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Last Night in Japan Game 01: Survivors
12-02-2013, 10:55 AM
Post: #1
Last Night in Japan Game 01: Survivors
Originally posted here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1060...-survivors

As this would be the last game day before Halloween, we decided to do some horror-themed games. As 40% of my gaming group moved away this summer, this game featured only the surviving three members. We didn't do Arkham Horror this time, though we haven't played it since March, because we wouldn't have time for multiple games and Lady 2 (from now on known as "Dandelion" from our Space Cadets campaign) has never played it before. Sadly the members who moved away were 50% of my AH crew. But it shouldn't be long until we get Dandelion into the mix and finish our (losing) campaign there.

Anyhow, this was our first session of LNoE even though it is the game I've owned for the longest in Japan.

Set-Up: Base Game + Growing Hunger expansion
Scenario: Save the Townsfolk

Players:

Human

Sam, The Diner Cook (me)
Kenny, Supermarket Bag Boy (me)
Billy, The Sheriff's Son (MerkabaZA)
Jake Cartwright, The Drifter (MerkabaZA)

Zombies

Dandelion

Starting Zombies: 8

LNoE happened to be MerkabaZA's first real board gaming experience way back in the day so he still had a familiarity with the game. Dandelion, however, had never played it before. We decided to choose our sides randomly and she got Zombies, which she was happy with.

Sam and Jake started in the Town Center as their locations were not on the board. The first couple of turns were spent searching by Billy and Kenny. Kenny managed to pull a Townsfolk card right away so we were 1/4 of the way to having a full group.

It took Jake a couple turns to reach a building as his low rolls made us wonder if he had sprained a leg or something. He finally caught up with Sam in the General Store, the one location that had the biggest gap between it and the approaching zombie horde. Sam's searches gained him a slew of items, including a Fire Axe, but no Townsfolk and no decent weapons. Jake and Billy we having trouble getting anything other than Events and Kenny seemed to find nothing but Ammo no matter where he searched.

After the first couple of turns, it was time for the youthful members to escape from their starting locations. Kenny escaped from the Supermarket through the Post Office moments before the Post Office was Take Over by the Zombies. He headed down towards the General Store where Sam and Jake were already fighting the first undead fiend to find them. Sam managed to escape from a Zombie with hate in his undead eyes by setting off a Fire Extinguisher. Before the heroes knew what was happening, the General Store hit Lights Out and Sam fled across the way into the Gun Shop. The Zombie then went after Jake, who stayed behind to search in the dark, and was killed by the Drifter's Pitchfork.

Billy got cut off in his attempt to join up with the rest of the survivors as all the zombies converged on the General Store and Gun Shop. So the Sheriff's Son cut back to the Drug Store. Unexpectedly, a Zombie appeared from out of nowhere and attacked the young boy, hurting him gravely. He ran to temporary safety in the Supermarket but it wasn't long before a couple of Zombies found him there and he was forced to flee yet again. His escape was hampered by the onset of Heavy Rain but he made his way back to the school where he continued his search for surviving Townsfolk.

Kenny spotted Sam rushing into the Gun Shop and thought to join him to give over the Ammo he was carrying. But the Zombie horde made it impossible so he joined Jake in the General Store and they found a couple of Townsfolk hiding in the darkness. A short time later, it was too dangerous to stay in the Store so the duo made a run for the Church.

Sam found T.J. the Thoroughbred tied up at the Gun Shop but had to let the horse run free as he continued his search. He stumbled across a Revolver just as he saw a Zombie crawling through the window and another shambling towards the only door. He raised the gun to take aim when something caught his eye: a Pump Shotgun. He tossed aside the Revolver and pointed the shotgun at creature clawing its way across the floor. With a deafening blast, the gun fired, tearing up the monsters back... but it kept coming closer. He forgot to aim for the head! He pumped the gun to load the next round in the chamber but realized to his horror that it was empty. He threw the gun away at the two approaching Zombies and looked in terror at not only a third coming through the window but the sight of three more slowly approaching from outside. The two Zombies grabbed at him but he was able to use brute strength to hold them at bay.

Kenny and Jake holed up in the Church where they found more Townsfolk hiding. Billy also had luck in finding survivors in the school thanks to the fact that all the zombies were focused on the Gun Shop and not heading towards the other side of town. Even better, it seemed that most of the Zombies had passed by the town as there had only been about 8 or 9 that he had seen at any given time. By the time the Zombies had noticed the survivors in the Church and School, they had already gathered a crew of six Townsfolk to protect.

Back at the Gun Shop, Sam noticed another Pump Shotgun in a display case. Without a chance to know if it was loaded or not, he made a leap for the weapon, took it into his hands, spun and fired at his two attackers. In an instant, the two Zombies were obliterated from the neck up. To his surprise, he noticed that the group of undead that would have cut off his escape route had turned away heading in the opposite direction. He knew his friends must have gone that way so he took off after them. He sped by the slowly shuffling Zombies and was met just outside of the Church by Kenny who was screaming that he had a ton of Ammo for the shotgun. With a stitch in his side from running so far, he let the boy catch up to him and handed off the gun while he caught his breath. Kenny's unfamiliarity with the gun showed itself as his first shot went wild.

The shot must have been heard by one of the Zombies in the surrounding woods as it crept into town between the school Gym and the Church. Billy noticed it would come at his allies from behind so he took aim with the Flare Gun he found and taught that Zombie that it shouldn't have even bothered setting foot in Woodinvale. The only thing it ate was a mouthful of flare as it fried the creatures brain to a shriveled black mess.

Two Zombies caught up to Sam and Kenny and tried to eat the humans. Sam took some serious bruising while Kenny managed to avoid the fight entirely. Running back to the Church, Kenny recovered from his first mishap and fired the shotgun, taking out one of the walking dead closing in on the sanctuary.

Sam also got away from the two fiends but decided to send them a parting gift. He pulled out the stick of dynamite he had been holding onto and lit the fuse. He tossed it at the feet of the two monsters that tried to devour him and a moment later they were nothing more than a cloud of rotting confetti raining down on the town square. With only a couple of Zombies left in town, Jake, Kenny and Sam ran out to wipe out the stragglers as the sun finally came up and the horrific night was finally at an end and the Townsfolk of Woodinvale breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't their last night on earth.

---

Overall, it was a slaughter for the Zombies. Dandelion was doing her best but the dice were completely against her. She only successfully rolled to spawn new zombies TWICE, once on Turn Marker 3 and the other on Turn Marker 1--where it would be completely useless. And each time she only rolled to spawn one additional zombie onto the field. After the initial pressure of the Zombies closing in on the General Store, the heroes were home free once they got to the Church.

That part was a tactical error on Dandelion's part as she focused all of the Zombies on Sam in the Gun Shop. I made a comment about it so she would know she needed to really keep the pressure on all of the humans and she started to go after them but, again, she made an error in taking away too many from Sam and basically leaving him an escape route to join up with the others. That can all be chalked up to her first time playing but, really, the dice were not helping her at all.

The humans didn't get any decent weapons until about the middle of the game and the really good stuff didn't show up until the final third. We collected 6 Townsfolk and didn't use any of their abilities just to be safe. The scenario turned from a challenge to a cake walk thanks to the lack of zombie presence on the board. If more zombies had spawned, it would have been a tighter game I'm sure.

In the end, we all had a great time. Everyone enjoyed their first official foray into Woodinvale and we'll likely play it again now that it has finally hit the table.

Perhaps we will even start a campaign of sorts a la Arkham Horror to see how many scenarios we can get through before dying. Will have to put some thought into it.

Question: When can you use the Fire Extinguisher? Must it be used after a fight is declared or can it be used after the zombie rolls their dice?

Final Count:

Humans Killed: 0
Zombies Killed: 8

W/L Record:

Save the Townsfolk
Humans: 1
Zombies: 0

All Scenarios
Humans: 1
Zombies: 0
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12-02-2013, 12:18 PM (This post was last modified: 12-02-2013 12:56 PM by samuraitrev.)
Post: #2
RE: Last Night in Japan Game 01: Survivors
Great report I especially liked the analogy of exploding Zombies being like confetti. The Fire Extinguisher
Discard at any time to:
Cancel a Fight involving the Hero.
or
Move every Zombie in the same and adjacent spaces to the Hero, one space each in any direction (except during a Fight).
or
Remove any number of Fires in the Hero's space and/or adjacent.

I think at one point (as Sam passed Kenny the Shotgun) it was fired twice in one Turn. This would be an illegal move. Unless it was just written that way for dramatic effect?

Great report and I would read more of them.
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12-02-2013, 01:52 PM
Post: #3
RE: Last Night in Japan Game 01: Survivors
Thank you very much for the reply. The shotgun was not fired twice in the same turn as it took Sam two turns to reach the others. He decided to hand off the shotgun to Kenny so he could use the dynamite.

As for the Fire Extinguisher, my question is when can it be used during a fight? Does it have to be used when the fight is just declared but before any dice are rolled or can it be used after seeing what the zombie player rolls?
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12-02-2013, 04:59 PM
Post: #4
RE: Last Night in Japan Game 01: Survivors
(12-02-2013 01:52 PM)n107 Wrote:  Thank you very much for the reply. The shotgun was not fired twice in the same turn as it took Sam two turns to reach the others. He decided to hand off the shotgun to Kenny so he could use the dynamite.

As for the Fire Extinguisher, my question is when can it be used during a fight? Does it have to be used when the fight is just declared but before any dice are rolled or can it be used after seeing what the zombie player rolls?

Ahh ok you have two options
1) Cancel that 1 Fight at ANY time (even after dice have been rolled)
or
2) Blast Zombies from your space and adjacent spaces. This can only be done before any Fight dice are rolled. That's why the card says (except during a Fight)

Note: The Timber Peak version of the card is clearer than the original.

Hope this helps.
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12-02-2013, 11:16 PM
Post: #5
RE: Last Night in Japan Game 01: Survivors
That clears it up. Thanks again.
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