Description
Daybreak is a cooperative strategy game designed by Matt Leacock (the mind behind Pandemic) and Matteo Menapace, where players take on the roles of major world powers working together to stop global warming and achieve net-zero emissions. Each player controls a specific global power—such as China, the US, Europe, or the Majority World—with its own unique deck, starting energy grid, and economic challenges. Through clever engine building and card play, you must develop clean energy, roll out progressive social and technological policies, and dismantle your carbon-belching infrastructure before the planet triggers cascading, game-ending ecological disasters. It is a highly optimistic yet intensely challenging game of tight collaboration, transforming the daunting reality of the climate crisis into a rewarding, thinky puzzle about building a sustainable future.
The Marco thinks:
I really like this game because of its theme and the potential to create some truly powerful combos. One of my favorite aspects is that, unlike in Pandemic where a more experienced player can take over the group and take away everyone else’s decision-making power, this game lets the players make their own decisions. It’s cooperative since everyone shares a common goal, but everyone gets to focus on thinking for themselves and developing their own board, with just enough player interaction to keep things connected. I think it plays best at two players; because you can end up drawing a massive number of cards and chaining effects together, turns can get incredibly long. I don’t necessarily see that as a bad thing because building those engines is fun, but it is something to take into account. Overall, it’s a really fun, highly replayable mix of independent decision-making and cooperative play.
The Lidia thinks:
I think The Marco talks too much, but I also enjoy this game for the same reasons.