Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[warrenss2]

I'm thinking about buying one or the other.

Let me know the pros and cons of each before I do.
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[Ron Blessing]

I prefer LNOE because it's not a traditional co-op game. It's a team-based game--human player(s) vs. zombie player(s). People who prefer competitive games get something and so do those who prefer cooperative play. I also like that either team can choose what specific team member goes first based on strategy and tactics. It reminds me of side-based initiative from old school D&D. It's more reasonably priced than Zombicide. If you want to expand it, it's heavily supported. Finally, many of the cards in the game are super entertaining.

Anecdotally, I can say I've owned it since 2007, and though I've owned over 300 board games at one time, it remains my favorite board game. And I'm not a guy that can typically stick to one game that way.
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Ron Blessing
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[warrenss2]

Yeh. Your converting over LNOE to SW made me rethink my decision of buying Zombicide outright.

Just want to know more before about both games before buying..
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[Jordan Peacock]

I've played both games. Last Night on Earth has some cute elements, but my experience with playing it was ... less than fun. There are just too many poorly-written cards: the language is ambiguous, and if there's any competitiveness at the table, it's a sure-fire recipe for arguments to break out about WHICH way is the most fair way to interpret said rules.

Zombicide, on the other hand, has some strange rules, but the mechanics are pretty straightforward.

I find the cooperative play interesting, but I've run into mild problems in "cooperative" games (such as Zombicide and Super Dungeon Explore) where group-think can bog down the game (i.e., too much time discussing what to do next, as everyone "doing his own thing" will almost assuredly lead to disaster). It's a bit more fun with a group where winning isn't so important, and if the "heroes" get wiped out, people are still okay with that.

(I have a similar dynamic problem going on with some of my RPG sessions. I find myself yearning for a simpler time when everyone just ran around willy-nilly, doing his or her own thing, teamwork be darned, rather than spending so long discussing what to do next. )

A friend of mine has both Last Night on Earth, plus my painted copy of Zombicide, and Zombicide is the game that keeps getting the requests when he takes them to "board game night." It could be because it's NEW, but it could also just be because it's fun.

Last Night on Earth has some fun elements, but if I were serious about playing it again, I think I'd want to establish some errata for those cards (or hunt around and find out if there already exists a set that I've overlooked). Competitive board games need clearer rules, or the arguments are going to rob the fun.
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[ProfMarks]

Zombicide just sucks folks in and is very immersive. Very quick to teach so it's a nice gateway game. Also, the number of different scenarios and free scenario builder (plus a weath of online built ones) provides very different experiences each time you play.

[Sitting Duck]

Last Night on Earth was featured on Wil Wheaton's Tabletop. Among the highlights I recall, one was when one of the players (can't remember who) drew a Chainsaw card and Wil reached offscreen and handed her an oversized prop chainsaw. The other was how Felicity kept on not moving this one zombie at the Doctor's Office, claiming it was the zombie of the doctor who was still playing out the motions of his job, much to Wil's annoyance.
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The rabbit is cuddly. Kids like little cuddly sidekicks. I mean... The rabbit... It's a time-tested... Okay, the rabbit bites.
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