Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter is a semi-cooperative hidden role survival horror game set in a zombie apocalypse. You and your friends fight for the survival of yourselves and your colony against zombies, the cold, starvation and…each other.

Gameplay:

Briefly, each player gets a reference card and is dealt two survivor cards that they will control throughout the game though these may change. They are also each dealt 1 hidden role card representing their own secret agenda as well as surviving, most of these objectives are achievable with a cooperative victory but up to one of you is a traitor working actively and secretly to kill everyone else and destroy the colony. Throughout the game survivors will travel to the various buildings in the town you are surviving in and will be assaulted by hordes of zombies trying to break into the colony and other buildings you are in. Whenever you travel you must either expend precious resources or risk death. Each turn you must feed your colony or lose moral and gain starvation. And fairly quickly it will become apparent just how desperate this game will make you feel, hungry, distrustful and scared.

Pros:

Excellent zombie theme and well-designed gameplay, components are good quality. Tense, strategic and tactical decision making with un-trusting group discussion. Potential for interesting combinations of character and equipment abilities. Extensive numbers of events that can occur each turn with varied and well written narratives that provoke decisions and relate to your specific game state. There are enough moving pieces that every game is different with a potential for many different scenarios and ways to play the game including full co-op and increased betrayer chance. Additionally the chance that there is no betrayer at all is the best mechanic as it allows for the traitor to play off that slight chance in the players’ minds and best of all have to the chance that players at each other’s throats in a game where everyone really is on the same side is nothing short of brilliant.

Cons:

A long time investment, meaning that the game can be mentally exhausting with having to keep track of the game and social interactions. It also requires every player to know what is going on with a fairly complex set of rules meaning the learning curve can be high and it is hard to walk new players through their first few turns as they may distrust advice from you or other players and the game has little ramp up dropping difficult situations on the colony almost immediately. Because of these downsides I’ve found myself bringing it to the table less and less as the intense pace and steep learning curve make it hard for new players to have time to have fun. The theme can also be a little inconsistent with tense moments and sections of very thematic horror text juxtaposed with bits of comedy which are funny but don’t fit the theme very much such as one of the best characters in the game being a rescue dog, funny but not thematic. Overall this game is very well designed but certainly not for everyone but it is the perfect game for some.

Summary:

Number of Players: 2-5

Ideal Number of Players: 4-5 (You want enough people for the potential traitor to blend in although 3 is ok, 2 player co-op is not great)

Listed Time: 60-90 minutes

Actual Time: 90-180 minutes (an hour maybe if playing with 2 people who have played before.

Size/Weight: Large/Heavy

Instructions: Fairly clear with some niche cases hard to find.

Components: High Quality but would have been nice to have plastic figures.

Theme: Very good but somewhat inconsistent.

Complexity: High (both mechanically and socially.

Strategy: High

Tactics: High

Competitiveness: Moderate (everyone wants to win much more then other co-op type games due to the hidden roles)

Accessibility:

Fun: Low (for new players though this does get better with replays of the same group)

Social: High (though not in a chatting party way, talking centers on the game)

Types: Semi-cooperative, Social, Hidden Roles, Strategy, Tactics, Bluffing, Complex, Thematic, Long, Combat.