Fans of survival games and co-op games will love Dead of Winter. Set in the zombie apocalypse, players take on the role of survivors who have formed a colony together and must work together to survive. All players are working towards a common goal but, since people often have a personal agenda beyond the greater good, each player is given a secret objective they must complete as well. One player could even be a traitor! The game is played in several rounds and during each round the colony has a smaller objective they must work together to accomplish while also working towards their final objectives. Each round offers numerous opportunities for betrayal and players can vote to exile anyone they feel is not properly contributing. Additionally, players are forced to make difficult moral decisions such as whether to rescue a child and end up with an extra mouth to feed or leave them out in the cold because the colony does not have the resources to feed an extra person. Each decision made has an effect on the game and, combined with the possibility of betrayal, gives the players a sense of desperation and urgency. Dead of Winter has many possible objectives and scenarios that lend it a high replay value since every game is sure to be different. Try it out on your next board game night and see if you will succeed, end up overrun by zombies, or, even worse, betrayed at the last minute by someone you thought you could trust.
-Liza