The Coldest Night

Dec 14

Description

The Coldest Night is a cooperative strategy card game where players feed fuel into a fire to keep it lit. Each card brings a certain amount of heat to the fire, and also requires the fire to be above a certain heat to burn it. With the fire constantly dying out, players must work together against the encroaching cold to sequence their cards so everything in the deck can be burned.

1-4 Players

14+

Easy

Short

Review

The Coldest Night is an interesting beast where in most cooperative games communication is key, TCN wants you to keep your cards to yourself. This creates a stressful dynamic as you wait to see whether your teammates' play will either help or hinder your next move. Which honestly is part of the fun!

The tension of each turn hoping that you’re not the one who fails to keep the fire burning keeps the game suspenseful. Failing to do so (and you will fail) just makes you want to jump right back in and try to survive the night again.

The main difficulty would be getting stuck with high ash value cards in your hand. There were moments where I had to lower the flame on my turn numerous times in a row due to the luck of the draw causing a frostbite penalty. It does indeed feel frustrating at times, but that's the test of subtle communication with your fellow survivors.

So far while playing with games of 2 players and games with 4 players we have been unsuccessful in winning. Making sure you use every last card is a demanding task for sure. Personally I recommend adjusting the rule set at making the winning condition be getting through the deck. Rather than getting through the deck and all players' hands. This gives players a fighting chance in feeling accomplished at the end of the game.

I would recommend this game for those who like a challenge whether you’re looking for something to play on your own or with a few friends. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart. The gameplay is enticing but the win condition makes The Coldest Night a brutal endeavor.