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How to play Zombie Dice (2026): Zombie Dice is a ten-minute push-your-luck game from Steve Jackson Games. You are a zombie, the dice are your human victims, and each turn you decide whether to keep rolling for more brains or stop before you get shotgunned. It plays with two or more people, needs nothing but the cup and a way to keep score, and teaches in about a minute. This guide follows the official rules sheet.
Get the game: Zombie Dice
The game includes 13 custom dice, a cup to hold them and the rules. It runs about $26, so it makes a handy stocking stuffer for a family that likes dice games.
Price band: $20–$30 (about $26) · Check today’s price on Amazon
What is in the box
Thirteen custom dice and a cup to hold them. You also need paper and a pencil, or a phone, to track scores. The dice come in three colors: green dice are the easiest victims, yellow dice are medium and red dice are the toughest.
The three symbols
| Symbol | What it means | What you do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Brain | You ate your victim’s brain | Set it to your left; it counts toward your score if you stop safely |
| Shotgun | Your victim fought back | Set it to your right; three shotguns end your turn with nothing |
| Footprints | Your victim escaped | Keep it in front of you; if you roll again, you reroll it |
Who goes first
The rules say the first player is whoever won the last game, or whoever can say “Braaaaains!” with the most feeling.
Rolling, stopping and pushing on
- Shake the cup, take three dice without looking and roll them.
- Set aside any Brains and Shotguns. Leave Footprints in front of you.
- If you now have three Shotguns, your turn ends and you score nothing this turn.
- Otherwise choose: stop and score one point per Brain, or keep going.
- To keep going, keep your Footprint dice and draw enough new dice from the cup to bring your hand back to three, then roll all three. If all three were Footprints, you just reroll them.
- Once you take new dice, you must roll. You cannot change your mind and stop.
- Repeat until you stop or take your third Shotgun. Then put all the dice back in the cup and pass it left.
A sample turn
You shake the cup and pull a green, a yellow and a red die. The roll shows a Brain, a Shotgun and Footprints. You set the Brain to your left and the Shotgun to your right, and keep the red Footprints die. One Shotgun is not scary, so you draw two new dice to go with the red one and roll again. This time you get two Brains and a second Shotgun. Now you have three Brains and two Shotguns. One more Shotgun would wipe out the turn, so you stop and write down three points.
Running out of dice
If the cup does not have enough dice to bring you back to three, write down how many Brains you have so far and put those Brain dice back into the cup. Keep your Shotguns in front of you, then carry on rolling.
How to win
Play until someone reaches 13 Brains, then finish the round so everyone gets the same number of turns. Whoever has the most Brains at the end of that round wins. If there is a tie for the lead, only the tied leaders play a tiebreaker round.
Zombie Dice strategy
- Count the Shotguns. With two Shotguns on the table, one more ends your turn. Stopping at two is usually smart unless you are far behind.
- Watch the colors. Footprints you must reroll can be red, and red dice are the most likely to fight back.
- Play the score. If an opponent is close to 13, you may need to push harder than feels comfortable.
- Bank early in the last round. If you are already ahead after someone reaches 13, take the safe points.
Why Zombie Dice works for families
There is no reading, no board and almost no setup, so kids who can count can play with adults. Rounds are short enough to play while dinner is in the oven. If your group likes this style, see our best push-your-luck games, the best dice games and our best zombie board games.
Want more zombie action? Zombie Dice Horde Edition bundles the classic game with the Double Feature and School Bus expansions plus a dice bag, for groups who want more variety.
Zombie Dice questions
How many people can play Zombie Dice?
The rules say two or more can play. It works best with two to six, so turns come around quickly.
What happens when you roll three shotguns?
Your turn ends immediately and you score nothing for that turn.
How many brains do you need to win Zombie Dice?
Thirteen. When someone reaches 13, finish the round, and the player with the most Brains wins.
