Solve Puzzles Frozen in Time in Flashback: Zombie Kidz

The zombies have invaded the school! Find out how and what they’re after in this three-part puzzle mystery game.

Published by Scorpion Masqué and designed for 1-4 players, ages seven and up, Flashback: Zombie Kidz is set in the Zombie Kidz universe.

Gameplay

The game is divided into three chapters. You can play the chapters back-to-back or on separate occasions. Each chapter represents a memory and comes with a stack of oversized cards. There is also a deck of oversized special cards, and a deck of small special cards.

You read the short introduction for the memory you are playing and turn over the first card of the memory. Each memory depicts a certain moment in time. Each oversized card of the memory will show a different point of view of that moment. For example, one card might show what a zombie sees of a scene, while another card might be from the point of view of a security camera.

A card will show different numbers, next to different points of view depicted in the image. So, for example, if a card shows three people, there will be a number next to each of those people. You then draw the oversized card that has one of those numbers, to see the point of view of the character that number was next to.

Sometimes you will see a number with a small symbol next to it. When you see one of these, you draw one of the small special cards. Most of these will pose questions about what is happening in the memory. Often you might not be able to answer these questions right away when you draw the card.

There are also three special envelopes in the game box. Each of these is a special gizmo, and you acquire a new gizmo for each memory and open the respective envelop to retrieve it. These help you find new numbers in unique ways that allow you to draw the oversized special cards.

Once players have revealed all the cards in the memory and all the special cards associated with that memory, you then need to answer each of the questions you drew. If you have no idea what the answer would be, chances are you’ve missed something in the images, or possibly missed a special card. You can check your answers in the rulebook.

After you have completed all three memories, there are some bonus puzzles in the back of the rulebook.

Review

Flashback: Zombie Kidz is a fun, lighter puzzle game. The memories each play in roughly thirty minutes and there’s a nice difficulty escalation across them that is satisfying, but it never gets too hard. The rulebook states clearly that you’ve probably missed something if you’re really stuck on a question, and we found that to be the case. This felt like a very accessible take on the mystery puzzle game genre and a good fit for families.

The artwork and story are all targeted at a family audience. We loved the style and thematic nature of the game. The light, kids-based zombie apocalypse felt fun with the cartoony artwork and bright colors. The first memory does a great job of easing you into the mechanics, but there are some fun puzzles scattered throughout all three chapters and an adult group can definitely have fun with this one, especially if they are looking for something a little bit easier and lighter. There’s no hint system, though, and while we didn’t end up needing one, we did wonder if younger players might benefit from one if playing alone.

Nothing in this game gets destroyed, and you can easily pass this game on to friends, which makes up for the relatively short playtime (even with the bonus puzzles there’s not going to be a ton of replay value here).

There was one production issue, and a sticker is included to be added to a specific card to fix that issue. That being said, the sticker is attached to the outside of the shrink-wrap, and we nearly missed it when opening the game.

It’s very satisfying to watch the memory build out as you reveal more cards, especially if you find a logical way to lay them out on the table to roughly put the scene together. You usually get a great a-ha moment when the answer to one of the questions clicks into place. If you’re looking for a family-friendly puzzle game, or just something a little on the more relaxed side in this genre, Flashback: Zombie Kidz would be worth checking out!

Pros: Artwork and theme, it’s fun to watch the scene slowly form, can be passed on, puzzle difficulty is just about right

Cons: No hint system, one production issue to be aware of

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.