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on March 1, 2017
Great game but I am very critical so I tend to be a little tougher on games. Great story/narrative, love and hate the traitor aspect (makes it more interesting, so I like it) and fairly easy to follow once you get the hang of the rules. But, I often feel like it is just trying to go through different piles of cards as fast as you can with the zombies being a nuisance depending on the mission. And, I feel like they make it too difficult to accomplish your mission, the team mission and deal with a traitor and zombies... again, while trying to plow through different decks.
But all in all, a great themed game that brings up good social interactions with a good story but the root of the game is just "get through those cards"
But all in all, a great themed game that brings up good social interactions with a good story but the root of the game is just "get through those cards"
on August 30, 2016
Oh, Dead Of Winter, how I love hate you!
I'm huge on table top games and my biggest grip with some games are their package quality and game parts quality. This game is at the high end for me as far as the actual physical quality of the game. It's a strong nice sturdy box, great sturdy well made pieces and overall just a great well designed and thought out game. For those of you who have bought the newer of editions of Catan only to discover the cheapest made box, the cheapest made game board, cheap everything, this game is the exact opposite.
As far as actual game play, this game is great. It takes awhile to set up and challenges you. I've played it about a dozen times now and it has been a different game each time, huge re-playability. This is a HARD game, especially for us since we've only been able to play with two players and two player mode is hard.
This is for sure a top ten game for me now. If it's on your wish list I'd take the plunge and get it. So worth it.
I'm huge on table top games and my biggest grip with some games are their package quality and game parts quality. This game is at the high end for me as far as the actual physical quality of the game. It's a strong nice sturdy box, great sturdy well made pieces and overall just a great well designed and thought out game. For those of you who have bought the newer of editions of Catan only to discover the cheapest made box, the cheapest made game board, cheap everything, this game is the exact opposite.
As far as actual game play, this game is great. It takes awhile to set up and challenges you. I've played it about a dozen times now and it has been a different game each time, huge re-playability. This is a HARD game, especially for us since we've only been able to play with two players and two player mode is hard.
This is for sure a top ten game for me now. If it's on your wish list I'd take the plunge and get it. So worth it.
on March 10, 2016
Lots of pieces and prep but a very tense, fun and entertaining game for a mature (not just the 'age' reference; I've gamed with many kids more mature than many "adults") audience.
Pros
- Optional &/or Chance Traitor mechanic
- Competitive Co-op
Cons
- Might ruin real life relationships
- Should really only play if you and your friends are in the mood to abuse & punish yourselves
Things to know going in
- Lots of pieces
- 5 to 10 min prep time (much greater if you don't sort and put things back in an organized manner) with experience players
- A very bleak setting (quite obvious from the game's premise), that is a fun and enjoyable experience by making 'less tragic' events feel like a triumphant victory...
- You may want to pre-schedule some therapy sessions for post game recovey
Pros
- Optional &/or Chance Traitor mechanic
- Competitive Co-op
Cons
- Might ruin real life relationships
- Should really only play if you and your friends are in the mood to abuse & punish yourselves
Things to know going in
- Lots of pieces
- 5 to 10 min prep time (much greater if you don't sort and put things back in an organized manner) with experience players
- A very bleak setting (quite obvious from the game's premise), that is a fun and enjoyable experience by making 'less tragic' events feel like a triumphant victory...
- You may want to pre-schedule some therapy sessions for post game recovey
on April 26, 2015
Absolutely love this game. Granted it was a little tricky to learn at first but once we figured out the rules we were able to teach our friends pretty quickly. You definitely need a big table for this, at least a 3 by 6 For 3 or more players (see picture, table is definitely not large enough). the three of us played without the betrayal cards at first just to get used to the game play.
Pros: zombies. Critical and strategic thinking for yourself and with/for your friends. It's not based on chance though there are times a move could be because of a crossroads card. I really wondered why the game was so much money, there's so much thought and story put into this game and that's my opinion as to why... really keeps you engaged.
Cons: if you've never played a board game like this, you will get impatient with the instructions. The video really didn't help either. My two friends did the reading and figuring out and then taught me after. It's much easier to start the game and learn as you go rather than sit there and try to read the manual before playing.
Pros: zombies. Critical and strategic thinking for yourself and with/for your friends. It's not based on chance though there are times a move could be because of a crossroads card. I really wondered why the game was so much money, there's so much thought and story put into this game and that's my opinion as to why... really keeps you engaged.
Cons: if you've never played a board game like this, you will get impatient with the instructions. The video really didn't help either. My two friends did the reading and figuring out and then taught me after. It's much easier to start the game and learn as you go rather than sit there and try to read the manual before playing.
on March 22, 2016
This is a truly board game... if you have the time and patience to play it. With almost 100 or so pieces to set up and use, it can be a chose to set up, but it's well worth it. This meta co-op board game is great fun and is plenty of challenge for those who like to dedicate themselves to board games. In a post apocalyptic era where zombies are abundant, food, medicine and weapons are scarce, you truly need to strategize to pull resources and efforts to keeping your colony alive, completing crisis cards, and at the same time fulfilling your own secret object. Definitely worth a buy. But also, I'd recommend watching the youtube how-to video rather than reading the instruction manuals, and/or watching the tv series table-top (available on youtube) on how game play goes. Definitely helps get a good idea of what to expect.
on March 2, 2016
A truly excellent game as long as you have a group of friends willing to wade through some of the nuanced rules. The irony was the initial breadth of paper standees and dice and game boards made people nervous about Dead of Winter, but after the basics were mastered in one session everyone just kept wanting to play it. No two scenarios are entirely the same and it's a fascinating mix of co-operative play and paranoia about who is doing what and for what sinister reason. This is a zombie game in which fighting zombies is a last resort and the real test is gathering supplies, surviving other survivors and accomplishing objectives, both those known to all and secret (sometimes traitorous) goals known only to yourself.
This combines all the golden qualities of the Battlestar game and other zombie games which focus exclusively on fighting but balances both out so it feels satisfying and useful to slay the undead but the focus of the game remains on making or breaking alliances. And yes you CAN exile people, but you'd better hope they're traitors or you might have lost valuable allies who could turn vengeful!
Some games claim to be 'storytelling' games but you don't get moreso than this. The Crossroads cards, the unique looks to all the survivors and the different crisis scenarios give you all the fuel you need to invent all manner of personalized tales surrounding the diverse characters and their misadventures during a frigid apocalypse.
This is complex but user friendly which indicates a studio who really did put this sucker through the play testing ringer until it ironed out all the kinks.
Well worth it if you have a group of friends with broad imaginations who enjoy intrigue and the horror genre!
This combines all the golden qualities of the Battlestar game and other zombie games which focus exclusively on fighting but balances both out so it feels satisfying and useful to slay the undead but the focus of the game remains on making or breaking alliances. And yes you CAN exile people, but you'd better hope they're traitors or you might have lost valuable allies who could turn vengeful!
Some games claim to be 'storytelling' games but you don't get moreso than this. The Crossroads cards, the unique looks to all the survivors and the different crisis scenarios give you all the fuel you need to invent all manner of personalized tales surrounding the diverse characters and their misadventures during a frigid apocalypse.
This is complex but user friendly which indicates a studio who really did put this sucker through the play testing ringer until it ironed out all the kinks.
Well worth it if you have a group of friends with broad imaginations who enjoy intrigue and the horror genre!
on September 20, 2016
Dead of Winter does a wonderful job of translating a co-op zombie survival game to a table top experience. Ive currently played with my roommates about 4 times now and we have decided the best way to play this game is with 4 people, after experimenting with 3 and 4. The "action Die" concept of doing actions with your survivors is a really cool system and adds a bit of strategical depth.
The main thing that holds this game back is that i feel there is a bit TOO much luck involved with this game, it involves alot of dice rolls and one bad roll could ruin any chance you have of winning the game. The main co-op objective with the additional secret objectives that may or may not be a betrayal objective make this game unpredictable and incredibly fun. After 4 playthroughs with this game im convinced of the replay value and recommend any fan of the zombie genre, or of table top games add this gem to their collection.
The main thing that holds this game back is that i feel there is a bit TOO much luck involved with this game, it involves alot of dice rolls and one bad roll could ruin any chance you have of winning the game. The main co-op objective with the additional secret objectives that may or may not be a betrayal objective make this game unpredictable and incredibly fun. After 4 playthroughs with this game im convinced of the replay value and recommend any fan of the zombie genre, or of table top games add this gem to their collection.
on April 30, 2017
Sooo much fun! I'm not usually one who likes table top games, so I thought the price was a little steep at first. Totally worth every cent. There are many twists in the game since there could possibly be a traitor in your midst. More so, even if you don't have a traitor every player has their own win-condition objective they must meet, so there is still a bunch of tension in the group. Every person is still out for themselves, so I was very suspicious of everyones' motivations when they played. I've played it a handful of times with different groups of people, and has always been a big hit. Even if you are not into board games, give this one a chance.
on February 27, 2017
Bought this game for my sons (8th grade and freshman) and although the game has many pieces and is fairly complex, they read through it within a half hour and played several games by the end of the day. I come home from work in the late afternoons and often find them gathered around the dining table playing DoW with friends or sometimes just the two of them. They walk away with stories, which I appreciate. There are mature cards/situations - but the game makers label these well enough that I was able to tailor the content to my parental liking. The authorship seems to try too hard, in my opinion, to come across as crass and bad-ass which ends up sounding forced and honestly, a little cheesy. But other than that, the game is extremely fun, well constructed, and meticulously thought out. It is filled with options for infinite variety and story combinations. Highly recommend!
