ZONA: The Secret of Chernobyl

The reasons for splashing out and getting a new game are many and varied. Often personal recommendation is enough to make me dip my hand into my pocket. Sometimes [in the pre-COVID days] I might get inspired by a game that I have played with others and felt I need to get my own copy. However, there are occasions when I have fancied something different from my usual staple of medium to heavyweight “euros” or lighter family-friendly fillers.

So it was with Zona: the Secret of Chernobyl. I had seen a fellow gaming enthusiast post a few pictures on Instagram and that piqued my interest. Chernobyl was a disaster on a mammoth scale [the nuclear accident, and not the game]. I was a teenager and remember clearly the events playing out, and being denied at the time by the authorities in the former USSR. From that catastrophe, thousands were evicted and moved to safety, leaving a huge exclusion zone around the leaking nuclear reactor. Over the years the town of Pripyat has fallen into decay. No one can fail to be moved at the sight of a rusting Ferris wheel with trees growing in the middle of roads. It has become nature’s playground now.

But what has been happening while the region has been isolated? Wolves now run wild. Nature has reclaimed what was once man’s territory. The question is whether radioactivity has led to long-term mutational changes.

It is into this backdrop that we have this large adventure board game. It is set within the 40-kilometre radius of the exclusion zone. But things have changed over the years. At the height of the Soviet Union, “The Zone” was policed and guarded. With the collapse of the USSR and the economic downturn, this real estate is now home to scavengers and others living off the land. All is not well. The hastily repaired sarcophagus still houses a secret. Rumours abound that a catastrophe, much bigger than the 1986 accident, is about to occur.

A Walk On The Wild Side

What are your options? Do you ignore the warnings and leave others to worry about what may occur? Perhaps you should venture into the badlands to get to the reactor and see if the rumours are true.

This is a challenge on a grand scale. Mixing fact with some slightly dubious science fiction this is an epic. Up to four players can enter the exclusion zone with the hope of reaching the sarcophagus. It is semi-cooperative. This means that whilst there can be only one “winner” [this is the player who reaches the reactor first] but it would be impossible to do so without collaborating and helping others along the way.

Zona is a long quest taking at least two hours but in reality, players must allow three or four – that is if you don’t succumb to the radiation first.

So, if you fancy a walk on the wild side come with me into the exclusion zone. The area around the reactor didn’t just keep people away from the power station but it was a useful area, free from prying eyes where military and government buildings were engaged in top-secret experiments. However, with no guards to keep control, the anomalies and mutants have free reign.

Radiation Sickness

The area on the board is divided into sectors, coloured according to their distance from the reactor. The green sector, furthest from the sarcophagus is “relatively” safe. There are few threats and it is into these areas that you and your fellow scavengers start the play. The amber and red sectors get progressively “hotter”. With every step danger stalks. The mutants become more extreme, but also the items that might be retrieved are more valuable and more numerous. Few have ventured this far or escaped with their lives!

Despite the awful dangers, there are a few areas that allow you, as a scavenger, to take a rest from the acid clouds and radioactivity. These bunkers afford you a night sleep, a chance to refresh your equipment and heal yourself. Four secret locations are located in the zone. These contain remnants of laboratories. While they can provide some protection from the elements, they also contain secrets and dangers that must be beaten. All of these threats and must be overcome but, with the ever-present threat of rising radioactive emissions, the question is whether the threats kill you first or you die of radiation sickness. If the radiation spikes become too high and you are in the open then this will certainly kill you.

Scavengers

The game starts by selecting a character card, a mini-figure and a backpack board. There are ten to choose from. Each represents a scavenger with varying natural predispositions. The four abilities that each have to different degrees are alertness [the ability to sense dangers or find hidden items], physical [useful for speed and strength when fighting mutants], smart [used to understand scientific processes and manage technology] and willpower [the ability to withstand some of the tests].

A scavenger’s general health is called their fortitude. This is a measure of their physical and psychological preparedness. For example, you will receive damage on your fortitude track if you are injured during a fight, but also suffer when equipment and abilities do not give you adequate protection.

The ten scavengers have unique special abilities too. These can be particularly helpful in certain tests or when recovering from a task. These characters may hold up to five items within their backpack. The equipment cards that you collect are placed in empty spaces on your player board or can be used or worn to provide protection.

Fatigue is also measured for each player. Low levels indicate you’re rested and able to cope with the demands. As your fatigue worsens [and you choose not to rest] then you are more prone to failing a test or sustaining damage. You’re also unable to repeat certain tasks. Each scavenger has the opportunity to affect its reputation. Most will start neutral but depending on choices made or the outcome of tasks, a reputation may be enhanced or worsened. This will then influence the outcome of certain threats or tests and your interaction with others during the game.

Players take turns and each consists of a series of rounds divided into three phases; actions, events and rumours. All of the players perform their two actions before the event and rumour phases can start. Many actions are possible. The simplest is moving to an adjacent region but often entering a new region will trigger an encounter with a new threat. Sometimes more than one threat is present and these must be faced immediately.

Actions

Most threats require two elements to win. Initially, you will rely on alertness and your ability to identify the problem that needs resolving. The outcome is determined by the roll of three dice, in conjunction with any specific abilities and personal equipment. After this initial test, a player can decide whether to back out of the confrontation or risk-taking damage and fighting further.

The second part of the fight will test your wisdom and willpower [in the case of anomalies] or physical strength [for mutation encounters]. Dice, equipment and personal abilities will all affect the final outcome. The reward may be money, which can be used for bribes, scientific equipment, artefacts, or injury if you should fail.

Your scavenger’s character is vulnerable. Excessive radiation will cause sickness and physical damage can be caused during certain threat encounters. Traumatic events will impact your mental health. All three types of damage affect the fortitude track and once the fortitude track is overwhelmed a permanent weakness will be added to a player’s character. This will then affect any of the other attributes and abilities later in the game.

Whilst exploring the zone a player might open secret locations. These come with a host of threats but at least two locations need to be identified and opened before the player can advance towards the sarcophagus. Occasionally it is good to rest, reducing a player’s fatigue. This will enable a player to have a better chance in subsequent fights

Events

Once all of the actions have been performed the events come into play. These will depend on a player’s location in the badlands, and these must be resolved. In this regard Zona is a narrative game. Each region or sector [green, orange and red] has specific cards. The text is read, tests performed and damages resolved. Many of the events give choices, either mandatory or optional, and the player’s ability to respond to these events will be determined by previous choices they have made.

Rumours

With each card drawn the radiation emission is changed. Some effects are temporary, but once the radiation track reaches its limit there is an emission- injuring any scavengers that may be out in the open.

With the three phases; action, events and rumours on each turn, the game develops quite rapidly. This brief gameplay synopsis is just a snapshot of some of the choices during a game. A “how to play” blog in the future will explore the nuances and depth of this game.

Thoughts On Zona

I first stumbled upon zona on Instagram. It is an unusual game with a fantastic theme. Many films are set in a post-disaster world. Zona fits this so well. To date, few games have embraced the Chernobyl disaster with such realism. The zone immerses the gamer into the badlands so thoroughly it is easy to get carried away and lose yourself a few hours in this epic. Zona is more of a campaign. This is as far from a filler game as the concept of space travel is from the horse and cart. Players should not treat Zona lightly. Although the box is a standard size its contents are certainly more demanding than most other games.

The image on the front cover is stark. The scavenger is equipped with her protective gear with the abandoned carousel of Pripyat in the background. This leaves you in no doubt where this game will take you. The weight of the box gives a strong hint about the weight of this game. 2 ½ kilos! And not one wooden meeple in sight. The box is absolutely rammed with components, cards and items. There is hardly any spare space.

The ten different scavengers all have their own player boards and matching mini-figures. The detail on the figures is perfectly matched with the images on the cards. The card stock itself is all very good quality indeed. No expense has been spared. Each of the threats are indicated by specific card tokens. These are well printed, with clear instructions showing the challenges faced and the rewards if the scavenger should be successful.

An Epic Challenge

The size of the task ahead soon becomes apparent when you open the double-sided six-fold board! Zona fills your entire vision as well as your gaming table. This is a full heavy metal experience, and it makes no apologies for it. Gamers need to allow themselves enough time both to set up the game and then to play it. However, relative to the typical game time [about three hours] the ten minutes of set-up is proportionally quite small.

Once underway, and starting with the “relatively” safe green zones, players can see the expanse of the badlands stretching out in front of them. The enormity of the task ahead is clear to see. In just looking at this game one gets an appreciation of the heroism and bravery of the first responders who dealt with the Chernobyl disaster. The engineers and scientists who contained the power plant must have looked at the task ahead of them and doubted whether it was humanly possible. That’s the initial feeling I get at the start of Zona.

However, even the longest journey has to start with a few small steps, and so it is with Zona. Within a few turns, you and your fellow scavengers are starting to find your way. With each turn, new hazards and threats appear. There is a temptation to run away, forwards towards your final goal. But in rushing and escaping you will miss the chance to gain valuable artefacts and equipment.

This is a semi-cooperative game. There can be only one winner, but there is no hope of succeeding without collaboration. Each scavenger has unique abilities. The scientist is better able to utilise artefacts. The hunter has a better perception when initiating an attack on any threat. All of the characters can win by themselves, but some combinations will work very well together, complementing their differing abilities.

A Little Luck Goes A Long Way

Each threat and event is, to a degree, resolved by the roll of three dice. This can be a little irritating but careful planning and the use of equipment can swing the odds more in your favour. Many epic games are resolved with a dice roll so this mechanic is perfectly acceptable. This element of luck fits so well with life in the zone. You can imagine that bad things just seem to happen with more frequency in this godforsaken corner of Ukraine. A bad outcome with the dice is not a disaster though. Players can retake a task or refight threat, and in real life will become more tired of it.

Zona seems to be able to tap into so many facets of a human’s ability to cope with difficult situations. So often a challenge will require mental agility and tenacity instead of just pure muscle. Each challenge will need different player abilities but with the roll of the dice, even the weakest individual has a chance of overcoming the rabid dogs or mutants [if they’re lucky].

Immense And Immersive

The beauty of Zona is the immense and immersive experience. With every turn, after the action phase, the event cards for that area are read and discussed. With this narrative element players face more choices and threats. The outcomes and options available will also be influenced by previous actions. This is not a linear A to B to C quest. Players can really make their own game and affect how they progress. The writing certainly does draw in the reader. You feel the danger and sense the threats ahead of you.

These little vignettes put me in the mind of some Red Raven games such as Above and Below. But here the danger feels much more real. The story builds. Each event will affect all players. The choices on offer generate a sense of tension and mounting danger. Zona works well whether played alone or with others. It is more fun however facing threats and dangers together knowing you have a wingman on whom you can call if needs be.

After an hour or so in the zone and players will be struggling, trying to decide whether to venture closer to the sarcophagus and enter the more dangerous orange or perhaps red areas. You will feel an affinity for your character. You want them to succeed in the challenges and threats but you become more aware of their fatigue and their injuries sustained. In addition, you feel their vulnerabilities. All of this is set with the ever-present threat of a new sudden high radiation leak. At times I felt a little like the overprotective father, Marlin, in Finding Nemo who is afraid to leave the protection of the anemone. My character was safe in the bunker, but without venturing outside into the “drop off” I would never develop and gain more skills.

Out Of This World

Playing Zona transports me and my son into another world, where choices seem to have real consequences. For three hours we are discussing ways to negotiate secret locations or working out who might be the best for certain tasks. We have no other game like Zona. It took commitment to get to know it, but it is oh so worthwhile.

Part of the appeal and the playability is due to the rule book. This is well-written and clear. The text makes sense and facilitates play even though it is long with advanced explanations. However, with care and perhaps a training video the three phases of each turn [action, event, rumour] soon become quite intuitive. Turns become slick and quick and with each event phase affecting all players, there is never any “down-time” at all.

Zona is not for the faint-hearted. This is a hard game. I have yet to win, but I am glad. The fact that this game keeps beating me makes it all the more replayable. The stark image of a nuclear wasteland has an almost out of world beauty to it. I don’t want my games to be sugar-coated and fluffy. Life is not like that and Zona reflects many of life’s gritty realities. You might succeed but in many respects, the outcomes of some events are completely outside of your control and random factors may totally derail your plans. Preparing for the unexpected is sometimes a good motto for life

Final thoughts On Zona

Too many people seem to jump on the populist game bandwagon. There are well-known dungeon crawler quests or adventures set in the lands of elves and wizards. To join them perhaps is to overlook this excellent adventure. Playing Zona is a little like choosing the big mixed grill in a restaurant. It certainly isn’t to everyone’s taste and Zona will not suit everyone. Similarly, you need to know what to expect- a big satisfying game, that will take total commitment from start to finish. You certainly wouldn’t want to play it every day [and you probably wouldn’t be able to] but having got it to the table you are so glad you made the choice. As the game is being packed away you find yourself looking at the calendar on the wall to look for time in the weeks ahead of when you can take your next outing into the Ukrainian badlands.