Playing Zombie RV at Wargames Among the Warplanes

    My survivor Hank is mugged by three zombies in a back alley in a game of 'Zombie RV'

One of my friends on the Lead Adventure Forum, Bill from Dice, Doubloons & Random Musings, regularly attends an upstate New York show called Wargames Among the Warplanes. It is put on by a local group of miniature gamers at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY. I told him that I really wanted to make it up there for one of the shows. I enthusiastically support efforts to get our miniature wargaming hobby in front of the public at historical sites. I mentioned it to Jenny, and we decided to combine the show with a long weekend of hiking in the Finger Lakes region.

    Bill assists Jenny as he runs back-to-back sessions of Zombie RV on his amazing tabletop

We arrived early and met the show's main organizer, Boe, who'd requested that I bring him a copy of Surviving 'Nam (and autograph it for him...ha, ha). We looked around for about 45 minutes and then wandered over to where Bill was setting up his game of Zombie RV. I remarked that I hadn't played it in a l-o-n-g time (ever since I stopped running it for the Sunday Night Gaming group because...well, if you know, you know...ha, ha!). Jenny and I had signed up for it when we arrived, along with one other attendee. Bill gave us each two survivors (exactly how I would run it at conventions), and had us each start in our own corner of the 2'x2' board. It was supposed to be cooperative -- no survivors shooting each other -- but other than that, it was every survivor group for itself!

    Bill makes cards for his survivor characters, too, with a large picture of the figure on the back

I decided to have my two survivors, Big George and Hank, stick together and make sure they didn't get separated and overwhelmed individually by zombies. We sprinted over to the Pawn Shop, first. Big George opened the door and immediately found some useful supplies. Hank covered the rear to ensure no zombies were sneaking up on them. They moved to the shop's back door, forced it open, and were in a small back alley which had three buildings (with back doors) adjacent. Big George moved quickly (for his bulk) to the next shop, and was able to force open the back door. Once again, he found the supplies rather quickly and was ready to move on to the next location. Unfortunately, he heard Hank calling that they had company and to hurry up!

    Street level view of Bill's awesome setup: quiet now, but the zombies will show up soon!

Bill uses a similar zombie spawning method that I do. Each turn, there is a chance they will spawn on a random board edge instead of the central dumpster fire (a very cool Bad Goblin Games scatter terrain piece!). Wouldn't you know it, but three zombies showed up right in our back alley courtyard! Another was following Big George from the shop, and another group was closing in from a different alley way. My survivors decided to attack the two zombies blocking their way back to the Pawn Shop's back door. The plan was to hurry through that back to their card and skedaddle. Now, in Zombie RV, the odds are heavily weighted in favor of the survivors. On a 5-6 on 1d6, Hank and his friend would splatter the zombie they were in melee with. On a 4, they'd push it back 2d3 inches. In return, they could be hit by the zombies only on their activation and by a 6 on 1d6.

    Big George opens the Pawn Shop door, while Hank keeps an eye out for zombies in the 1st game

Bill had joked earlier, asking if he'd see the famed Mike D bad luck in rolling dice during the game. So far, things had gone smoothly, as Big George made his rolls to force open doors on his first try and found the supplies right away. Plus, we had the percentages on our side: two, big beefy survivors against a couple scrawny zombies. What could go wrong? Of course, I rolled two misses on my attacks! And then Bill rolled for the zombies. Big George was hit with a natural 6! G'ah!! I rolled my "grit" roll (to ignore the damage) and actually rolled the necessary 6! Hey, maybe Bill wouldn't see my famously bad dice rolling! Bill rolled for the other zombie to attack Hank, but it missed. Whew!

Exiting through the Pawn Shop's back door, Hank & George move on to the next building in the alley

On my next turn, I had a decision to make. Attack the zombies with my first action and then run away with my second or just bolt and run. I figured that if we stuck around, the other zombies coming would swarm us on their turn. Fight or run? They would get an attack as we turned our back, but remember -- they hit only on 6's. Big George and Hank decided to run. Bill rolled his attack on Big George: another 6! I tried to repeat my successful Grit roll and failed. Bill rolled for damage. On a 1-3 the survivor suffered a wound but no other adverse effect. On a 5-6, they were wounded knocked down, and on a 6 they were dead. Guess what?? Bill rolled yet another six! Big George became a Happy Meal for a tiny girl zombie in pink bunny slippers! Bill then rolled for the zombie getting his free strike at Hank as he turned to run. Another 6 -- Bill's third in a row (not counting the one last turn). Of course, I failed Hank's grit roll (which was his special ability, succeeding on a 5-6 instead of just 6). Bill then rolled for damage. Does anyone even doubt what Bill rolled next? Yup, his fourth 6 in a row! Just in case you're counting, that is a 1 in more than a thousand chance!!

    Each turn more zombies spawns in a randomly rolled location at Wargames Among the Warplanes

Bill felt so bad about it, he ruled as GM that the zombie had actually missed (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), and Hank was able to move his two actions away. Facing superhuman, 6-rolling zombies, Hank had no choice but to abandon poor Big George to be a big gorge for the victorious zombies. Well, that went south in a hurry! Of the three players, I was the only one to have a survivor die. And guess who was carrying on my supplies? Big George, of course! So, I could rename myself Big Loser after that game! 

    Slowly, inexorably, the zombies begin to surround & close in on three groups of survivors

As always, Zombie RV plays quickly. Bill suggested we play another round. Jenny and I were game. We took a quick break to watch one of the warbirds take off on the museum's C-47 Skytrain cargo planes in D-Day colors take off on the runway. Then, we were back at it for another game on Bill's amazing looking tabletop. I kept Hank, but drew Bobby -- a muscle shirt wearing character with a pistol and a Molotov cocktail in his pocket! I switched spots to enter on Jenny's corner, as she'd move to another one as well, for a change of scenery. 

    Hank & Big George decided to attack the zombies blocking their escape back through the Pawn Shop

Seeing how sticking together didn't work last time, Hank told his new partner to investigate the Donut Shop while he checked out the building they had parked near. Hank forced open the back door and dashed around, pulling a tarp off a suspicious looking lump at the end of the one of the aisles. He was shocked to find another survivor in a nurse's scrubs aiming a pistol at him. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, throwing up his hands. "I'm one of the good guys." She lowered her pistol, and said her name was Sandra, and she'd been hiding in the store for several hours waiting for the zombies outside to wander off. Hand helped her up and asked her to follow him, they'd meet up with his friend Bobby. 

Horde of zombies give chase to a survivor who tries to use the terrain to elude them

Bobby was just exiting the Donut Shop with a sack stuffed with what looked like "Long Johns" or "Bismarcks" -- cream-filled donuts. "Bobby, meet Sandra," Hand smiled. Through a mouthful of donut, Bobby said his hello. The three chuckled, and then froze in place. The unmistakable moaning of zombies preceded four of the undead -- one a huge, nasty-looking one -- rounding the corner and catching sight of them from very short distance. 

    In Game 2, Hank pulls up in his upgraded ride with a new partner, Bobby

Bobby tied the sack of donuts to his belt and pulled out his Zippo lighter. Producing a bottle with a cloth fuse, he lit it and tossed the Molotov Cocktail straight at the nasty zombie. There was an immediate WHOOSH! of flame and the monstrous zombie was engulfed. The puddle of liquid spread to where the two neighboring zombies were shuffling, but they continued to move forward. "You ain't gettin' my donuts, you bastards!" Bobby called, and then shifted position to where the zombies would have to come through the flames to get him. That seemed to work, as two more fell, their clothes and bodies catching fire rapidly. Bobby laughed. "Did you see that, Hank? First time I actually pitch one of those things and I get three strikes!" He looked back where the zombies were writhing on the asphalt, no longer moving forward.

    Hank checks out the Game Store, looking for supplies or something useful to scavenge

"Four," Hank smiled, pointing at the fourth zombie, who also entered the pool of fire and went down, burning. "Now, check out that last building and Sandra and I will guard your rear." Bobby pulled out his pistol and ran towards the final building in the back alley they'd planned to check out. Meanwhile, Sandra and Hank pointed out to each other clusters of zombies approaching from two sides -- drawn by the explosion of the Molotov cocktail. They took up positions and began firing with their pistols. After the success of the Molotov, the pistols seemed to have no effect on the zombies. I rolled miss after miss, counting at least six rolls in a row that were no higher than a "3." I was reminded of what I tell my friends in our Sunday Night Gaming club: "I don't have bad luck, I just have very streaky Good Luck and Bad Luck."

    Meanwhile, Bobby hits the jackpot finding two boxes of cream-filled 'Long John' donuts

Slowly, the zombies closed in on them. Panicked, Sandra darting away, one of the zombies following her. The other three zombies encircled Hank, who was slashing away with his machete and somehow holding them off. Sandra felt guilty, and ran back and tried to smash one of the zombies attacking him in the back of the head with her pistol. It distracted it enough that Hank's machete sliced its head off entirely. For good measure, he embedded it in the forehead of another zombie, that dropped to the ground. They heard gunfire as Bobby ran towards them. "I got the supplies -- let's go!" 

    'Bobby, meet Sandra' Hank introduces the terrified nurse he'd found hiding in the Game Store

Well, here I was again. Two survivors with a zombie in contact with each of them. Run, or fight? More zombies were steaming towards Hank's group, though. They would likely get overwhelmed if they stayed to fight. Surely, Bill couldn't roll two 6's again on Hank and Sandra if they sprinted for their vehicle? What are the odds? Yeah, yeah, I know the odds! I decided to move Sandra first. Bill rolled and missed -- she got away! Now, Hank. Bill rolled -- not a six!! Ha, ha -- my luck is truly streaky! The trio were able to outrace the zombies to their vehicle, turn the ignition, and peel out. That was close...!

    After dispatching zombies with his Molotov cocktail, Bobby moves on to investigate the 3rd store

I thanked Bill for running the game and giving me an opportunity to play Zombie RV, again. At times, the game seems "Easy" -- ordinary zombies hit survivors only on a 6. However, the rules lean heavily into the knowledge that sometimes players are going to roll badly. Jenny lost one of her survivors in the second game. So, neither mission was a cake, er, Donut walk. Each time, somebody didn't make it back to base. I had a lot of fun, especially in the second game. If you haven't played Zombie RV, feel free to click on this link which brings up all of my posts for ZRV. Scroll back and read some battle reports. For a free set of rules from David Bezio of Grey Area Games, it is a lot of fun! If it looks interesting, maybe also download the Campaign expansion I created with the author's input. They're also available free on RRB Minis & More's website. 

    Meanwhile, zombies are closing in on Sandra & Hank from several directions

It was great to meet Bill, finally. We have been reading and commenting on each other's wargaming blogs for more than a year. He's a great guy with lots of creative ideas. One that I am going to steal from him is to paint up zombie dogs as "Fast Zombies" for Zombie RV. I love the way he decorates the interiors of his buildings, too. Hopefully, you were able to get a taste of that from my photos. Expect more updates in the next few days, as I am home from our Finger Lakes & Wargames Among the Warplanes trip!

    After initially fleeing, Sandra feels guilty & returns to help out Hank, who is surrounded

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 185

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

    His drought of rolling 1, 2, or 3 over, Hank dispatches two zombies with his machete!

 

    Thanks to one of my posts, Lead Adventure Forum members are now keeping tabs on meetups!