I first heard about Zona on Essen Spiel '19 where I had the chance to play a demo after which I purchased the game. As there is no information on the game to be found on BGG I thought it might be helpful to note down some information on how the game plays and my impressions after the demo. I have not played the game enough to do a full review, nor have I ever written a review for that matter, so please keep this in mind when reading.
The setting
In 1986 the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl happened. A 30km evacuation area, the Zona, was created. Just before the explosion the army shut down the remaining two reactors and sealed off an area, the 'Sarcophagus'. The army remained there and, using a network of underground bunkers and laboratories, started experiments in the nuclear zone. Since then rumors have been going round describing dangerous events such as unsettling anomalies and sightings of mutating animals but also of valuable artifacts being found in the Zona.
The year is now 2017 and scavengers living in the Zona help deserting scientists escape. These scientists confirm the existence of the artifacts and the mysterious sarcophagus. Finding the Sarcophagus will get you artifacts which will sell big on the black market, so you take on the role of a scavenger and set out for glory.
Unfortunately the scientists also warn that the emission center is about to reach a new critical state and when it does the results will be even more devastating than the 1986 disaster. Will you be able to beat other scavengers to the Sarcophagus before time runs out?
The box/components
We bought the game on Spiel. The board was given separately as apparently there had not been time to add these to the box (it all fits in nicely in the end, no worries). We also got a small artbook and Zona-themed scarfs as a small bonus.
When opening the box there's a rulebook, punch out sheets for tokens, character boards and a load of cards.
There is a tray for threat tokens and a small sticker sheet to indicate which type goes where.
Last item in the box are the dice used for tests and the scavenger minis which are, as far as I can judge, of decent quality.
The setup
The board has two sides, depending on the number of players (1-2 or 3-4). The setup is very straightforward. 386
The board iconography makes it easy to identify what goes where and the rulebook provides clear guidance on what specific steps to take for game board and the scavengers, who need to get some specific starting items and stats and determine where the starting threaths appear. Below is the setup for two players.
The rulebook
As far as I am concerned this is an excellent rulebook. It provides a high level overview of the game flow as well as more detailed rules in the second section. There are numerous examples, graphics and also some flavour text here and there. I may be biased as I had the game demo'ed to me before reading the rulebook so I can't tell how easy it will be for a first-time reader to get a grasp of the rules but it is hard for me to see reasons why there would be an issue.
Gameplay
Zona is a competitive game. The board is roughly divided into 3 areas, from safest to most dangerous: green, orange and red. There are a few safe zones (bunkers) where scavengers can go to camp and trade goods and secret locations that need to be unlocked to get enough information to gain access to the Sarcophagus and retrieve the valuable artifact to win the game. This needs to be done before the rumor deck (top left on the board) runs out. When it does, the source implodes and the <PERSON> and everyone in it gets destroyed.
The first player acts as <PERSON> and will get to make decisions affecting other players. The Voice of the Zona is passed on to a new player every round.
1. Game rounds
Each round consists of 3 phases:
Action phase
Each player gets to perform a maximum of two actions
o Move (and resolve an encounter when entering an area with a threat)
o Local action
o Open secret location
o Encounter
o Rest
o Pass
o Camping (when in a bunker) - repair, buy/sell items, heal...
Event phase
Every player, in turn order, draws an event card based on the zone they are in and resolves its effects. Effects can be based on location or reputation. The red zone and bunkers do not have event crads. The green zones, orange zones, Sarcophagus and secret locations all do.
Rumor phase
The Voice of the Zona draws a rumor card and moves the emission tracker accordingly, then resolves other effects on the card. 629