Less Luck.

[mqstout]

The best games are where strategy stems from the luck. You do your best to operate with what luck does bring you. Where your strategy, to the best of your ability, MITIGATES the harm of luck. (NB: The electronic game FTL, one of my favorites of all time, is all about this.)

But a lot of the best moments (see the threads on them!) come from when you persevere, despite the odds being far, far against you.

That said... My least favorite scenario [Escape in the Truck] is exactly that because it's the most highly random of any of the scenarios, while my favorite [Defend the Manor House] is, again, for it being mostly strategy-based.

Let's frame the future discussion thusly: What are the sources of luck in the game?
ZP:
* Zombie spawning check, to see if you spawn more.
* Zombie spawn roll, for how many you get.
* Zombie fight dice.
* Zombie event cards (and, with expansions, other such cards).

HP:
* Movement rolls. (*and expansion-related paraphernalia).
* Fight dice.
* Event cards.

How does this framing the discussion help? A lot of the strongest cards are those that mitigate randomness. Zombie cards that FORCE new spawns. Hero cards that add fight dice. Heavy Rain... But what about strategy mitigating randomness?:
* Avoiding fights until you have cards that will help you.
* Ensuring you have an alternate plan in case you don't roll to move high enough.
* Moving your zombies into defensive behind-wall positions this turn so they don't get blasted away until you have reinforcements to build your wall-of-death.
* Trading to other players your "not-useful-to-me" cards.
* Choosing to spawn a grave dead zombie where it's suboptimal this turn so you have a better chance of getting more zombies next turn.
* Choosing to have Billy take his turn first of the player's this round, since he has the best chance of rolling high enough to make it to the destination.
* Avoiding fights by having a zombie-killing-equipped player entering a space to save a zombies and a bad-at-fighting from having to fight, where the other one might be able to stay inside this turn and search instead of having to move away.
* Using all resources at your disposal to keep Father Joseph alive so he can cancel the super-strong Zombie event that might be drawn.
* Saving "Shamble" for when you only need 1 (100% chance) or 2 extra movement (83% chance) to get to the hero player.
* Throwing piles of disposable zombies at the strong hero, on the off chance that a stray roll WILL get him... all the while you know that, when they do die, which they likely will, you'll more likely get more next turn... possibly to spawn them more useful places on the board.

However, the truly exciting bits come when luck comes into play:
* The heroes are about to reach and objective. Play Dance of the Dead, miraculously rolling low, to put some more pressure on them.
* Try to cancel a very harmful hero card by taking Father Joe's last wound, killing him, but having the chance of getting out of a sticky situation and winning.
* Using Dynamite or some other explosive, taking out a bunch of zombies, but maybe hurting/killing a player in the process.
* Using Shamble when you need to roll a 6 to get there... and you do, and you successfully tear that building down to the ground.
* You draw just the right card at the right time. (To borrow from Magic, topdecking! My favorite LNOE moment ever: getting Escape Through the Windows and TJ, Thoroughbred a the same time, when I was surrounded and about to die.)
* Fending off scores of zombies in one turn, when you really had nothing going in your favor.
* Successfully "Catch!"ing a lighter to the guy who has dynamite and really needs to use it this turn.