Mountain of Brains

Content Warning: stress, isolation, infection, unwitting host, body horror, zombies, death of loved ones, failure, character bleed

Mountain of Brains is a solo tabletop tower defense game with some where you try to keep yourself and those you know safe by fighting off hordes of zombies and maintaining a fortification. To play this game you will need a copy of the survivor (character) sheets, a pencil, a deck of poker cards (I gots print and play ones),  way too many dice, maybe a journaling medium, and some tokens to count resources (I continue to use coffee beans) otherwise you can just pencil in the resource amounts.

In this game I encourage a more narrative approach. Every time you roll dice think about what you are attempting to accomplish and how the skills, equipment, or people you are assigning to that test affect your approach. When you take damage and degrade a die, consider how that item becomes less effective as a result of the test. It might be helpful to journal your game, but you don’t have to. I narrate my game to myself as I play. I just ask you to make thoughtful rolls and reflect on the narrative you are creating.

Each day of survival is played in two phases:

• In the Defense Phase you will Draw from the Wandering Horde Deck, rescue allies, defend your fortification, and complete tasks.
• In the Upkeep Phase you will start projects, relieve stress, and maintain your skills, equipment, and relationships.

At the end of the day, you will take a moment to reflect on the horrors since you last slept and try to regain enough energy to do it again tomorrow. The game ends when your Stress becomes too high, or you reach the calm empty place at bottom of the Wandering Horde Deck