Zombie Chess
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Eleven zombies emerge from the graveyard. A cowboy and his dogs defend the town. Rules in 5 minutes, games that never end.
What it's about
Chess reimagined in the graveyard at night
In 1975, the great game designer Alex Randolph invented an addictive asymmetric abstract game with eleven pieces and a grid. Playte, a Korean publisher specializing in reimplementations of classics, brings it back to life in a compact, pocket-sized horror version: Zombie Chess.
Night falls on the town. Eleven zombies emerge from the graveyard — they advance straight, slow, inexorable, like chess pawns. Defending the town are a lonely cowboy (moves like the king) and his four loyal dogs (move like queens). Two armies, two completely different playstyles.
The rules are explained in five minutes. Then the tactical dance begins: each move opens and closes windows, each bad decision is paid for three turns later. One game leads to another — until you truly want to understand who wins between the living and the dead.
A game that seems simple until you realize you're losing — and you don't understand how you got there.
The secret of Zombie Chess in one line
Playing the zombies is brutal and direct. Playing the cowboy is pure tactical geometry. Neither role is the "easy" one.
From the gameplay experience
Zombie Chess
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and play sessionsThe two factions
Who controls what in each game
11 Zombies
They advance straight, one at a time, slow and inexorable like chess pawns. Strength is in numbers — just one needs to reach the other side.
The Cowboy
Moves like the chess king — one square in any direction. The slowest piece of the defense, but the most valuable: if you lose him, you lose.
4 Loyal Dogs
Move like chess queens — any direction, as many squares as you want. They are the true defensive force: fast, versatile, indispensable.
Pure Asymmetry
No dice, no cards, zero randomness. The winner is the one who first understands the logic of the other role — and exploits it against them.
In twenty minutes you'll already know who among the two is the born cowboy — and who is destined to lead the horde of the dead.
📖RulebookEnglish · Korean
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
Pieces are set up. The silence before the chaos.
Eleven zombies lined up on one side. Cowboys and four dogs on the other. The grid is small, there are few pieces. Someone smiles, thinking it will be easy. They're already wrong.
Zombies advance. The defense begins to understand.
The dead move forward, slowly. It seems simple to block them. Then you realize you can't cover everything — you have to choose which front to sacrifice. The tension rises as early as the third turn.
The dogs make their first aggressive move.
A dog crosses the entire board in one turn and captures two zombies in a row. The zombie player freezes. They've just realized how fast the dogs are — and how dangerous it is to ignore them.
A zombie escapes. The city is in danger.
While the dogs were chasing on the left, a silent zombie opened a corridor on the right. Three moves left to the finish line. The defender takes a breath. The cowboy must run. The table goes silent.
Game over. No one wants to stop.
The cowboy wins — by a whisker. Or maybe the zombie wins — the one no one saw coming. The pieces are reset to their starting positions before anyone even speaks. The rematch has already begun.
How to play
The flow of each turn
Two moves per turn, two opposing factions, one grid. It takes five minutes to learn, ten games to master.
The zombie player moves a piece one square forward — straight, or diagonally downwards. Like a chess pawn. One at a time, unstoppable.
The cowboy player moves only one piece: either the cowboy one square in any direction, or one of the dogs as many squares as they want in a straight line or diagonally.
If a piece moves to an opponent's square, it captures it and removes it from the grid. There's no choice — whoever arrives, takes.
Does a zombie reach the last side? Zombie victory. Are all zombies eliminated or blocked with no more moves? Cowboy victory.
Why it's different from others
Six reasons why you won't get bored
Total asymmetry, perfect balance
Zombies and defenders have different pieces, different goals, different play styles. Yet the games remain balanced — a sign that Alex Randolph knew what he was doing.
Zero randomness, a hundred decisions
No dice, no cards, no luck. Every outcome depends solely on the choices made. You win because you played better — and you know it.
15-minute games, hours of desire
A game ends before you realize you're halfway through. But the rematch is already ready — just reset the pieces. Zombie Chess is played in series, not single games.
Dogs are the real stars
They move like chess queens — fast, powerful, versatile. Using them well is the key to defense. Those who ignore or waste them have already lost the game without knowing it.
Pocket-sized format, huge content
Playte's L.Board series solves the classic problem of abstracts: huge box for a few pieces. Here everything fits in a compact box — and can be taken anywhere.
A classic that survives 50 years
Buffalo Chess was created in 1975 and has been republished dozens of times by different publishers worldwide. Playte's Zombie Chess is the latest and most successful reissue — with a horror theme and compact format.
How it ends
Two ways to win, no middle ground
One player attacks, one defends. The objectives are opposite and incompatible — only one of the two can leave the game without regrets.
Zombie Victory
- At least one zombie reaches the last side of the grid
- The city falls — the defender failed to stop the horde
- Just one surviving zombie makes the difference
Cowboy Victory
- All zombies are captured or blocked with no legal moves
- The city is safe — the defense held on all fronts
- Managing the dogs is key: don't waste their moves
Zombie Chess is one of the most elegant abstract games of the last fifty years — and one of the most fun to discover with someone who doesn't know it yet.
Frequently asked questions
FAQ about Zombie Chess
I don't know chess — can I still play?
Yes, absolutely. Zombie Chess only takes the movement of three chess pieces (pawn, king, queen) — but it doesn't require knowing how to play chess. The rules are explained in five minutes, and the first game flows naturally even for those who have never seen a chessboard.
Is one role stronger than the other?
It depends on the players' experience. At first, zombies seem unstoppable — there are many of them and they always advance. When you learn to use the dogs effectively, the defense becomes very solid. With players of equal skill, games are balanced, and changing roles after each game is essential to understand both perspectives.
How long does a game really last?
Between 10 and 20 minutes. The first games last longer because every move is carefully considered. With more experience, games become faster and more intense. The compact format encourages playing in series — three or four games in a row are the norm.
What distinguishes it from other abstract games on the market?
The asymmetry between the two roles is the rarest thing in abstracts: the two factions are not equivalent, they have different pieces and opposing objectives. This means that each game has a completely different texture depending on who you are — and that changing roles changes everything. Few abstracts manage to do this with so few rules.
Is it suitable for children?
Yes, from about 7 years old and up. The rules are simple and visual — no text to read during the game. The zombie theme is cartoony and non-violent, in line with the cover art aesthetic. It's a great way to introduce children to tactical thinking without the complexity of traditional chess.
Is it a re-edition of another game?
Yes. Playte's Zombie Chess is a thematic reinterpretation of Buffalo Chess (or Bison), a 1975 classic by Alex Randolph — one of the most influential game designers in history. The gameplay is identical: only the theme changes, from an American prairie with bison and Indians to a nighttime city with zombies and cowboys. Playte added a compact, pocket-sized format that was missing from previous editions.
Zombie Chess is an asymmetric abstract board game for 2 players (ages 7+, duration 15–20 min). Designed by Alex Randolph in 1975 as Buffalo Chess, republished by Playte (Gameology Inc.) in the L.Board series in Korean/English edition. Main mechanic: differentiated movement on a grid, inspired by chess. One player controls 11 zombies (move like pawns), the other controls 1 cowboy (like the king) and 4 dogs (like queens). Zombie objective: cross the grid. Defense objective: block or capture all zombies. Zero randomness, total asymmetry, compact and pocket-sized format. Available on FroGames.it.
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