off, and seeing someone pick up the crown is just the first step in what quickly becomes a bloody six-way game of rugby. It takes genuine trickery, brute force, a silver tongue, and a not-insignificant quantity of luck to make off with that crown.

There are other differences, but those are the main ones that spring to mind. For what it's worth, I enjoyed Dungeon Run well enough, but Zimby Mojo is one of the funniest games I've played in a very long time. I wrote up a review over on my site, but it seems tacky to post a link.

I read your review, enjoyed it.

Holy shit, Dan. That was one hell of a review.

SuperflyTNT wrote: Holy shit, Dan. That was one hell of a review.

Thanks, man. The funny thing about that review was that I was really happy with it, but the whole time I was writing I kept telling myself, "Remember to talk about the Bag o' Fate!" It's where you put a mixed-team stack of zimbies when you take wounds in order to randomly assign who gets killed. It's fun stuff, and gets the whole table leaning forward to see who's taking the fall for your latest ill-advised attack.

Then one week after I finished the review, I realized I'd forgotten to include anything about that dang bag.

xthexlo wrote: Yep -- that's it! Well, almost... The Lycanthrope font designer (Chad Savage) is a really cool guy. When I decided to use Lycanthrope for the title, I contacted Chad and asked if I could adjust the space between the letters and drop the "i" and "j" lower than they currently were and add a dot atop them. He gave his permission to modify the font as desired. And voila! The Zimby Mojo title!

(Oh yeah... that picture is actually an old mock-up. Check out the BGG page for the final box cover.)

Yeah if you've purchased the license for a font you can do whatever you want with it as long as you aren't modifying it and trying to sell it as your own font.

metalface13 wrote: Yeah if you've purchased the license for a font you can do whatever you want with it as long as you aren't modifying it and trying to sell it as your own font.

True. The sweet thing is that Chad lets you use his fonts for free.

Just got my ship notice. I should be checking out the solo mode on Saturday.

Me too!

They are shipping from Indy. Unless they are based there, this means that they are very literally keeping their word about shipping any unsold copies from GenCon, and with 2-day priority. While I'm delighted to get my copy so soon, I would have also been happy to hear that they sold out their first run at GenCon.