ZORP: Zombie Oblivion Response Package
Set in a not so distant, zombie-infested world, ZORP is a shoot-em-up strategy game that combines fast-paced action with chess-like strategic maneuvering and decision-making. ZORP is a 2-4 player game, featuring one player as the zombie master, and the rest playing as humans, vying to become the first to receive the only cure to the zombie virus.
Carl and Wonky Rhino Games
Wonky Rhino Games is a new publisher, headed by publisher/designer Carl Sommer. I met Carl online through a Christian Tabletop Developers Facebook group, where I learned of his game: ZORP: Zombie Oblivion Response Package.
A few emails later, Carl and I set up a meeting to play at Gen Con this year, but you might already know about this from our previous Gen Con Recap articles. Meeting Carl and learning about self-publishing and designing a board game was invigorating. While simple, his is a story of relentless creative pursuit, and like all other good designers, building and tearing down your design until you’ve put so much work into it, you might as well publish it.
I won’t spoil the preview this early, but as we will see, Carl’s personality bleeds through the cardboard and gameplay of ZORP. This is not only clear through gameplay, but through the mechanics, and definitely the artwork.
ZORP will (ideally) feature three expansions and is keyed in on an early 2017 launch.
ZORP Gameplay Preview
Flamethrower in one hand. Pistol in the other. The cure to the virus is so close, but in between you and victory are at least a dozen zombies. Some are fast. Some move in L-shaped patterns. Thinking about how to get past the horde, you suddenly notice another human making a mad dash for the sole cure. Realizing time is nearly up, do you ignite your flamethrower and kill every zombie in sight? No. That’s the easy way. Instead, you hop into a Honda Fit and plow through the zombies, bringing you that much closer to the cure.
ZORP: Zombie Oblivion Response Package presents you with opportunities like these, and forces you to program your moves in such a way to: position yourself the appropriate distance from zombies, end up close enough to new weapons and events, and most importantly, bring you closer to the cure every turn.
Players are divided into two teams: the humans and the zombie master. The goal of the zombie master is to eat and destroy the human players, turning them into zombies. The humans, while playing somewhat cooperatively early on, will inevitably split up to be the first to reach the cure on the opposite side of the board.
The board features a parking lot, which acts as a grid for players to move their characters. The setup of events and character placement to play the game is simple because of the natural grid state of a parking lot.
Various weapons, along with the layout of the board. Cracks in the parking lot represent starting location for players and events. (Photo courtesy Wonky Rhino Games.)