Daybreak
- Players
- 1-4
- Best withThe player count this game plays best at.
- 2 players
- Play timeHow long a full game runs once everyone knows the rules.
- 120 min
- AgeThe minimum age printed by the publisher.
- 10+
- ComplexityHow demanding the rules are, from 1 (very light) to 5 (very heavy).
- 2.9 / 5
- Year
- 2023
About the game
Daybreak is a cooperative game about tackling climate change, where each player leads a world power deploying policies and technologies to draw down emissions while building resilience against life-threatening crises. Variable player powers, tech tracks, and event cards simulate the complexity of a coordinated global response. If the temperature climbs too high or a region falls into crisis, everyone loses together, but reaching net-zero means everyone wins. Designed by Matt Leacock, creator of Pandemic, it channels that same cooperative tension into an urgent, modern theme.
Hobbli's Notes
Hobbli's team finds Daybreak a thoughtful, weighty successor to Pandemic's cooperative DNA, translating the same race-against-a-ticking-clock tension into climate policy. It's an emotionally resonant game that sparks real conversation at the table.
What we like
- Strong cooperative tension similar to Pandemic.
- Solo mode supported for single-player play.
- Timely, thoughtful climate change theme.
- Variable player powers add asymmetric strategy.
Keep in mind
- Heavier rules overhead than typical cooperative games.
- Emotionally weighty theme may not suit all groups.
- Long two-hour playtime at higher complexity.
Who it's for
Great for 1-4 players aged 10+ who enjoy cooperative strategy games, especially fans of Pandemic looking for a thematically urgent, modern topic.
