Whether you are new to the game or have played it for years, this guide will help you take advantage of the many ways to play.
The rules of White Witch Games (WWG) are simple. As long as there is a white witch card in your hand during an encounter, its effects will be triggered no matter what. When playing the game, the white witch card is set face-down and left that way until you need to play it. If you play all your white witch cards during the same encounter, then this is called a mega win and can be very satisfying.
White Witch Game
When playing WWG, there are three ways its effects will manifest:
1) Target Survivor: The survivors target one person or item for a finding roll. If successful, the target will be useful and helpful. This is not always good to have as it might result in you losing another survivor at the same time.
2) Parasite: Some parasites require a roll (always equal to or less than your intelligence) in order to resist infection. This is bad because the parasite will affect you and your group in a negative way, such as drawing more encounters or sealing off an area of the map you just cleared.
3) Puppet: A target survivor becomes almost useless until they can pass a finding roll (always equal to or less than your intelligence). This is really bad because it means the player must risk drawing encounters in order to get their survivor back.
How To Win WWG
The game ends when you either win or lose. If you win, then everyone gets out of the zombie-infested mall alive with all their items and equipment intact. But if you lose, your group will suffer losses either through attrition or objective failure.
Losing the White Witch Game
If you lose WWG, then one or more of your survivors is killed, captured by zombies (or whatever enemies the game throws at you), infected with parasites (and turned into a zombie if they can’t pass a roll to resist/survive it), eaten alive if the zombies win, or simply lose everything and everyone they brought with them.
Your Role as the White Witch
As you know, there is no guarantee that your group will win WWG. You, as the white witch player, must weigh the consequences of each card and determine whether or not it is worth playing. This includes thinking about whether to use a card now or save it for later. Your decision could mean the difference between life and death for your group.
Using White Witch Cards During the Encounter Phase
When you play a white witch card, it takes effect before any other event or encounter happens. The best time to play them is during the “encounter phase” when you are allowed to draw encounters. This way, your survivors can use what they find and explore new areas of the map that would otherwise be unavailable to them.
Using White Witch Cards During the Encounter Roll Phase
As you probably know, there is a limit to how many cards you can play during an encounter roll phase. Although some cards can help you pass rolls so that you get more encounters, they generally do not last long and the encounter will happen whether your group succeeds or fails (this is called a “parasite encounter” and such cards should be used sparingly).
Using White Witch Cards During the Hiding Phase
It is generally not advisable to use WWG during the hiding phase. The survivors can simply stoke fires and wait it out, and if they do manage to fail the roll (and you play a card), they will take damage and be unable to heal up properly before the next encounter.
Using White Witch Cards During the Zombie Phase
If your survivors fail their finding rolls during this phase, then all but one (randomly determined) survivor will die as soon as the zombie attacks them (no injury roll). To make matters worse, they must also pass a roll to escape the zombie; if they fail this one as well, then they will be eaten alive.
Conclusion
The best time to play white witch cards is during the encounter phase so you can use their effects before your group goes through an encounter or exploration attempt. If at all possible, save WWG cards until later in the game when they are more helpful.