How to Play Zombicide (2nd Edition): Rio Z Janeiro

Game Objective

Welcome to Rio de Janeiro! In this game, you are Survivors amidst a zombie invasion during Carnival. The city, with its sunny beaches and colorful streets, has been overrun by the dead, and thousands of people are trapped. The objective is to survive, discover how the plague began, and, who knows, find a way to end it.

Zombicide: Rio Z Janeiro is a campaign expansion for Zombicide: 2nd Edition, where players embark on a series of Missions that tell a story. Player choices influence events, and Survivors improve, gaining new Skills and trying to keep Equipment between games. The Carnival of the Dead campaign consists of 10 Missions that intensify the game's atmosphere with advanced rules.

The victory condition varies by Mission. For example, in M1 - BLOOD AND SAMBA, the Objectives are: 1) Gather Supplies (collect all Objective cards) and 2) Go to Rocinha (escape through the Exit Zone). In M4 - SHOWTIME!, the objective is to go to the Exit Zone with all Survivors, Professor Luana, and the Opala. If the Survivors inside the Opala have at least 4 Epic Weapons, all Survivors also receive 1 CXP and the “Black Opala” Achievement.

Setup

Game setup involves assembling the board and distributing campaign-specific components:

• Game Components: The game includes Surprise Spawns, Broken Walls, a Black Opala, various TOKENS, BREAKING DICE, DOUBLE-SIDED MAP TILES, Survivors (miniatures and ID CARDS), Zombies (miniatures), Advanced Starting Equipment, Advanced Equipment, Epic Weapons, OBJECTIVE CARDS, WOUND CARDS, EQUIPMENT CARDS, and a CAMPAIGN LOG PAD.
• Campaign Log: Each Survivor receives their own Campaign Log from the pad. This log is used to track individual progress, including Campaign Experience Points (CXP), Campaign Skills, Bonus Actions, Kept Equipment, and Campaign Achievements.
• Objective Cards: For each Campaign Mission, a specific Objective Set is gathered. The Objective Cards are placed in specific Zones on the map, as described on the Mission map. They contain the map tile number where they are placed. Do not flip or read them until a Survivor collects them.
• Notes: Some Objective cards, called Notes, are placed face down near the board and can be read during the Mission according to the Survivors' decisions.
• Epic Weapon Boxes: Epic Weapon Boxes are not replaced by Objective cards and are placed and collected as usual.
• Advanced Equipment: The Advanced Equipment, Starting Equipment, and Epic Weapons decks from Zombicide: 2nd Edition are replaced by the equivalent decks from Rio Z Janeiro, which use the Breaking and Keeping rules.
• Mission Setup (Example M1 - BLOOD AND SAMBA):
  • Required map tiles: 6R, 7V, 23R, 24V, 25R, and 28R.
  • Place 3 Survivors in each Survivor Starting Zone.
  • Place 3 Surprise Spawns as per the map.
  • The Objective cards and Notes are positioned as per the Mission map.

Game Flow

The game progresses in Rounds, and each Round is divided into Phases. The general game flow follows the basic Zombicide structure, with additions and modifications from advanced and campaign rules.

Player Phase

The player with the First Player token activates all their Survivors, one at a time, in any order. When they finish, the next player's Turn begins. Play clockwise. Each Survivor has 3 Actions to spend.

Zombie Phase

At the beginning of the Zombie Phase, before any Zombie Activations, all Zombies adjacent to a Narrow Zone perform a Zombie Pull, dragging Survivors into their own Zones. This does not count as a Zombie Action. Each Zombie can only pull 1 Survivor. If there are multiple Zombies in Zones adjacent to a Narrow Zone and/or multiple Survivors in a Narrow Zone, players decide the order of each pull.

End Phase

Refer to the manual for details on this section.

Actions and How to Play

Survivors perform Actions during the Player Phase. Advanced rules introduce new mechanics and modify some existing Actions:

Combat Actions and Breaking

• A player can declare they will Break before performing a Combat Action with the Survivor using a weapon with a Breaking value.
• For this Combat Action, the player adds the indicated number of Breaking dice to the common dice and resolves the Action.
• Breaking dice function like conventional dice, adding hits if the weapon's Accuracy value is met.
• Rolling 1 or more Breaks on any of the Breaking dice (ONLY Breaking dice; conventional dice do not generate Break results) means the weapon broke. Discard the weapon card as soon as the Combat Action is resolved.
• Dual Weapons are used normally, adding both Breaking dice to the other dice. Each Break result means 1 of those weapons is lost. So both weapons will be lost whenever there are 2 or more Break results.
• Important: Breaking dice cannot be rerolled in any way (Skills like “Lucky” or “Blessed”, or “Many Bullets” or “Many Shells” cards, for example, have no effect on these dice).

Search Actions and Surprise Spawns

• In some Missions, Surprise Spawn tokens are placed in specific Zones during Setup.
• Each time a card with a Surprise Spawn icon is drawn with a Search Action or when collecting an Objective card, before resolving the card's effect, players must immediately place 1 Walker per icon in each Zone with a Surprise Spawn token.
• If there are no tokens on the map, simply do not perform the Surprise Spawn.
• The Surprise Spawn effect happens even if the card is discarded after being drawn.
• Surprise Spawn icons are ignored for any Equipment card or Epic Weapon card drawn from the deck in any way other than Search Actions.
• It is not possible to perform the Search Action in Narrow Zones, Stadium Grandstands, Parks, or in Zones that contain an Objective card (special rule for some Missions).

Movement Actions and Narrow Zones

• Narrow Zones are outdoor Zones between buildings with circular icons called Hoops. The number of Hoops in a Narrow Zone limits the number of Agents allowed in that Zone.
• When moving into a Narrow Zone, an Agent can occupy any empty Hoop in that Zone.
• An Agent in a Hoop does not block the Line of Sight of other Agents nor the movement of other Agents, as long as a free Hoop is available.
• An Agent cannot move into a Narrow Zone if all Hoops in it are occupied.
• Cars cannot enter Narrow Zones.
• Narrow Zones are considered blocked Zones for Abominations. They cannot move or path through a Narrow Zone, but they will perform a Zombie Pull.

Open Door Actions and Thin Walls

• Thin Walls can be destroyed by performing an Action with any door-opening Equipment. No dice roll is necessary. Simply place the Destroyed Wall token on the Thin Wall.
• The Destroyed Wall counts as an opening for movement and for tracing Line of Sight.
• Using this Action counts as opening a door, so it can produce 1 Noise token, depending on the Weapon used.
• Each map tile can only have 1 Thin Wall destroyed. If a Thin Wall separating 2 different map tiles is destroyed, it counts for both tiles.

Collecting Objective Cards

• Objective cards placed in Objective Zones are collected in the same way as classic Objective tokens.
• Unless stated otherwise, collecting an Objective card does not grant AP to the Survivor.
• Whenever an Objective card is collected, read it aloud to the entire team and apply the game effects described on the card.
• Survivor Skills are not activated when an effect from an Objective card occurs.

Bonus Actions

• The Survivor receives a free Action to spend as desired, once per Mission.
• This reward can be selected multiple times during the Campaign. Mark the corresponding number of Reserve boxes in the Bonus Actions section of the Campaign Log.
• Mark a Spent box with a pencil each time the Survivor spends 1 Bonus Action, with the limit being the amount indicated in the Reserve.
• The Survivor can use multiple Bonus Actions in the same Turn.
• The Reserve is fully replenished at the end of each Mission. Erase the Spent markings.

Campaign Skills

• The Survivor receives a Campaign Skill of the player's choice from those available on the list. Mark the corresponding box in the Campaign Log.
• From then on, the Survivor receives the chosen Skill at Blue Level, in addition to any Blue Level Skills they already possess. It can be used immediately.
• New Skills include: Blessed, Dual Attack, Well-equipped, Capoeirista, Light in the Darkness, Observer