It should just be required that every boardgame should have a how to play video made by watch it played upon it's release. Trying to explain all of this to my group, I'd lose a few players. This will make understanding and play quicker. Even a well written rule book can leave a person confused if they aren't familiar with a mechanic in a game. Love what you guys do ! Please keep it up. Your a life and game night saver.
RULES UPDATE: When you wound a Survivor, you also take a card at random from the hand of the player that controls the survivor you wounded. Also, you can pick up your own Watch It Played Dead of Winter promos here: www.podpledge.com/project/382/The-Watch-It-Played-Promo-Store/shop
I encourage you to look at the difference between OCD, and OCPD. Your obsession with things being perfect is more an OCPD quality. OCD includes obsessions and compulsions; the obsessions are intrusive thoughts that the person has, compulsions are behaviors the person performs to lessen the obsessive thoughts.
I think it's kind of funny how living amongst smelly garbage decreases the same amount of morale as a survivor dying. I would think someone dying would decrease moral a bit more. Survivor: "Why are you crying in the corner?" Crying Survivor 1: "Jeff died!" Survivor: "Oh is that why YOU are crying, too?" Crying Survivor 2: "No, there's just so many empty bean cans laying around!"
The most innovative mechanic about this entire game is putting a maturity marker on the cards. Sometimes I play with my nieces and nephews, sometimes with my brothers and sisters. I love the fact that I'll be able to play this with all of them. More games need to do this - tailor it to the adults but leave an option to play with kids as well. There really aren't many board games that have a serious, mature theme for fear of leaving out the younger players.
The only thing that makes a character a "leader", is the higher influence number on the character's card being controlled by the player. Referenced in game lore
Hei! I ordered this game today and now watching your videos for some hints how to teach others to play this game. And also learn the game by myself =) I think this was a great video for this. Thanks for that. I will know later how it went. I am little suspicious how my friends handel the english, but I hope everything goes well.
There are lots of 'how to play' videos on UA-cam but yours are always ALWAYS the most informative and instructive. Thank you for the time and effort of learning the games and then providing the how to play videos.
this intruction video is really helpful, much more fun than reading the rule book. Now I send the link to everyone who plays the game for the first time and ask them to watch it, it saves us 20-30 min of explaining the game.
This is just a message to Luke and maybe Andrea (if we're going 3 player). Rodney is always the traitor so go ahead and exile him with your first action. Then proceed to roll 5's and 6's like normal. :p
Love your How to Play videos as well as your Game Play videos. I am almost through all of your Dead of Winter Game Play videos. Awesome! I heard awesome things about this game, but when looking at all the parts, was like, this could be a bit confusing to play. In fact I didn't even take the pieces a part yet, still a brand new set waiting to be played. Your videos have totally helped! Thank you!
Find a nearby game shop. They usually have days to bring games and play with others. If it sounds bad playing with random people, remember that they love board games enough to go, so they're most likely pretty cool
Go SKC see the problem is i am a kid and i dont have any frienda who like board games All they like is video games and my fam cant really drive me to places
If only my family was more into board games. Sadly, I doubt I could ever get them motivated enough to actually play this game, even though it seems cool.
Start them on No Thanks, Hanabi, Get Bit, Love Letter. Then try Tsuro, King of Tokyo, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Takenoko. Slowly move them onto Tokaido, Forbidden Island, and maybe even as far as SmallWorld. Soon they'll be hunting Cylons in Battlestar Galactica, fighting global infection vectors in Pandemic, or gaining control of the galaxy in Cosmic Enounters. Just remember, it'll take years to get them interested enough to risk a seven hour game of Arkham Horror. Don't move too fast!
Denis Ryan Thanks a lot for the suggestions, but the problem isn't quite so simple. My mother and sister (the two I'm most likely to get to play with me) will both dismiss most games as either childish or boring on general principal. If there is ANY reading, it's a struggle to get them to even sit down to start. At one point we bought Killer Bunnies, which was a very simple game, not too long, and rather fun. I couldn't get them to keep playing for more than 2 weeks of maybe playing it twice a week at best.
Michael Morgan I dare them to call Hanabi "childish". Haha! It still wrecks my head some times. Also, it's 100% language free, apart from the rules, which you can explain without them reading. The cards have no text on them what-so-ever. Oh, and also check out Quoridor, Corridor, or Walls. It's the same game, but goes by a few different names. I own Quoridor. It's similar in initial look to a chess variant, and like chess, it holds a lot of strategy, but plays much faster, and has quicker to pick up rules. Finally, I also love Set, also language-free, cerebral, and fast to play. If all else fails, get out and find others to game with. I don't game with my family either, but my friends are huge gamers. There are communities everywhere. You'd honestly be surprised how many people play board games these days.
This is the first time that I've watched one of your videos, and I can't believe I haven't watched one before! Your explanation made this game so clear and seem so easy to play. I'll definitely check out more of your videos in the future. Thank you for doing this!!!
This is by far the best instructional video series for board games online. You are concise and through with your explanation and you make the content easy to understand with your tone and demeanor. Seriously. Keep it up.
I just ordered the game and hopefully will arrive within 2 days. Played it once with 2 other friends. Loved it. Watched the video a bunch of times, it very well done. Hope that some kind of expansion wil come for this game.
I really appreciate your effort to create such informative and enlightening tutorials! I just watched this video to remind myself how the game works because It's been a long since I last played it and everything is again so fresh in my mind right now! While watching the video I also thought that it would be a good idea if there were links to specific actions described in the video, i.e., something like a reference you can look up quickly if something is not so clear while playing.. I accidentally clicked on "show more" in the description of the video and Voila! There is an index there with everything I want! I', so happy about that! Thank you again and keep up the great works! :)
I finally got a chance to play this game for the first time last night. I got the traitor card and I was one round away from completing my objective. Had a great time and I made sure to watch this tutorial before playing. Once again, great video Rodney.
Just got this game today your video helped us alot. Once it was all set up the funniest thing happened on the very first move a survivor was bitten and killed
This looks very, very similar to Battlestar Galactica at the first glance. I love the "our world has ended" theme and the components look very nice, so I'll concider buying it.
Got this game for Christmas and tried playing it twice to great frustration. Gladly uncovered from your video that, as we suspected, each player has a turn within the round. I don't think the rule book made this very clear and wasn't sure whether you would have to draw multiple crisis cards. Thanks for clearing that up.
Hello, Great job1 Your guides help us a lot! Now, a smal question: --When exiling a player, you said that if they are not the traitor, they reveal ther secret objective and then have to complete the "exiled" objectives. So the other players know that the exiled is not the traitor. However, if they are the traitor, they don't get to reveal their secret objective? If this is the case, then the other players would know the exiled player is the traitor. Is this correct? Seems a bit of let down if you know what the player you exiled is. I think it has more tension if ou do not know and then you do risk if you decide to exile a second player. Please confirm : ) Anyways, again congrats for a great job, our warmest regards from Greece and keep playin'!
We played this other night, but the owner of the game hadn't read the rules. It took an hour to get the rules down and another hour for first turn. We could haven't saved a lot of time by watching this perfect little video.
Thanks for covering this game! My friends and I played it last week, but watching this clears up a lot of the confusion we had. We're gonna give it another go tonight :)
Hi, firstly - Awesome Vid! Can you help to clarify on how these scenarios should be resolved? (1) Sheriff with a shotgun, possible to kill 4 zombies with a single attack and do we need to roll exposure die? (2) What if the sheriff also equip himself with a switchblade? (3) Principal with school blueprint, does it mean he's able to draw and keep 3? Any advise would be appreciated, our group has just started playing this game yesterday and already the debate over above scenarios are bugging us and we have not seen any official clarification so far.
+vince wong I typically try to help with questions, but ones specific to cards and combinations of cards are hard for me to answer without the specific card text included in the question. Otherwise I have to pull my box out and search for the specific cards, etc.
The sheriff says "ANYWHERE: (4+) Once per round you may kill 2 zombies at Daniel's current location. Only role for exposure once." Side Q: sheriff does not have a non coop symbol so what does that 4+ mean? The principal says "SCHOOL: Once per round, when performing a search at the school you may look at and keep 1 additional card."
+Christopher Howell The (4+) means that the player controlling said Survivor must use a 4+ die to use that Survivor's special ability, so in other words the lower the number in the brackets are the better. +vince wong @ Principal: Adding a Blueprint to a Survivor gives that Survivor the ability of that card. So when searching he gets to look at 3 cards and keep 3 - if said blueprint is actually the School blueprint. The ability text saying: 'ANYWHERE' means that the ability can be used anywhere; if it says: 'COLONY' that special ability can only be used when the Survivor is at the Colony. Hope this clarified your questions - if not, do ask again.
Hey Rodney, Love your videos! I had discovered your channel while researching about mansions of madness. :) Your explanation of dead of winter was perfect, and it actually pushed me over the edge to buy it, also, i will definitely use your video to teach it to my friends! :D Thanks and have a great one, cheers from İstanbul.
Awesome video sir! I know this came out several years ago but man… you haven’t lost a step! You do an excellent job explaining and teaching step by step on everything you need to know to play a game properly. And it’s genuinely entertaining! I’ll be adding this game and its two expansions to my little collection. It looked interesting and now thanks to your expert explanations on it I’m hooked! Maybe one day I’ll publish my own game and be fortunate enough to have you review it! 😎
Hey Robbie, thanks so much for the kind words. I'm really glad the video helped give you a sense of the game, and I hope it helps you all dive into the game play a little quicker if you get a chance to pick it up! Beware those zombies (and traitors!)
I have had my eye on this one for a while, but I was worried about the repeat playability given the limited scenarios. But actually, it looks like there is a lot of playable scenarios depending on the secret missions, and the difficulty as well. I have it on my wish list. Thanks Rodney!!
Thank you for the thorough video!!! It really explains the game well, and I've used it to teach fellow board gamers how to play!!! It brings everyone up to speed and helps make sense of all the numerous game components/elements. Thanks again, and keep up the great videos!!!!
Your videos are the best game-explaining videos on youtube. Please do not stop with it =) German edition would be great ;) But your english, due to your good pronunciation and slow speaking, is understandable to non-english people. Thank you =)
4:58 "And that's the set up." Lol goes from a game board and a couple cards to the whole table filled with a million pieces on it. So much stuff in this game
That was my thought exactly, I got this blindly after a suggestion and my first impression was there being not a lot of there, there. Then I watched this and realized “oh, this makes Mansions of Madness seem easy!!”
Just tried out Dead of Winter yesterday and having now watched this excellent video I noticed we did miss some rules - frostbites counting also as ordinary wounds, and that you don't have to play Event cards immediately... Fun game - and thank you for the great explanation of the rules! :-)
you did an excellent job describing a lot of questions i was looking for after i got the chance to try this game for the first time. very well told, and thank you so much!
Played this for the first time today, with one friend just to get a feel for the game when we do play it as a full group so explaning them will go easier, your video helped loads to speed things up learning the game :) keep up the awesome work! THANKS! - Kevin
Wait lets say i draw a survivor card from a location. Do i automatically have to keep it or can i keep searching for other cards and keep another card, adding the noise tokens respectively?
I didn't realize how long this game has been out. My husband, his friend, and I just picked up this game yesterday. I read the whole instruction pamphlet front to back and was still having trouble explaining to my husband last night. This'll make it WAY easier now that I fully understand the rules. His family is visiting us this weekend, too. Fingers crossed that it'll go well. 🤣
I hosted/played my first game of Dead of Winter, last weekend. It was a great time. Although I read the rule book, I watched this video, as well as the game play videos. Really helped me understand the game better. Thanks for the help and keep up the great work.
I stumbled upon this video seeing if I could find a good explanation of the rules before reading the rulebook myself. This is a fantastic presentation and the metric by which all game rule explanations should be handled. Thanks for creating this video!
This "How To Play" was PERFECT! I got this game last week and played with my two best friends. Apparently we were playing on Legendary mode because we were adding zombies to the colony x2 of that many survivors in the colony as opposed to dividing by half!
Another question (lol I suck..) you can spend your actions however you want right? Say I am in the colony, I can then spend a die to clear waste, then move to the police station, do a search there. And after that baricade it with my last die. Is that correct?
I say this with the utmost respect, and as a lover of your Mansions of Madness video...your speaking tone was much more natural and real in your earlier videos. In these videos, it sounds a little like a Wal-Mart corporate employee training video.
No offence taken - you'll find these videos are much more structured to ensure efficiency. The gameplay videos, along with our table talk and other segments, have more of the casual banter. Thanks for your time.
Hello! Thanks for the great explanation of this game :) This game is insanely fun. I have a few questions: 1) For rummaging, do we use dice for it? For example, I use one dice to search, but I didn't like what I have so I choose to rummage. Do I use up another dice? Or just continue to draw cards and place down 1 noise token for each card I drew? 2) Let say I arrived at a place with a noise token, and I want to search. Does that noise token affect me in anyway? 3) In the video, at the beginning of a new round, we can take away noise tokens, then roll a die in order to see if another zombie will be add or not to the place. So do you do that for all present noise tokens? Or are we only allowed to remove one noise token per round??
+T-NA24 1) Rummaging doesn't take dice, which is why it creates noise. 2) No. Except when the noise tokens are resolved at the end of the round, if your survivor is still there. 3) You resolve ALL noise tokens at all locations. Hope that helps! Have fun playing :)
Thanks, great video! Quick question: On the coop variant (or the 2 player variant which uses the same rules), should players keep their hands hidden, or play with "open" hands? For example, while we're all on the same side in the coop variant, it makes more sense to me that I don't necessarily "see" what player 2 is finding as they rummage through a location deck on a search.
***** I don't believe there are explicit rules on this, so I suppose it's best to play as you like. There would be no specific reason to hide the information, but that doesn't mean you can't, if the players choose.
@@WatchItPlayed I see, thanks! I've been playing it wrong for last 2 years then heh. Thematically I guess it always seemed like if zombies overrun the entrance and kill someone than that guy would turn into a zombie and kill someone else heh. But thanks for clarifying! :)
Hi Rodney, I am a viewer from Hong Kong. I just wanted to say thank you so much for making these tutorials and play through videos. I just got Dead of Winter recently and if it wasn't for the help of your videos, I would still have trouble figuring out how to play this game. I just had my first play through with my group last weekend and it was a success, everyone enjoyed it. I also just finished watching your tutorial and play through of Small World (what i will be playing next with my group) as this was another game I got recently as well. Anyway, thank you again, the videos were really helpful and I will now consider getting new games base on other videos you made. Keep up the good work :)
Very nice to hear from you Michael and to learn that you found the videos helpful. That's wonderful feedback. Hope you continue enjoying watching and playing more games!
I know it's been a few years since you posted this video but thank you SOOOOO much for making it. I got this game last Christmas and have attempted to play it about four or five times but each time the game ended, everyone was unsatisfied because we knew we just weren't understanding some of the rules. I am happy to report that (thanks to this video) a few days ago we had our first successful play through of this game and it was a blast. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
You pass to the right. It was a little less straightforward in the example, because there wasn't really a left/right, as much as a column of players. But, it is right.
Only played this game once and loved it. Picked it up for myself even, and now I finally get a chance to play it again tomorrow night and introduce new people to it. Loved your video series on it.
***** Thanks to you! As a doctor I have close to no time to read and process the rules of boardgames, and when I want to go to my friends place and bring a new game, I use your channel to rapidly understand and be able to transmit the essence of a game. If it weren't for you these game sessions may not exist.
I'm always impressed with the high production value and extreme clarity of all of your videos. By far the best videos to learn how to play a game I have come across!
First deal 2 non-betrayal secret objectives into a pile, and then add to that ONLY 1 Betrayal objective (not 1 betrayer by person). This means it's very possible that no one will be a traitor... but you never know for sure. You'll always have reason to doubt.
Brilliant explanation. I thought I knew all of the rules but I wasn't aware that you could lure Zombies to your location with an action die away from another location. That will be very useful at some point, I'm sure. Cannot wait for 'The Long Night' to arrive!
There's something else I ran into... which these I'd like to know. 1: Can you actually Exile the First Player? Or is the First Player Immune to being Exiled that turn? 2: Crisis Cards with 2 Items - most of them is for 1 Type of Item (like Raiders or Overpopulation)... but what about a Crisis that require 2 Types of Items? Do those require Both Items via 4 Tool and 4 Gas (total in 8 cards) on the "Dead Man's March" Crisis? Or are those a "Mix and Match", where you only need 4, like 1 card can be one, while the other 3 cards are the other item type?
Hey there, I'm always happy to try to help with rules questions, but if the answer is provided in the video, than I have to direct you there. You'll find an index in the description to help you find the section you might be looking for.
So, have a games day this weekend and Dead of Winter was requested. Seeing as this game hasn't made it to my table in a while, thought a rules refresher was in order. My first thought was Rodney Smith. And, as always, you filled the need. Thank you and good job. Query... do y'all take requests for games to teach?
If you use the Full Co-Op rules than you could play it solo, since you'd be able to play without hidden information, you'd just control more than one player I would guess.
This is a very nice video but srsly this game has so many parts and rules to it. I'm sitting here setting it up to play and just getting bored in the process. Maybe it'll be really fun but it seems like it will have 0 flow and we'll constantly be checking the rule book to make sure we did things correctly.
You may find it helpful to watch an episode or two of our game play to see it all comes together and it might help you get a sense of the flow better. Keep in mind the player boards also give reminders of the phases of a game and actions you can take. That said, not all games are for everyone, and everyone has a different tolerance for rules in a game - and that's okay too :)
I actually discovered a Contradiction... what about an Exiled Player... "Does the Exiled Player ever get the First Player Marker?", "Or do Exiled Players always go Last, thus never get control of it again?".
The first player token is still pass as usual, that's why you don't find a special note about this in the video - the rules doesn't change in that regard. Have fun playing!
I wonder if it would be feasible to create a variant rule for ongoing survival play, where you carry over things from one game to another with some adjustments (like a morale boost for objective completion) to see how many "days" that colony can live through.
Hi i have a few question. For example i want to go from school to gas station . how should i go? I need to back to colony and after that go to gas station? School->Colony->Gas Station OR School->Gas Station. Character 1 have : 1 bleed and 1 frostbite effect. I use a medicine on him. It takes down the bleed and the frostbite effect 2 , Or only the frostbite effect.
From the rules PDF: A survivor may be moved to any location that has an empty survivor space. Moving from School directly to the Gas Station is a legal move.
I don't have that Medicine card in front of me, but if it says "cure 1 wound", you can remove the Frostbite with that, or the regular wound (though you should probably remove the frostbite).
Another great instructional video. I like a lot the art in this game. All survivor art is awesome. I would like the location art to have less snow, but I guess it's like that to show the extreme conditions in the area.
I have a some questions. When you roll the dice to determine your action count per survivor.....are the dice rolled and then put into the unused pile each time it's your turn? When zombies appear at the colony gates....can you fight them or do they just keep accumulating? What is their purpose other than to kill surviviors and drop morale? Do you have to fight the zombies at the non colony locations or can you search and avoid them altogether?
It's been awhile since I shot this video, but I'm quite confident these questions are answered in the video, so I'd have to direct you there. As an example, in the case of your last question, if I don't say you have to fight zombies in order to search there, then you don't. In fact, I believe the example I use in the video shows the player going to a location with a zombie and searching. You'll find time stamps to help you find the sections of the rules you might be wondering about. Hope that helps.
It should just be required that every boardgame should have a how to play video made by watch it played upon it's release. Trying to explain all of this to my group, I'd lose a few players. This will make understanding and play quicker. Even a well written rule book can leave a person confused if they aren't familiar with a mechanic in a game. Love what you guys do ! Please keep it up. Your a life and game night saver.
That's wonderful feedback and exactly how we hope our videos can be used! Thanks Deanna.
Once ai gets better it will replace the rulebooks
RULES UPDATE: When you wound a Survivor, you also take a card at random from the hand of the player that controls the survivor you wounded.
Also, you can pick up your own Watch It Played Dead of Winter promos here: www.podpledge.com/project/382/The-Watch-It-Played-Promo-Store/shop
Your videos always calm my OCD because they are so perfectly executed.
Michael Lee Thank you Michael, very kind of you to say.
+Michael Lee I don't have OCD, but I agree these videos are perfectly executed :-).
+Marcus Hicks I don't always have OCD, but when I do, it's because of bad UA-cam videos.
Mine too :)
I encourage you to look at the difference between OCD, and OCPD. Your obsession with things being perfect is more an OCPD quality. OCD includes obsessions and compulsions; the obsessions are intrusive thoughts that the person has, compulsions are behaviors the person performs to lessen the obsessive thoughts.
I think it's kind of funny how living amongst smelly garbage decreases the same amount of morale as a survivor dying. I would think someone dying would decrease moral a bit more.
Survivor: "Why are you crying in the corner?"
Crying Survivor 1: "Jeff died!"
Survivor: "Oh is that why YOU are crying, too?"
Crying Survivor 2: "No, there's just so many empty bean cans laying around!"
best comment
you underestimate the selfishness and pettiness of the human condition :D
Also it says waste, not trash, so thats essentially a big pile o poo poo.
The video was much more helpful than the pfd of the rules.
+Zac Fitzgerald Very pleased you found it helpful!
When is it not
100% man!!!
I really wish there was a computerized version of this.
stealthis You can play it on Tabletop Simulator!
You can play on Tabletop Simulator.
Haven't played Dead of Winter in a while. This was a great refresher. Perfection, as always.
Have a great time revisiting AG!
This channel has the best explanation of game play hands down. Thanks for all your hard work!
Thank YOU for the kind words :)
Man guys your openings just get better and better, Kudos to the effects guy!
Diego and Chaz rock it out every time!
The most innovative mechanic about this entire game is putting a maturity marker on the cards. Sometimes I play with my nieces and nephews, sometimes with my brothers and sisters. I love the fact that I'll be able to play this with all of them. More games need to do this - tailor it to the adults but leave an option to play with kids as well. There really aren't many board games that have a serious, mature theme for fear of leaving out the younger players.
I don't mind saying, I was highly impressed by this as well
I think it was pretty bold of PHG to keep the mature content in the game, but still be respectful of the people that do not want that in a game.
Jonathan Gilmour Perhaps it's smart instead of bold. An extra feature like that might increase their sales.
Hi, I can not see any difference between the leader and the followers. Is there any?
+BirnyX Not practically. I believe there may be a couple of Crossroads that refer to your leader.
The only thing that makes a character a "leader", is the higher influence number on the character's card being controlled by the player. Referenced in game lore
the 10 pages of notes i took better be worth it
I hope you have a great time playing!
Playing this today with some friends. It'll be good to not go in as the guy who doesn't know how to play.
Justin Mohareb You'll show them :) Hope you have a great time playing!
Looks to be an extremely well-designed game.
Paulo Junior Thanks for checking out the video!
My eyes started crossing reading the instructions last night. This video fixed said malady. Thanks!
You bet Cuban, glad to help!
Playing this game with Zombicide miniatures is a great idea
Hei! I ordered this game today and now watching your videos for some hints how to teach others to play this game. And also learn the game by myself =) I think this was a great video for this. Thanks for that. I will know later how it went. I am little suspicious how my friends handel the english, but I hope everything goes well.
Glad the video was a help and I hope you have a great time playing!
There are lots of 'how to play' videos on UA-cam but yours are always ALWAYS the most informative and instructive. Thank you for the time and effort of learning the games and then providing the how to play videos.
Thanks for the kind words Ruckman!
this intruction video is really helpful, much more fun than reading the rule book. Now I send the link to everyone who plays the game for the first time and ask them to watch it, it saves us 20-30 min of explaining the game.
So glad it's been helpful!
It's an older video but I wanted to say, your presentation is very well done! And your smile is adorable. Thank you for teaching us!
You're very welcome - glad you enjoyed!
I pretend that your talking about a real zombie apocalypse in your cheerful, matter of fact voice.
Just trying to help everyone remain calm :)
This is just a message to Luke and maybe Andrea (if we're going 3 player). Rodney is always the traitor so go ahead and exile him with your first action. Then proceed to roll 5's and 6's like normal. :p
Believe me, they don't need any extra encouragement!
Thanks for the video. It's a good refresher for when there's months between playing. :P
+LiGohan I use them to refresh too :)
Love your How to Play videos as well as your Game Play videos. I am almost through all of your Dead of Winter Game Play videos. Awesome! I heard awesome things about this game, but when looking at all the parts, was like, this could be a bit confusing to play. In fact I didn't even take the pieces a part yet, still a brand new set waiting to be played. Your videos have totally helped! Thank you!
+In The Kitchen With Matt So glad the videos were a help and I hope you get to enjoy your own copy of the game very soon Matt!
+Watch It Played Thanks!! I got all the pieces out and it is ready to go, just need to gather up my friends and play! haha
That's so cool that we can adjust the maturity level!
I thought so too!
>tfw no people to play with
End my suffering
Finding fellow gamers - the challenge of many tabletop players!
Find a nearby game shop. They usually have days to bring games and play with others. If it sounds bad playing with random people, remember that they love board games enough to go, so they're most likely pretty cool
Go SKC see the problem is i am a kid and i dont have any frienda who like board games
All they like is video games and my fam cant really drive me to places
God I love your videos...it's so much more fun to watch them than reading the freaking manual book!
+Nicolas AB Very nice of you to say Nicolas - glad you're enjoying them!
Can Sparky use weapons and hand on or off items? In general, is Sparky the same as all other survivor characters?
Yep! He's a stunt dog, he's very well trained :)
*DOG WITH A GUN*
I've watched this once, about a year ago, and have done one playthrough since that time. Here I am again, about to break it out today.
I hope you have a great time playing!
Thank you for these crystal clear no nonsense well-paced explanations. You could be (if you aren't already) some sort of communications consultant!
Thank you for the kind words David!
If only my family was more into board games. Sadly, I doubt I could ever get them motivated enough to actually play this game, even though it seems cool.
That is the struggle of many gamers, you have my sympathy!
Start them on No Thanks, Hanabi, Get Bit, Love Letter. Then try Tsuro, King of Tokyo, Ticket to Ride, Carcassonne, Takenoko. Slowly move them onto Tokaido, Forbidden Island, and maybe even as far as SmallWorld. Soon they'll be hunting Cylons in Battlestar Galactica, fighting global infection vectors in Pandemic, or gaining control of the galaxy in Cosmic Enounters. Just remember, it'll take years to get them interested enough to risk a seven hour game of Arkham Horror. Don't move too fast!
Denis Ryan Thanks a lot for the suggestions, but the problem isn't quite so simple. My mother and sister (the two I'm most likely to get to play with me) will both dismiss most games as either childish or boring on general principal. If there is ANY reading, it's a struggle to get them to even sit down to start. At one point we bought Killer Bunnies, which was a very simple game, not too long, and rather fun. I couldn't get them to keep playing for more than 2 weeks of maybe playing it twice a week at best.
Michael Morgan I dare them to call Hanabi "childish". Haha! It still wrecks my head some times. Also, it's 100% language free, apart from the rules, which you can explain without them reading. The cards have no text on them what-so-ever. Oh, and also check out Quoridor, Corridor, or Walls. It's the same game, but goes by a few different names. I own Quoridor. It's similar in initial look to a chess variant, and like chess, it holds a lot of strategy, but plays much faster, and has quicker to pick up rules. Finally, I also love Set, also language-free, cerebral, and fast to play.
If all else fails, get out and find others to game with. I don't game with my family either, but my friends are huge gamers. There are communities everywhere. You'd honestly be surprised how many people play board games these days.
Awww. My friends, husband and I would totally play with you. I made boring friends into board game fanatics! Lol.
This is the first time that I've watched one of your videos, and I can't believe I haven't watched one before! Your explanation made this game so clear and seem so easy to play. I'll definitely check out more of your videos in the future. Thank you for doing this!!!
So glad you enjoyed the video Sean, thanks for the kind words!
This is by far the best instructional video series for board games online. You are concise and through with your explanation and you make the content easy to understand with your tone and demeanor. Seriously. Keep it up.
Nicholas, thank you for the generous comments - very kind. A pleasure to have you watching!
for the event, "outsider" does it have to be played immediately after drawn? or can we hold on to them and give it to other players when requested?
You can hang onto them, and even give them to other players if requested.
I just ordered the game and hopefully will arrive within 2 days. Played it once with 2 other friends. Loved it. Watched the video a bunch of times, it very well done. Hope that some kind of expansion wil come for this game.
+HALOX30 Hope you have a great time playing and fighting zombies!
I love that now I don't have to worry about my complete inability to teach games!
Glad to be here to step in and help :)
I really appreciate your effort to create such informative and enlightening tutorials! I just watched this video to remind myself how the game works because It's been a long since I last played it and everything is again so fresh in my mind right now! While watching the video I also thought that it would be a good idea if there were links to specific actions described in the video, i.e., something like a reference you can look up quickly if something is not so clear while playing.. I accidentally clicked on "show more" in the description of the video and Voila! There is an index there with everything I want! I', so happy about that! Thank you again and keep up the great works! :)
You're very welcome Thanasis - glad you enjoyed the video :)
I finally got a chance to play this game for the first time last night. I got the traitor card and I was one round away from completing my objective. Had a great time and I made sure to watch this tutorial before playing. Once again, great video Rodney.
Thanks so much! I'm glad the video was a help for learning the game. Hope your next round as the traitor ends in a win!
Just got this game today your video helped us alot.
Once it was all set up the funniest thing happened on the very first move a survivor was bitten and killed
+Dylan Christenson Ha! That can happen. It's tough living in a zombie apocalypse :)
This looks very, very similar to Battlestar Galactica at the first glance.
I love the "our world has ended" theme and the components look very nice, so I'll concider buying it.
Now that some gameplay videos are out, you'll have a chance to see how it all comes together.
Got this game for Christmas and tried playing it twice to great frustration. Gladly uncovered from your video that, as we suspected, each player has a turn within the round. I don't think the rule book made this very clear and wasn't sure whether you would have to draw multiple crisis cards. Thanks for clearing that up.
Very happy to assist! Hope you future plays are more enjoyable now :)
Hello,
Great job1 Your guides help us a lot!
Now, a smal question:
--When exiling a player, you said that if they are not the traitor, they reveal ther secret objective and then have to complete the "exiled" objectives.
So the other players know that the exiled is not the traitor.
However, if they are the traitor, they don't get to reveal their secret objective? If this is the case, then the other players would know the exiled player is the traitor.
Is this correct?
Seems a bit of let down if you know what the player you exiled is. I think it has more tension if ou do not know and then you do risk if you decide to exile a second player.
Please confirm : )
Anyways, again congrats for a great job,
our warmest regards from Greece
and keep playin'!
Yes, once you exile someone, as players you will know whether or not you exiled someone innocent.
We played this other night, but the owner of the game hadn't read the rules. It took an hour to get the rules down and another hour for first turn. We could haven't saved a lot of time by watching this perfect little video.
+Chris Mullins Thank you so much Chris, we're here to assist when we can :)
haven't even watched the whole thing yet but, WOW, what an amazing intro production!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Thanks for covering this game! My friends and I played it last week, but watching this clears up a lot of the confusion we had. We're gonna give it another go tonight :)
So glad to hear we could help! Hope you have a great time playing :)
Hi, firstly - Awesome Vid!
Can you help to clarify on how these scenarios should be resolved? (1) Sheriff with a shotgun, possible to kill 4 zombies with a single attack and do we need to roll exposure die? (2) What if the sheriff also equip himself with a switchblade? (3) Principal with school blueprint, does it mean he's able to draw and keep 3?
Any advise would be appreciated, our group has just started playing this game yesterday and already the debate over above scenarios are bugging us and we have not seen any official clarification so far.
+vince wong I typically try to help with questions, but ones specific to cards and combinations of cards are hard for me to answer without the specific card text included in the question. Otherwise I have to pull my box out and search for the specific cards, etc.
The sheriff says "ANYWHERE: (4+) Once per round you may kill 2 zombies at Daniel's current location. Only role for exposure once." Side Q: sheriff does not have a non coop symbol so what does that 4+ mean?
The principal says "SCHOOL: Once per round, when performing a search at the school you may look at and keep 1 additional card."
+Christopher Howell The (4+) means that the player controlling said Survivor must use a 4+ die to use that Survivor's special ability, so in other words the lower the number in the brackets are the better.
+vince wong @ Principal: Adding a Blueprint to a Survivor gives that Survivor the ability of that card. So when searching he gets to look at 3 cards and keep 3 - if said blueprint is actually the School blueprint.
The ability text saying: 'ANYWHERE' means that the ability can be used anywhere; if it says: 'COLONY' that special ability can only be used when the Survivor is at the Colony.
Hope this clarified your questions - if not, do ask again.
Hey Rodney,
Love your videos! I had discovered your channel while researching about mansions of madness. :) Your explanation of dead of winter was perfect, and it actually pushed me over the edge to buy it, also, i will definitely use your video to teach it to my friends! :D
Thanks and have a great one, cheers from İstanbul.
Wonderful to hear from a fellow gamer in Istanbul! Thanks for the kind feedback, great to hear you enjoyed the video!
Awesome video sir! I know this came out several years ago but man… you haven’t lost a step! You do an excellent job explaining and teaching step by step on everything you need to know to play a game properly. And it’s genuinely entertaining! I’ll be adding this game and its two expansions to my little collection. It looked interesting and now thanks to your expert explanations on it I’m hooked!
Maybe one day I’ll publish my own game and be fortunate enough to have you review it! 😎
Hey Robbie, thanks so much for the kind words. I'm really glad the video helped give you a sense of the game, and I hope it helps you all dive into the game play a little quicker if you get a chance to pick it up! Beware those zombies (and traitors!)
Thanks Rodney for the always excellent rules breakdown. You make learning fun and easy. Keep it up!
Hey Dan, thanks so much, that's very nice of you to say!
I have had my eye on this one for a while, but I was worried about the repeat playability given the limited scenarios. But actually, it looks like there is a lot of playable scenarios depending on the secret missions, and the difficulty as well. I have it on my wish list. Thanks Rodney!!
Thanks for checking it out Frank!
Thank you for the thorough video!!! It really explains the game well, and I've used it to teach fellow board gamers how to play!!! It brings everyone up to speed and helps make sense of all the numerous game components/elements. Thanks again, and keep up the great videos!!!!
So nice of you to say - glad you enjoyed the video!
i was confused reading the rules. this clarified them for me very well. thank you so much!
Really nice to know this was a help!
Very hard game to play
Although I guess few rounds you'd get used for the rules
There's quite a bit going on here, but I agree, as you play more, the rules will get easier as you go. Good luck!
Your videos are the best game-explaining videos on youtube. Please do not stop with it =) German edition would be great ;) But your english, due to your good pronunciation and slow speaking, is understandable to non-english people. Thank you =)
+rAaliasReal You're very welcome! So glad you found it helpful :)
4:58 "And that's the set up." Lol goes from a game board and a couple cards to the whole table filled with a million pieces on it. So much stuff in this game
There is indeed :)
That was my thought exactly, I got this blindly after a suggestion and my first impression was there being not a lot of there, there.
Then I watched this and realized “oh, this makes Mansions of Madness seem easy!!”
Great Video, does the exiled player still have the player on their right draw a crossroads card for their turn?
Yep.
Just tried out Dead of Winter yesterday and having now watched this excellent video I noticed we did miss some rules - frostbites counting also as ordinary wounds, and that you don't have to play Event cards immediately... Fun game - and thank you for the great explanation of the rules! :-)
SwedishViking Very pleased you found it helpful!
you did an excellent job describing a lot of questions i was looking for after i got the chance to try this game for the first time. very well told, and thank you so much!
My pleasure Orry, glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for making this video, saved us a ton of time and we learned the game much faster with less hassle. Had a great time playing it too!
Wonderful hear - glad it was a help, and that you enjoyed playing!
Played this for the first time today, with one friend just to get a feel for the game when we do play it as a full group so explaning them will go easier, your video helped loads to speed things up learning the game :) keep up the awesome work! THANKS! - Kevin
So glad to hear it was a help, Kevin.
Wait lets say i draw a survivor card from a location. Do i automatically have to keep it or can i keep searching for other cards and keep another card, adding the noise tokens respectively?
You do not have to keep it, and can keep searching.
I didn't realize how long this game has been out. My husband, his friend, and I just picked up this game yesterday. I read the whole instruction pamphlet front to back and was still having trouble explaining to my husband last night. This'll make it WAY easier now that I fully understand the rules. His family is visiting us this weekend, too. Fingers crossed that it'll go well. 🤣
Hoping it goes well for you all!
very cool intro and game looks great. keep up thegreat work.
Thanks for the kind words!
I hosted/played my first game of Dead of Winter, last weekend. It was a great time. Although I read the rule book, I watched this video, as well as the game play videos. Really helped me understand the game better. Thanks for the help and keep up the great work.
Great to hear you had a good time with the game Brian. Very glad we could help out :)
I stumbled upon this video seeing if I could find a good explanation of the rules before reading the rulebook myself. This is a fantastic presentation and the metric by which all game rule explanations should be handled. Thanks for creating this video!
+cbergstrom Very kind of you to say, I hope you have a great time playing!
This "How To Play" was PERFECT! I got this game last week and played with my two best friends. Apparently we were playing on Legendary mode because we were adding zombies to the colony x2 of that many survivors in the colony as opposed to dividing by half!
+Brad Schwarte (EveryGirlsHero) That's very brave :) Glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks for making this, really helps with a visual learner like myself.
+Jared Luth Great to know you found it helpful Jared!
Another question (lol I suck..) you can spend your actions however you want right? Say I am in the colony, I can then spend a die to clear waste, then move to the police station, do a search there. And after that baricade it with my last die. Is that correct?
Yep. You spend actions as you like.
I say this with the utmost respect, and as a lover of your Mansions of Madness video...your speaking tone was much more natural and real in your earlier videos. In these videos, it sounds a little like a Wal-Mart corporate employee training video.
No offence taken - you'll find these videos are much more structured to ensure efficiency. The gameplay videos, along with our table talk and other segments, have more of the casual banter. Thanks for your time.
Not gunna lie, really want this game
gonna
You end up getting a copy?
@@WatchItPlayed i completely forgot about this game till just now. I just bought the original on amazon!
@@harbingerofminecraft Ha! Have fun playing :)
I love you Rodney, I mean you're just... Just super awesome. Thanks for the great run through!
+David Earls Jr. Hey, thank YOU for the really nice comment :)
Hello! Thanks for the great explanation of this game :) This game is insanely fun.
I have a few questions:
1) For rummaging, do we use dice for it? For example, I use one dice to search, but I didn't like what I have so I choose to rummage. Do I use up another dice? Or just continue to draw cards and place down 1 noise token for each card I drew?
2) Let say I arrived at a place with a noise token, and I want to search. Does that noise token affect me in anyway?
3) In the video, at the beginning of a new round, we can take away noise tokens, then roll a die in order to see if another zombie will be add or not to the place. So do you do that for all present noise tokens? Or are we only allowed to remove one noise token per round??
+T-NA24
1) Rummaging doesn't take dice, which is why it creates noise.
2) No. Except when the noise tokens are resolved at the end of the round, if your survivor is still there.
3) You resolve ALL noise tokens at all locations.
Hope that helps! Have fun playing :)
Could you elaborate on being bit and spreading the infection? Thank you
Hey there, I'd need to know which part of the video on this topic you did not understand.
I think they mean at around 11:30. If you roll a bite, your survivor dies. If there is no other survivor at said location, does the spread end?
yes
Thanks, great video!
Quick question: On the coop variant (or the 2 player variant which uses the same rules), should players keep their hands hidden, or play with "open" hands? For example, while we're all on the same side in the coop variant, it makes more sense to me that I don't necessarily "see" what player 2 is finding as they rummage through a location deck on a search.
***** I don't believe there are explicit rules on this, so I suppose it's best to play as you like. There would be no specific reason to hide the information, but that doesn't mean you can't, if the players choose.
Lol. I use my Zombicide minis when I play this game.
oh cool
Great video, very helpful! Thanks a lot :)
Glad you liked it Fran.
I need a quick clarification: if an entrance is overran and a survivor gets killed, does that count as a bite? (as in: does it spread?)
Spreading happens just on the bite result of a roll. Hope that helps!
@@WatchItPlayed I see, thanks! I've been playing it wrong for last 2 years then heh. Thematically I guess it always seemed like if zombies overrun the entrance and kill someone than that guy would turn into a zombie and kill someone else heh. But thanks for clarifying! :)
@@EtheriumSky A pleasure to assist!
Hi Rodney, I am a viewer from Hong Kong. I just wanted to say thank you so much for making these tutorials and play through videos. I just got Dead of Winter recently and if it wasn't for the help of your videos, I would still have trouble figuring out how to play this game. I just had my first play through with my group last weekend and it was a success, everyone enjoyed it. I also just finished watching your tutorial and play through of Small World (what i will be playing next with my group) as this was another game I got recently as well. Anyway, thank you again, the videos were really helpful and I will now consider getting new games base on other videos you made. Keep up the good work :)
Very nice to hear from you Michael and to learn that you found the videos helpful. That's wonderful feedback. Hope you continue enjoying watching and playing more games!
I know it's been a few years since you posted this video but thank you SOOOOO much for making it. I got this game last Christmas and have attempted to play it about four or five times but each time the game ended, everyone was unsatisfied because we knew we just weren't understanding some of the rules. I am happy to report that (thanks to this video) a few days ago we had our first successful play through of this game and it was a blast. Thanks again and keep up the good work.
Thank you for all the kind words! It really makes my day, especially on a video that has been out for a few years!
One survivor can equip a equipment more than 1 card ?
Yes.
@@WatchItPlayed Thank you.
Hi Rodney. You said "Pass the first player token to the right", but you actually passed to the left. Which is it? Does it matter?
You pass to the right. It was a little less straightforward in the example, because there wasn't really a left/right, as much as a column of players. But, it is right.
Only played this game once and loved it. Picked it up for myself even, and now I finally get a chance to play it again tomorrow night and introduce new people to it. Loved your video series on it.
Thanks so much, very glad you're enjoying the game!
Congratulations! You're a master "game explainer". Clear, thorough, and give this warm friendly feeling when you speak. 11/10.
Thank you very much.
***** Thanks to you! As a doctor I have close to no time to read and process the rules of boardgames, and when I want to go to my friends place and bring a new game, I use your channel to rapidly understand and be able to transmit the essence of a game. If it weren't for you these game sessions may not exist.
estebancoestaocupado A pleasure to be a part of your hobby experience!
You know your videos are awesome when I'm watching the rules for games I don't even own yet. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Justin :)
I'm always impressed with the high production value and extreme clarity of all of your videos. By far the best videos to learn how to play a game I have come across!
That's very kind of you to say Quinn - thanks so much!
Great video! I can't wait anymore for this game.. the italian version will be released in march :( ciao from italy:)
Hope you get to enjoy it soon!
I don't understand how to deal secret objectives. It's 2 non Betrayer per player + only 1 Betrayer or 1 for each player?
First deal 2 non-betrayal secret objectives into a pile, and then add to that ONLY 1 Betrayal objective (not 1 betrayer by person).
This means it's very possible that no one will be a traitor... but you never know for sure. You'll always have reason to doubt.
Brilliant explanation. I thought I knew all of the rules but I wasn't aware that you could lure Zombies to your location with an action die away from another location. That will be very useful at some point, I'm sure. Cannot wait for 'The Long Night' to arrive!
Glad the video provided you with an extra tip Joe! :) Have fun smashing more zombies!
Glad the video provided you with an extra tip Joe! :) Have fun smashing more zombies!
There's something else I ran into... which these I'd like to know.
1: Can you actually Exile the First Player? Or is the First Player Immune to being Exiled that turn?
2: Crisis Cards with 2 Items - most of them is for 1 Type of Item (like Raiders or Overpopulation)... but what about a Crisis that require 2 Types of Items? Do those require Both Items via 4 Tool and 4 Gas (total in 8 cards) on the "Dead Man's March" Crisis? Or are those a "Mix and Match", where you only need 4, like 1 card can be one, while the other 3 cards are the other item type?
1) Being first player doesn't save you from being exiled.
2) Mix & match
hi, i want to know about number in red circle on survivor card right up corner. what that use for? are that they health/hp? tq rod.
Hey there, I'm always happy to try to help with rules questions, but if the answer is provided in the video, than I have to direct you there. You'll find an index in the description to help you find the section you might be looking for.
So, have a games day this weekend and Dead of Winter was requested. Seeing as this game hasn't made it to my table in a while, thought a rules refresher was in order. My first thought was Rodney Smith. And, as always, you filled the need. Thank you and good job. Query... do y'all take requests for games to teach?
Very glad to know it was helpful! I don't take requests, but only because this is my full time work now and there's so many games, and so little time!
Will there be a video for The Long Night??
+fuloran1 I'll be considering doing a "here's what's new" video for it.
Thank you!
Hey, Rodney, Is there also a solo variant in the rules? Or do you think the 2-player coop can be played solo?
If you use the Full Co-Op rules than you could play it solo, since you'd be able to play without hidden information, you'd just control more than one player I would guess.
This is a very nice video but srsly this game has so many parts and rules to it. I'm sitting here setting it up to play and just getting bored in the process. Maybe it'll be really fun but it seems like it will have 0 flow and we'll constantly be checking the rule book to make sure we did things correctly.
You may find it helpful to watch an episode or two of our game play to see it all comes together and it might help you get a sense of the flow better. Keep in mind the player boards also give reminders of the phases of a game and actions you can take. That said, not all games are for everyone, and everyone has a different tolerance for rules in a game - and that's okay too :)
I actually discovered a Contradiction... what about an Exiled Player... "Does the Exiled Player ever get the First Player Marker?", "Or do Exiled Players always go Last, thus never get control of it again?".
The first player token is still pass as usual, that's why you don't find a special note about this in the video - the rules doesn't change in that regard. Have fun playing!
I wonder if it would be feasible to create a variant rule for ongoing survival play, where you carry over things from one game to another with some adjustments (like a morale boost for objective completion) to see how many "days" that colony can live through.
That's a neat idea!
Isaac and I have talked about a campaign mode.
Yes, it will be called Legacy: Dead of winter. If they ever made one
When attacking another player’s survivor, don’t you also get to take a resource card from the player’s hand on a success?
Yep! You'll find this indicated in a pinned comment and in the description of the video.
Hi i have a few question. For example i want to go from school to gas station . how should i go?
I need to back to colony and after that go to gas station?
School->Colony->Gas Station OR School->Gas Station.
Character 1 have : 1 bleed and 1 frostbite effect. I use a medicine on him.
It takes down the bleed and the frostbite effect 2 , Or only the frostbite effect.
From the rules PDF: A survivor may be moved to any location that has an empty survivor space. Moving from School directly to the Gas Station is a legal move.
I don't have that Medicine card in front of me, but if it says "cure 1 wound", you can remove the Frostbite with that, or the regular wound (though you should probably remove the frostbite).
Another great instructional video. I like a lot the art in this game. All survivor art is awesome. I would like the location art to have less snow, but I guess it's like that to show the extreme conditions in the area.
Makes this Canadian feel right at home :)
I have a some questions.
When you roll the dice to determine your action count per survivor.....are the dice rolled and then put into the unused pile each time it's your turn?
When zombies appear at the colony gates....can you fight them or do they just keep accumulating? What is their purpose other than to kill surviviors and drop morale?
Do you have to fight the zombies at the non colony locations or can you search and avoid them altogether?
It's been awhile since I shot this video, but I'm quite confident these questions are answered in the video, so I'd have to direct you there. As an example, in the case of your last question, if I don't say you have to fight zombies in order to search there, then you don't. In fact, I believe the example I use in the video shows the player going to a location with a zombie and searching. You'll find time stamps to help you find the sections of the rules you might be wondering about. Hope that helps.