When Darkness Comes is a tile-based board game that combines roleplaying with boardgaming.

The first core set, called The Awakening, deals with the undead (zombies, mummies, vampires, etc). The objective of the game will depend on the scenario. Some may include finding and defeating a big bad guy, finding a certain object, defusing a bomb, etc. The characters (pre-generated or created) have 7 attributes with specialized skills. That will determine the amount of dice rolled for a skill check. The mechanic for skill checks is a poker variation instead of using straight high roll. Players try to get 6 high, one pair, 3 straight, 3 of a kind, 4 straight, etc.