Mechanics review: Dead of night, the Long Winter

Review the Long Night

As I have reviewed Dead of Winter before here, I will not go into depth about the gameplay and the components, which are largely similar. Rather I will discuss a few mechanics and how they change the game. Let’s start minor changes, then the bandits, followed by the Raxxon institution and finally a few thoughts.

There are a few minor tweaks, such as explosive traps and despair, which change the game slightly, but not dramatically. Despair tokens serve as an alternative to physical wounds and symbolize mental injuries, while the explosive traps can take out zombies. Improvements can change the base of the survivors, which can help with morale or managing zombies. Helpless survivors can become unruly, which means they require more food. Starting players can be determined, rather than passing the first player token along. Overall, they are nice and add a set of options or complications to the game. However, the game can also be played without them.

Bandits:

The bad guys. The stands all look the same and now they have their own hide-out. Like the survivors, they search places and take up the limited available spaces, while sometimes they may attack the players or the colony if they want something. Their location can be visited and their supplies stolen at a risk. At least you know what you are getting, so it’s a choice to make. The exiled player can also become the leader of the bandits.

Raxxon:

The Raxxon module allows two things. First of special, horrible, zombies can be released, while at the same time also new powerful weapons or modifications can be acquired. These powerful zombies have their own distinctive themes and attacks, as well as special stories behind them. These beasts are tough to kill as well. The zombies can be contained with dice, but it if you are playing with a just a few players, this can be quite a burden on the group. On the other hand, the rewards that can be gained at Raxxon will turn your timid survivor into familiar heroes from videogames. Special weapons and addition upgrades, such as pills, can be gained there. The trade-off seems fair to me.

So what are my thoughts? Well, the game is nice and it certainly is good to have more options. The improvements and minor tweaks are welcome additions to the game and can easily be implemented. The Raxxon module is my favorite for what it adds to the game. The bandits are an okay addition, but they can just as easily be ignored and make no difference on gameplay. However, that’s just my opinion. Overall, the game can easily be played without the modules, which leaves me in favor of Dead of Winter, which represents the physical struggle and the post-apoc drama that is featured in movies. The Long Night seems to be more of a videogame, such as Resident Evil or Left for Dead, with end-bosses and special powers that you can acquire. Both games are still brutal and great fun. Personally, I’m more in favor of Dead of Winter, due to the realism, but the additions of improvements.