Apocalypse World vs Mutant: Year Zero
Compare Apocalypse World and Mutant: Year Zero side by side. See differences in complexity, dice, genre, cost, and more.
| Apocalypse World | Mutant: Year Zero | |
|---|---|---|
| Genre | Post-Apocalyptic | Post-Apocalyptic |
| Play Style | Narrative, Rules-Light, Collaborative, Improvisation, Low-Prep, Drama, Theater of the Mind, Roleplay-Heavy, Playbook-Driven | Sandbox, Survival, Exploration, Character-Driven, Worldbuilding, Narrative |
| Core Mechanic | Roll 2d6 + stat. 6−: MC makes a hard move, 7–9: succeed with cost or complication, 10+: full success. Playbook moves trigger from the fiction. The MC follows Agendas and Principles instead of plotting. | Roll a pool of d6s (attribute + skill + gear). Each 6 is a success; one success is enough. You can push your roll to reroll failures, but 1s on attribute dice cause trauma and 1s on gear dice cause damage to equipment. Mutations cost Mutation Points and can misfire with unpredictable side effects. |
| Dice | 2d6 | d6 dice pool |
| Complexity | Low | Medium |
| Accessibility | Medium | Medium |
| Runnability | High | High |
| License | CC BY 4.0 (Powered by the Apocalypse) | Proprietary |
| Cost | $$ | $$ |
| Publisher | lumpley games | Free League Publishing |
| Year | 2016 | 2014 |
| Best For | Groups who want raw, character-driven post-apocalyptic drama where the fiction leads and the MC never plans ahead. | Post-apocalyptic campaigns where mutant survivors explore a deadly Zone, build up their home settlement, and search for the mythical Eden — with the Year Zero Engine that spawned a family of games. |
| Highlights | Genre-defining design that launched the entire PbtA movement, playbooks with built-in dramatic hooks, MC framework provides detailed GM guidance, highly hackable | Push mechanic creates tough choices, Ark development gives players a shared home to build, Zone exploration is tense and rewarding, eight distinctive roles with built-in relationships and dreams, launched the Year Zero Engine family |
| Considerations | Can feel directionless without strong character flags, 2nd edition layout is dense and hard to reference, move trigger ambiguity requires frequent MC judgment calls, harm mechanics can cascade quickly | Mutation randomness can frustrate planners, metaplot requires significant GM commitment, Ark development bookkeeping adds between-session overhead, Zone travel can feel repetitive without varied encounters |