Dead of Winter reviews

This is a great game for those who enjoy the zombie genre but want something a bit more in-depth.

Every time you play you get the chance to pick a different winning condition, but on top of that, you each get a secret personal goal. Before the game starts, you shuffle a deck of personal objectives, one of which is to betray the colony. Since these goals are meant to be kept secret, you never know if you can trust the other players which is crucial. Every round of the game also has a group objective that requires all the players to work together. For example, during one round you might need to collect 7 food (face down in a pile to be revealed at the end of the round), but all the time you are wondering if one of the others might be holding back their supplies to reduce colony morale… Maybe. Maybe not.

If you fail the round objective then something bad happens, and when I say bad, I don't mean just a slap on the wrist. For example, 7 more zombies might get added to the colony ON TOP of the 12 you already have. In this game, situations can go from bad to desperate quickly.

Lastly, you have to watch out for zombies whenever you move from one location to another. Consequences range from being wounded (bad) to getting frostbite (worse) to getting bitten which immediately kills one of the many characters you are playing (you start with 2) and then causes a chain reaction within that location. The only definite way to stop the infection is to kill the next infected character or roll the dice to risk spreading it further. And if a character gets bitten at the colony, well then… [shudder]

All in all, this game is an excellent addition to any collection.

Truly amazing game. It can be punishing, but so achieving when you win.

I have a ‘games night’ group; We have played this a few times and have had a great time playing EVERY TIME. This game has a lot of replay-ability with many different mission and individual objectives every game is different.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys table top gaming; and have placed it in my ‘Must Have’ collection.

I hope you have as much fun as i do.

Nathan Cain.

A must play game !

Played through three times in as many weeks, with groups of 3–5 players. After the initial unboxing of all the pieces, the game sets up quickly and is easy to get the hang of. The game feels perfectly balanced for tension, from the second turn on you feel the game slipping away from you, but still within reach, keeping that knife-edge tension running right until the final round. Very impressed with that. A definite favourite.

It was easy to learn and super fun to play with friends.

This game is so fun! I would say it kinda plays like a more in depth, harder version of “Last Night on Earth”. In my opinion it's more fun the more people you have playing but it's still great with 2 people. The crossroad cards, which are basically random event cards, add a lot of drama and life to the game. If you like longer, co-op with a traitor, survival based or resource management games you'll like this, also great for fans of zombies!

Dead of Winter is a must for any board game enthusiast, excellent 3–5 player game for a chill night of accusations and heartbreak.