
- BGG rank
- BGG #15,783
- BGG rating
- 5.8
Humans!!!
- 2–6 players
- 60 min
- Complexity 1.9/5
- 2008

Rules assistance for When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn is an expansion for When Darkness Comes released in 2003 for 1–6 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Todd Breitenstein and Kerry Breitenstein and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Tile Placement, and Role Playing.
Things can always get worse...and now they have! This is the third expansion for When Darkness Comes... and wraps up the first campaign. It features additional rules and scenarios, more encounter disks and two additional miniatures.
When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn supports 1–6 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 When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn is 60 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 When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn for ages 14 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.
When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn has a complexity rating of 3.0 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.
When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn belongs to these categories: Dice, Horror, and Expansion for Base-game. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Tile Placement, and Role Playing. 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 When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn are: Todd Breitenstein and Kerry Breitenstein. 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 When Darkness Comes: The Darkness Before the Dawn as an expansion for When Darkness Comes. Expansions add new content, rules or scenarios to the base game and usually cannot be played on their own, so you need When Darkness Comes to use it. Check that your edition of When Darkness Comes is compatible, as some expansions were revised between editions.