Good Dog, Bad Zombie, a cooperative tower defense board game about dogs rescuing their humans in the apocalypse, launched a new Kickstarter campaign this week for its second edition.

Publisher The TESA Collective explains that this new edition adds “upgraded components, fresh art and design, new playable dogs, and a new expansion.”

In Good Dog, Bad Zombie, players control a pack of dogs, working together to herd humans into safety while keeping zombies at bay. Each dog has its own special abilities and can’t get hurt, though zombies can startle them. You’ll have to build a human town before time runs out and you turn feral.

Game designer Brian Van Slyke released a lengthy how-to-play video for the first edition back in 2018:

Dog owners will be pleased to learn that TESA Collective is partnering with One Tail At a Time to help real dogs. On the new campaign page, TESA says “for each backer at the $75+ level, we will purchase an essential item directly from OTAT’s wishlist.”

I’m surprised that Good Dog, Bad Zombie didn’t gain much more traction. While I haven’t had the chance to play yet, I was immediately impressed after discovering this game for its second edition.

Its premise and mechanics definitely transcend typical cash-grabs. More than a few games rely too extensively on animal-themed mechanics or characters to attract animal lovers.

But the variety of actions cleverly translate dog behavior into legitimate tower defense strategy. Barking and herding are particularly neat ideas. And the ticking clock of becoming feral sounds like a brilliant way to create urgency.

The art design is cute and cozy enough for any animal lover, but the scalable difficulty is likely helpful. Keeping the dogs entirely safe was also a wise decision, and I appreciate the overall sincerity in the designer’s love for animals.

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