Its worrying me!

[Captain Blood]

Don't do it!
Stick to California in The Earlies, or the sensible and grounded world of VSF 

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

ZOmbies can be great fun to paint too, you can go for blue/pruple/yellow/red skin tones and have fun with loads of dirty washes and blood splatter....

[majorsmith]

i bought 80 zs the other day...god knows when im going to paint them!

[Darkoath]

Lowtardog even has Zeds in other historical periods!

I loved the ACW Zed pictures you posted over at TMP Lowtardog!

[Darkoath]

Go for it Mal... Dead by dawn!!!

[Malamute]

So far I am managing to hold out.

 Its only the Zeds I need. Between me and my gaming friends we have enough survivors, civilians, cops, soldiers, punks, bikers etc. . But the numbers needed to create a horde does put me off. I suppose 15 -20 just isn't enough for a game...

[itchy]

using occult wars which uses an encounter system for zombies we have ghad games where only one or two zeds have been on the table at once and the maximum has been 25 this represents entering buildings and the odd zombie jumping out on the survivors,also you get to create your own zombies so on a table with not much scenary you can make them the fast type zeds from 28days later or the dawn remake,so they still can take your team by surprise.

[Pil]

I think it really depends on the ruleset, for a five man game of extreme zombie hunter I believe we had 133 zeds and we quit the game because it just dragged on (the number of zombies rises exponentially with the number of players so it's probably best to play it with 2-3 people). For a game of our own making (somewhat like a miniatures version of the zombies board game) we used about 75, in all Combat Zone games I've played the 30 models I have painted were usually sufficient.

Basically, if you have a set of rules that requires you to fill the table with zombies and tick them off one at a time, you need a lot painted, but these games tend to get a bit dull as at some point the distance between you and the zombies only increases making the game easier as you progress. If you have a ruleset where zombies come and go you don't need an extreme amount.

[Argonor]

I can recommend Dead walk Again for a game that has Zs coming and going (but more coming than going).

Very good free ruleset, with a very 'OMG, they just keep coming'-paranoid feel, ideal for cooperative play, as the Zs are controlled by the rules. Also VERY good for those scenarios with 'going in/meet the objectives/get the hell out' -flow.

BUT you need about 5 Zs starting on the table for each human, if you do not play on a large table with objectives at the far end (which, btw., is also a very good setup for those rules - zombies WILL arrive while the humans advance, and when the shooting starts, all Hell breaks loose  ).

On the upside, you do not need more than one survivor for each player to have an enjoyable game - and you can the slowly expand your Z-horde from game to game.

I have been considering ATZ and Occult Wars for a while, and I think I'm going to get OW somewhen during this winter (must count the pennies, first  ).

[Malamute]

Thanks for the feedback so far chaps.
We are using home grown rules, I think I could get by with a modest horde 20 or so figures.
But I haven't given in yet, my credit card is still tucked up safely in my wallet.

[Argonor]

With huge hordes of zombies surely the game would bog down into bordom when it came time to move the 100's of zombies.

I'm not sure... lots of the tension comes from watching those shamblers close in 

And if some of the Z's attack, the players get to roll dice, of course...

But, yes, too many zombies (did I write THAT??) can slow down gameplay.

[AKULA]

But beware; you need an awful lot of zombies for Future Wars 

There is nothing awful, about a lot of zombies....

Go on, buy some - paint a few when you want a break from whatever else you are working on, and before long you will have a horde.  The best thing about a zombie horde is that there is no army list, no right/wrong way to paint them.

Personally, i find the better quality sculpts more rewarding to paint - yes they cost more, but they get painted, and therefore used, rather than sitting in a pile of lead. 

If you want a small quality horde, try to go for upright, shambling poses (Hasslefree, Crocodile Games, Cold Wars, Heresy, Griffin) rather than a skateboarding ballerina, which will stick out like a sore thumb. 

Once you've got a couple of dozen, you can bulk it out with lower cost minis (Eureka, Black Orc, Zombiesmith, Westwind etc etc), and more quirky ones. 

Don't forget as well, converting minis out of your existing lead pile, can be very easy to do, gets rid of unwanted minis, and is FREE - get yourself a pin vice drill (a couple pounds) and a sharp knife, and off you go.

[Gluteus Maximus]

....... rather than a skateboarding ballerina...... 

Now you've got me interested   

[Argonor]

....... rather than a skateboarding ballerina...... 

Now you've got me interested   

Here we go again....      

[General M@yhem]

I can recommend Dead walk Again for a game that has Zs coming and going (but more coming than going).

Very good free ruleset, with a very 'OMG, they just keep coming'-paranoid feel, ideal for cooperative play, as the Zs are controlled by the rules. Also VERY good for those scenarios with 'going in/meet the objectives/get the hell out' -flow.

BUT you need about 5 Zs starting on the table for each human, if you do not play on a large table with objectives at the far end (which, btw., is also a very good setup for those rules - zombies WILL arrive while the humans advance, and when the shooting starts, all Hell breaks loose  ).

On the upside, you do not need more than one survivor for each player to have an enjoyable game - and you can the slowly expand your Z-horde from game to game.

I have been considering ATZ and Occult Wars for a while, and I think I'm going to get OW somewhen during this winter (must count the pennies, first  ).

Do you have a link for the website with the free rules on it?