Summer is a fantastic time between teaching and grading to research, write, and edit, as well as soak up the sun and visit the beach. It’s also a great time to catch up on board gaming! So that’s exactly what I’ve been doing recently with the recently released Kickstarter version of Zombicide: White Death (CMON, 2025), along with all of its many expansions and additions.

Given the recent news about the game’s publisher, CMON, a bit of background would be helpful here. The rights to Zombicide (excluding licensed IP iterations) were recently sold to Asmodee, so Zombicide: White Death will presumably be CMON’s penultimate fantasy Zombicide release (note a crossover pack with Massive Darkness: Dungeons of Shadowreach is expected to release in the near future as well). Zombicide is a long-running board game franchise, with several iterations (modern, fantasy, sci-fi, Marvel, DC, etc.), editions, and expansions. While Zombicide is regularly sold at retailers, CMON has long been known to release exclusive content and expansions for Zombicide (and other games) via crowdfunding. As the long-awaited successor to CMON’s Zombicide fantasy line (following Black Plague and Green Horde), Zombicide: White Death is no exception. While Zombicide: White Death came t retail some time ago, the full crowdfunding edition began to arrive at peoples’ homes in Q2, 2025. The version of the game that I review here is the full crowdfunding edition, along with all White Death expansions.

Turning to the game itself, I wanted to begin with the game’s strengths. For me, I was/am particular excited about the game’s theme, which draws heavily from Asian mythology. It includes an amalgam of diverse mythological traditions, including from India, China, Japan, etc. Coupled with the beautiful aesthetics of the game, particularly the miniature sculpts, weapons and character cards, the theme really shines through and is a lot of fun.

There are also a ton of new enemy types available across the expansions (far more than in previous fantasy Zombicide outings). My personal favorite among the new enemy types are the Warden Brutes. They just have such awesome sculpts with their elongated mouths, menacing posture and heavy armor. They just provide a great board presence. Another great addition are the Deadbolt Walkers, who shoot at survivors with their crossbows up to 3 spaces away, dealing 2 unpreventable damage each! If you get caught in the crossfire with even just a few of those guys, you can instantly lose a scenario!

In terms of gameplay, I began by playing through Zombicide – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Timecrash. I was excited about this particular expansion since it is so nostalgic for me (especially reminiscent of the film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, where the turtles are transported back to feudal Japan). However, I was surprised at how easy the expansion was, perhaps due in part to the addition of ‘Chi’ abilities, ultimate tokens that upgrade your weapons, and how frequently vault weapons (the A-tier weapons) spawn within the game. I then went on to play the core box from Zombicide: White Death. As of writing this review, I’ve completed up to scenario 7. Again, even without the additional chi abilities and ultimate weapons from Timecrash, the game was still quite easy. To be fair, I have played a lot of Zombicide (having completed all the scenarios from Marvel Zombies and DCeased: Gotham City Outbreak). Zombicide: White Death just seems to lack a lot of the tension present in the earlier fantasy Zombide games. The strategy for several of the scenarios is often as simple as taking your characters, running through the map, quickly picking up the objectives, and then moving to the exit, all while doing your best to just ignore enemies and pick up additional gear.

My overall impression then is that, while Zombicide: White Death looks amazing on the game table and does deliver some very fun and thematic moments, it is pretty easy once you sort of ‘crack the code’ of the game. That all said, I am very excited to include many of the new White Death expansions (especially the Deadbolt Walkers) into the older Black Plague and Green Horde scenarios. I have also yet to play Zombicie: Eternal Empire, which is the box that I have been most looking forward to out of the White Death family of games (I like to leave the best for last).

In the meantime, I look forward to continuing my playthrough of the Zombicide fantasy content with the additions from White Death, as I patiently wait for the next (and much more highly anticipated) DCeased: A Zombicide Game, which will hopefully arrive soon!

Stay frosty!

AK-M

REVIEW: Surviving the Cold in Zombicide: White Death (Crowdfunding All-in Edition)

My Top Five Board Games (2025 Edition)