Review Details

Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game

Product Review (submitted on April 19, 2018):

Okay, I'm not a game designer, and I haven't played nearly as many games as some here have played. I'm a novice, so let's get that out of the way at the start. I absolutely love post-apocalyptic/survival themes, so when my brother gifted me this game, I just knew I would absolutely LOVE it. I still suspect I would love it, if I could only get through a full game.

I've tried to play this game twice with a group of friends, and was not able to get through an entire game either time. Since we were all novices, and fairly new to the game, setup alone took 45 minutes each time. The rulebook is well written and fairly easy to understand, but the mechanics are VERY complicated. There is a lot to keep track of and it's easy to miss an element. My friends either became frustrated or they lost interest after what seemed like an eternity of false starts and trips back to re-read the rule book. I ended up apologizing for a disastrous game night both times.

The game is well made, the art and design is superb, and the backstory is detailed and compelling. If you have a dedicated group of friends who are willing to sink the time and effort into the steep learning curve, then follow one of the other reviews for advice. But if you're looking to introduce a new game for a night of casual gameplay with friends who are novices, you won't want to pull this one out of the closet.