Indie Boards & Cards The Resistance: Avalon

Bought this for my brother-in-law after watching him use a regular deck of playing cards as a makeshift version of Avalon. Needless to say, he was pretty excited to finally have the real game. The cards and artwork are great, the rules are easy to learn, and every game gets people arguing, bluffing, and trying to figure out who’s lying. It’s become one of our favorite games to bring out when we have a group over. If you like social deduction games, this one is a blast.

When our friends gather, this is inevitably one of the most asked for and played games. It scales well to large groups (we've played with everything from 5 to 9 people, so almost the full range of the game) and every player is active the entire game -- it's not one where somebody can be eliminated or left out. Game play is very straight forward and simple enough that even first time players can dive in with just a basic run down of rules, yet play changes enough each game that it is kept fresh and interesting. The games are divided into 5 different "missions" and an entire game tends to last only around 20 minutes, which is fantastic since most games that support a group our size end up being incredibly complicated or drag on forever. It helps, of course, to have a bunch of back-stabbing liars as friends but we all can't be so lucky. Each player is dealt a role card -- in the most simple of versions, you're either a good guy (Loyal Servant of Arthur, including Merlin) or evil (Minion of Mordred, including Assassin). Certain characters reveal themselves to each other before the game so alliances can be formed -- in general the bad guys usually know who each other are and Merlin knows who the evil players are. The basic object of the game is to complete a set number of missions through a voting system; good must always vote for success and evil is free to cause as much chaos in voting as they like. For each mission, there is a group leader who choose a team to go on the mission with him; all of the players then vote to approve/deny the questing team. After a team is chosen, just then team then vote to succeed/fail the mission...then on to the next group leader. Rinse and repeat. Once either team completes 3 missions (evil completes a mission by causing it to fail), the game is over. If evil wins, they usually celebrate like the true jerks they are. If good wins, the Assassin and other minions get a chance to guess who was playing Merlin; if a correct guess is made, evil wins. Evil wins a lot in this game, which is probably part of why it can be so fun. Every game also changes depending on which character cards are used and who ends up playing which role. Once everyone is familiar with play, there are a few other role cards that can be added in to spice things up -- Oberon, Mordred, Morgana, and Percival -- each will change the game play, with an additional note on how to play each of the named characters written on the card. There is a fair amount of strategy that can be incorporated, especially as the more complicated characters and eventually Lady of the Lake (a card used to view other player's roles) are brought into play. If you notice that either good or evil is tending to sweep the missions, the named characters can help balance play in either direction, depending on which ones you add to the role deck. All in all, I'd definitely recommend this game. We're asked to bring it to every gathering and it hasn't grown stale yet.

I almost didn't buy Avalon because of its theme, since (as far as themes go) my group would have much preferred the dystopia theme of the original games. But, I was really interested in this game mechanic, for the social aspect, the deduction, the team work balanced with competition, the arguing, and the LYING, MMHWAHAHA!!! I am really glad I went with Avalon despite our theme preferences, because the roles really do add a lot of interesting twists, and you can use them in different combinations. So I bought it, talked it up to the group, and convinced them to try it (and sneakily said nothing about the theme until they were excited to play). It was LOADS of fun!!! The first night we played, we went for almost 3 hours... Everyone kept saying, "one more!", and "again!" The second time we played we also went for almost 3 hours, but would have gone longer if it weren't super late at night... Both times we played with 5, and it was great fun to learn more about how your friends act totally innocent one minute, and then totally fool you the next... There is also fun from observing everyone's strategies, and finding out your friends' preferred styles, and what kinds of deceit they are capable of! Some of our players much preferred the special roles, while others really like being a regular good guy, because that's when you really have to exercise your powers of deduction. Anyway, both times we played with 5 people, and I can't wait to play with more. The Resistance: Avalon has so many interesting and fun elements, and I have yet to play with someone who didn't really love it. It is quick to play, easy to learn, but full of nuances and variability. If you are even considering it, I'd say try it out - it's lots of fun for serious and occasional gamers as well. PS: We are considering replacing the team voting cardstock tokens with black and white marbles and 2 dice cups for voting (one for votes, and the other for non-votes), since our tokens are getting pretty beat up after a couple of nights... But the components seem nice, and that's probably because our group gets really into the game, slamming cards and all :)

It isn't often that you find a simple game that can be played over and over again and still feel as new and exciting as the first time you sat down to play it. The Resistance Avalon is less of a card game and board game and more of a social experience. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the game Werewolf or Mafia, right? This game is quite similar but without player elimination and with more opportunities to deceive and be deceived. Avalon is a rethemed version of the original Resistance. Both play very similar, the reason I bought Avalon is for the player specific roles that it allows. Before the game begins players will be randomly dealt a card assigning them to either the good team or bad team without anyone else knowing. After that everyone will close their eyes and the bad team members will open their eyes to see who they are working with. The game plays out over a series of "quests". Each quest will have a quest leader who will assign a certain number of players to "participate" in the quest. The rest of the players will then vote whether or not to allow the quest to continue as assigned. When it is settled that these players are allowed to go on the quest they will be given two cards, a Success card and a Fail card. Each player will then submit secretly their decision and then they will be randomly reviled resulting in either a successful or failed quest. First team to reach 3 failed or successful quests wins. The opportunities for a bad player to deceive others is much more numerous than you might imagine. And any players from the good team will need to constantly be on their toes to catch them in the act of treachery. The game is full of lying, accusations, counter accusations and desperate pleas that others blindly put their trust in you trust you. Out of all the games I have this one has been the biggest hit with my group of friends. It was a little difficult to convince them of how much fun the game is, but after playing once everyone always wants to play a second and third time. I honestly have to leave this game at home or else whenever I bring it then it's the one that we play. The only downside to the game might also be the biggest positive, that being that you need at least 5 people to play. But if you have a large group of friends like me then maybe it will make it easier to bring to the table more often. I think I only paid $14 for this game on Amazon and have probably played it more than 50 times. If you have a large group of friends that aren't afraid to twist the truth a little then this game will definitely entertain for hours and hours on end. And besides when else do you get to point to your wife and at the top of your lungs accuse her of lying to your face all in the name of fun.

This is a really fun game. It's really brought to light just how deceptive my 6 year old can be because she dominates this game. We play on average with 4-5 people. There are 1-2 bad guys, (or more - it depends on the amount of players,) and the rest of the group are good guys. Each round a different person is the quest leader and selects the people they want to go on a quest with. Everyone on the quest is dealt two cards that are Fail or Succeed. Then they play one of the cards face down on whether they want the quest to Succeed or Fail. If the quest leader selects a bad guy and that bad guy plays a fail card, the point goes to the bad guys. If no Fail card is played, it's a point for the good guys. The game is won by the first team to get 3 points. It's crucial for the bad guys not to let their identity be revealed. If they're discovered then good guys won't select them to go on the quests. There are also character cards like Merlin and Morgana and others that take on special roles and add more to the game. But I would say those cards are meant for games with more people than 4. Feasible with 5, but I'd suggest more 6+ players to use those cards. The rules are simple. Triumph over evil or don't get caught trying to thwart the good guys' plans. There are more rules that explain the mechanics better, but this review is just a general over view. All in all this is a fun family favorite and one of the more played games in our house and everyone we played with have enjoyed it. *HOWEVER* There are a few player cards (Lady of the Lake) and some of the bad guy cards that may be a bit graphic for the younger kids. Screen your cards first and remove whatever ones you feel may be inappropriate. The game is easily played without these advanced character cards. The game is meant for 13+ but our 6 year old understands it just fine and knows the difference between lying for real and playing a game. But this is a game that revolves around deception so if that's not something you're comfortable with letting younger kids play, then it may not be for you.

My social deduction game of all time! The quality is excellent. The design of the game is excellent. It's always a ton of fun to play. The learning curve is a little bit to get over, but everyone that I've taught the game to has come to beg to play again!

As a self-proclaimed Slytherin, I enjoy playing games that require a fair amount of cunning: social deduction, persuasion, and secrecy. I bought Avalon to play with cousins (ranging in ages 13-29) at Christmas, and it was a hit! I would recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of lively conversation and sneaky deception :) A brief reviews of the pros and cons: 1) Easy to explain the game and pick up on easily 2) Aesthetics: the look and feel of the tokens was very nice-- even though they were cardboard, they had a matte, weighted feeling that was pleasant to the touch. 3) The game has many variations, and changes depending on what kind of people you are playing with-- it does not get boring quickly 4) The theme of the game-- who doesn't want to be a questing, or thwarting a quest as the "minion of Mordred" 5) 20-30 minute games, a perfect length of time to play multiple rounds, or slip in a quick game between other activities 5) Pairable with other Resistance games Cons 1) There were too many cards and pieces for a relatively simple game-- I think it could be streamlined and simplified, without losing any of the game's story or function. I found the number of cards and tokens overwhelming and unruly. 2) Materials will most likely wear down over time. Overall, a great game to play with many ages, for a very decent price. It is now frequently re-QUEST-ed at all our family gatherings.

Excellent social deduction game - good for 5 players but gets better with more than 5.

Juego interesante y divertido, original. Venía en perfecto estado.

An excellent social deduction classic, still fun even after being around for over a decade! Cards are printed on sturdy material and the box is compact but still provides more than enough room for all the tokens needed for the game. Make sure you buy from legitimate sources, watch out for counterfeits!

le jeu est vraiment très simple pour les règles et la mise en place, et très pratique niveau nombre de joueurs (5 à 10), et il est très amusant :) je trouve juste que les personnages spéciaux auraient pu être un peu plus amusants pour ce qui est de leurs pouvoirs spéciaux mais déjà avec les règles de base, et uniquement le personnage spécial de Merlin, c'est très bien ! le gros avantage par rapport à un loup-garou est que tout le monde joue jusqu'à la fin de la partie; d'autre part c'est plus rythmé, et avec une plus grande part à la déduction

ボードゲームの会で教えていただいて、面白かったので。ボードゲーム初心者の私には他の人に説明するのは少し難しいので、今少しづつ勉強しています。間違えて、日本語版じゃないほうを買ってしまいましたが、あまり関係なさそうなので良かったです。箱は思ったより小さかったですが、持ち歩くのには少し大きいかと思います。

Lo descubrimos a través de un amigo "jugón" y ha causado tanta sensación que terminé comprándolo. La dinámica es bien sencilla, no hay que aprenderse reglas de manuales bíblicos ni nada: se reparten a los jugadores unas cartas de personaje de las cuales te puede tocar ser "bueno" o "malo" y a partir de eso, se desarrolla el juego mediante turnos en los que se van rotando los líderes que escogerán a quién llevan a la misión, que podrá ser saboteada por los infiltrados malignos xD Es dinámico, participativo y lleno de ingenio, ideal para echar una tarde divertida con los amigos. NOTA: aunque está en inglés, no afecta nada al material de juego y en internet hay muchas páginas que ofrecen el manual traducido.