The daily zombie mission: a new town every day, the same for everyone

Every day, Marrow Falls is dealt fresh. One mission, one twist, one town, and the same cards and dice for every table in the world.

How the daily mission works

The daily mission is part of The Hollowing, a free co-op survival board game. Each day the game picks one of its 10 missions, one twist and one town, all from the date. Everyone who plays that day gets the same mission, the same twist, the same town, the same survivors, and the same decks and dice.

It turns over at midnight UTC. Tomorrow there is a new one.

• A team of four. The daily is always played with four survivors. Alone, you lead all four. With friends, each of you takes one.
• No settings to tweak. The twist is the day’s twist. That keeps every table on the same footing.
• A shared board. The Hollowing’s front page shows how many tables have played today, how many got out, and the fastest escape in rounds.

Why the same town matters

In a normal game the town is dealt from tiles each time, so no two games share a map. The daily turns that around. Because everyone gets the same streets and the same draws, the only difference between your game and your friend’s is the choices you made.

That makes it good to talk about. Which building did you search first? Did you take the shotgun and risk the noise? Who went down, and where? Play it, then send a friend the link and compare how many rounds it took you to get out, or why you didn’t.

What you might get

The day’s mission can be any of the ten:

• 
  First LightLight three of five rooftop flares to lead the nearby horde, then run for the field.
• 
  Last Bus OutThree heavy fuel cans carried down two blocks of Main Street to the bus.
• 
  Pharmacy RunThree cool boxes of insulin, each on a five-round clock once it leaves the freezer.
• 
  Radio SilenceAny three of five breakers: each lights a drain and moves where the horde comes from.
• 
  Lights OutThe long night: four fuses hidden somewhere in the biggest town. Search for them.
• 
  SeparatedThe team starts split on opposite edges of town, the horde between you.
• 
  Last CallA last stand: board up the roadhouse, or don’t, and hold it until the convoy comes.
• 
  Track MeetA lure: switch on the stadium PA, then slip away while the horde goes to listen.
• 
  FloodgatesCrank three loud, stiff valves while the night shift comes, then flood the town and run.
• 
  Hollow HillA hunt by lantern light: find a lantern, find the Choir, put it down.

The day’s twist is one of these (a mission never gets a twist it rules out):

• Blackout. The streetlights are out. Guns, flares and firebombs reach only the next zone, and the horde hears a zone further.
• The Pack. The two Hollows farthest from you are Sprinters, and two more Sprinters wait at the spawn points.
• Walking Wounded. Two survivors start with two wounds each.
• Restless. A Hollow already waits at every spawn point.
• Echoes. Sound carries in the cold: each noise token carries 4 zones instead of 2, and you can only see 2 zones down a street.
• Bitten. One survivor starts bitten: at the end of round 9 (11 for a pair) the fever drops them where they stand, and nobody can get them up for a round, unless someone bandages them first.

A five-minute start

1. Open The Hollowing and choose today’s daily mission.
2. Invite friends with the room code if you like, or start alone.
3. Choose your survivors at the table, read the briefing, and go.

Questions

More from Rucksy: Play The Hollowing · Play Candlewake · The Hollowing: zombie survival board game · The Hollowing’s ten missions · Solo board games online · Candlewake: haunted house board game · Hidden traitor games online · Board games to play with friends online

The Hollowing and Candlewake are original games by Rucksy.