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- BGG #435
- BGG rating
- 7.5
Dead of Winter: The Long Night
- 2–5 players
- 60–120 min
- Complexity 3.3/5
- 2016
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- 7.0
Rules assistance for Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 4–11 players
- 45–120 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.1/5
Rules assistant for Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies is an expansion for Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game released in 2017 for 4–11 players, 45–120 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Jonathan Gilmour-Long, Isaac Vega, Colby Dauch, and Timothy Meyer and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Area Movement.
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About the game
The Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies expansion includes 15 new survivors, 50 new crossroad cards, 43 new items, and 11 new crisis cards, many of which can be used with either Dead of Winter base set. However, to play either the warring colonies variant or the lone wolf module, you need both Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game and Dead of Winter: The Long Night. In the warring colonies variant, which is for 4-11 players, unique main objectives set two colonies against each other as they battle for territory with a new fighting system that includes tactics cards, bullet tokens, and 12-sided combat dice. New and terrible joint-colony crisis cards force cooperation and coercion every round. New simultaneous turn mechanisms and a sand timer keep things moving at a brisk pace. With the lone wolf module, which can be used with the warring colonies variant or on its own, one player is on a team all by themselves, hiding out in their lone wolf den and carrying out missions that affect both teams. Part of the Dead of Winter series.
Mechanics
Publishers
- Edge Entertainment
- Raven Distribution
- Arclight Games
- Galápagos Jogos
- Game Harbor
- Cube Factory of Ideas
- Plaid Hat Games
- CrowD Games
Questions and answers
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies supports 4–11 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies is 45–120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies has a complexity rating of 3.1 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies belongs to these categories: Horror, Zombies, and Bluffing. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Hand Management, and Area Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies are: Jonathan Gilmour-Long, Isaac Vega, Colby Dauch, and Timothy Meyer. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies as an expansion for Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game to use it. Check that your edition of Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.