Game 122: Dead of Winter

 

I just finished playing this game, Dead of Winter, for the first time. I've got so much adrenaline flowing through me that I'm not sure if I can write well about it right now.  Actually, I think I'd need to play it a few more times before I was able do a good job of describing the game with any sort of fulness, so for now I'm just going to introduce it and share a few pictures.  I'd seen Jacob and Caleb play this in the past, and, for as into gaming as I am, this just looked a little more complicated than was I was interested in taking on.  They (and Tim) invited me to play tonight, and I said "yes," and I'm so glad I did.  It's a lot of fun, and it's a mostly cooperative game.  I say "mostly cooperative" because it is possible for players to have a role of a betrayer and also because while there is a main objective/win condition, each player also has their own personal win condition.  As we played, I became aware that there were little details I didn't quite pick up on as I listened to the rules, like how certain cards could be played to benefit self (which might also benefit all) as well as being played onto the board to avert crises, feed the survivors, contribute to the public objective, etc.  Oh, and did I mention that the setting is basically a zombie apocalypse?

Here we're setting up and double-checking some rules.  (We're masked because, well, it's 2020 and the real world is kind of having an apocalypse of its own in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

I started out with a waitress and a janitor, both of whom I was quite happy with.  My brother Tim, on the other hand, ended up with 7 survivors.  I eventually got one additional survivor for a total of 3.
Unfortunately, the hospital got pretty close to being overrun with zombies.

I was very pleased and impressed, however, with Sparky who used a lighter and a can of gasoline to immolate 3 zombies  .  .  .  pretty impressive for a stunt dog!  Go Sparky!





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