
2014 · Zombies
Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Players lead small factions of survivors trying to keep a weakened colony alive through a harsh winter in a zombie apocalypse. The game mixes group objectives and secret personal goals: the colony must gather supplies, resolve crises, defend against external threats, and maintain morale while each player pursues hidden motivations that may help, hinder, or even betray the group. Play is meta‑cooperative and story‑driven, with frequent difficult decisions that trade communal welfare against individual needs; an optional fully cooperative variant removes secret objectives for a purely shared goal.
- Players
- 2–5 best 4
- Playing time
- 60–120 min
- Age
- 13+
- Complexity
- 3 / 5
About the game
- Publisher
Expansions
See them in Ludoya
Dead of Winter: Warring Colonies2017
Dead of Winter: Kodiak Colby2014
Dead of Winter: Felicia Day2015
Dead of Winter: Roberta Plum2015
Dead of Winter: BGG Crossroads Promo Cards2017
Dead of Winter: Rich Sommer2016
Dead of Winter: Rodney Smith2016
Dead of Winter: Lucky Luke Smith2014
Dead of Winter: Dice Tower Crossroads Promo2015
Dead of Winter: Andrea Smith2015
Dead of Winter: Meryl Wolfe2017
Dead of Winter: KD James2017
Dead of Winter: Ruckus Burley2017
Dead of Winter: Giggles2019Plays with
See them in LudoyaPhotos from Ludoya tables
All photos in LudoyaWhere to buy it
Shop prices and second-hand copies, checked every day.
On Ludoya's tables
Full stats in Ludoya- 565
- Plays logged
- 612
- Players
- 1h 44m
- Average play
- 201
- In collections
- 20
- On wishlists
6.6/10
from 124 Ludoya reviews
Daniel7.0 4
AmberKnight8.0 Great game with right balance between cooperation, competition, and suspicion. Works better when all players are engaged in the story.
Mestremuten6.0 Rating: 3/5 Production value: 3/4 Is the game in my collection/Love to have?: 0/1
Rules questions
Answered from the rulebook by Ludoya's rules assistant.
If I complete my secret objective but the colony fails or loses morale, do I still win?
Yes — when the game ends any player who has completed their secret objective wins even if the colony failed; only players who have completed their secret objectives at game end are winners (pages 2, 14).
When and who draws or reads Crossroads cards — do they trigger during actions or only at the start of a turn?
At the beginning of each player’s turn the player to their right draws a crossroads card and keeps it secret; if the active player meets the card’s trigger at any time during their turn the drawer reads the card aloud and the active player must choose an option (page 12).
How many zombies get added to the colony each round and where do you place them?
During the colony phase add 1 zombie to the colony for every 2 survivors there (rounded up) and place zombies one at a time into entrance spaces in order (entrance 1, then 2, etc.), with overruns killing the lowest-influence survivor at the colony if no spaces or barricades remain (pages 12–13).
How does spending food to boost action dice work — and can an exiled player spend food this way?
A player may spend one or more food tokens from the food supply to increase any one unused action die by +1 per food token spent (page 11); an exiled player, however, cannot spend food tokens to increase action die results (page 14).
How does exile voting work and what happens to an exiled player (including ties)?
A player may once per turn initiate a vote to exile another player; all players simultaneously cast thumbs-up or down, ties are broken by the first player, and if a player is exiled they draw an exiled secret objective and gain several restrictions (cannot add to crisis, cannot spend food tokens to boost dice, cannot vote, etc.) (pages 11, 14, 15).
Similar games
Dead of Winter: The Long Night2016
Zombicide: White Death2025
The Thing: The Boardgame2022
Nemesis2018
Who Goes There?2018
Zombicide: Black Plague2015
Zombicide: 2nd Edition2021
Zombicide2012
Under Our Sun2024
Zombicide: Undead or Alive2022
Cthulhu: Death May Die – Fear of the Unknown2024
Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game – 10 Year Anniversary Edition2017People who own it also own
Sheriff of Nottingham2014
Codenames2015
Flash Point: Fire Rescue2011
Betrayal at House on the Hill2004
Dead of Winter: The Long Night2016
Pandemic Legacy: Season 12015
Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island2012
Scythe2016
Fury of Dracula (Third/Fourth Edition)2015
Eldritch Horror2013
Patchwork2014
Coup2012Free, on web, Android and iOS
Play Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game with Ludoya
- Keep it in your collectionTrack your copy and its expansions, lend it to friends, or put it on your wishlist and get told when the price drops.Add it to your collection
- Log every playScores, winners, timers and photos, then your stats: win rate, favourite player count, best score.Log a play
- Settle rules questionsAsk anything about the rules and get an answer from the rulebook, with the page to check it on.Ask the rules assistant
- Find people to play it withClubs, game nights and events near you that bring this game to the table.See events
Game facts (players, playing time, age, credits) from BoardGameGeek.


