Is spawning zombies mandatory?

[serdel]

This question appeared on bgg forum but lacks of a clear answer and it intrigues me.


The rules state:

Quote:'You MAY now place UP TO that many zombies from your Zombie Pool onto the board at the Zombie Spawning Pits'

The word 'may' and 'up to' suggest that if a ZP doesn't want to add new zombies, he doesn't have to. But in that case it can make the Die Zombie Die scenario impossible to win, because in 1 moment the ZP may stop adding zombies on the board and there won't be enough to kill... I know it doesn't make any sense but this seems like a serious gap in the rules to allow this. Did any body had such a situation? It would be good to have an official answer to that question...

here is a link to bgg thread:
http://boardgamegeek.com/article/6119049#6119049

[mqstout]

That's just cheese and I would not play with anyone who tried that.

That said, it does occasionally make tactical sense not to spawn all your zombies. Those situations are rare. They move so slowly I want the board to be loaded up.

[serdel]

Yes this is cheese and makes no sense. I had such a situation when heroes where kicking my butt and when new zombies where spawned it was only new targets for them. But i did spawned them just on the opposite pits far away from heroes...

[Criesto]

There are actually a number of times where this could be useful. In situations where you don't want to have a maxed out zombie pool, choosing not to spawn would be a good idea. For instance, if you had a card you really wanted to play that would spawn zombies in a more strategic position, such as the one that lets you spawn D6 zombies around a hero. Obviously you can't do that if your pool is maxed, so not spawning and then using that card would be beneficial.

[serdel]

Yes you are right Criesto and I am not saying that the whole rule doesn't make sense. I think the Die Zombie Die scenario should have a additional rule of mandatory zombie spawning each turn to prevent such foolish situation by a over ambitious ZP.

[D153453D]

The only time i wouldn't is when I'd have none left in my zombie pool and I had the card ( I forget the name) where I can put a zombie from teh pool next to a survivor.

[Nebulon]

Rules are not always needed to be laid down in the concrete. But I must agree a stunt like that on "Die Zombie Die" is the worst kind of fromage. This is against the spirit of the game to withhold the Zombie to prevent the win. Not sporting I say. Just agree as a gaming group not to take the cheese.

[vikinglad]

I can't even believe someone would actually use this exploit! How boring would this game be? Shameful.

[Worldmaggot]

I've noticed several instances of the word "may" that seems to indicate a choice, but doesn't always actually allow one.
As for the "up to that many...", it could simply be referring to the fact that you might roll to spawn 5 zombies, but only have 3 in your pool.
I'd love an official answer, but I can't imagine this would be within rules.

[vikinglad]

The word "may" is also why we were playing father joe's SOS wrong for the first few games. It says somthing like "may take a wound to cancel a zombie card on the roll of 3+." That makes it seem like you also may NOT take a wound on the roll of 3+. To be more clear, we thought you could roll first, then decide whether or not you wanted to take the wound to cancel (like movement and searching). But then I read here that you HAVE to take the wound just for the opportunity to roll. Changes the dynamic quite a bit. I still love ole Prayin' Joe, though.