Dead of Winter: The Long Night (2016) Board Game

Dead of Winter: The Long Night is a standalone expansion to the popular survival horror board game Dead of Winter. Released in 2016 by Plaid Hat Games, this game is designed by Jonathan Gilmour and Isaac Vega, with artwork by Joshua Panelo, David Richards, Fernanda Suárez, and Peter Wocken. It is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies, where players must work together to survive and complete objectives while dealing with hidden agendas and betrayals.

Game Components of Dead of Winter: The Long Night

New Characters: All characters are new, with new stories, abilities, and Crossroad cards.

Additional Locations: Includes three new locations, such as Raxxon, a research facility, and other remote areas.

Mutated Zombies: More powerful zombies with special rules, emerging from Raxxon.

Exposure Die: Rolled when changing location or attacking zombies, introducing risks like zombie bites, frostbite, or wounds.

Base Improvements: New items and tokens, including explosive traps and updated generic items.

Survivor and Zombie Standees: High-quality, thick game board material for area cutouts.

How To Setup Dead of Winter: The Long Night

Setting up the game involves distributing character cards, personal objective cards, and starting items to each player. The game board is assembled with the various locations, and the necessary decks (such as Crisis cards and Crossroad cards) are shuffled and placed accordingly. Each player selects a character and receives a personal objective card, which is secret and may include traitorous goals. The main objective of the group is also established at the start of the game.

Gameplay Mechanics and Game Objective

Semi-Cooperative Play: Players work together to achieve the main objective but have personal, secret winning conditions that may conflict with the group’s goal.

Player Turns and Crisis Phase: Each round consists of a Crisis phase where players must gather resources to solve a crisis, followed by individual player turns where actions are taken using action dice.

Traitor Mechanic: One player may be a traitor, working to sabotage the group’s efforts without being detected.

Resource Management: Manage resources like food, tools, weapons, and medicine to keep the colony alive.

Morale and Round Tracker: The game ends when the colony’s morale reaches zero, the round tracker reaches zero, or the main objective is completed.

Player Experience

**Dead of Winter: The Long Night** offers a intense and thematic experience, particularly in a group setting. The game is best enjoyed with a larger group due to the traitor mechanic, which adds a layer of social deduction and mistrust among players. New players can learn the game over the course of a session, but familiarity with the rules enhances the experience. The addition of new locations, mutated zombies, and the exposure die mechanic increases the game’s complexity and danger, making each decision critical to survival.

Pros

Immersive Theme: The zombie apocalypse setting is well-executed, with components that enhance the survival horror feel.

New Mechanics and Characters: Adds variety with new survivors, locations, and mechanics, keeping the game fresh for veterans of the original.

High-Quality Components: Improved game board material and standees enhance the overall gaming experience.

Replayability: Multiple scenarios and the random nature of the game ensure high replayability.

Cons

Complexity: The rules can be lengthy, and the game has a learning curve, especially for new players.

Randomness: The exposure die and crisis cards can introduce unfair elements, though this is part of the game’s thematic charm.

Time Commitment: Games typically last around two hours, which can be a significant time commitment.

Personal Thoughts on Dead of Winter: The Long Night

**Dead of Winter: The Long Night** is ideal for fans of cooperative and semi-cooperative games, particularly those who enjoy the zombie apocalypse genre. It is suitable for players who appreciate complex game mechanics and social deduction elements. If you are new to the series, this game is a great starting point due to its standalone nature and improved components. For those who already own the original, it offers enough new content to justify the purchase, especially if you are looking to add more variety and depth to your gaming experience.

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